Berry Bros. & Rudd – Wine Supplier to the Royals (And a Wine Resource for the Rest of Us)

A couple of weeks ago, I reported that for the first time, the UK was allowing the public auction of some very sought after wines from the Government's Hospitality Wine Cellar. 

But where does the UK government go to purchase its wines and spirits for special events?

In London, it would be Berry Bros. & Rudd, http://www.bbr.com a merchant that sells wine and spirits from around the world.  The shop opened in 1698 and continues to operate from the same location today.

Berry Bros. & Rudd (BB&R) has supplied wine and spirits to the Royal Family since King George III’s reign in the 1700’s.  King George III was one of the first monarchs to grant a Royal Warrant of Appointment, and he granted it to his favorite spirit shop, Berry Bros & Rudd.  BB&R has also received such grants from Queen Elizabeth in 1995, and Prince Charles followed suit in 1998.

A Royal Warrant of Appointment signifies that a certain business supplies products or services to the Royal Family.  By advertising this fact, it lends prestige to the company or supplier, and indicates that their products are of high quality.  The designated supplier will usually display the coat of arms of the royal personage issuing the royal warrant on the company’s letterhead, website, and products. A Royal Warrant of Appointment does not mean that the products or services have been provided free of charge, simply that the Royal Family uses them.

In the UK, only three members of the royal family can currently make such designations.  They are Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Windsor, and Prince Charles.

Not only does Berry Bros. & Rudd supply wine and spirits to the royals, the company also produces wines and spirits under its name.  In 1923, BB&R released Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky.  The actual crafting and blending was done at the Glenrothes distillery in Scotland.  The brand now includes various blends and premium aged blends.

BB&R also offers their line of ‘Berrys' Own Selection’ whiskies, spirits and wine.  In 1909, Berry’s was one of the earliest independent bottlers to offer fine liquors under their own label. A tradition that they continue today.

In 1994, Berry Bros. & Rudd was the first wine merchant to build an online web store for their products.  Besides selling alcohol, they also hold a wide selection of events including wine dinners, wine luncheons, wine tastings, and wine school classes.

If you are interested in collecting fine wines, BB&R can offer you several cellar plans that can be added to each month for a specified amount, beginning with £100 ($151).

The company also has several wine club options, offers storage facilities for fine wines in their bonded warehouses, and provides wine market reports and investment information if you’re interested in learning more about wine investing.

In fact, the company now offers a wine trading exchange online at BBX, Berrys' Broking Exchange http://www.bbr.com/broking-list. Buyers may purchase wines at the selling price offered or place an offer bid. BB&R calls it a “fine wine broking service that enables customers to sell, and buy, privately stored wines in Berrys’ UK bonded warehouse.”

While Berry Bros. & Rudd has the distinction of providing wine and spirits to the Royal Family for over 300 years, they have also made sure that the rest of us will find a reason to return to their shop, or their web site, again and again.  And that is truly worth a king’s ransom.

~ Joy

Passover and Wine

In Jewish tradition, wine is a sacred beverage that plays an important part in many religious ceremonies.  During Seder, there is an obligation to drink four cups of wine. Passover began Monday, the 25^th and will end on April 2^nd.

Kosher wines can only contain kosher ingredients. According to Jewish law, after the grapes are picked and crushed, only Shabbat-observant Jews can handle the fermented juice and make the wines.

The rules for kosher wines are extensive. Kosher regulations require that only practicing male Jews handle the winemaking equipment and the kosher wines.  These rules were set up so that Jews would never get a glass of wine that had been used for, or in connection with, idol worship.

But since you could still not be sure of the wines served at public gatherings and parties, mevushal wines were introduced.  Mevushal means boiled - a wine has been heated and boiled.  A mevushal wine is believed to be less susceptible to prohibited rituals.  Therefore any one can open a mevushal wine without altering its standing as a kosher wine.  The only problem has been that the boiling removed most of the flavor.

However, today a mevushal wine is no longer boiled.  Instead, it undergoes flash pasteurization or HTST (high temperature short time) to retain the flavors of the wine.

During this flash pasteurization, the wine is heated up quickly to around 180 degrees for just less than 60 seconds.  It is then chilled down quickly back to room temperature in order to preserve those wonderful wine flavors.

There are many kosher wines that are non-mevushal.  Since red wines are sensitive to heating, the flash pasteurizing doesn’t lend to the taste.  Wines may be certified kosher and certified kosher for Passover and not be mevushal.

