Out with the stainless steel and in with the concrete? The Bordeaux chateaux are building new cellars as never before. The economic crisis seems to be long gone, at least in Médoc, Saint Emilion and Pomerol. Of the five Premier Grand Cru Classé chateaux three are currently busy renovating: Mouton-Rothschild, Latour and Margaux. In 2011 [...]
Author Archive | Britt Karlsson
Some interesting facts about Champagne
Area in production: 33 350 hectares, of which: The Champagne houses 3 400 hectares The growers own 29 900 hectares and Production: 320 million bottles, of which: The Champagne houses produce 219 million bottles, The growers 72 million bottles, The cooperatives 28 million bottles. Number of “producers”: 5133 (not strictly speaking; it’s just the sum [...]
Replacing sulphur
Is it possible to replace the antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties of sulphur with a preservative made from grape seeds? Yes, that is the idea of Intergrapes in Italy after seven years of study. They claim that the preservative is as effective as sulphur and that the wine better retains its natural flavours. Moreover, says Intergrapes, [...]
Divico, new fungus-resistant grape
A new grape has been born in Switzerland, developed by the research institute Agroscope Changins. The Swiss are good at developing environmentally friendly grapes and this new grape, called Divico, has good resistance to both grey rot, mildiou and oidium. The grape is a cross between two grapes: gamaret and the hybrid bronner. With Divico [...]
The Wine Forger’s Handbook – the story about fake wines
Wine writer Stuart George and best-selling art crime expert Dr. Noah Charney has recently published “The Wine Forger’s Handbook”. Here is what Stuart says about the book: “Fine wine is a multi-million dollar industry and is fraught with peril. From fake bottles to fraudulent contents, from mislabelled wine to misled consumers, wine has been faked, [...]
Can many different varieties in the vineyard prevent diseases?
A winemaker in Languedoc, Jeff Coutelou at Mas Coutelou, has his own recipe to avoid diseases in the vineyard. He has a lot of different varieties planted in the same vineyard. It protects the vines from viruses, he says, and makes them less susceptible to other diseases. Read about Jeff Coutelou on Drinks Business. In [...]
14 organic wines that we recommend
It is just as important for an organic wine as for other wines that they taste good. Also organic wines should primarily be judged on their taste. However, some give them an automatic upgrade just because they are organic. Perhaps more curiously, some other tasters seem to be more critical to a wine if it [...]
More expensive to hire seasonal workers in France
Starting this year, the government in France has annulled some of the exceptions to the social security contributions for seasonal workers that the agricultural employers have previously enjoyed. In other words, it is now more expensive to bring in temporary labour for harvesting, pruning and other work in the vineyards or in the cellar. The [...]
Tasting wine up in the cellar at Domaine Chanson Père et Fils in Beaune, Burgundy
In 1999, Champagne Bollinger took over the venerable Burgundy negociant house of Domaine Chanson Père & Fils, founded in 1750. Jean-Pierre Confuron is winemaker here since 2001. He is a well-known name for many Burgundy lovers thanks to his high-quality Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot which he runs together with his brother. That Chanson hired such a winemaker [...]
Machine harvest in Champagne?
Since 1st of January this year, it has become significantly more expensive in France to hire seasonal workers in the vineyard because of increased employer contributions. In Champagne producers have even begun to discuss the possibilities to start harvesting by machine to avoid hiring temporary workers. All vineyards today are harvested by hand in Champagne. [...]
Famous wines from William Fèvre in Chablis
In early April, we did a tour to three classic white wine regions in France: Chablis, Sancerre and Champagne. The vines had just recovered from the cold winter and tiny green buds braved the cold. It looked pretty bare in the vineyard. So a good opportunity to see how the vines are pruned. Each season [...]
French pinotage?
Last year, in 2012, seven new grape varieties were approved for wine production in France. Five of these were foreign varieties that are considered of interest either for the production of French wines or for plant nurseries to grow for export. The five “foreign” varieties were nebbiolo, nero d’avola, pinotage, touriga nacional and saperavi, a [...]
Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, May 2013
Today we start a new heading and section on BKWine Magazine: Uncorked, good wines that we have taste recently. Under this heading we will collect various wines that we have tasted, and liked, recently. It can be wines that we have had during dinner at home, at wine tastings, press lunches, visits to vineyards, or [...]
4 new grape varieties: gaminot, beaugaray, picarlat and granita
Four new varieties have been born in France. And it’s really four brand new varieties. With names we have never heard of: gaminot, beaugaray, picarlat and granita. These are crossings that have been made at the request of winegrowers in the Beaujolais and Mâcon. The requests were made in the 1970s, but, as we all [...]
