You aren’t buying enough wine. You’re not the only one.
We wine lovers aren’t buying enough wine and California vintners are feeling the pain. They’re going bankrupt (Vintage Wines and their 11 wineries), selling wine making facilities (Derby Wines in Paso), clearing fields of grape vine (Lodi) and just simply closing up shop because there are no buyers (Carlisle Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma.)
Winemakers around the world are feeling the pain too. Australia winemakers declare they’re in a full blown emergency and French wineries are dumping juice to reduce inventory.
Edna Valley Winery south of San Luis Obispo is an example of these changes. E.& J. Gallo purchased the land, grape, production facility & tasting room in the dazzling Edna Valley in 2011. It sits in the wind shadow of Point Conception on California’s Central Coast and locals claim Edna Valley has the longest growing season of any California viticulture zone. Perfect for grapes too.
| ‘If you’re a fan of Edna Valley Winery, keep an eye out for liquidations at your favorite wine emporium. Just as Gallo dumped Hahn Pinot Noir & GSM at Food For Less stores, we expect to see EVW wine sold at liquidation pricing.‘ |
But this particular tasting facility will be closed by the end of August. E.& J. Gallo Wines is keeping the label name, but selling the tasting room and production facilities according to tasting room hosts.
Another one bites the dust.
E.& J. Gallo is famous for purchasing wineries, closing them down and keeping the label (ie: Wild Horse, Hahn & now Edna Valley to name a few.) It’s part of the industry downsizing but also an effect of families building a business without a succession plan. Their kids aren’t interested in the wine business. No succession structure, no way of keeping the business in the family.
Many corporations use this ‘buy the weak competition’ growth technique, including Bronco Wines which purchased the infamous Charles Shaw label from bankruptcy court. You’ll remember this label from Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck (now $4.)
So what does this all mean to you? This is another example of half-price case sales permeating the wine world. They’re liquidating wine to make way for their newly branded wine named, The Language of Yes. It’s certainly an interesting name, but we’re not convinced a sentence with five syllables will roll off the tongue of consumers looking for a good Vino.
Their new label encompasses Rhone blends created by Randall Grahm, creator of Boney Doon winery in Santa Cruz. He’s been an experimental winemaker. Bonny Doon sold in January 2020 to San Luis Obispo based WarRoom Cellars so it’s no surprise to see him working elsewhere.
Sitting in their expansive, soon to be empty tasting room overlooking Edna Valley, here’s what we tasted:
2023 Les Fruits Rouge (Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah & Tibouren) $25 ✰+
2021 Rancho Real Grenache $45 ✰+
2022 Rancho Real Syrah (Syrah & 18% Viognier) $45 ✰+
2021 Dried Cinsaut/Syrah $75 ✰+
2023 Cuvee Cinso (Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah & Viognier) $30 ✰+
All of these excellent offerings were on the soft side as we would expect from grape grown in the Edna Valley AVA. You are not going to find big bold Cabernet Sauvignon here. You’re going to find softer palate wines here like Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and of course blended Syrahs and Grenaches.
If you’re in the area this August we recommend stopping at Edna Valley Winery for the half price case sale. We picked up a case of Central Coast Chardonnay for $7.50 per bottle. If you’re a fan of Edna Valley Winery, keep an eye out for liquidations at your favorite wine emporium. Just as Gallo dumped Hahn Pinot Noir & GSM at Food For Less stores, we expect to see EVW wine sold at liquidation pricing in grocery stores and discounters.
There are 18+ other wineries in the Edna Valley, follow this link to our listing of places you should visit, sip & savor.
Some notes on our wine ranking system.
Bill & Erin Hodge write about California Wine, the estates & winemakers producing them and educational information about Vino. Living in California Wine Country provides a front row seat to the places you want to visit the most here in the Golden State.
– -✰ means -What’s next on your list of wines
-✰ means -Not liking it too much
✰ means -We’ll drink this wine, especially if it’s hosted!
✰+ means -You’ve got our attention and we might buy this wine.
✰+ + means -We’re hooked and we’re going to buy this wine.
When you see -✰/✰+ with a slash, it means we disagree.