Recent Wine Auctions Show Why Hart Davis Hart Is Top Domestic House | Collecting News | Collecting | Wine Spectator
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Recent Wine Auctions Show Why Hart Davis Hart Is Top Domestic House | Collecting News | Collecting | Wine Spectator
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Hart Davis Hart (HDH) is on a hot streak this year, following up the largest commercial Burgundy auction by total sales in April with a $5.9 million–grossing wine auction the following month on May 13 and 14. The Chicago-based wine-auction house has a 100 percent sell-through rate for the 6,700 lots it has offered so far in 2016. Last year, the firm brought in $41.5 million in total sales, surpassing all other U.S. auctioneers.
Because HDH doesn’t sell in Hong Kong, a major market for rivals like Acker Merrall & Condit, its success is sometimes overlooked. But the house has succeeded by focusing on specific goals—selling in the U.S. and stressing blue-chip collectibles like Bordeaux and Burgundy.
At the May auction, held at the Grand Award–winning Tru restaurant, more than 45 percent of the 2,555 lots sold for above their presale estimates. Champagne did particularly well, with 56 lots bringing in $119,000.
Less than a month earlier, the “Celebration of Burgundy” auction on April 1 and 2 brought together more than 2,000 lots from 159 different domaines, spanning vintages back to 1961. The sale brought in $5.6 million, just under the presale estimate of $5.7 million. Currently, most auction houses report that the dollar value of fine Burgundies being sold now exceeds that of classified Bordeauxs, the traditional auction leader.
Events like the April sale are a perfect example of how HDH operates. The auction required long-term planning and the cultivation of close relationships with collectors. Paul Hart, HDH’s CEO, says he assembled roughly 50 consignments to put together the sale.
“We work with most of our sellers over the years, discussing the market and their collections,” said Hart. “Many consignments were long planned. There were so many high-quality collections that we were confident the bidders would come, and they did.”
The sale offered 36 vintages alone from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which together brought in $1.8 million against a high estimate of $1.9 million. The top lot was a case of DRC La Tâche 1990, which sold for $53,775 against a high estimate of $48,000.
“It was the largest commercial Burgundy auction in history [by total sales], breaking the previous record, also set by us, by $1 million,” said Hart. “There is something about the passionate nature of Burgundy collectors that is unique.”
via WineSpectator.com
May 19, 2016 at 05:08PM
Having Eyes for Beauty: Everything has beauty,but not everyone sees it.- ConfuciusBeauty is simp… https://t.co/AT953qZsBl #Inspiration
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May 19, 2016 at 11:10PM
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May 19, 2016 at 01:03PM
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Cava producers facing ‘moment of transition’
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Producers are working hard to improve their identity, says Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, who led a seminar at Decanter’s Discover Premium Cava tasting event.
‘Cava is going through a moment of transition,’ said Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, to open the Discover Premium Cava seminar, at Decanter’s Cava tasting event on 16 May.
When Cava was invented, it was seen as the ‘Spanish Champagne’; it uses the same method of production and was believed to be trying to emulate it.
Ballestereos Torres said that there is a shift happening in Cava, and winemakers are developing a unique Cava identity.
‘Only now are people in Catalunya looking into their terroir. They are in the process of looking inside themselves, finding themselves.’
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May 19, 2016 at 02:52AM
Thanks, Carol L, for your excellent review on Trip Advisor #LinkRightMedia,Inc. https://t.co/ITw64PTA2J
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May 19, 2016 at 07:45AM
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Texas Wine Info: Review of Chasing Venus Sauvignon Blanc 2015: The post Review of Chasing Ve… https://t.co/NRt59Z1Cxp Via @TXWineLover
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May 19, 2016 at 05:57AM
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A Napa Winery Survives Epic Torching, Bounces Back With ‘Liquid Cashmere’
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Life as a Napa Valley winemaker seems like it would be idyllic.
But in reality, the winery business is one of the toughest around, especially if you start from scratch. First, you have to plant the vines. Next, you need to successfully harvest the grapes, barring things like a drought or pests spoiling your crop. And then, once bottled, the wine itself need to age.
“They say it’s about seven years that you get to see the first penny out of your investment,” says Delia Viader, who started Napa’s Viader winery in 1986 on a rocky piece of land on Howell Mountain.
That’s why it was particularly painful for Viader — who successfully built her winery into a multimillion-dollar business — to experience a major freak disaster in 2005. She was just about to sell her 2003 vintage to restaurants, distributors and exporters, when an arsonist set fire to the warehouse where it was stored. Her entire inventory (of 84,000 bottles) went up in smoke. “I had all the bills of making the wine, but no wine to sell,” she says.
