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Wine Sales Soar During Pandemic Says Leading Wine Educator Kevin Zraly.

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No one would argue that Kevin Zraly wasn’t one of the most seminal wine educators back in the 1970s, when Americans had so few approachable venues to learn the fundamentals of wine tasting. It was an era when California wines of quality were just emerging as a force in the market, and restaurants around America were beginning to list them on their menus. At the age of 25 he was appointed Wine Master at the spectacular Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center destroyed on 9/11. In 1976, he established his Windows on the World Wine School, which has now graduated more than 20,000 students and his Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book has been one of the best sellers in its field—3 million copies—and a new, revised edition has just appeared on the book’s 35th anniversary. He was the recipient the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. I thought it would be a good time to take a perspective on the wine world, especially during the Covid crisis, by interviewing Zraly. 


1. What projects were you involved with before Covid hit and what happened immediately following?

I was incredibly busy before the Covid lockdown. In 2019 I had traveled to more than 60 cities around the world for wine tastings and corporate events, and I was on the same pace for 2020. In addition, I had already started the Advanced Wine Classes in February and was in Napa Valley in early March at a CIA conference. While I was there, I was able to catch up with John Belcher, Dorothy Gaither and Warren Winiarski to celebrate their donation of their writings to the Warren Winiarski Wine Writers Collection at the UC Davis library.  

I am, of course, sad about what our country is going through with this pandemic. However, the mandated isolation did force me to take a break and slow down, which for me ended up being a good thing. It gave me time to finish the 35th anniversary edition of my Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book, which includes a new chapter—"Windows on the Wine and Food Revolution, 1970 - 2020." It is a thoughtful, personal reflection on my 50 years in restaurants and what has changed in wine and food during my career. I honestly believe it is some of the best work I’ve ever done. 

I was so engrossed with the book and finishing it that I really wasn't thinking about what would come next. Then in April, three of my regular corporate clients called and asked if I would do a virtual wine tasting event. I had no idea what they were talking about! So, I discovered Zoom and we were off! I started doing corporate and private wine tastings via Zoom and then decided to bring back the Windows on the World Wine School in a virtual format, with Wine.com as a partner. 

 

2. How have wine sales been affected by Covid? Are people drinking more and eating at home?

I am certainly doing more of both! The irony of all of this is Prohibition! Exactly 100 years ago in 1920, Prohibition began, and alcohol was banned by the government. Now, in 2020, the government has decided that alcohol is an Essential Business and wine sales are soaring. I recently read an article that said online wine sales are up more than 250% from last year. My retail sources tell me that wine sales are booming, up anywhere from 25 to 50-plus percent. 

Before Covid hit, my New Year's revolution was to drink every wine 20 years and older from my cellar, so isolation gave me a lot of time to do that. I also learned to cook! I never cooked before, as I ate out all the time. I did try to make blueberry muffins, which were pretty good, and sourdough bread, and while it was edible, I will leave all that to the bakers. I also rely on the Joy of Cooking cookbook, which has been in my house for more than 14 years, and I never even opened it until Covid hit. Now it's my go-to book for all things cooking related!    

 


3. Let's go back to when you began in wine. When did you first develop an interest and how did that turn into a career?

In 1970, I was a history and education major in college, living above a pizzeria. I needed a job to support myself, so I went downstairs and asked the owner if she had any work for me. She told me to go and see her son, John Novi at the DePuy Canal House (a four-star-rated New York Timesrestaurant at that time). John hired me as a waiter and eventually I became the bartender in charge of ordering wine. When people would ask to see the wine list, I rattled off the fact that we had the top three: red, white and rosé. One night, a disgruntled customer gave me a paperback book about wine, which I read cover to cover. From then on, I was hooked on wine. As a history major, my interest in wine was a natural progression, and it became an all-consuming passion. At the same time, John and I were contacted by the local community college to teach an adult education class about wine and cheese. There I was at 20 years old, getting paid to teach wine! Also, during that time, I visited the wineries of the Hudson Valley (all three of them). I also went to see the wineries of the Finger Lakes and worked with Dr. Konstantin Frank. If Long Island had wineries, I would have visited them too, but that didn’t happen until 1973. 

At that time, the drinking age in New York was 18, but it was 21 in California, so I had to wait until the summer of my 21st birthday and then I hitchhiked to California in 1972. I traveled to Napa, Sonoma and as far south as Santa Cruz on this visit, but there were very few wineries, maybe 30, that were making quality wines. Upon my return, I approached my college and persuaded them to let me teach an accredited (two credits) wine course, and they somehow agreed. I was now a junior in college teaching only seniors about wine! 

After graduating college, I went to Europe and visited the major wine regions and wineries of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany. Prior to arriving, I wrote letters to each, requesting tours and meetings—same as I did when I went to California. 

When I came back from Europe, I got a job as a wine salesman in New York City and I was given the Windows on the World account, which had not yet opened. I went down to sell them wines, and even though I wasn’t looking for a job, Joe Baum, Alan Lewis and Barbara Kafka happened to be looking for a young American and offered me the position of Cellar Master. I was 25 years old, and I stayed at Windows from the day it opened in 1976, until September 11, 2001. 

