‘Tis the Season: When You're in Wine...

If you’re an accountant, your busy season is coming to a post-tax day close. If you’re in finance, the end of each quarter seems to mean the end of sleep. In higher education? I don’t envy you at finals time.

In the New York wine scene, ‘busy season’ traditionally means September and October. These are the months when wine brands or importers, in the case of imports - which is to say most of our client brands – sell into the restaurants and retail stores, which do their heaviest business over the holidays in the two months that follow. Q4 or ‘OND’ is a festive and frenetic period of portfolio tastings and long workdays for our partners in restaurants and wine retail.

For us, the wine season is September. In September, we don’t sleep much. To a wine-soaked calendar of portfolio tastings and industry dinners, we add Emmy Awards season, of which our client, Ferrari Trento, is the sparkling wine sponsor. And then there is Ferrari Trentodoc Camp, a four-day immersion experience in the Italian Alps. September is High Intensity Interval Training for professional wine lovers.

Then our plates are filled again (often literally) with oatmeal season from November to March. This is the busy season for our client, Flahavan’s Irish Oats, characterized by oatmeal sampling in ski resorts and supermarkets, creative sessions in the test kitchen with chefs and an annual St. Patrick’s Day campaign.

But this year, wine season came back in Q1 to New York. The smattering of portfolio, regional and thematic tastings that used to dot late January has grown into a serious promotional period that stretches right up to the start of the European trade shows of Prowein in March, Vinitaly in April and Vinexpo in May. The highlight this year New York calendar was surely Vinexpo NY, which will be back in force in 2019.

Fine Wines Fetch Record Prices Despite Wall Street Volatility

Last week, Nonni Strategic Marketing had the pleasure of working with Acker Merrall & Condit in promoting and marketing their first-ever Grande Fête de Bourgogne. Acker Merrall & Condit, the world’s leading wine auctioneer and authority on fine and rare wine, held a week-long celebration dedicated to the wines of Burgundy, those who make them, and those who love them. The Grande Fête de Bourgogne brought together serious Burgundy collectors and producers of unparalleled renown in a series of incredible events leading up to the first wine auction of the 2018 NYC season.

Despite one of the most turbulent weeks in Wall Street history, the wine market surged with confidence and optimism on Friday, February 9th in New York City, as Acker Merrall’s inaugural ‘Grande Fête de Bourgogne’ auction smashed 194 new world records with over $7 Million of sales.  The firm’s $5 million plus pre-auction expectations were left in the rearview mirror as nearly 20% of the auction’s 1059 non-mixed lots set new world records.

The 'Grande Fête de Bourgogne' auction boasted direct consignments from eight of Burgundy’s greatest winemakers. Four Domaines debuted on the US auction stage via their direct consignments, including Domaine Duroche, a rising star of Gevrey-Chambertin, whose consignment began with the great 1969 vintage, and Haegelen-Jayer, the mythical "Ghost of Clos de Vougeot," with pristine, full-case consignments from 1989-2009 never before released until recently with Acker Merrall.

For the first time in the United States, Francois Labet's Château de la Tour represented the oldest Domaine-direct wines in the auction, with vintages dating back to 1959. The most significant debut came from Domaine Méo-Camuzet, whose reputation as one of Burgundy's best Domaines has long been established under the leadership of Jean-Nicolas Méo. This was the first time that wines were ever consigned directly from Méo-Camuzet’s cellars. The four Burgundy Domaines that completed the Great Eight of these Burgundy direct consignments needed no introduction, and the wines from Drouhin, Faiveley, Fourrier, and Comte Liger-Belair all set new world records with the offerings from their cellars.

Click here to read the full press release.

New Year's Sprint to St. Patrick's Day

As the new year looms, our thoughts race ahead of resolutions to the results for which we hope - health and deliciousness all year long! Here's a tip of our hat to green oatspiration, Irish-style. On St. Patrick's Day we'll be slurping this healthy green shamrock shake while we watch for the first green buds of spring. It's a simple blend of 1/3 cup Flahavan’s Irish Oatmeal, 1 cup chopped mango, 1/2 a medium avocado, juice of 1 lime, followed by 3 oz coconut milk.

Meanwhile, Happy and Healthy New Year!

Pinosthesia: How to Pair Wine and Tunes

Last month we traveled to Wellington, New Zealand for the Pinot Noir 2017 conference. We learned a lot about pinot noir, sure. And about New Zealand, certainly. And about dubstep. Why?

A highlight of the conference for me was sonic artist and wine writer Jo Burzynska's experiential presentation on pairing wine with five sound experiences. We tasted Crown Range Cellar's Signature Selection Gibbston Pinot Noir 2012 five times, with five sounds. My tasting notes are below.

Next week we'll try this again in the office, with a different grape variety and our team in New York. Stay tuned!

Silence: fruit-driven nose, acid-driven palate. Simple.

Datsik by Gecko (Dubstep): bubblegum nose, bland palate (the expert's opinion: dubstep is a poor choice for pinot, "turns it into primitivo'")

Summer by Vivaldi (Baroque): earthy nose, more elegant palate, noticeable tannin. My favorite pairing.

Hard Rock: fruity nose, no floral component, bland but acidic palate. Not tasty. Better with a big red.

Ambient (Jo's own 'signature pinot track'): savory, umami nose and palate