While there are kosher wines, there are also kosher for Passover wines.  These wines must be made with yeasts that are natural and indigenous. In other words, no yeast that has been in contact with grain, bread or dough. The wine must not contain common preservatives or non-kosher ingredients.

All Israeli wines are Kosher for Passover. Most other kosher wines are kosher for Passover, but be sure to check the label for the P.

In the U.S., there are several wineries that produce kosher wines.

Covenant Wines http://www.covenantwines.com located in St Helena, California offers five kosher wines: three Napa Cabernets, a Sonoma Chardonnay, and a Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc.  All Covenant Wines are made under the supervision of the Orthodox Union and are kosher for Passover.

Don Ernesto believes “Good wines shouldn’t be complicated.” (Don Ernesto is Ernie Weir, owner of Hagafen Cellars.) There are five wines offered including two red table wines, Crescendo and Clarinet.  The whites include a Rose de Syrah, and College White.  All are kosher for Passover and Mevushal wines.

Hagafen Cellars http://www.hagafen.com is located in Napa Valley.  Winemaker Ernie Weir produces the wines according to Jewish dietary laws.  Only 8,000 cases are produced each year. The wines include Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, several Rieslings, Sauvignon Blanc and a Brut Cuvee’.

Herzog Wine Cellars is located in Oxnard, California.  In operation for over 100 years, the winery offers several varietals including Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, even Champagne. All wines are certified kosher.

Weinstock Wine Cellars offers wines that are Mevushal and kosher for Passover.  Located in California, the kosher wines include Cabernet, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, White Zin, and Moscato.

So maybe it’s time to consider an interesting American kosher wine for Passover.  And remember, Ein Simcha Ela BeBasar Veyayin—"There is no joy except through meat and wine".

~ Joy



FYI:
Wine Blog Awards is seeking submissions for your favorite wine blog.  Please nominate Joy's JOY of Wine @ wineblogawards.org/submit-your-favorite. Nominations accepted until March 31, 2013.  Thank You!!

First Public Auction to Sell UK Government's Cellar Wines

Tomorrow, for the first time, the UK will allow the public auction of some very sought after wines from the Government’s Hospitality Wine Cellar.  What originally began as the Hospitality Fund was established in 1908 in order to offer visiting dignitaries a hospitable welcome.  This quickly led to the creation a government wine cellar.

The Government Hospitality Wine Committee decides what wines will be placed in the cellar to be served at dinners to entertain visiting dignitaries and heads of state.   The committee is made up of five members, a Chairman and four Masters of Wine.  These volunteers are government officials and wine consultants.

The Wine Committee selects the wines to be purchased, based on blind tastings.  Once acquired, the committee writes tasting descriptions about each wine to aid in selecting what is appropriate for an event or dignitary. The government purchases the wines young and then holds them in the cellar until they have reached full maturity.   The cellar contains wines that are more traditional and includes French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy.

The Wine Committee then reviews the cellared wines periodically to determine several factors including how they are ageing, the quality, estimated time before opening, and what is ready to serve now.  Some of the wines are over 70 years old and still in fine shape. The UK government’s cellar is a paradigm of professional wine cellar management.  It is located in the basement of Lancaster House, near Buckingham Palace, in London.

The government’s cellar holds almost 40,000 bottles of wines currently worth an estimated £2.95m ($4.47 million). Originally about £850,000 (over 1.2 million) was spent to purchase them. The wine committee also recommends which wines should be sold, and when. 

Tomorrow, Christie’s will auction several of the wines from the UK government’s cellar.  These wines are said to be in peak condition and ready to be consumed.  

On the list to be auctioned are six bottles of Chateau Latour  - Vintage 1961.  Tasting notes indicate that the wine has been “fully mature for 15 years, but it seems to get richer, …developing more aromatic nuances without losing any sweetness or concentration.”  It is estimated to be worth £20,000-£30,000 ($30,200 – 45,300). 

Other government lots include six bottles of 1970 Pétrus.  Notes indicate, “It is a profound Pétrus, and certainly one of the great Pétrus’ of the last half century.”   It has an estimated value of £5,000, ($7,500).  Also six bottles of Pétrus, Vintage 1978, will be auction with a value around £4,000 ($6,000).

