Why are the majority of people in Vancouver driven to seek out ordinary wine? By ordinary, I suppose I mean mundane, “varietally correct,” polite, unchallenging, fucking boring wine with zero personality. There also isn’t anything wrong with drinking ordinary wine from time to time – especially when budgetary restraints come into play, or the situation simply isn’t calling for anything requiring serious thought (drinking wine out of water bottles while you play pitch-and-putt is one of these situations that springs to mind). However, go to your local BCLDB or high-volume chain restaurant and watch the droves of people shell out cash for a neutral Pinot Grigio and the reality is surprising.

This isn’t a new question of mine, but something I’ve been seriously pondering for over a year and has especially been fueled by the time I spent in San Francisco and Portland. It was refueled this past week after reading this article in the New York Times about Txakoli, and me going “Ah yes, I love Txakoli” and then despair setting in soon after when I remembered that there still isn’t A SINGLE TXAKOLI AVAILABLE IN THE PROVINCE. Ridiculous. There still isn’t any Pineau d’Aunis, Bugey de Cerdon, or Frappato, anything that could be considered ‘orange wine,’ anything from Irouléguy, and little, if any, Blaufrankisch. There is one producer from Jura available in our market. There are thousands of grape varietals to explore from so many different regions, but we’re still obsessed with 5 or 6 of the most popular. Once the public begins to purchase wine that is off the beaten track, the agents will continue to source and supply more.

As examples, here are a few wine lists from some of my favourite places in San Francisco: Nopa (where I’ve witnessed first-hand how many interesting bottles of wine are sold on a nightly basis), Slanted Door, Delfina, A-16, La Ciccia, Flour + Water – these aren’t eccentric wine destinations, but rather very popular restaurants that supplement the atmosphere, service and the food with a killer wine program. I could read the Slanted Door’s wine list next time I’m feeling a little blue to put a smile on my face. Wine lists shouldn’t read as an account of wines you’ve tried in the past and are familiar with. There should be things you’ve never heard of, regions you never knew existed, places you cant pronounce, wines you taste that make you stop and say “wow, that’s different.” That’s the intrinsic beauty of wine – that it’s all made from silly little grapes, but it can taste substantially different depending on where those grapes are grown and how they’re treated. This phenomenon isn’t just restricted to restaurants, as many retail shops in SF have deep selections of eclectic wines which sell – very few shops are following the BCLDB model of filling the shelves with 12 Malbecs that all taste exactly the same (and each get a facing of 8 bottles wide as dictated by a ridiculous sales formula). The general public in other major cities seems to be more experimental and adventurous with their wine choices. I have a few ideas why this may be in (no particular order):

1. Prices – which relate to our import/taxing structure by the BCLDB. On a retail level, the average consumer is more likely to take a leap of faith on an unknown wine when it costs $15-25 than when it costs $35-50. Tissot’s Poulsard with pasta tonight when it costs $22? Sure, lets give it a shot. But when it costs $45? People are going to head for the value-priced Shiraz instead. Damn you 123%!

2. Wine Store Staffing – the government stores are responsible for the vast majority of retail wine sales and there isn’t passionate sales staff to suggest or recommend anything new. You’re pretty much left to wander the aisles until you find a label you like. While I was working at Kits Wine Cellar, I loved how dedicated the staff were to encouraging customers to leave with something cool that might open doors and change preconceptions. Send someone home with some aged white Rioja from R. Lopez de Heredia and tell them why it’s cool – maybe they’ll hate it or maybe it’ll change their life – at least they’ll think about what they’re drinking and the wine may evoke some emotion. Last time I was at Marquis, the guys sold me a delicious bottle of ’03 Clos des Fées; the folks at Liberty on Robson are always good with chatting about new, fun stuff. Most private stores employ people that are passionate about wine. I often wish I could spend one afternoon on the floor of a government Signature Store, just to see how much good wine I could sell. The right pros could make a difference. Very few people are going to seek out and experience completely new regions on their own, but will need suggestions and direction. This is one area where the BCLDB is failing us.

3. Most of us in this industry are making it too easy for the consumer. When I started building the opening wine list for l’Abattoir, I would smile every time a rep tried to sell me wine by pitching something along the lines of “Malbec is the hottest thing right now… you’ve got to have one on your list!” Dining out should be about trying new things and having new experiences. Wine lists shouldn’t cater to masses. It should be about complimenting the food (note the brilliance of the Slanted Door’s wine list once again) and an expression of what the sommelier thinks is exciting on that given day. I understand that there is pressure to make money for the restaurant, but this can be done at the same time (although it requires more work). Can you seriously tell me that you’re serving Gallo Cab Sauv to your guests by the glass because you appreciate that wine? We need to give the guests smaller lists comprised entirely of wines we believe in. Most of the sommeliers in this town with any passion, appreciate cool wine – some of them are serving wine that they probably wouldn’t drink, because they think they’re doing their guests a service. If we’re passionate about the wine, diners will drink it. If there is demand from us, the agents will seek out and supply us with more interesting wine. Additionally, our media  in BC isn’t doing a good enough job to promote wine programs that are unique and the sommeliers behind them. The public needs to know where they can go get a decent glass of wine in this city, because the options are very limited. An increased spotlight will incite change – plus it’s more interesting than reading about wines available at every government store. There shouldn’t be mandates to write about wine that everyone has access to – that’s boring because these wines are often boring. Jon Bonné at the SF Chronicle is a wine writer I admire, and completely coincidentally, his piece today is calling out boring wine lists! We need more of that.

4. We simply don’t have the wine culture that a city like San Francisco or New York has. Maybe it’s a size thing or maybe it just takes time. Maybe we’ve been a culture of industrial beer drinkers for too long and it’s a slow process to get away from that. Maybe I don’t really believe this but I added it in anyways and filled it with ‘maybes.’

After all this being said, I bring this topic up because I feel like there is a shift happening. I saw it at Kitsilano Wine Cellar and I see it on a daily basis at l’Abattoir. It’s a fact that most people know very little about wine. Many people will be happy to try something new if you put some emotion into it and tell them a story. We can run with this.

Cantina Scambia ’08 “Crognitella” (pictured above)
Here is something interesting. Its a blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo from Umbria and it has a fizz. There is good acidity with dark characters of clean black cherry juice, licorice, and a rubbery tar aroma. This reminds me of a good, dry Lambrusco (and yes, they do exist) and all it needs is a slight chill, a patio and me. The bubbles also add another attractive element to food pairing. It’s brought in by Vino Alegro at $19.99.

I’d love to hear some thoughts on all this….