Easy drinking wines aren’t a bad starter
It should be no surprise that those of us who write about wine tend to find small producers more interesting than big ones, and much more interesting than the huge ones. The latter have a kind of corporate identity; small producers have personality, usually that of the winemaker.
It’s only natural. Both kinds of operation do useful things, for different kinds of consumer. Or, more accurately I reckon, often for the same consumers but at different times. However, there can be a strong whiff of snobbery about how big brands are perceived in the wine marketplace.
Some of it is, depending on where you’re coming from, rather justified. The huge producers don’t get to be that size by being quirky; they have to deliver what the largest cohort of wine drinkers are looking for: fruit and sweetness. Sweetness is all relative, of course, and a lot of people who would never dream of buying a dessert wine happily drink stuff that they think of as ‘dry’ but which is anything but.
Yes, big brands make a point of not frightening the horses. And while some of us are a bit sniffy about this, they do a lot of good things, such as spreading happiness in a bleak world and, very importantly, converting people to wine drinking. I doubt anyone has ever tasted, say, a Nebbiolo, for the first time and thought ‘where has this stuff been all my life?!’ We start our wine careers with easydrinking stuff and grow to appreciate the less immediate kinds.
The most recent Irish figures show
Chile in number one spot, followed by Australia, then France, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. The top five brands are Santa Rita (Chile), Casillero del Diablo (Chile), McGuigan (Australia), Wolf Blass (Australia) and Cono Sur (Chile).
In the interests of research I’ve been looking at our biggest selling brands in recent weeks and I have to say I enjoyed the experience more than I had anticipated.
The lower rungs of McGuigan and Wolf Blass were distinctly underwhelming but, overall, there was plenty of decent stuff. Not as interesting as the best of the small guys’ stuff, but that surely is the point.
Life would be very dull indeed if we all wanted the same wines and most of us will admit that — when needs must — a basic Chilean will hit the spot.