Shop Talk

Christie’s sets one wine record, blows another

Christie’s auction in Geneva on Tuesday claims to have set a world record price for a bottle of red Burgundy. A  U.S. buyer bought the 750 ml bottle of 1945 Romainee-Conti for $123,889.  But the house failed to sell its showcase lot of the auction — 315 bottles representing every vintage from ’45 to ’07 produced by each of the first five growths of Bordeaux.

Meanwhile in New York on Saturday, the star lot – a complete vertical of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild spanning ’45-’07 sold to an Asian collector for $150,000.

Arbitrage in Bordeaux

New York’s branch of Christie’s is auctioning a collection of 64 bottles of Mouton-Rothschild on Saturday that spans the years 1945-2007.  It’s Geneva branch is auctioning a collection of 315 bottles spanning the same 62 vintages, but from all five first growths including Mouton-Rothschild on Tuesday.  (See story “Mystery collector to sell rare wines” [ID: nN10231397])

Saturday’s lot is selling for between $100,000 and $150,000, while Tuesday’s is estimated to sell for $696,000 to $929,000. And the price difference presents collectors with an arbitrage opportunity.

Assuming that the wines sell at the upper end of their estimates, buying Saturday’s lot for $150,000 would represent a $35,000 savings.  Granted, Tuesday’s lot has one more bottle of Mouton-Rothschild – the chateau produced two labels in 1978 and 1993 – and the Geneva lot has all four, while Saturday’s lot only has three.

And unlike Tuesday’s anonymous French collector,  Saturday’s is  California attorney Allen Grossman, who has been collecting for 40 years and waxes poetic about Mouton-Rothschild, saying of the top Bordeaux, “I have tasted them all many times. They are all wonderful wines, but I’m  just partial to the Mouton.”

$1=0.8608 CHF

from Leslie Gevirtz:

Sparkling wine — pouring style without draining your wallet

Earlier this week, I wrote about alternatives to non-vintage and cuvee Champagnes that can lend a festive atmosphere to any occasion. Below is a list of the wines that I mentioned, some alternatives and their suggested U.S. retail prices.

1. Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut  $12
2. Santa Margherita Prosecco Di Valdobbiadene Brut  $17
3. Freixenet Cordon Rosado $10
4. Domaine Tselepos Amalia Brut $24
5. Gruet $14
6. Dom Perignon $125-$150
7. Bollinger RD 1997 $130-$150
8. Krug Brut Grande Cuvee 1998 $180-$200
9. Giulio Ferrari 1997 $100

There are many other sparklers that didn't make it into the story such as:  Lucien Albrecht ($19), Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco ($19) and The Chook, a sparkling Shiraz from Australia ($17).

Why the price disparity? In part it has to do with marketing - Champagne makers have been at it for more than 200 years. In part, it has to do with labor and the cost of land.  An acre (or hectare) costs much less in New Mexico than it does in Champagne.

The different flavors: they come from different grapes. While Gruet uses the same grapes -- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and  Pinot Meunier found in Champagne, the taste will reflect the terroir of New Mexico -- dry and like minerals.  Prosecco is the grape and the region just outside Venice where it is grown.

The long and short of it is that you don't have to spend a fortune to pop some pleasure.

Check Out Line: Would you like some wine with that weak economy?

Check out the latest poll on affluent consumers’ spending habits.

Affluent consumers around the world may be worried about the economy, but they are still spending on items they value most: food, wine and dining out, according to a study released by HSBC Global Pulse.

Seventy-two percent of those polled said the amount of wine they drank had not changed in the past year, while 67 percent said their spending on wine was unchanged, HSBC said.

Meanwhile, 73 percent still dine out nearly once a week and 39 percent still eat at restaurants at least three times a week, according to the study.

Of those polled, 80 percent have household income above $100,000 and 19 percent are above $250,000, according to HSBC. Fifty-seven percent are college grads and 43 percent have post-graduate degrees.

That’s not to say these consumers are unaffected by the weak economy as the most important criteria (95 percent) in wine purchases is “value/price,” according to HSBC.

Fresh food and well-known brands also scored well. Seventy-nine percent said they are willing to spend more for locally grown products, 62 percent would spend more for organic foods and 82 percent would spend more for well-known brands, HSBC said.

From the market to the vineyard

Lenny Recanati was a financier and banker but became a vintner for love, not money. Winemakers in Israel, like their colleagues across the border in Lebanon, have to contend with conflict as well as nature. The most recent release of Lenny Recanati’s Reserve Merlot 2006 was made from grapes from the Ella Valley near Jerusalem, instead of the Upper Galilee. The conflict in the summer of 2006 kept the vintners out of the vineyards for a month.

