As we come to a close here in 2006, this is likely my last blog post of the year. One of the postings I made earlier called
The wine periodical rant (aka 3 guys in a room) from November 4 dealt with the phenomenon of wine drinkers who regret having passed up on a wine when it was available, only after seeing a major reviewer taste the wine later on. They want it more and they will sometimes go to great lengths to find it now that it has been "blessed". Some people however don't pass up a wine, insteadpurchasing it based either on a personal tasting experience or a recommendation. They are then in a position to sell it at auction or through Vinfolio when they choose.
My reviews for Vinfolio are primarily written for our clients, but because of the reach of the web if you do a google search on
Doug Wilder + Vinfolio or
Wilder Side of California, you will see that my opinions are out there. They wind up in some pretty surprising places; the wineries use them frequently and more retailers are now using Vinfolio reviews than ever before, but also individuals selling wine on auction sites use what we write to help sell their lots. I noticed an on-line community auction site recently was offering our Wine of the Year, 2005 Auteur Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard, at the price of $100 a bottle, available only in a three or six pack. If you wanted to buy it straight out you could just pay an average 0f $125 per bottle. Keep in mind this wine retailed at Vinfolio for $62.00 less than a month ago. The interesting thing is the subject line of the Auction lot proclaimed it as
Vinfolio's Wine of the Year 100 pts.Just last week, Robert Parker's
The Wine Advocate gave a 98 point score to the first vintage (2003) of Scarecrow, made by Celia Masyczek. This occurence is notable for several reasons. The wine which we offered in April for $100 a bottle is now commanding three times the price on the secondary market. We gave the wine a score of VF 97, which in comparison with
The Wine Spectator giving it 88 points in late summer, may have dampened the market a bit. The Parker score has brought the market up quickly.
The most important point to note is that Celia Masyczek has impressed me for years, and I tabbed her as one of six California winemakers to watch in
wsc #1 (March 11, 2005)
The last issue of The Wilder Side of California, Issue 84 published tomorrow will look at the ratings of
The Wine Advocate published December 22 in context to
Vinfolio reviews and recommendations over the last few months. Other merchants are scrambling around to bring these wines in to satisfy demand now.
Update: The winning bid on the auction site for 2005 Auteur Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard was $321 for a three pack!