Innovation and quality at Champagne Jacquesson
Champagne Jacquesson is an innovative champagne house and a very quality conscious. BKWine’s Ulf Bengtsson recently met the owner, Jean-Hervé Chiquet and took part in a tasting in Stockholm, organized by Jacquesson’s Swedish importer. Read his report here: Making the best blend every year: Jacquesson Champagnes
Bistro Bourgogne Sud, Paris restaurant – Food and wine from southern Burgundy | BKWine Pick
Located in central Paris, this restaurant called Bourgogne Sud really offers exactly what the name indicates: food and wine from the southern part of Burgundy. The chef Gilles Breuil is from Mâconnais and the wine list is filled with goodies from Macon and the nearby Beaujolais. You can choose from several excellent Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint Véran [...]
The five things you need to know about combining food and wine
Is it a science or just common sense? Yes, the question is what to use when choosing the wine for dinner. Precise theories or simplistic common sense? In most cases I simply use common sense. You do not need to make it complicated choosing the right wine to the food. Many might say that this [...]
Sauternes – the death of a myth
It is sad when something you have always believed in turns out to be false. I suppose I am not the only one having learned early on that the fog that causes noble rot in Sauternes occurs when cold water from the small river Ciron meets the warmer waters of the Garonne. Now I learn [...]
El Picaflor – Peruvian restaurant in Paris | BKWine Pick
Inspired by our South America wine tour trip in February we recently went to a Peruvian restaurant here in Paris, considered one of the very best. And we were not disappointed. We started with a pisco sour – of course! And it was delicious. They use egg white and cinnamon so it tasted a bit [...]
Natural ”plastic cork”?
The plastic cork is one of several alternatives to natural cork. Some like it and some do not. Some producers refuse to put plastic in their bottles. While others think it is an excellent alternative for relatively simple wines that are sold to consumers who still want to open their bottles with a corkscrew. The [...]
Alsace – dry or sweet?
We have probably all experienced a bottle of wine from Alsace that did not go well with the food we served. The reason being, for the most part, that the wine was sweeter than we had expected. This is a problem that producers in Alsace have long been aware of. Some argue that a little [...]
Viera de Sousa 10 year White Port | Britt’s Wine of the Month
Are you sceptical to white port? Some people are and I was one of them. Until I tasted the 10 year old Viera de Sousa White Port from Sociedade Roncão Pequeno. This is an incredibly good port wine that shows that white port can also be of high quality. The wine is made with long [...]
Affordable from South Africa? Higher wages for South Africa’s vineyard workers
Strikes, sometimes violent, hit South Africa’s vineyards and fruit farms earlier this year and late 2012. The workers have asked for strong wage increases which they also got beginning of February. The minimum wage is raised to 105 rand per day (about $12) from the previous 69 rand per day ($8). Employers fear, however, that [...]
Picpoul de Pinet to have its own AOP (AOC)
Picpoul de Pinet is doing well. Production has doubled since 1990. We have never really quite understood why this wine from Languedoc has become so popular. Good marketing is certainly one reason. The wine has a good reputation as an unpretentious seafood wine. And now it will soon have its own appellation, AOP Picpoul de [...]
The pride of Austria, gruner veltliner, threatened?
Grüner veltliner is the great Austrian grape that has become for Austria what riesling is for Germany, malbec for Argentina and carmenère for Chile. Now, however, many growers are worried, among them Lenz Moser. The area planted with grüner veltliner has fallen in recent years, from 20 000 hectares to 13 500 hectares today. Instead, [...]
Our organic favourites, a selection of good wines
Our pick of organic wines in the range at Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol monopoly At some journalist tastings the organic products sometimes receive quite a bit of a beating. Sometimes it seems as if organic wine start on the track with minus points from the outset. Yes, there are some dull wines among the organic. [...]
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Terrasses du Larzac 2011, Mollard & Fillon, Languedoc
Packed with dark berries, quite soft and easy-to-drink but with good structure and freshness and a spicy after-taste that reminds me of the syrah grape. And syrah is one of the grapes, the others are grenache, cinsault and carignan. Mollard & Fillon is a new small wine company run by Nicolas Mollard and Sébastien Fillon. [...]
Faulty is not natural, says Michel Chapoutier
Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley was first among the larger producers in France to go organic and biodynamic. Now the head of the firm, Michel Chapoutier, is disturbed by the fact that some wines that call themselves natural are simply defective. Their volatile acidity is too high and they are infected with Brettanomyces. This is [...]
Verona threatens Valpolicella?
Verona is spreading and it is time to stop the urbanization, says Count Pieralvise Serego Alighieri and other wine producers and environmentalists in Valpolicella, one of Italy’s most famous wine regions. Valpolicella is still a beautiful wine region with gentle hills behind which you find the city of Verona. But for how long, asks Alighieri, [...]
Champagne is like haute couture?
More and more champagne houses mention the disgorging date on the label. A champagne often spends several years in the cool cellar of the producer, resting on the dead yeast from the second fermentation. Removing the lees is called disgorging. It is quite fashionable today to put this date on the label, along with information [...]
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