The face of the wine industry is changing, according to an article in Wine Enthusiast magazine. The article features comments from Vanessa Robledo, president of Black Coyote Chateau in Napa Valley, a winery which was cofounded by an African-American, Dr. Ernest Bates.
Robledo says Mexican-Americans have always been interested in wine, and as that demographic segment matures and prospers, they are seeking out some of the finer things in life, including wine.
She talks about going to Mexico several years ago and finding that Mexicans were interested not only in wines produced in Mexico, but from all over the world. She feels that Hispanic wine drinkers have had barriers put up for them, notably by restaurants specializing in Mexican food which served only beer and tequila.
One Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, Loteria Grill, offers Mexican wines now and in Mexico Chef Lugo is helping to put Mexican wine on the same level as beer and tequila in his Mexico City restaurant.
Pairing wine with certain kinds of food can be a difficult matter for some diners. There are certain cuisines which, for my palate, are generally better suited for beer than wine. Indian food calls for a light lager; for Mexican food, give me a Negro Modelo.
Wine Enthusiast ran a brief interview with Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo in which he spoke about pairing wine with Mexican food.
Lugo's Restaurante Nicos in Mexico City features an all-Mexican wine list, with the exception of one French wine - and that one is produced by a Mexican winemaker.
The magazine calls his efforts nothing short of heroic in a nation where even the locals look askance at Mexican wines.
Lugo says he doesn't think the pairing process for wine and Mexican food is too different from other cuisines. He likes a barrel-aged Chardonnay with cheese and cream, Syrah with dried chili sauces and Barbera with mushroom quesadillas. He does admit, though, that pairing wine with Mexican food is still rather a novelty, due to the tradition of pairing that country's food with beer.
One of Chef Lugo's favorite pairings is a mole Poblano or Oaxacan black mole with sparkling wine. He says the Ensenada favorite, Lobster Puerto Nuevo - in which the crustacean is fried - is perfect for Chardonnay.
As far as tequila goes - the chef likes it before or after, not with, a meal.
Lugo is a fan of Mexican artisanal beers, but he feels the custom of drinking beer with Mexican food is more a matter of price and marketing efforts than preferential choice.
Numbers from the U.S. Census are cited in a Wine Enthusiast article which shows how Americans are spending their wine dollars.
The numbers say the American public spends $36.3 billion dollars a year on alcoholic beverages.
Women buy more than half of the wine for American households. It's a trend that is gaining momentum over the past few years, particularly in the white, Asian and African-American demographics.
Wine Enthusiast notes that Baby Boomers are being squeezed by other societal segments. Wineries appealing to a Spanish-speaking audience are advertising on Telemundo, while African-Americans are being courted on BET. Millennials are also the target of more advertising dollars.
The magazine says childless singles and single parents are now the second largest wine-buying category, even though single parents tend to earn and spend less. WE figures this will lead to more coverage about the health aspects of wine and more stories on how to stretch the wine dollar farther.
Restaurants are still struggling with recession woes and are looking to wines by the glass rather by the bottle, to help boost revenues, according to the article.
