I’m puzzled. A report in the Orlando Sentinel explains menu changes and price reductions at Ruth’s Chris steak houses across the nation, and the Napa Valley Register pipes up that business is looking up in the Napa Valley.
There seems to be a disconnect here that no one is explaining, and I’m fairly certain the wine industry is still mired deeply in this recession.
I don’t pretend that I can read tea leaves, but something tells me the we’ll know the wine industry has entered the healing phase when it’s back to business as usual at Ruth’s Chris and all of the other high-end expense account eateries in the land.
I have long contended that the $100 Napa Valley Cabernet has been a direct result of the renaissance of the spendy steak house, where corporate execs like to entertain clients with expensive bottles of wine to complement their prime steaks.
Over the past 20 years the price of wine has followed the price of beef, and now both find themselves priced out of a market that is crying for relief.
So here’s my dilemma. This week I tasted two outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from Robert Craig, one from Mount Veeder and the other from Howell Mountain. Both were good, but the Howell Mountain was exceptionally good.>
I gave it 96 points and it will be reviewed later this week on the Reviews pages of Wine Review Online. But I left both out of the tasting notes for my Creators Syndicate column this week.
I’m wondering who, if anyone, is still ponying up to buy $80 Cabs. In a conversation over lunch last week with Randall Grahm, he told me even selling $30 wines is a struggle in this climate.
Indeed, most restaurateurs I know are either still depleting inventory and not buying new vintages, or they’re being extremely cautious with the wines they do elect to purchase.
The way I see it, something’s got to give. Prices have to retreat at some point — the only question seems to be when. I do love that Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cab, but at $80 my wallet’s still in my pocket.
8