Sunday, January 15, 2017
Ice Wine Authenticity
The end of the last class discussion around the 'authenticity' of Canadian ice wine reminded me of a similar, but different, discussion that is ongoing in the craft beer world. The explosive growth, and now consolidation, of craft beer has left many enthusiasts wondering about their favorite brands' authenticity in the face of market entry by big players (SABMiller and AB InBev to be exact). I don't know how I personally feel about whether or not a deliberate marketing effort to create a new category erodes a brand's authenticity. Many beer snobs, or "hop heads", argue that some of the Double and Triple IPAs we're seeing on the market are simply new marketing creations and not the child of inspiration. Others say that geographic locations do represent authenticity (the San Diego or West Coast IPA for example). I don't yet have a personal opinion, but I find the parallels between craft beer and wine pretty fun to think about.
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Intriguing! I'd love to see a blind taste-test with critics on how much better (or worse) craft beer tastes, or even geography..
ReplyDeleteThis posts reminds me of a particular branding / labelling phenomenon related to beer that has risen in Italy (and only there) in the past years.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Italian legislation, every beer between 6 and 12.5 degrees of alcohol is categorized as “double malt” (doppio malto), for taxation purposes. This has led a lot of producers to market this legislative definition as a new category of beer.
This definition is deceiving and intrinsically doesn’t mean anything. It is not related to a particular production method, hop mix or geographical region even though it mentions “malt” which hints to ingredients and “double” which hints to quantities. It is really only related to the alcohol content, a very easy concept understandable by the general public.
Craft beer producers tried and market their beer for the hop type / style / aging, however most consumers were confused by this communication style (just like wine) and now prefer the much more simple “double malt” definition. In a random pub it is much more common to hear a guest asking for a “double malt” beer rather than an imperial porter / IPA / tripel… (which usually all fall into the double malt category).
I wonder if creating similar super-categories for wine (for example “fruity wine” or “heavy wine”) , only for marketing purposes could actually help drive the interest towards wine, just like it did for beer in Italy.
George, if you want a taste of true authenticity you should have a bottle of the IPA Alex and I are brewing in Munger. Redolent of palm trees and panicked careerism.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. One parallel that I have seen is in the whisky world. As its popularity has grown in recent years, more and more distilleries have found that they had not anticipated the influx of demand and simply did not bottle enough whisky 18 years ago (as an example) to have enough supply today. As a result, many have eschewed their traditional single malt heritage and created "brands" instead. One such example is Laphroaig, who has effectively discontinued its 18-year single malt and instead focused on wood finishes like "Triple Wood."
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