Good news 'crops up' all over

Good thing I'm not the cynical sort. Otherwise, I'd be a bit skeptical about all these glowing crop reports we're hearing from wine regions the world over..

The rockin'-good news just keeps pouring in, from Napa to Germany to Bordeaux. And there's certainly no reason to doubt that it has been a great year as far as the condition of the grapes is concerned.

But ...

There's just an element to a lot of these reports that they're giving the people, in this case wine enthusiasts, exactly what they think we want to hear. Tired of high alcohol out of Napa? Oh, our sugar levels are down, so that's being fixed by Mother Nature. Already had too many "Vintages of the Century" in Bordeaux? Why, these are the "best grapes in 25 years."

Meanwhile, yields are down everywhere, which -- left unsaid, but of course -- fits right into that old supply-demand paradigm.

Well, gosh.

Now, let me first say that I admire and respect the two men quoted in the Napa story. And Michael Hong's frankness -- about having lower yields be a good thing given how much product is backed up out there in wineries and wholesalers' warehouses -- is refreshing.

But ... I'm tired of hearing about all these great vintages. I root for them as much as anyone, but I root more strongly for good value than good quality and hope the conditions we're seeing will produce more bargains, that a string of good-to-great vintages will mean more values at the price points where most of us live (under $50 for special occasions, under $20 for weekend wines and under $12 for everyday wines).

For us, two storylines that I heard about personally are more encouraging than all these reports.

Last month, Gary Wooton, producer of fabulous wines at Croze/Smith Wooton, told me that he had seen a sign along Napa's famed Hwy. 29 reading "20 tons of good cabernet for sale" for several weeks, with no takers. He was stunned. "Also, every milk tanker in Napa is filled with [must from this year's grapes]," Wooton said.

The upshot? The grape glut in northern California's prime wine country continues, and there is a lot of really good juice that has been there for the asking. I don't care if it's Fred Franzia or Jess Jackson or Bill Harlan who takes advantage of this, because someone -- a lot of someones, actually -- will be making some tasty stuff from all this excess juice. And unless there's a remarkable change in consumers' buying habits, these wines should have friendly price tags upon release.

Meanwhile, across the pond, two negotiants in Burgundy recently told me that they have been paying a good bit less for this year's grapes than they had to pony up for last year's -- and that the grapes are a good bit better. Again, that should augur well for us quaffers of fermented grape juice, when said products hit the streets.

Hey, a guy can hope, eh?