 A case of 1986 Mouton Rothschild, last tasted in November 2005, have notes which say, “Nowhere near ready… Hopefully*(****) 2010 - ?”  Estimated value £5,000-£6,000  ($7,500 – 9,000).

And, a case of 1986 Le Pin.  Tasting notes say, “The finish is long and almost Medoc-like.” The case is expected to bring in around £10,000 ($15,100).  Total amount expected to be raised for the 54 bottles sold in six lots is around £50,000 ($75,500).

The UK Government Wine Cellar provides wine for over 200 events each year. The wines to be auctioned tomorrow have been served to “Kings, Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers throughout the decades."

The auction for the UK government’s wines will begin at 2:30 P.M. London time, Thursday, March 21st. Lots 207 – 212 come directly from the Government Hospitality Wine Cellars where they have been stored since their original purchase.  The auction will be held at Lancaster House on King Street in London.  To watch the auction in real time or to register to bid on line, visit https://www.christies.com/MyChristies/login.aspx?action=saleregistration&saleid=24147

A government review in 2010 recommended that the cellar assume full financial responsibility for the purchase of the wines, instead of relying on the taxpayers.  This is expected to be the first of many such auctions from the UK’s government cellars as they attempt to become self-funding.

~ Joy

How to Determine if a Retail Wine Club is Reputable

Wine clubs are as varied as the wines they sell.  Some clubs are good, offering decent wines at affordable prices. Some wine clubs are outstanding, presenting you with great variety of wonderful wines, personal selection, wine education materials, and discounts. And then there are some that are unfortunately just a waste of patience, time, and money.

So how do you determine which clubs are legitimate and which are questionable?  It’s time for a little computer detective work.

To begin, never sign up for a wine club without first reading the fine print in the agreement, and make sure you understand it.  If not, call the company for an explanation.  If they will not give one, or did not explain it to your satisfaction, look for a club with better customer service.

Pay attention when wine clubs are offered by well-known companies like Delta, American Airlines, Best Buy, Williams- Sonoma, Good Sam, or the NRA. While joining these wine clubs may get you points, rewards, or a donation made to a cause you support, remember these companies are not involved in the wine industry. They are not selecting or providing the wines, nor are they handling the shipping, or dealing with any problems that occur. 

They have entered into an agreement with a third party wine club vendor to create a turn key wine club; a club which provides market-ready private label wine brands to be sold as a well-known company’s  “wine club.”  In return, the well-known company will get a percentage of the wine club sales their name is attached to. A third party vendor is the one responsible for selling the wine.

So, it makes sense that before joining a wine club, check out the wine club's web page for information about the club, who is managing it, and what is required to join and be a member.  If there is another vendor involved, this is where you can uncover who the actual third party wine seller is. 

If there is a third party vendor involved, it’s time to Google https://www.google.com that seller's name. This is how you'll discover what their internet reputation is.  And you need to know because this is the company you will be sending your personal information and club forms to, where you're making your wine selection requests, indicating your club preferences, billing options, providing shipping information, and paying for the wines. And ultimately, this is the company you must deal with if there are any problems.

If you discover information that concerns you, take the next step and check the third party wine club seller's reputation with the Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/us.  Also check to see if there any complaints registered with their home county BBB.  If so, proceed with caution. Few people will take the time to submit a BBB complaint unless they are very unhappy.  If you start reading pages of complaints, walk away.

The last step, if you’re finding some questionable comments and reviews, is to go to Ripoff Report http://www.ripoffreport.com and see if anything has been submitted. There are usually some rants here, but when you start finding report after report that says basically the same thing.... Enough said.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued new regulations for third party wine club vendors, known as TPP’s - Third Party Providers, in 2011.  TPP’s are relatively new to the wine industry, and the ABC felt that guidelines from the 20^th Century did not encompass the complicated environment of selling wine on the internet today. Most TPP's are located in California because of the immense grape growing regions.

There are several web sites that review wine clubs.  But before taking what they say as absolute, be sure to find out how they go about the reviewing process.  Is the wine club vendor required to pay for it’s review, or send free samples to be reviewed, or advertise on the wine club reviewer's web site?  How do you find out? Check the bottom of the reviewer's web page for a link, usually under “About Us”, “How to Submit Your Wines”, or the simply stated “Compensation Disclosure.” 

If you find a wine club that sounds too good to be true – it just might be. Check it out. Remember, a wine club is only as good as the value, service, and enjoyment you receive. 

~ Joy