I spoke with Viader about the setback for a podcast I helped produce for the media nonprofit, The Story Exchange. In the full interview, “A Winemaker’s Pleasure and Pain,” Viader talks about how she survived arson and ultimately found a better business model for her winery. Find the Story Exchange podcast on iTunes.
Meantime, here are a few tips from Viader on recovering from setbacks.
1. Think quickly. Viader was walking into a private dinner at a Napa resort when she got the news. As the fire still burned, she asked her banker (who happened to be at the dinner) for a $1 million bridge loan. Even though she had fire insurance — she knew it would be months or years before a payout, and she predicted (correctly) that it wouldn’t cover her losses.
2. Get all hands on deck. Viader enlisted the help of her son Alan, who managed the vineyard, and daughter Janet, who joined the company to run sales and marketing. “It was — in the sense of the family — a call to arms,” she says.
3. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Post-fire, some 19 years after starting up, Viader changed her business model. You can’t quickly replace inventory (new wine needs to age), and Viader knew that restaurants and distributors wouldn’t wait for her. So she decided to focus on a direct-to-consumer model instead.
Viader, who lives at the winery, turned her guesthouse into a tasting room. Customers now stop by to purchase Viader’s signature Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend — which she calls “liquid cashmere” — for $150 a bottle. Daughter Janet has added cave tours and barrel tastings for exclusive “money can’t buy” wine experiences.
The winery, which has about 15 employees, is once again making $4.5 million in annual revenue (the same as it did, pre-fire) selling 4,000 cases of wine a year. “I’m doing fantastically well,” Viader says. “I consider myself privileged.”
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May 4, 2016 at 10:02PM
How to Choose Wine When You Know Nothing About Wine
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A very common question I get is how to choose a wine when there are so many options. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the seemingly unending varietals, vintages, and difficult to pronounce names. Over the years, I’ve attempted to demystify wine culture with Wine Library TV (I think I did a pretty good job) and I will now offer some tips on how to make the process a little easier for you.
But first, let me state that there are two wine purchasing behaviors that crush my soul. The first is buying wine based on how pretty the label is. The second behavior that crushes my soul is buying wine just because the shelf talker (the little sign on the shelf that describes the wine) says “90 points” on it and then some wine expert’s name after it. I’ll admit, if you ever visit Wine Library, we put up these shelf talkers all the time. Why? Because it sells wine. But I’d be lying if I thought that was the best and only way to choose wine.
The best way to become an informed wine consumer is to start forming a relationship with your local wine shop or wine person. Speaking to them about your tastes will help both of you understand what you’re looking for and which wines will best fit your palate. You’ll learn a lot about your personal tastes and preferences over time. This tactic is a no-brainer when it comes to shopping at your local wine shop because you’ll have someone you can rely on to help you find what suits your needs.
Even if you don’t have a wine expert you can jam with, the next best move is to really learn your palate on your own by trying a different varietal each time you want to pick up a bottle. Trying new varietals, vintages, and styles is always a great way to go and will allow to you to build context around what may or may not work for you. Have you tried a Gerwurtztraminer, or a Marsanne, or a Roussanne, or a Gruner Veltliner, or a Lagrein, or Cornas yet? There is no substitute for actually experiencing the various options out there other than just pouring a glass and tasting it. Don’t rely on what a wine magazine or catalogue has to say, go out and develop your own palate.
Tasting wine doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. Here’s the thing, a higher price does not always equal a higher quality wine. Depending on where you live, there are often local wine tastings and events (Check out localwinevents.com). If you’re budget conscious, I can easily recommend great bottles of wine at $12-15 for every day of the year. Need some help? Tweet me.
I need a wine for ______.
If you’re worried you’re going to try something you don’t like, remember that this is really no different than the advice I give about social media platforms. Just like you have to be a practitioner to understand if a platform works for your brand, you have to try new wines to understand what works for your palate. Don’t be a headline or shelf-talker reader. There is massive value in trying something and creating context for yourself. So, build a relationship with your closest wine expert and try everything you can!
The post How to Choose Wine When You Know Nothing About Wine appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.
