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By The Glass Jay Kam |
Anticipating the
wines of 2004I work with wine every day, and I can honestly tell you there has never been a better time to be a wine consumer. So much good quality wine is on the market that it is impossible for any one store to carry it all. Improved technology and wine knowledge, globalization and increased consumption have all been integral in producing the quality we see today.
It wasn't too long ago, maybe 10 to 15 years, that France and California dominated the market. Since then we have seen Australia and Italy become powerhouses. Germany has become a more serious producer. Spain is making strides to become a major exporter to the United States. Chile, Argentina and New Zealand are starting to make noise. Even Canada, South Africa and Austria can be seen as countries capable of making great wine.
The following vintages will start becoming available in 2004, and all appear to be top-notch. The question consumers must ask is not, Will the wine I buy be good? but rather, Can I afford all this good wine?
2001 Bordeaux: This vintage has the unenviable task of following the monumental 2000, but 2001 is a serious vintage in its own right, and prices are a lot better than 2000.
2001 California: Napa and Sonoma seemed to have their best vintage since possibly 1994. Considering how many other great vintages there have been in that time span, 1995 to 1997, that's saying something.
2002 Burgundy: Burgundy has suffered through lack of excitement mainly because it hasn't had a string of great vintages lately. But 2002 is a great year that hopefully will be the beginning of a new string.
2002 and 2003 Germany: Like Bordeaux, Germany has had back-to-back excellent years with 2001 and 2002. And early word is that 2003 looks to be another blockbuster vintage.
2002 Chile: This region is fascinating because we are only now seeing the tip of what it can produce. The 2002 is universally a great vintage in Chile.
2002 Argentina: Argentina is an emerging star. Those looking for values under $15 had best check out the awesome 2002 vintage.
2002 Australia: The continent down under has been on fire lately, and with the 2002 vintage, the flames will burn even hotter. The wines of 2002 are being touted as even better than the outstanding wines of 1998.
Other regions, such as 2001 Rhone and 2000 Piedmont, will be releasing great wines in 2004 as well, but that just shows how the quality of wine worldwide has improved. With all this great wine coming down the pipe in 2004, the consumer is the biggest winner.
Jay Kam is president of Vintage Wine Cellar. This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals. Write to features@starbulletin.com