This past month a very good friend of mine passed away. Jim Laube died after a short illness. When he passed away he was surrounded by his loving family. He was 73 years old. He started his career as a newspaperman, and went on to dedicate 40 years of reporting for Wine Spectator, as well as authoring four books, including “Wine Spectator’s California Wine.”
In the last dozen or so years, Jim and I formed a close friendship. He was a great mentor to me and shared lots of great wine industry stories. In November 2018 he and I sat down to discuss his career. He encouraged me to publish his story in a series of posts, of which this is Part Three. (Please note: I did write these stories in 2018, putting many edits into them and finalizing them in 2019. Posting them here as he retold them makes it feel like he is right here with us today.)
Crafting a Career in Journalism, Part 3: Changes for the Better in Winemaking
Jim, what changes in the wine industry have you experienced? Wine quality has greatly improved, leading to real purity of flavors. During my time reporting about wine, cellars have gotten much cleaner and wines are much better because of it. I still believe wine is made in the vineyard. A good winemaker is only a steward of the grapes. Less is more when it comes to winemaking.
With the replanting of the vineyards from 1985 to 1995 due to phylloxera, the vineyard sites really are matched to the best type of grape for the terroir. The vineyards were replanted and it became about grape quality. Viticulturists understood how and where varietals should be planted.
Great Wines as the Result: The best wines are those that are made from grapes that are truly physiologically ripe. With the replanting of the vineyards to the best varietal for the location, grape growers can produce perfectly ripe grapes. Truly ripe grapes have the most flavor. Yes, if they are fully ripe they do have high sugar content. But a skillful winemaker can take ripe fruit and make balanced, nuanced wines that highlight the quality of the fruit, not distract from it with overly alcoholic fruit bombs.
What trends are you seeing now with wine? Right now, there is some interest in natural wines and esoteric grape varietals. But that’s more of a wine geek thing than something that will be enduring. Remember wine is more like fashion. Styles come and go. And sometimes they go out of style and then come back. That’s how I view natural wine. Winemakers are forever experimenting with new types of grapes, cooperages, casks, fermentation vessels as well as wild and spontaneous yeast fermentations.
Natural wines (https://www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/48904) are controversial because they are left on their own and that can lead to headaches in the cellar or bottle. Most winemakers prefer what are considered “natural” winemaking techniques, many of which have been used throughout history. I am wary of natural wines because my experience has led me to believe in traditional quality winemaking practices that create stable wines that the consumer can enjoy.
Wine trends are easy to follow. Just look at what is popular or which wines command the highest prices. Look at rose. It’s been around forever yet when it comes back in vogue, it’s as if something new has been discovered.
Natural wines are often made with high acidities and minimal intervention, or filtration, but again, my experience with these wines is they tend to be a bit too tart for my taste, or in the latter example, prone to developing undesirable fermentation. The bottom line is that while some like wines with higher acidities, most people don’t.
A consumer deserves good quality wine. They should be able to put their money into a stable wine that they can enjoy now or in the future. Remember, something along the lines of 95 percent of all wine is consumed within hours or days of purchase.
You don’t believe consumers need to cellar wines. Is that true? Most people don’t have the space or desire to cellar wines. Having a cellar was something people had when they had the space, lived in larger homes or castles and could afford to keep them dark and cool. Our society is entirely different. We seek immediate gratification. And wine is really like most foods, better when young and fresh.
Should people cellar wines? Certainly, it’s worth the experience of knowing how a wine changes and can transform itself. That is one thing that makes great wines special. They maintain their core fruit complexity and then with time add nuances. I still find too many people hold onto their wines too long hoping for the magical moment that rarely arrives.
Who drives wine quality? A big question. Winemakers who have the flexibility to try new things and experiment often make gains in quality that are incremental. Fortunately, the inventive spirit of winemakers leads to quality improvements that can be replicated in their own wines. The wine industry is very collaborative, and those improvements can spread within the industry within a short period of time, raising the quality of wines for the consumer.
Outside of winemaking, are there any other big changes you are witnessing? One real change I’m witnessing now is that wine has become all about marketing. There are so many brands and each winery is struggling to be noticed by the consumer. It’s difficult to stand out. Good marketers can define what makes their product special or unique. Selling wine requires marketing. Therefore, marketing wine is of the utmost importance to most wineries at one level or another.
These changes Jim has witnessed have brought more and better wines to us consumers. But with so many wines to choose from, the consumer is often getting decision fatigue. The skilled marketer is able to spark interest in a brand and create a loyal consumer. While the wine industry evolves, the ability to attract and retain consumers remains key in having a successful wine brand and business.
One quote of Jim’s still rings in my ears. “Make better wine.” Winemakers are, and we are the beneficiaries of that.
