Hot is a descriptor used by people to describe a wine that is high in alcohol and unbalanced (there can be high alcohol wines that are balanced and soft – think some Zinfandels). But that is not what I am talking about here. I read a couple of articles today that has reaffirmed my belief that my transition into the wine industry was a wise one.

The first was an article in Decanter Magazine entitled “US Wine Purchases Soar Despite Looming Recession“. While I don’t much care for the “looming recession” part, it was really the “US Wine Purchases Soar” part that I liked. They are saying the US market for wine is now generating $30 Billion, 8% higher than in 2006, and this is key “as consumers gravitated toward premium wines from home and abroad”. I like this part too as it tells me that more people are seeking out better quality wine (a phenomenon known as “trading up”) and as a result producers are going to have to produce better wine to survive. Even the lower end producers are going to have to produce higher quality wine, which means better wine at competitive prices for wine consumers.

Other interesting facts from the article are that the US has now further cemented its position as the worlds biggest wine market dollar wise and will shortly (if not already) surpass France & Italy as the largest volume wise.

However none of this is new news as it has been anticipated for several months if not years.

What is new news (to me at least) is that we are getting an online wine video site. In what appears to be a press release sent out by the company entitled “WineTasteTV.com Unveils the Ultimate Online Video Destination for Wine” WineTasteTV calls itself “the worlds most comprehensive online television channel for wine”. They will apparently be posting wine related video’s covering everything wine, from reviews, tastings & pairings, to education and wine related events. This is exciting news and I’m sure to be a frequent visitor. Now if there were only more hours in the day…

The press release goes on to mention that “The wine business has exploded in recent years with approximately 75 million wine drinkers in the U.S. alone” – WOW, that is a big number!

All very exciting stuff for wine loving enthusiasts like myself. I wonder if WineTasteTV will hire me to do films about my wine adventures. Now THAT would be a great job!

OK, that is all for today. But stay tuned as I’ll be writing about another interesting article I read relating to French Wines…

In the meantime, happy wine video watching.

WTG