Check Out Line: Clink, clink! Wine consumption to rise

Check out all the wine drinking going on.

Two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans surveyed said they partake in wine on holidays and special occasions while at home, while another 58 percent drink wine at home with dinner on an ordinary night, according to consumer trend tracker Mintel.

The wine market has grown 20 percent from 2004 through 2009 despite the recession, but at the peak of the slowdown in 2008 it declined 3.2 percent, Mintel said. With consumers slowly feeling better about the economy, the firm expects the wine market to increase by 2.1 percent this year.

“The future of the wine market looks bright, at least for moderately priced segments,” Mintel senior food and drink analyst Sarah Theodore said in a statement. “Value wines have helped consumers rethink their perceptions about wine.”

And how does wine stack up vs beer?

Mintel said so far this year nearly half (47 percent) of survey respondents say they drink beer compared to 35 percent who drink imported and domestic wines. Champagne and sparkling wines are next at 17 percent, followed by port, sherry and dessert wines at 7 percent.

Certainly wine was on the minds of analysts and executives on Hormel’s earnings conference call on Tuesday.

Restaurants fight recession with wine

Wine sales at restaurants and bars are falling as diners trade down to less expensive options or skip wine altogether to save a buck.  But some restaurants are cooking up contrarian strategies to squeeze sales from the vine.

California Pizza Kitchen took its wine list more upscale and wine sales followed.

The pizza chain launched the new wine list on Oct. 5. It includes Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, La Crema Pinot Noir and Stags’ Leap Merlot for around $10 a glass.

“This is us going back to our roots. When we first opened CPK, (in 1985) part of the concept was we that we would have familiar wines at unfamiliar prices,” said Rick Rosenfield, CPK’s co-chief executive officer.

Morton’s steakhouse, on the other hand, is working the downturn in fine wine prices to its advantage.

It is hitting auctions as luxury restaurants clear cellars and striking exclusive relationships with wineries like Charles Krug, Gundlach Bundschu and Liverano when they have unsold premium wine.

Its limited-time Krug 1881,  which sells for around $13 a glass, is the restaurant’s top-selling Cabernet, said Tylor Field, Morton’s vice president of wine and spirits.

Constellation’s holiday drink sales less than stellar – CEO

With so many forecasters talking about the 2008 holiday season in extremes (the weakest since 1970, one of the worst in modern times), it’s refreshing to hear an executive suggest that, ok, things were not great, but they weren’t horrible either.

That assessment came on Wednesday from Rob Sands, chief executive of Constellation Brands, when the world’s largest wine producer and maker of Robert Mondavi, Vendage and Ravenswood wines reported third-quarter earnings.  

Sands, whose company also sells spirits and beer, said beer sales growth was accelerating due to the recession, while sales of spirits were getting hurt the most.

Following is an excerpt from a conference call CEO Sands and his management team hosted with analysts in which he discusses the impact of the recession on sales of alcoholic drinks:

          In the United States, market conditions remain pretty healthy as measured by consumer take-away … for the wine business. The spirits business has probably been impacted to the greatest extent with growth … getting near flattish … The beer business has actually accelerated in general during the economic downturn.

Regarding the holiday season, Sands said:

          In the US in particular for beer it wasn’t necessarily a stellar holiday season, but a lot of the IRI data (which tracks sales of packaged goods) that is being quoted is (through) 12/28, whereas last year it was through 12/30 … One of the things that characterized this holiday season is consumers definitely waited until the last minute to do their shopping. So, on beer I think that in the end it will probably wrap up to not be a fantastic holiday season, but on the other hand, I don’t think that it is going to wrap up to be as bad as the … currently published IRI data suggests.                 On wine … anecdotally from our wholesalers … it appears … consumer take-away was pretty good over the holiday season. So when everything is reconciled we are hopeful that it is going to look pretty good. 

Check Out Line: Spirited Sales

Check out rising spirits sales at Constellation Brands.

Today’s winner in the consumer products arena is wine, which looks to be a must-have item as higher gasoline prices demand more of consumers’ paychecks.

Constellation Brands, which makes Robert Mondavi wine and Svedka vodka, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on strong sales, and backed its full-year outlook.

Brands such as Simi and Kim Crawford helped Constellation achieve double-digit growth in the United States.

While consumers are willing to buy finer wines, they are trading down with rental cars. Dollar Thrifty Automotive cut its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, citing tough operating conditions. Competitor Hertz said in an interview that while consumers were still renting cars, they are opting for smaller ones that are more fuel-efficient.

Also in the basket:

Rhode Island court overturns lead-paint ruling