The Wine Knows

As a follow-up to last week's blog item about how interest in Syrah appears to be waning in the marketplace, I got the following note from Chuck LeFevre, owner of Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle.

As the Northwest's largest wine shop, LeFevre has a good eye toward trends.

"We are noticing a slowdown in Syrah purchases," he said via email. "I think a lot of it has to do with the price point of most Washington Syrahs. There are only so many people out there purchasing $30-and-up Syrah. Yet, it seems all of the new Syrahs are in that price range.

"I still believe we make great Syrah up here, but the high end of the market is a bit saturated - especially in this economy when so many buyers are buying down.

"We have also noticed a rapid growth in the sale of Washington red blends. It is literally the hottest category in the store. I think that some of the Syrah sales are being cannibalized by the red blends. And not coincidentally, you can get several nice Washington blends for under $20."