Paul Franson (The Business End) Says, “Now it’s sweet red wines” Yep, Texas is a National Trend Setter!
According to Paul Franson, “First it was a resurgence of rosé wine, then Riesling made a comeback, and it was only recently that sales of slightly sweet Muscat wines have gone through the roof. Now odd red wine table blends, often sweetish, are the hottest wines in the market….Fortunately, there’s plenty of room in the wine market for many tastes.”
Who’d a thought that Texas was in the lead of new wine trends now rolling across the United States. Off-dry and sweet Muscat (or Muscato) wines have been prevalent in Texas for a decade or more and sweet red wines have a history in Texas that goes back to the ethnic and rural winemakers for a century or more. In recent years, these wines are the trendy new offerings from main stream wineries.
I am one who has stopped apologizing for Texas sweet red wines. If made properly (with a good acid/sugar balance) they can be quite refreshing. Evidently, sweet red wine “trend setter” Gabe Parker at Homestead Winery feels the same way…
He said, “I’ve stopped apologizing for it. It’s a hell of a lot more enjoyable with a well-slathered slab of pork ribs in the middle of a Texas summer than a glass of HOT Merlot.” (Quote from Gabe Parker in The Wineslinger Chronicles: Texas on the Vine, by Russell Kane that is set for release in February, 2012).
The great secret in California is sweet red wine, Russ. The recession has taken such a toll, and sales of white zinfandel have fallen so consistently, that California was ready and eager to do something that it makes fun of others for doing.
Jeff, I’m with ya and know what you mean.
When I visited Pat Prendergast at Ste Gen a couple years ago, he was pumped that they had identified and gotten in early on sweet Muscato thing and other big boys were just then scrambling to get something out on the shelf to compete.
I think that it’s now focused on sweet red in CA that’s been a staple here for a long, long time.So much for their poo-pooing Texas’s wine sweet tooth. It’s all market and Chateau Cash-Flow baby!
Russ