Liquid Assets: An 'explosive' era for wine's growth

When the first Taste section appeared lo those many decades ago, wine most often came in jugs, pulltabs were revolutionizing the beer world and local booze marts were dominated by, well, booze.

"When I bought Haskell's in 1969," said the chain's president, Jack Farrell, "other liquor stores were sending customers who wanted wine to us. Not many people drank wine."

That same year, Farrell said, the manager of the Minneapolis Club asked him about bringing in some wine glasses. "All they had were these little eyewash cups. I said I thought [wine glasses were] a great idea," he said. "So they put them on the tables, and the head of the club said, 'Get them off our tables; you'll ruin our bar business.' "

What a difference four decades makes. For Lynn Johnson, chairman of the board of the then-tiny, now-giant wholesaler Johnson Brothers, "it's like night and day, really."

Johnson goes back even further than Farrell, having started the one-man Lynn Johnson Co. in 1953.

"About 40, 50 years ago, our big business was selling pints of wine on Washington Avenue," Johnson recalled. "But it was tough competition because we all were the same price. The name of my brand was Gibson, and nobody knew it. So I tied a cigarette around the neck of the bottle and sold it that way."

Must have worked, because Johnson Brothers now operates in 13 states. Johnson said his company's business was about 80 percent liquor back in the day and is now 60 percent wine.

And, of course, the wine itself has changed a lot. Farrell delineated the evolution of the "sweet stuff," beginning with the once-pervasive Mateus. "The explosion came with Boone's Farm, and kids liked that better than booze," he said. "Then there was something godawful called Cold Duck and then something from Italy called Lambrusco."

"The good thing was that while the wines were horrible, it got people acquainted with drinking wine. The wonderful news is that each of those sweet wines kept getting drier and drier."

Farrell credited TV chef Julia Child with helping demystify and popularize wine with her end-of-show "bon appétit" toast. "That eliminated some of the terror people had about wine," he said.

There already was a "sophisticated group buying good wine" in the Twin Cities, Farrell noted, augmented by doctors from Rochester and the growing popularity of gourmet clubs.

But the 1970s primarily were the era of jug wines from California, said France 44 veteran David Anderson.

His take on the ensuing decades:

1980s: "Jug wines in decline, being replaced by box wines, for convenience and life in the fridge. A great decade for California with more high-quality varietals, plus newer areas of activity such as Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Central Coast, Mendocino, etc."

1990s: Big gains for Oregon and Chile and "a very strong period for Australian wines, as they focus their attention on the $10-or-less price point (at the expense of smaller wineries). Strong showings from California reds in particular. Wines' prices and ratings go through the roof."

2000s: "The decade of the 'internationalization' of wine. Explosion of arrivals from the Southern Hemisphere, starting with New Zealand sauvignon blanc, many more wines from Chile, the rise of South Africa and finally the tidal wave of malbec and torrontés from Argentina and the simultaneous eclipse of Australia. Organic, sustainable, carbon footprint, biodynamic all part of the new and very good for us all 'green' direction."

And while we still go for the "sweet stuff" -- "The most popular wine today is Kendall Jackson Reserve Chardonnay, and the reason is 4 grams of residual sugar," Farrell said. "People say that they don't like sweet wine, but we're the Pepsi generation" -- today's consumers are infinitely more knowledgeable about wine.

"Years ago, I was sure I knew more about wine than any of our customers," said Farrell. "Now I'm sure I don't know as much as most of them."

Bill Ward • bill.ward@startribune.com Read Ward on Wine at startribune.com/blogs/wine.