“… a story about a California cult wine I heard from a retailer friend of mine in the States. He said that this well-known winery sent a salesman over to his shop the other day and told him that they were happy to give him an allocation of their newest release. In fact, he could have all he wanted. The price was $300 a bottle, if I remember correctly.

The interesting thing is that he had been trying to get a six-bottle allocation of the wine for years, and the winery had always turned up its nose at him. “Our wines are sold only by mailing list,” a spokesman for the winery had told him then. …

But times have changed. Oh yes. They have changed. My friend politely told the salesman that he was not interested. “I couldn’t sell the wine at the price I paid for it now with the economy being so bad,” he said. …

I think similar stories are going to be told more and more in the wine market.”

Also a great point on the lesser-known labels. I wrote earlier this year about why syrahs haven’t caught on, and part of the reason is that a lot of them are from unfamiliar (to most folks) wineries. Rocca Family, C.G. di Aire and Spencer-Roloson make killer syrahs, but the combination of price point and the unknown makes them a tough sell.

Still, I wish more retailers would get behind West Coast syrahs — or at least try to get the customers who are buying several bottles or even cases of higher-priced cabs to mix in a couple bottles of simliarly priced (or cheaper) syrah.

The general theme of this post is on target, but what I’m seeing in both the retail and restaurant scene is mainly a ‘trading down’ for most consumers. Those that used to spend $25 on a bottle without concern are running, not walking, to dependable $18 bottles. Those that were at $18 are now shopping around $12. Etc.

However, the most amazing thing are the number of restaurants that think I want two glasses of sub-par wine for $5 a glass when I’d much rather pay $11 for one great glass. The price point doesn’t matter … the bang for the buck is what counts. Wines that over-deliver against their price is the future.

The last point I’ll make is that times are toughest for unknown, unproven, relatively expensive wines. In times like this people experiment less and dependability is the key. Dependability can be via a label, a trustworthy wine merchant, or a great server at a restaurant. That’s why your wine map is a great source right now.