Swirls: New York Jets wine; direct wine sales; storing wine

AT THE NEW MEADOWLANDS STADIUM over in New Jersey yesterday, the New York Jets unveiled a commemorative wine, tied to the opening of the new venue, called Jets Uncorked. The wine is a red, of course, a cabernet sauvignon, naturally. (Can you imagine the flak they’d get if it were a  merlot?) It’s the creation of a California winemaker (Marco DiGiulio) and a  California lifestyle marketing company (Wine By Design), and on that note I am not the only one wondering  whether a New York wine, say from  Long Island, which makes very good wines and where the Jets are all but worshipped, might have been more appropriate and original. In any event, the wine is a 2008 Napa Valley cab described in a Jets press release as a “premium-quality yet affordable blend that captures the essence and spirit of the team and its fans.” It will sell for $27.99 and 8,000 cases were made.

THERE’S A GOOD DISCUSSION in the Washington Post on the value to wineries of direct-t0-consumer sales. One context is the current debate in Congress on a controversial bill to strengthen the three-tier distribution system and weaken direct sales (H.R. 5034) that’s backed  by the wine wholesale industry. Oregon’s Adelsheim Vineyard has found a successful blend, so to speak, with a dual strategy that incorporates both traditional distribution and direct sales and has seen sales grow, even in this tough economy. Read the full article.

THE ISSUE OF WINE STORAGE is explored in a useful article by California wine writer Dan Berger, who reviews the best methods for storing wine at home and in stores and finds conditions at some retailers highly questionable.

del.icio.us Tags: New York Jets,Jets Uncorked,New Meadowlands Stadium,Marco DiGiulio,Edward Deitch,Adelsheim Vineyard,H.R. 5034,Wine sales,Direct wine sales,Wine By Design,New York Jets wine,Storing wine,Wine storage,Dan Berger