Author: Britt Karlsson

Maker of World’s Top Wine Tours. On WBI’s Power List of wine journalists. Wine Profile of the Year 2011. We’ve been named World’s Top Wine Tours by Travel + Leisure Magazine. We’ve written a wine book that won the award World’s Best Wine Book for Professionals and another that’s been awarded Best Wine Book in Sweden for Professionals. We had (probably) the first web site on wine in Scandinavia in 1996. We publish one of the most read independent wine newsletters on wine. And lots of other things we’re proud of too.
A cross-section of the soil, loess soil, in a vineyards in Austria

Terroir or Not Terroir? | New Brief #246

One word that stands out in all wine communication today is “terroir”. Wine drinkers claim to find it in the wine, and winemakers strive to express it in their work. All wine enthusiasts know roughly

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 246, February 2024

— Terroir or Not Terroir? — One word that stands out in all wine communication today is “terroir”. Wine drinkers claim to find it in the wine, and winemakers strive to express it in their

No alcohol, carbonated fizzy soda drink with sugar, Swedish name "sockerdricka"

Alcohol-free wines have scarily high sugar contents

It’s been a while since I drank non-alcoholic wine. Still, given that I’ve heard positive things about them recently, I was surprised when I looked through the range at Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly wine stores,

Beaujolais nouveau 2023 from Jean Foillard with 11.6% alcohol

Can a de-alcoholised wine equal the original?

The EU now allows de-alcoholised wines to use geographical designations of origin (IGP, AOP, etc.). But it is up to each country’s appellations to decide whether to allow it in their local rules. It is

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 245, January 2024

— How many fruits, flowers and adjectives do you want? — It is quite difficult to describe flavours so that others can understand. Flavours, especially when it comes to wine, are mostly described with similes.

Vinonista wines from Italy

A handful of delicious and very Italian wines from Vinonista

Vinonista is a Swedish wine importer that has specialised in Italian wines from small producers. Vinonista primarily sells its wines through the so-called “on order range” (or assortment, as the Swedes like to say, “ordersortimentet”

Harvesting oak bark for cork, Alentejo, Portugal

France revives its cork oak forests

The fact that France has extensive oak forests is widely known, oak used for all the barrels. But France also has cork oaks. Once upon a time, there was a thriving industry around products from

Vineyards on Etna, Sicily

Etna, a future DOCG?

The red wines from Etna DOC have taken the wine world by storm in recent years. The elegant and flavourful nerello mascalese grape from the mighty and very active volcano is an exciting new acquaintance.

Vineyard landscape in Penedes in Catalonia, Spain

DO Penedès to be 100% organic by 2025

Catalan DO Penedès is just south of Barcelona. The region was a pioneer of organic viticulture in Spain 40 years ago. It was decided some time ago that the entire appellation would be organically grown

Rosé port made into a ”port tonic” at Quinta do Tedo, Douro Valley, Portugal

Innovative port wine producers find new customers

All wine regions need new customers. But global consumption is shrinking and if the global wine consumption continues to fall, consumers will become fewer and fewer. I just returned back home after 10 days in

Pinot noir bunches on the vine just before harvest in Alsace

Is pinot noir the future of Alsace?

Riesling is the flagship grape of Alsace, along with gewurztraminer. But the latter is no longer profitable to produce and the riesling harvests are getting smaller and smaller due to warmer weather. How will this

Lo Petit Fantet d’Hippolyte, Pierre Bories, a natural wine with a funny and cute label

What are young wine drinkers looking for?

We hear it all the time nowadays: young people don’t drink wine. The wine industry is worried, in Europe and the USA. Sowine, a French consulting firm, has conducted a study on what French wine

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 246, February 2024

— Terroir or Not Terroir? — One word that stands out in all wine communication today is “terroir”. Wine drinkers claim to find it in

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 245, January 2024

— How many fruits, flowers and adjectives do you want? — It is quite difficult to describe flavours so that others can understand. Flavours, especially

Vineyards on Etna, Sicily

Etna, a future DOCG?

The red wines from Etna DOC have taken the wine world by storm in recent years. The elegant and flavourful nerello mascalese grape from the

Pinot noir bunches on the vine just before harvest in Alsace

Is pinot noir the future of Alsace?

Riesling is the flagship grape of Alsace, along with gewurztraminer. But the latter is no longer profitable to produce and the riesling harvests are getting

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