(Willi Klinger / Oberösterreichische Nachrichten / Wineparty)
Last-minute Advent: It’s cold outside and gets dark early, even without snow. Ideal conditions for a cosy evening with a warming meal and a good bottle of red wine. That’s how I always picture seasonal nirvana, whether the setting is in misty Piedmont, back home in the countryside, or in a cosy restaurant in town. Sometimes, however, I feel like a relic of the past when I see cheerful crowds getting carried away with an aperitivo featuring an Aperol spritzer and nibbles, until their taste buds and stomachs gradually lose the appetite for a proper meal. A well-known local restaurateur recently let slip on the radio that his guests tend to ‘forget’ about their bookings at other restaurants whilst enjoying their aperitivo. In this perpetual party atmosphere, the territory for a proper glass of red wine is shrinking just like the habitat of the partridge.
Red wine is not a party drink
However, I don’t understand why the wine scene constantly acts as if people used to be born with a ‘sommelier gene’, whereas today’s youth – the much-maligned Generation Z – supposedly have no interest in wine. Successful restaurateurs with a focus on wine contradict this: young people drink wine according to the principle that ‘less is more’. It’s quality that counts, not quantity, and that’s where red wine falls short. It’s not just young people who prefer the cool, fresh and sparkling varieties – white and rosé – to the mostly bland, room-temperature red wines on offer in affordable restaurants. They are also easier on the stomach than the many ‘enhanced’ entry-level reds, to which – entirely legally – oenological tannins with various flavour profiles are added to round out the taste, providing more vanilla-like sweetness, or gum arabic to create a smooth mouthfeel. Trying to dress up simple red wines as if they were grands crus doesn’t work in the long run, because anyone with a genuine interest in red wine will quickly outgrow this flavour profile.
Great red wines have a future
So there is indeed a sales crisis in the red wine sector, but it affects the lower price brackets. Austria, for instance, is left with an annual red wine harvest – around 70 million litres – that it cannot shift. These are ‘entry-level reds’ in the very lowest segment, for which there is hardly any market. Who still drinks a ‘Viertel Rot’ or even a ‘Cola-Rot’ these days – drinks that were something of a cult cocktail in my youth?
In Bordeaux, too, 30,000 hectares of the once 120,000 hectares of vineyard area have already had to be grubbed up for similar reasons. But the most sought-after European red wines – such as the Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, Cabernet and Merlot from Bordeaux, Nebbiolo with Barolo and Barbaresco from Piedmont, the great Sangiovese wines of Tuscany, led by Brunello, or Rioja and Ribera del Duero in Spain, continue to represent the very best of wine culture. Alongside this, there is growing interest in new discoveries: for example, the French Rhône or the Loire, southern Italy with Sicily’s Etna and Campania’s Taurasi made from the Aglianico grape, the Catalan Priorat in Spain or the still wines from the Douro in Portugal, and here and there the so-called New World. Austria’s top red wine estates are also reporting record sales and successes on the international stage, as Blaufränkisch and the like are being recommended as interesting, authentic alternatives in top wine-loving restaurants due to the exorbitant prices of internationally sought-after brands.
Good red wine is expensive
‘Less is more’ is the motto, not least because prices for top-quality red wines have literally gone through the roof in recent years. This trend was also fuelled by institutional investors and funds that had discovered wine as an investment. However, price increases stagnated once the starting prices had peaked. Bordeaux, currently the world’s most criticised top red wine region, is a prime example of a misguided pricing policy that has led to a slump in demand. Political upheavals, such as government restrictions in China or US tariffs, have also caused problems. The good news is that older vintages of well-known red wines can sometimes be bought today for less than they were originally offered at the time of subscription. Bordeaux, for instance, has made a comeback on several occasions throughout history.
Conclusion: Red wine needs time to mature
Although great red wines are accessible much earlier these days, beginners may initially find the tannins in some top wines difficult to handle. To palates accustomed to sweetness, dry top-quality red wines seem austere and harsh. So maturity is required – both in the wine and in the drinker – as well as good intermediaries between the two. It is like sophisticated music: a complex composition by a good composer (wine, winemaker) needs good performers (sommeliers, wine educators) and receptive listeners (connoisseurs). As a reward for an in-depth exploration of the subject of ‘great red wine’, a lifelong, endless potential for enjoyment awaits.