Cellar Craft six CC kits discontinued

[tonyt]

Talking to George at FVW today knowing that I like CC kits he mentioned that CC discontinued three Showcase two Sterling and Sherry. The Showcase dropped are Zwiegelt Tempranillo and sadly Yakima Syrah. I laughed and said I guess you should put them on sale now. He replied "or raise the price". Well I guess I won because I got an email tonight that the entire Showcase and Sterling lines are all on sale. I ordered a Yakima Syrah, should have ordered two.

 

[Boatboy24]

I already have next year's production in-house or on order. But that Yakima Syrah haws been on my to-do list for a while. I may have to grab one and try to squeeze it in.

 

[ibglowin]

The Syrah is a must do kit if you have not done one yet. Awesome wine.

 

[joshs]

Looks like I missed out on the Showcase Tempranillo as it's now sold out at FVW.

I wonder what the reasoning was for discontinuing? Too much money to produce, couldn't get the grapes any longer or they just weren't selling?

-Josh

 

[SouthernChemist]

My first guess would be the cost of getting the grapes is just too high now.

 

[tonyt]

Looks like I missed out on the Showcase Tempranillo as it's now sold out at FVW.

I wonder what the reasoning was for discontinuing? Too much money to produce, couldn't get the grapes any longer or they just weren't selling?

-Josh

Call George
He said he was going to get in one more order of the discontinueds. He always honors sale prices and ships when its back in stock.

 

[joshs]

Thanks for the suggestion Tony. I will do just that.

-Josh

 

[ibglowin]

There is an old joke that goes something like this. "What's the difference between a case of Syrah and a case of Syphilis? You can get rid of the case of Syphilis......."

Syrah doesn't sell well as a varietal. The sad thing is that WA State has the most incredible, complex Syrahs in the entire world. Massive wines that hold up longer than Cabernets. It just might become the signature wine of the region. Someday. They just need to get the good ones in front of peoples faces more often. The down side to lasting longer in the cellar is that they generally take longer to settle down and become approachable. You can drink a Cab Sauv in 2-3 years but it takes 4-5 years for a WA Syrah to start to really show its depth and beauty.

Not saying a kit Syrah will take anywhere near that obviously. The Yakima Valley Syrah was one of the last kits I made. Its now coming up on two years old and its just hitting its stride. It had 4 mo in a Vadai as well as extra tannin and some Booster Rouge added. Very very nice wine.

 

[eblasmn9]

Tony, You scared me by the title of your post. Since they didn't discontinue either the Amarone or Rosso Fortissimo, I'm good. I did buy the Yakima Syrah the last time George put Cellar Craft Showcase kits on sale. I do need to start this one.
The prices seem to keep going up.

 

[WI_Wino]

Any word on what they are replacing them with? Or is it just a reduction in the product offering?

 

[tonyt]

Any word on what they are replacing them with? Or is it just a reduction in the product offering?

The skeptic in me thinks that CC/Vineco sister company Wine Expert who has a huge % of the US market doesn't want Vineco/CC/Kenridge horning in on their territory. It was said that, prior to Vineco purchasing them, Cellar Craft had a very small part of the US market. With the $$$ and capacity of Vineco and the good reputation of CC, Wine Expert could have cause to worry.

On the other hand I could just be that they are eliminating overlap and slow sellers ahead of a real Kenridge/CC merge into US. This is my hope. I have always liked CC and always wanted access to Kenridge Founders. I can only hope.

Please understand all of my above comments are entirely anal extractions on my part.

 

[sour_grapes]

The Syrah is a must do kit if you have not done one yet. Awesome wine.

Well, duly warned by tonyt, I went out and snagged a Yakima Valley Syrah today from my LHBS. Phew! Glad to have that one on hand.

 

[tonyt]

Any word on what they are replacing them with? Or is it just a reduction in the product offering?

No but we can only assume they have a plan. George did say that some of the discontinueds didnt sell well.