Wine In The U.S. And Europe
How can wine be categorized?
Wine, broken down in the categories, is easy. At the very same time, it is difficult. It's talking about individuals from around the world. Are people different? There is one common thread, there is a commonality. And at the very same time, there is an argument going on in the wine world about globalisation of wine, that because there are certain grape varieties that are ringing true throughout the world. But at the very same time in that argument, there is in that argument that we want to have things that reflect the character of where it is grown. And within those categories, they can be broken up into red, white, rose. They can be broken down into the grape varieties, the chardonnay, your cabernets. They can be broken down also by geographical identification, and I sometimes want to look can it with the magic. It's like if you took a goat and it grazed on grass here in Beverly Hills, and you take that very same goat and if it grazed on grass in Switzerland and you took that goat and you put it in France and like grazed on the grass there, it's still the same goat but nothing is different. The cheese is different because of the grass it ate.
How do Americans and Europeans see wine and winemakers differently?
How are wines named? In the new world we named the wines after the grape varietals. It makes it very simple. It is something that will prevail throughout the world of wine today. It's sort of like, if you're an airplane pilot, you have to speak English no matter where you land, that is a universal language that is understood. Originally, wines were named after places. So, that it was thought, in Europe, the most important thing about wine was, where it comes from. And so, there is really an area that is called, in the area of Burgundy, white burgundy being chardonnays, there's really a place called Pouilly Fousse, there is a town. There's a town called Puligny-Montrachet, there is a town called Chassange Montrachet. When it comes to red wines in Burgundy, it is named also-- and this goes throughout France, throughout Spain and Italy-- it was originally, the names for the wines were named after the place. So, when you're looking at a label, it usually, when it is a European wine, it is named after the area. The more specific the label says, indicates quality. And so, if you have something that comes from an area, we'll use burgundy, for example, in the town of Puligny-Montrachet, and it says Puligny-Montrachet -- that is the description where it comes from. Now, if it says it is says Puligny-Montrachet - Les Combettes, it means that is a particular vineyard name, sort of, like, I live in Beverly Hills, but now I live on Elm Street. So, now you know, more specifically, where it comes from and it means an indication of quality. In the new world, when we're talking about the United States, and Australia, and New Zealand, we're naming the wines after the grape varietal; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and then it would say the name of the producer because in the new world we thought the person that was making the wine was, quote: "This sort of winemaker genius." In Europe they thought a winemaker is nothing more than... he's a technician, he is sort of like, a doctor, or a dentist. This is a job he does. He either does the job very well and he's clean, and neat, and does what he's supposed to. But a winemaker is not a genius, he's nothing special. In the new world we put technology and said, well, here we have, like Robert Mondavi, and he's using all the special equipment, he's using centrifuges, he's doing things that they have done for a long time, so he is an artist. In Europe they did not think so. So, you have two different conflicting types of attitudes about wine, and the naming of wine. And I'm oversimplifying this, but this is basically what it's about. In the new world, America especially, we're talking about, that the winemaker is more important than where it's grown and in fact, it comes to that, who cares about; does a cabernet vine really know it's address. In Europe they think that where it comes from is more important than the winemaker.
How is winemaking different in America and Europe?
Old world, new world. Old world was the way things traditionally were done. They just did it because their fathers, their forefathers, had done it. It was through the experience of ‘this works, this doesn't'. New world had everything to do with bringing modern technology into play, which made wines that captured the imagination of the world, like fast food, without the pun along the way, because we're in a hurry. We did not like wines, or were told as fads go in, they were light, they were acidic. They didn't offer much character other than bouquet. We want things of substance. The new world wines especially dominated by what happened in California, Robert Mondavi. We got into the thing that here were wines that stood alone, that really dominated. There are trends that happen. The pendulum swings both ways, the old world was sort of hocus pocus by chance and magic.
How do Europeans plant their vineyards?
I remember going with probably one of the great icons that they will carve stone monuments for, Anre' Jeanre who made wines at Romanée Conti, and his wines. And his wines today sell for about six thousand dollars a bottle. And I spent time with him and he had these huge hands that looked like baseball gloves. They were just huge. And had all the character that showed you that he knew. And I asked him, 'why did you do what you did? The way you plant the vines on the hillside. It's like a mish-mash. Just this total disarray. Where as in California we have things neatly planted. And we want to save the hillside and we plant them a certain long ways, so the water runs down, and doesn't destroy the hillside. And you can get a tractor through.' He said, 'you know my dream was to be an airplane pilot. Because I wanted to soar on a bi-plane and just whatever. And I learned the wind currents. And I watched the way the birds fly and I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to be like that.' And then I realized that if I was a bird, and I'm up above. I'd look for the ripest grapes and I'd fly down and I'd want to eat those. And that's how I made the greatest wine in the world. I planted the vines to where that the wind could blow through the vineyard, and at the very same time the exposure to the sun would make them ripe. And I would pretend I was that bird flying and looking for ripe grapes'.
Are European and American winemaking styles getting becoming more similar?
The old world is in using traditional things. Even to the point of that they have moved to organic, where that they believe that pesticides, and they believe that fertilizers will destroy the soil, will deplete it. Where you grow and use something, you work at something 24 hours and do not give it a rest, it will take all the nutrients, all the magic out. The New World is where that we want to use technology to assist and even to the point of hydro planting that we do not even need soil. We just add things to water and grow things. This is technology. Without saying that one should take a side to either one, there is something in between. But the old world it seems like it is getting balkanized. Just like in the world of politics today, we are balkanizing. The old world is becoming more fundamentalist, and saying that listen, we should almost go back to astrology, planting under the moon, putting ground up corn into the soil to rejuvenate it, that pesticides should not be allowed. The new world is moving to another era of technology. We can do things, when you walk into wineries like Newton and such, they make you put on new shoes, they make you put on your white lab coat. That we cannot have anything that could possibly, I do not know if we are manufacturing work or if we are in the old world, where we are doing things naturally. And this is the argument.