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April 29, 2016 at 04:55AM
Better Than Organic: Sustainability and Wine https://t.co/Yvt9PZ42Ph #wine via @WineFolly
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May 18, 2016 at 08:38PM
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Better Than Organic: Sustainability and Wine
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No matter how much people make fun of Millennials and Generation Z, they’ve been handed a pretty raw deal for several reasons. For one, both age-groups are entering the world during the worst recession (coined the Great Recession) since World War II and secondly, there is now reliable evidence that the conditions of life-as-we-know-it on Earth will continue to get worse over the next 30 years due to climate change. As these heavy realities hang over the heads of our future generations, they (we) can choose to do one of two things:
Those of us who’ve accepted this (the red pill), think a lot differently about how we spend time and money. Where older generations would expend gas to travel miles in order to shop at the discount store Costco and ogle at discounts splashed in yellow highlighter, the new shopper questions the source and cares a lot more about where their money goes (if they spend it at all). Even if we can barely afford it, we’re shopping at local markets, seeking out organic foods, and paying attention to excess waste in our lives. This brings us to the topic of wine…
How does one support sustainability in wine?
There are a myriad (read: hot mess) of certifications in wine. In an attempt to make sense of sustainability in wine, here is a guide to some of the most commonly used wine certifications and what they mean.
Each category of certification has differing founding principles (even if there is a lot of overlap). You can think of each category as having a founding principle:
Wines are made with organically grown grapes, all additives (fining agents, yeast, etc) are organic, no GMO’s (or other prohibited ingredients) are allowed including sulfur additions (sulfites). Despite how good this all sounds, there aren’t that many US organic certified wines due to the fact that sulfur is, at the moment, the best available natural preservative for wine. Because of this, you’ll find that most USDA Organic wines have a much shorter shelf life and aren’t meant to age. So, if you buy USDA Organic wine, store them in your fridge/chiller (both reds and whites) and don’t be surprised if they don’t cellar well.
READ UP: The real deal about sulfites in wine (they’re not as bad as most people think)
The next step away from USDA Organic is much closer to the European organic certification. Wines made with organic grapes also have organic additives (fining agents, yeast, etc) and are also non-GMO’s. The one caveat to this certification is that wines are permitted to have up to 100 ppm sulfites. Because of this caveat you’ll find “made with organic grapes” to be more popular with forward-thinking quality wine brands. Just so you know, this level of US organic wine is not allowed the USDA Organic seal, so you’ll need to seek out the words “Made with organic grapes” or “Made with organically grown grapes” on the label.
Since the 2012 vintage, the EU has implemented defining regulations for organic wine (prior to 2012, wines were labeled only with “wine made from organic grapes”). The new EU organic certification means wines are made with organically grown grapes, all additives (fining agents, yeast, etc.) are organic, and no GMO’s (or other prohibited ingredients) are allowed. Sulfur additions are limited to 100 ppm in red wines and 150 ppm in white/rosé wines (with a 30mg/l differential where the residual sugar content is more than 2 g/L).
Beyond organics is where sustainability comes into play with resource management in terms water and energy efficiency in the vineyard and winery. Sustainability will grow in importance in people’s minds as climate change continues to become a reality. Of course defining sustainability is a bit complicated because of the unique environmental stresses of different wine regions. This is why you’ll see a myriad of different sustainability certification programs. Here are some of the most common sustainability certifications and what they mean (as well as where you’ll see them used).
International
The International Organization for Standardization has a family of standards (the 14000 group) that provides practical tools for companies and organizations looking to manage environmental responsibility. The goal of this program is to identify and reduce environmental waste as well as plan for continual improvement in waste reduction. Because ISO continually updates and revises sustainability guidelines and compliances (which is why ISO changes overtime–14000, 14001, 14004, etc) it’s a good international baseline for sustainability. Several wine regions including Bordeaux (in France), Chile and Australia use the ISO standard.
California
In 2002, members of the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) introduced a practical self-assessment workbook for both winemakers and wine growers that encompasses three areas of sustainability: Environmental Soundness, Economical Feasibility and Social Equality. The metrics for CCSW include over a hundred criteria which are ranked from 1–4 in water use, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and nitrogen use. This means a winery can become CCSW certified with a lower rank (with plans to improve). Today, to become fully certified with CCSW, a third party is required to audit the assessments.
California
SIP certification also adopts the three “E’s” of sustainability–economic viability, environmental stewardship, and social equity with a points system. A winery or vineyard needs 75% of the total possible sustainability points which also include a Prohibited Materials List (various pesticides). Beyond gaining points, vineyards and wineries must also create a sustainability plan which includes documentation, reporting, and examples of how that vineyard/winery is complying to SIP certification. SIP certification is also verified annually through a third party. One strange piece of language in the documentation of SIP is that wines labeled SIP Certified only need to contain 85% SIP Certified wine to be labeled as such.
