Who’s No. 1 in wine?

After generations of languishing in the second tier, the United States now consumes more wine than any other country in the world. But don’t start chanting “We’re No. 1!” just yet.

$1 Shipping Spring Wine Sale Starts Now

Handcrafted Cabernets, Merlots, Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and more are on sale now at The California Wine ClubThe California Wine Club.
Save up to 69% on every bottle of small-batch wine plus save up to $36 in shipping on every case.
Click here to shop now.

Subscribe to The 30 Second Wine Advisor! Click here.

You see, although Americans topped the charts by sipping more than 3.2 billion liters of wine in 2014, according to California’s Wine Institute, there are a lot of us. All that wine works out to a little more than 13 standard wine bottles apiece, placing us at a puny 55th place in the world wine-per-capita sweepstakes.

Yes, we know that most of us reading this article are doing far more than our share, but let’s face it: When it comes to serious wine consumption, we are a long way behind tiny Andorra, where popular ski destinations add to a world-record thirst that prompts average consumption of 80 bottles a year.

Following Andorra in the top ten, according to an article today in Britain’s The Telegraph, are Vatican City, a record perhaps bolstered by Communion wine; then Croatia, Portugal, France, Slovenia, Macedonia, the Falkland Islands (yes, you heard that right), Switzerland, and, rounding out the top ten, Italy with about 45 bottles per person per year.

World Wine Consumption Per Capita. (Telegraph Travel)

World Wine Consumption Per Capita. (Telegraph Travel)

In case you were curious, Americans are clearly bolstering our substantial domestic production with plenty of imports: Although we’re drinking more wine than any other nation, we rank only a still-respectable fourth place in wine production, behind France and Italy, who jostle in a near dead heat, with Spain a more distant third.

Since we’re not making as much as we drink (not to mention our own small but not trivial stream of exports), we need to bring in wines from around the world to fill the gap. And I, for one, am very glad that we do. In happy recognition of the world of wines that’s available for our enjoyment, I’m reporting this week on a very good, fine-value Italian red from an unfamiliar section of a familiar region – the not-so-well-known Maremma section along the seacoast of much-better-known Tuscany.

In the modern “Super-Tuscan” tradition, although not at a Super-Tuscan price, Tenuta La Badiola “642 Il Canapone” offers a mouth-watering red blend of the classic Italian grapes Sangiovese and Montepulciano with Cabernet, Merlot, and other varieties historically associated with France.

If you love Italy and all its wine and food as much as I do, you’ll want to join us this month in Wine Focus, our popular monthly wine forum discussion topic. Click February Wine Focus: Italy, and bring your tasting notes, comments and questions about any and all Italian wines.

 

Today’s Sponsor:

$1 Shipping Spring Wine Sale Starts Now

$1 Shipping Spring Wine Sale Starts NowHandcrafted Cabernets, Merlots, Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and more are on sale now at The California Wine Club.
Save up to 69% on every bottle of small-batch wine plus save up to $36 in shipping on every case. More than 250 artisan wines on sale, and every bottle is backed by their Love It guarantee.
Don’t wait! Wines will sell out quickly.
Click here to shop now.

About The California Wine Club
There are thousands of small family wineries handcrafting extraordinary wine in quantities too limited to be found in local stores or shops. In 1990 wine club founders Bruce and Pam Boring discovered that these winemaking families were the most passionate in the wine world and that their wines were the hidden gems of wine country! Together Bruce and Pam embarked on a journey to help these artisan wineries introduce their exquisite wines to the world. Learn more.
www.cawineclub.com 1-800-777-4443

 

Today’s Tasting Report

Tenuta La Badiola 2013 “642 Il Canapone” Maremma Toscana ($18.99)

Tenuta La Badiola

An unusual six-way blend of organically farmed grapes, the Italian varieties Sangiovese and Montepulciano with the French varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah, this is a very dark purple wine shading to a bright garnet edge. Blackberries, dried cherries and a pleasant, restrained touch of vanilla in the aroma lead into an appealing medium-bodied flavor of ripe black fruit nicely balanced with crisp, refreshing acidity, joined by palatable tannins in a very long finish. Good balance and structure carry its 14 percent alcohol with grace. U.S. importer: WinesU, Eddystone, Pa. (Feb. 5, 2017)

FOOD MATCH: It went very nicely with a rich mushroom risotto; it would certainly sing with the more traditional match of rare beef or lamb.

WHEN TO DRINK: Although this isn’t the kind of cellar treasure that will gain investment value over time, there’s certainly no hurry to drink it, and it might benefit from three or four years under good, constant-temperature cellar conditions.

VALUE:
My local $19 price tag is a few bucks above the $15 average U.S. retail reported by Wine-Searcher.com, with some vendors offering it around $12, so it would pay to shop around if you can. Still, it’s a very good Tuscan red, and I don’t feel bad about getting it for less than $20.

WEB LINK
Here’s a fact sheet on the “642” from importer WinesU.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and compare prices for Tenuta La Badiola “642 Il Canapone” Maremma Toscana on Wine-Searcher.com.

U.S. consumers can also find distributors in every state on the importer’s “Locate Our Wines” page.

 

Social Media

If you use Facebook, we’d be delighted to have you “Like” our WineLovers Facebook Page. This way you can get Facebook notifications when there’s a new The 30 Second Wine Advisor issue or a topic of particular interest on the WineLovers Discussion Group (WLDG).

If you’re a Facebook user, you can join our forum with a single click! All you need to do is visit the forum and click the “Social Login” link at upper right.

Finally, I welcome social media connections, but if I won’t recognize your name, I suggest that you contact me via Email to wine@wineloverspage.com to let me know that you’ve requested a connection.

Connect with Robin Garr on LinkedIn

Friend Robin Garr on Facebook

Follow @RobinGarr on Twitter

 

Talk About Wine Online

If you have questions, comments or ideas to share about today’s article or wine in general, you’re always welcome to drop by our online WineLovers Discussion Group, the Internet’s first and still the most civil online community. To find our forums, click:

Wine Lovers Discussion Group

Discussions are open for public viewing, but you must register to post. If you’re a Facebook user, you can also now join our forum with a single click! All you need to do is visit the forum and click the “Social Login” link at upper right.

We use only your name and Email to identify you and make no other claim on your Facebook information or privacy. However, if you prefer not to use Facebook, contact me at wine@wineloverspage.com for information about registration.

 

Subscriptions and Administrivia

Unsubscribe:

We’re sorry if you must leave us, but simply click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of your Email edition to be instantly removed from the mailing list.

Change address:

The quickest and easiest way to change your Email address is simply to register anew, using the link below. If you are keeping your old address but no longer wish to get the Wine Advisor there, click the unsubscribe link below to take it off our list; if you are closing the mailbox, you needn’t take any action, as our system will delete your old address as soon as the mail to your old address starts to “bounce.”

Subscribe to this weekly E-letter (free)

Wine Advisor Archives

Sponsorship Opportunities:
For information, E-mail wine@wineloverspage.com

Bookmark the permalink.

Read more articles from The 30 Second Wine Advisor


Comments are closed