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Top 10 wine spots, none in U.S.
I realize that, on the world stage, our homeland isn't exactly the most popular place right now. Part of it stems from eight years of political buffoonery, and a healthy dose comes from traditional "old world" bias against the United States. Like most of us, I've learned to adjust for a touch of this when I read international news coverage. To a certain extent, I understand it ... we're more like France than we realize. But, it's tough when our country doesn't get the credit it deserves. This is especially the case for wine.
In an article detailing the top 10 wine spots in the world, Forbes deemed none in the United States worthy of the list.
1. Castello Banfi, Tuscany, Italy: not an adventurous pick for the top spot
2. Montes, Colchagua Valley, Chile: trying to seem enlightened, succeeds
3. Ken Forrester, Stellenbosch, South Africa: see #2, with the same results
4. Fournier, Mendoza, Argentina: doubling up on South America in the top five? Trying too hard ...
5. Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, Australia: could call for the middle of the pack
6. Felton Road, Central Otago, New Zealand: again with the doubling up ...
7. Bodegas Ysios, Rioja, Spain: classic location, should probably be higher
8. Quinta do Portal, Douro Valley, Portugal: this would have been more exciting at #3 or #4
9. Chateau Lynch-Bages, Bordeaux, France: obligatory, but at #9?
10. Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestrich, Rhein/Mosel, Germany: obviously added to the list out of a sense of obligation
And, where are we? No Sonoma? No Napa? Or, a break from the norm with Oregon?
The collection of wine destinations seems to a certain extent like a Little League awards banquet. No country is on the list twice, giving the impression that the reporter sought to dish out as many trophies as possible. The wide reach, of course, makes those absent even more evident.
As you can see, the list is more likely the result of a careful analysis of balancing out different regions and meeting reader expectations than it is a genuine reflection on the most interesting wine destinations in the world.
This is why I hate "listicles": they have less to do with the content than they do with managing perception. Blech.
Filed under: Food and Drink, Europe, North America, South America, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nuno Machado Apr 12th 2009 7:16PM
First of all, I'm from Portugal, so I may be biased...
But 3 main points:
1. Porto and Douro should be higher in the rank, especially considering the other spots on the top. Agree with Tom Johansmeyer.
2. Yes, Forbe's author was just trying to stand out with unconventional picks, and didn't succeed, I must say. Agree with Tom Johansmeyer.
3. Disagree with Tom with the opinion that US must have had a top 10 pick... I think that several places in Europe, like in Italy and France for example, would be there more easily... People nowadays tend to criticise the US too much for the last 8 years of politics (and the majority of american's support for that politics...) but I think there are too many amazing wine production sites in the world for the US to be on the top 10 yet.
Regards, Nuno
Vince Apr 13th 2009 6:24AM
Hey Tom,
This is a really great top ten list. I was surprised not to see any US locations in the list, but it does seem that there are various great wine spots litterred around the world. You have inspired me to travel and try out some of your recommendations, I am most interested in your South America picks, there have been some excellent wines coming out of Chile in recent years. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and then link back to your site. We are looking for top ten lists and our users can track back to your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
nzm Apr 13th 2009 6:24AM
Tom:
Don't be so touchy!
If the author was "balancing out different regions and meeting reader expectations" then surely one of the US wine regions would have been included?
As for writing that picking an Australian region and a New Zealand region is "doubling up", that's like saying US and Canada are the same country. Same with the 2 South American choices, for that matter.
Most US wines are insipid at the least - watery versions of what can be found overseas. That is, with the exception of a very nice pinot that we recently tried in San Francisco from J Winery. We liked it so much that we drove up to the winery and bought more!
Face it, there are better wines made in other areas of the world. The last time I looked, I didn't see that the universe revolved around the US!