Mostly Lodi, California
The Lodi Rules include six areas of focus: 1) business management, 2) human resource management, 3) ecosystem management, 4) soil management, 5) water management, and 6) pest management. As of 2013, the six areas of focus have 101 criteria which are all scientifically measurable. One of the unique features of Certified Green with Lodi Rules is a pesticide assessment system that rates a vineyard’s pesticide use on everything from farm workers’ health to wildlife risk. Wineries and vineyards must also meet one of the three areas of sustainability laid out in CCSW: Environmental Soundness, Economical Feasibility and Social Equality. Finally, certified vineyards have to pass an annual independent audit to verify the certification.
FACT: By 2019, the entire Sonoma wine region will be sustainable.
Oregon, Washington and Idaho
Wineries and vineyards must perform a yearly checklist of practices along with reporting to verify sustainability practices have been met for LIVE. The checklist includes a great number of opportunities to improve sustainability including planning and planting vineyards, fertilizing, required crop biodiversity, irrigation standards, and winemaking standards. LIVE is specifically tuned to the climates of the Northwest including the cool-climate areas in Oregon and the dry and sunny-dry climate areas of Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, California and Idaho
Regions with fragile riparian areas that support salmon populations in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, California and Idaho have the opportunity to become Salmon Safe. This certification focuses on water management with special attention paid to managing run-off into streams and rivers. With a holistic look at run-off, wineries develop long-term soil conservation techniques which may include creating buffers of natural vegetation inbetween farmlands and streams, and paying close attention to waterways on farm properties.
New Zealand
Wineries and vineyards in New Zealand can expect an audit every 3 years for Sustainable Winegrowing NZ. This program focuses on a wide range of factors including crop biodiversity, soil, water and air standards, energy use, chemical use, vineyard and winery waste, social impact, and sustainable business practices. The program also recognizes other environmental-based certification programmes, including ISO 14001, organic, and biodynamic wine production. Wineries and vineyards must have a plan and metrics for each of the 7 areas listed with a goal to continually improve and perhaps adopt organic/biodynamic certification. Joining any SWNZ programmes is voluntary, but in 2012 about 94% of all NZ vineyards were SWNZ certified.
FACT: Nearly 100% of New Zealand vineyards are certified sustainable.
Chile
Chile also adopts the three “E’s” of sustainability–economic viability, environmental stewardship, and social equity. Wineries and vineyards are reviewed every 2 years and given scores for their compliance standards where they must meet or exceed the baseline standards given that year. Chile has several certifying bodies that are used to verify whether a winery is compliant including BioAudita, NSF, SGS (which uses the IMO 14001 standard), IMO Chile, and DQS Chile.
South Africa
Sustainability in South Africa means vineyards and wineries have health and safety requirements for their workers, reduced usage of chemicals and pesticides, use natural predators to combat pests, and reduction in water usage and creation of waste water systems. Vineyard farms and wineries are audited every 3 years and if they pass the minimum requirements they are allowed to use the Integrity Sustainability seal on their wines. Wines of South Africa intends to support this sustainability measure across 100% of their wines and, in 2011, 85% had passed the minimum compliance.
FACT: Nearly 100% of South African wines are Integrity & Sustainability Certified.
Australia
Sustainable Australia Winegrowing is one of 3 certification programs of Australia’s EntWine program (whose goal is to foster environmental custodianship and continuous improvement). SAW is a set of practices that winegrowers use to become sustainable. The program is for vineyards only (not winery facilities) and requires metrics be provided by growers each year.
Argentina (no certified labeling yet)
In 2013, Bodegas de Argentina launched a sustainability protocol which was created after a 4-year study at Catena Wine Institute. The protocol was modeled after the Certified California Sustainable Vineyard and Winery (CCSW) system and modified to fit Argentina’s unique climate and growing conditions. For the time being, the protocol exists but there are not certifications to verify compliance.
There is a small subset of sustainability called biodynamics that focuses on maintaining soil health and timing planting actions with lunar cycles. Biodynamic wines must also practice low-interventionist winemaking to insure wines become a reflection of biodynamic vineyard practices. Some of the practices in biodynamics appear strange, such as using bizarre soil preparations made with herbs and bones (so they’re not exactly vegan). And, while biodynamics aren’t necessarily based in hard sciences, followers challenge that the processes produce remarkably consistent results of improved soil quality and overall vineyard health. To date, there are two programs that certify biodynamic wine internationally: Demeter and Biodyvin.
READ UP: Find out exactly what goes into Biodynamic wines.
Once a winery takes the plunge to making their wines sustainable, the efforts become integrated into how that wine business (and its surrounding community) operates. Sustainability is time-consuming and it does cost money, so you’re likely to see certified sustainable wines cost a buck or two more than the alternatives. The plus side is that you know your money is going directly to businesses making smart agricultural practices all over the world. Yeah, we got this.
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May 18, 2016 at 03:29AM