California’s 2014 wine sales increase both in volume, value across United States

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Ballard Canyon Road American Viticultural Area, Bien Nacido Vineyards, chardonnay, Wine Institute

California’s wine shipments in the United States were 225 million cases in 2014, up 4.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Wine Institute in San Francisco.

This translates to an estimated retail value of $24.6 billion, up 6.7 percent. California wine sales to all markets, both domestic and international, increased 3.7 percent by volume to 269 million cases in 2014.

“California has had three excellent harvests in both quantity and quality in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and these vintages are receiving global recognition,” said Robert P. (Bobby) Koch, president and CEO of the Wine Institute.

“The premium wine segment — $10 and above — is strong and with excellent prospects for continued growth over the next few years,” said wine industry consultant Jon Fredrikson of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates in Woodside. “The value-priced wine segment has been shrinking because consumers are buying more expensive wine and because of competition from the increasing number of alcohol beverage offerings.”

The United States has been the world’s largest wine market since 2010.

Fredrikson explained that value-priced wines made up 75 percent of California table wine volume in 2014, while premium wines accounted for 25 percent of wine volume but almost half (47 percent) of winery revenues.

Because of the consumer transition to higher value wines, dollar sales grew faster than purchase volumes in 2014, according to Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights into consumer preferences and purchases.

According to Nielsen, in measured U.S. off-premise channels, the most popular wine types by volume were Chardonnay (19 percent share), Cabernet Sauvignon (13 percent), Red Blends/Sweet Reds (10 percent), Pinot Grigio (9 percent) and Merlot (8 percent), followed by Moscato (6 percent), Pinot Noir (5 percent), White Zinfandel (5 percent), and Sauvignon Blanc (4 percent). Red blends accounted for the strongest volume gains, along with Moscato, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Stagecoach Wine Tours Inc. awarded TripAdvisor’s “Certificate of Excellence” for five consecutive years of great reviews

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Santa Barbara County Wines, Santa Barbara Vintners, Stagecoach Wine Tours Inc., TripAdvisor

Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours Inc., where yours truly is a proud tour host, today announced that it has been recognized as a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame winner. The Certificate of Excellence award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP), the world’s largest travel site, has inducted Stagecoach Wine tours into its “Hall of Fame,” which honors businesses that have earned a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years, the organization noted in a news release.

Winners include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a superior customer experience.

“Being awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence five years in a row and inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ is a true source of pride for the entire team at Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours Inc., and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said Eric John Reynolds, co-owner with Tyler Tomblin of Stagecoach.

The company has been based in the Santa Ynez Valley since opening for business in 2001.

“There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence,” Reynolds said.

Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for Business, echoed Reynolds’ comments.

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years is a remarkable feat. TripAdvisor is pleased to induct five-time award winners into the ‘Hall of Fame.’ By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on consistently delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive an improvement to hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.”

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account the quality, quantity and immediacy of reviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor during a 12-month period, as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

TripAdvisor enables travelers to plan and book the perfect trip, using trusted advice from travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

Copyright Central Coast Wine Press for http://www.centralcoastwinepress.com

 

Paso Robles Wine Festival: Four May days celebrating Paso Robles’ wine country

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Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance

Coming in a few weeks is the 33^rd annual Paso Robles Wine Festival, a four day-event showcasing wine country — and one that attendees will find educational and full of wine, food and music.

What organizers call the “quintessential Paso experience” will culminate Saturday, May 16, in the tree-shaded Paso Robles City Park, located downtown and surrounded by tasting rooms and restaurants.

The long weekend kicks off Thursday evening with winemaker dinners, followed on Friday evening by the RESERVE event, which features culinary bites from local chefs along with an auction that will benefit various San Luis Obispo County nonprofit organizations.

Note: Tickets to Friday’s RESERVE event and Saturday’s Grand Tasting are sold separately, and, like all tickets, available via www.pasowine.com
As of this morning, tickets remain available for all three ticketed events.

Saturday opens with an educational winemaker seminar featuring five panelists discussing five grape varietals/wines: Grenache Blanc, panelist Steve Martell, winemaker at Sextant; Chardonnay, panelist Rich Hartenberger, winemaker/owner, Midnight; Tres Violet, panelist Jason Joyce, winemaker, Calcareous Vineyard; Reserve Zinfandel, panelist Chris Rougeot, winemaker, Opolo Vineyards; and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, panelist Matthew Glunz, winemaker, Glunz Family Winery & Cellars

Seating is limited, and organizers expect the seminar to sell out.

Saturday afternoon’s Grand Tasting will showcase current vintages from more than 60 wineries. New this year is the chance for guests to purchase a picnic lunch from one of five food purveyors. They are Cass Café, Gusto on the Go Bistro, Red Scooter Deli, The Pairing Knife and Thomas Hill Organics. Each lunch comes with a Paso Robles Wine Country reusable lunch bag.

Each lunch is $10, and must be purchased in advance. Only 200 lunches will be available. For menu choices, and to purchase, visit http://www.pasowine.com/events/wine-festival-tickets.php

More details about the festival’s three ticketed events:

Friday, May 15 — RESERVE:

This outdoor tasting will feature winemakers pouring two wines within the categories of “Reserve,” “Library,” “White/Rosé” or “Futures.”

Saturday, May 16 — Winemaker Seminar: 

Each of the winemaking panelists will share and discuss one wine indicative of the Paso Robles region.

Saturday, May 16 — Grand Tasting

Beginning at noon, this event offers wineries arranged by varietal “zones” featuring Rhône-style, Bordeaux-style, Italian varieties, Burgundian-style, Zinfandel and “Other Wild Wines.” Pop-up seminars sponsored by the Paso Robles CAB Collective, the Rhone Rangers and ZAP will take place in the park’s bucolic gazebo.

For more details on the Grand Tasting, including a list of participating wineries, visit http://www.pasowine.com/events/wine-festival-wineries.php