  

4. What was the wine market—imported and US—like in 1980?

The reason I wrote the new chapter, “Window to the Wine and Food Revolution, 1970-2020,” is that the wine market has totally changed. The best-selling wines of the 1970s were Riunite, Blue Nun, Lancers, Mateus, Yago Sangria and the jug wines from Gallo, Almaden and Paul Masson, all marketed non-descript wines: all white was Chablis and all red was Burgundy. The quality California wines were in the early stages. 

At that time, America was a liquor market not a wine market. On page xviii of the book, you will see that American's consumed 1.3 gallons of wine per year, per person. Today it is 3.14 gallons per person. 

In Europe, the only countries making good wines were France and Germany. There was no talk of wines from Argentina or Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Today, these countries are producing world class wines. 

The population increased and Americans started traveling more, especially to Europe, and they started eating out more. Restaurants got better in the 1970s with more farm-to-table menus, and as the quality of restaurants got better so did the quality of wines. I parallel the food and restaurant growth with the growth of the wine market. 

  

5. How did the WW School begin? Was it a success from the start?

One of the reasons I was hired at Windows on the World was because of my education and history degree as much as it was for my wine knowledge. Windows on the World restaurant started in 1976 and included a private luncheon club. I started the Wine School in the fall of 1976 and it was only open to our club members. We started out with 12 students because one bottle of wine served 12 people during a tasting! Then the class grew to 24, and then to 36, and members started bringing their own guests and eventually we grew to 150-plus students. It was such a tremendous success, we opened it to the public in 1980. It ran for 40 consecutive years (including after the 1993 bombing and the September 11th destruction), graduating more than 20,000 students. Four years ago, I began the Advanced Wine Classes because I wanted to do something smaller (36 students) and more intimate so that I could focus less on the entertainment aspect of the classes and concentrate more on tasting wine. 

  

6. Did you do much scouting abroad for wines?

For me, New York City is really the wine capital of the world. Every wine maker and owner comes through New York, and you can get or taste almost anything here. However, when I first started and went to Europe after college, I spent 10 months visiting wineries. Then, when I got the job at Windows on the World, Joe Baum told me to create the biggest and best wine list that New York has ever seen, and he didn't care how much it cost! One of Joe's friends was Alexis Lichine and he told me to call him, so off to France I went with Alexis on a buying spree.  We amassed an unbelievable cellar in a very short amount time, and soon after the opening, Windows on the World sold more wine than any restaurant in the world. 

 

7. Did you ever study for a Master of Wine?

No. When I started studying wines, it didn't exist in the US. I was self-taught and was the youngest American sommelier in the U.S. at 20 years of age, and the first American sommelier in New York City, at 25 years of age in 1976. Now, people have started referring to me as "the Father of American Wine Education." The Master Sommelier came to the U.S. in 1977 and the Master of Wine in the 2000s. The British created the MW and the MS. To this day, I still don’t understand why we Americans don’t have our own wine education degree. 

 

8. What were the high points of wine interest in America?

I think today is the high point. The U.S. is the number one consumer of wines in the world and all 50 states have wineries. If you told me that 50 years ago, I would have told you that you were crazy. It has been a great experience to watch this happen over the past 50 years. 

 

9. What do you think of the 100-point scale?

Never used it—nor British poetry—to describe wines. My philosophy is you either like a wine or you don't.  

 

10. What do you think of high alcohol wines? 

I do not drink wines that are overly alcoholic. It's not my style. I am more into finesse and elegance than power. I also find the high-alcohol wines hard to pair with food.   

 

11. What are the effects of global warming on vineyards?

On the positive side, they are making very good sparkling wines south of London. On the negative side, Bordeaux is allowing new grapes to be planted that will not be affected by a shorter growing season, making for a more balanced wine. In fact, every wine region is looking at the same problem, especially in warm climate regions, like Napa Valley. 

 


12. After the pandemic ends, what will the world of wine be like?

The wine world will need to regroup, and it will take a long time. Sales may be up, but people are going to lower-priced wines, and there are some very good wines under $30. I list over 800 of them in the back of my book. Retail and online stores are doing better with the lower pricing, but restaurants are struggling, and sommeliers are in the worst position. Restaurants that use to employ five sommeliers to manage the floor are now down to one because they can't afford to keep all five. I feel bad for those that have studied to become a sommelier because the future, the next couple of years anyway, doesn't look good for them; there are no new jobs available in the wine industry. 

 

13. Tell us about the update of your book.

The Windows on the World Complete Wine Course was a difficult book to put together. Not only from a content standpoint, but also from a technical one because of the placement of all the artwork, labels, maps and charts. Everything has to follow a specific format to maintain the original style. Due to the Covid-19 shutdown, I had the time to really work on the new chapter and update this book beyond any other edition. I'm am very proud of this book. As always, it takes a team of people helping me with it, and I had the resources of the best editors and art department at Sterling Publishing. I feel like the 35th anniversary edition of this book is complete. It's the best it's ever been.

Check out my website