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| We are starting a new year looking at the prospect of a 100 percent tariff on European wine, and all is not well in the wine trade. The trade disputes are two-fold, one pertaining to subsidies that the EU extended to Airbus; the other pertaining to a French digital services tax, neither of which have anything to do with wine, but because wine has both a significant monetary and symbolic value as an export it bears the brunt of retaliation. To be clear, as Mannie Burk, owner of The Rare Wine Company elucidates in his succinct summary of the situation, we should not expect to see price increases on European wine imports due to the tariffs: we should expect to see none of this wine at all. This is not hyperbole, but merely a statement of economic reality. A well-made Beaujolais I sell for $18 offers a lot of pleasure at this modest price point. It does not offer value at $36. Importers will stop bringing in such wines as there is zero market for them, and many importers and distributors will cease operation. Simply put, there is no replacement for good Beaujolais. It is a unique wine that comes from a specific place and sensibility, and if you like the wines you will no longer find them on the shelves of your local wine merchant or on the wine lists of restaurants. What to do? Start here. Let’s live for today, but also worry about tomorrow. Today’s tasting is in honor of what we stand to lose if the US enacts the proposed tariffs. We have a pét-nat made from the unique and rare montònega grape; an aromatic orange wine from Roussillon made in part from the local terret gris grape; a dry, mineral white made from a genetic ancestor of sauvignon blanc; and a red wine made from Bordelaise varieties but in a vibrant, bright style and bottled without sulfites.
Clos Lentiscus “Núria” pét-nat Spain 2016 |