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(Late Breaking News From the French Wine Industry Reports Another Year of a One Billion Bottle Overproduction of Wine. That is 250,000,000 Gallons! One Would Wonder Why This Could Not be Converted to Biofuel since the French Vintners Cannot Seem to Understand that the Rest of the World has caught up with them and is no Longer Willing to Pay Premium Prices for Ordinary or Overrated Wine Just Because it has a Fancy French Label or Name like Pouilly Fuisse.
PLUS What you have witnessed in the last 4 years has been one of the amazing phenomenon's in the history of wine...... in the United States. We recently discovered Pinot Noir. Of course there is nothing new about that varietal. Central Europe has been drinking it for centuries, while the wine mania for all purposes essentially only became a serious factor in this country about 40 years ago. Brits are as uncomfortable as Americans about trying to speak a foreign language so they rarely traveled deeply into Europe. Thus they ferried across the English Channel, took a horse carriage to nearby Bordeaux (all in less than a day) and soon were lugging wine back home for a couple of bucks a bottle. They were the early 2 Buck Chucks. They became quickly enamored of the grapes from that region. The wine was easy to buy and thus Cabernet Sauvignon the mainstay of the Bordeaux marketing hustle became the wine of choice in the English. The Brits called it "their" Claret. It has never been clear to me which came first, the word claret meaning red as applied to these Cabernet wines or did it just apply to wines of any color originally but then became a synonym for red since they were only drinking these red wines. Bordeaux French Wine remained the only wine about which the British cared. We followed them. Thus, for many years this was "The Preferred Wine" offered at the upscale restaurants of New York. Napa was unheard of. The change occurred when Robert Mondavi almost single- handedly created the Napa mystique with his Cabernet Sauvignon. Before that all we knew about was a mediocre Italian red wine in a wicker bound flask. Some of us still have those empty wines hanging somewhere. The Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy grape remained almost invisible. It took almost 40 years for us to reach a level of wine sophistication to appreciate the qualities of this wine. At the other end of France from Bordeaux just west of the Alps ranging in a narrow straight line from Dijon in the north and heading south to around Valence and Lyon is Burgundy. This is where the difficult Pinot Noir grapes flourish. However the acres planted are the same as it was 100 years ago. The Burgundy wine producers have (as does Bordeaux) complete agricultural control and thus limit any future production. This limited production which is very simply a monopoly resulting in most of the wine selling out at $100 to $300 a bottle. While the world-wide population of wine buyers has more than quintupled at least, Burgundy production has remained the same. Think about that as you note the new planting when you drive the 101 north to Paso Robles and then perhaps on to Salinas. To put it into simple mathematical perspective you must look at acres planted. The Burgundy viticultural area has 66,000 acres planted. 26,000 or 40% are planted in Pinot Noir. The rest is planted in Chardonnay.(See below). California alone has 440,000 various acres planted of which only 24,000 acres are now planted in Pinot Noir. That is 5% of the state's planting but now is almost as much as all the Pinot Noir planted in all of France. These numbers reflect why it is impossible for me to recommend any of these French controlled wines unless you are driving a Ferrari and you have a continuous need to prove that money means nothing. But California was unable to unable to properly develop the grape and interest was not strong enough to persist until the 90s when we also became interested in food. Pinot Noir is grown in the primary gastronomic area of France adjacent to Lyon. So it became logical that over the centuries, the wine would be matched to the level of the food. Pinot Noir also comes to market in a different way in France. The big enchiladas in Burgundy are "the negotiants" and in numerous cases they may not even own a vineyard. But they now crush, blend, age and market. They began as the financiers of the farmers and still are. Most of the vineyards are rather small, sometimes just a few acres because Pinot Noir is a very temperamental breed and takes more love and care than the more sturdy Cabernet. But when done right it is worth the trouble... but not the price. Conversely, the wines of Bordeaux come from a wide range of famous identifiable names like Lafitte or Cheval Blanc. They control the wine production from planting to marketing. But all Burgundies are identified first by the area and then by the negotiants who buy the grapes and take it to the end product.
But the reds come from a wider range and bear the names of the small growing areas; names like Echezaux, Clos de Vougeot, Volnay and Romanee Conti. Many of them also command $300 per bottle price tags because demand from the big spenders remains high and production of the wine remains difficult along with being restricted. Again, these difficulties combined with lack of interest is the reason there had been almost no serious plantings of Pinot Noir in this country until almost 1990 and most of it took place in the Russian River area. Two guys named Williams and Selyem acted like negotiants and bought up grapes nearby from vineyards like Rochioli. They quickly became cult producers and demand was so great that there were 5 year waits to get on their mail buying list. The wines went to almost $90 a bottle. But competition burgeoned and they sold out and now Williams and Selyem is just one of many somewhat above average producers with wines in the $30s and up. The current interest in Pinot Noir continues to grow as many of us have finally figured it out. What we have figured out is that of all the wines, red or white, the delicate, light, yet complex Pinot Noir does fulfill the that promise of a symbiotic relationship with a wide range of the foods. They are more complex and subtle but also a bit lighter than Cabs or Zins or Shiraz and thus do not overwhelm the subtle tastes of today's dining. And because of heavier planting, prices are now within the range of all. And, fortunately for you, in addition to the Russian River, fine Pinot can now also be found around Paso Robles, Sonoma and the area on the other side of the 101 from Santa Ynez in the Santa Rita Mountains. That is where "Sideways" was shot. Oregon also seems to have the micro climate in which the grape has been able to flourish. New Zealand has also succeeded in bringing Pinot Noir to the United States with values that you have come to appreciate from that entire continental area. Have some fun trying out Pinot Noir from the various areas noted or visit a reputable wine store and seek out his advice. You may pay a few pennies more but you may get to the chase more quickly and more satisfactorily. Then you can be your own wine snob.
For values in California, try to find Chateau St. John, Sebastiani, Acacia and Chalone. They are in the $15-$25 range. For a weekend adventure, trek to the Santa Ynez area and the Santa Rita hills. There you can buy Sea Smoke and Sanford Pinot Noir. For $30 or less, you can cellar these wines that match up with those French Burgundies at one hundred bucks. Remember all those grapes along the highway???. The overall wide ranging quality leader, yet with fair prices are the wines of Kosta Browne in Sonoma. They compare with the best of Burgundy at mid-prices that may astound you. If you are a global person do not neglect New Zealand . If you can find Craggy Range, it is an amazing mid price wonder at $35. Amisfield is not far behind. The French equivalent will cost you 3 times the money ...at least. At $22 Nobilo also well known for its Sauvignon Blanc is wonderful. This took 5 minutes .........and that's the truth.
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Since Burgundy
also is the home of the greatest white wine in the world from the small
area of Montrachet you might see the same names such as Joseph Drouhin or
Bouchard et Pere on both Reds and Whites. .
The excellent but also overpriced great white Burgundies s are a product of
the Chardonnay grape. A vintage Montrachet is snatched up at $300 a
bottle or more. Monopoly again. 
We'll help you
cheat a little right now. Look for Willakenzie from Oregon
at about $22. It is my #1 value choice along with Kosta Browne
below. It is in wide supply. There are, however, others that are also good
values in Oregon.