How provincial protectionism makes it more difficult to sell French wines Vin de France, that is the new name for “vin de table” (wine without a specific appellation, AOP, or IGP), can now have the grape name mentioned on the label. Except for some varieties. It used to be that Vin de Table (now Vin [...]
Author Archive | Per Karlsson
New yeast strain gives wines with less sulphur
All wines contain sulphur, but some less than others, help is on the way Almost all wines contain sulphur. This is not only because most winemakers add sulphur to stabilise the wine and make it more long-lived. It is also because during fermentation sulphur is produced. The yeast that converts sugar to alcohol, carbon dioxide [...]
Time to discover white Bordeaux wines from Entre deux Mers
BKWine was recently in the jury for the annual competition for white Bordeaux wines. The wines that competed were all from the appellation Entre-deux-Mers. Here they make fresh and very pleasant white wines in a very reasonable price range. And with a wide range of flavours depending on whether it is sauvignon blanc or sémillon [...]
Wine tour to South Africa in March 2014: dates are fixed
South African wine regions wine tour: February 28 to March 10, 2014! We have now finalised the dates for the new wine tour to South Africa: 28 February to 10 March 2014. We are still working on the details of the program, but you can get an idea of how it will look already on [...]
Reader statistics for web sites (and magazines) and five million articles
For printed publications there are in many countries at least a quasi-official reader statistics for magazines and papers (or on circulation or print run numbers). In Sweden this is called “TS Controlled” edition, in other countries something else. This is primarily interesting for advertiser to evaluate the reach of advertising. But it is also interesting [...]
Planting rights, no thank you!
Quite some time back I wrote a guest article on the blog Les 5 du Vin on planting rights. They have moved the blog to a new platform and the article seems to have disappeared. Or I just can’t find it. So here it is again. My article on why the anachronistic and protectionist system [...]
Excellent wines and cheese: Sancerre in the Loire Valley
Sancerre in the Upper Loire is famous for its refreshing and white wine from Sauvignon blanc. This wine goes wonderfully with another local speciality, the goat cheese. Read more about it on the wine travel blog, the BKWine Travelog: Rolling hills, charming towns, excellent wines and cheese: Sancerre in the Loire Valley.
Natural and cultured yeast – what difference does it make?
An important decision in the wine cellar is whether to use native or cultured yeast. In the Douro Valley in northern Portugal both types are used but for different wines. Oscar Quevedo from the Quevedo Wines Estate in the Douro explains the difference in the guest article: Using native yeast or selected yeast at Quevedo [...]
New BKWine Brief out, #116: Primeurs, organic wines, champagne, forgeries and more
It is time for les primeurs, whether you like tender asparagus or Bordeaux wines. So there has been much focus lately on the vintage 2012. A vintage that is still resting in the chateaux cellars. But during a few days in April it was tasted by wine merchants and wine writers from all over the [...]
BKWine Brief nr 116, April 2013
It is time for les primeurs, whether you like tender asparagus or Bordeaux wines. So there has been much focus lately on the vintage 2012. A vintage that is still resting in the chateaux cellars. But during a few days in April it was tasted by wine merchants and wine writers from all over the [...]
A super-Tuscan wine tour lunch at the prestigious Antinori winery Tenuta di Biserno
A super-Tuscan super-lunch Tenuta di Biserno is in the Maremma region on the Tuscany coast. The owner is Lodovico Antinori who used to own well known Ornellaia. To get there you need to navigate some winding roads but you are awarded with beautiful nature and great wines made by Swedish born wine maker Helena Lindberg. [...]
German riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and perhaps zinfandel (?) from Weingut Kunstler
Weingut Kunstler in the Rheingau in Germany is a winery with roots back to the 17th century. But it is also a wine producer that is ferociously modern. Gunter Kunstler, the current head, makes outstanding rieslings and also exciting wines from chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. At a recent tasting that BKWine reporter Ulf [...]
World’s second best book for drinks education: Wine and the environment
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards is the Academy Awards (Oscar ceremony) for food and drinks book. Both happened on the same weekend recently. The GWCA is perhaps not quite as star studded as the AA but the ceremony at the Louvre in Paris was quite impressive. We are very proud to say that our latest [...]
New BKWine Brief out, #115: the death a a Sauternes myth, white Bordeaux and more
Spring has not yet quite dared to make an entry on the scene here in northern France. On Thursday we may even get some snow. This is the coldest spring we have ever experienced in Paris. Next we will go to Chablis and to Champagne. It will be interesting to see how worried the wine [...]
BKWine Brief nr 115, March 2013
Spring has not yet quite dared to make an entry on the scene here in northern France. On Thursday we may even get some snow. This is the coldest spring we have ever experienced in Paris. Next we will go to Chablis and to Champagne. It will be interesting to see how worried the wine [...]
The blend, the cuvée, is one of the secrets of the winemaker
Learn how to make wine like a winemaker in a blending workshop But it is not much of a secret. Most winemakers are very happy to explain exactly what it is they do. The blending in the wine cellar is one of the winemaker’s most important decisions. How much of each grape variety? A bit [...]
Exciting and affordable wines from Entre-deux-Mers in Bordeaux
BKWine judges the annual wine competition for white Bordeaux. And an intro to the Entre deux Mers appellation We tasted several exciting white Bordeaux wines from Entre-deux-Mers competition recently. BKWine was one of the judges in the Top Vin competition which is organized every year. Here is a brief introduction to Entre-deux-Mers, and a selection [...]
What do you actually do on a wine tour to XYZ?
There is a new section on our travel site where we publish some examples, samples, of wine tour programs, just to give you a feeling for what it can be like. We have chosen some of our popular wine tour destinations and give you an overview. Read more on our travel blog on these new [...]
5 million articles read, yes, but how should you interpret statistics on the internet?
Are the statistics true and accurate? And comparable? We recently passed the five million page views mark, but how does one interpret the numbers on visitor statistics? It is notoriously difficult, both because of what the numbers actually mean varies and because there is no “official” statistics. Per explains more about Internet statistics in this [...]
Five million articles read on BKWine… On web statistics
We have passed 5 million “page views”, but it is difficult to interpret web statistics We have recently passed the five million “page loads” mark, which roughly can be interpreted as the number of articles read on BKWine. We say thank you to all the readers! Sweden’s first wine site! (?) Five million article read, [...]
The Holy Bacchus wine competition in Roussillon. Judging (wine) is hard. And easy.
It is quite fun to be part of the jury in wine competitions. It is also very good blind tasting practice. And above all, it is very humbling. Blind tasting is very difficult. In a way. On the other hand it is very simple. The only thing you can do is trust your own taste [...]
Alsace, why don’t we see more of it in France?
They make wonderful wines in Alsace and the landscape is wonderfully beautiful. It has long been a popular wine region in Sweden (at least as long as I lived there) and in other countries but not so much in France. It is a little seen wine region in France. Rarely on wine lists in restaurants. [...]
Which are the best wine tour destinations?
The “best” wine travel destination is of course a matter of personal taste. If one wants impressive chateaux, famous names, beautiful landscapes, not yet discovered talents, innovative winemakers etc. Every wine region is different. It is always interesting to see what others think are their preferred travel destinations. Recently we have seen two such top [...]
Porto, a city worth visiting
Porto, at the mouth of the Douro River, is an interesting city. Its twin across the Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia, is where you find all the old port “lodges” (it is no longer an obligation to be there for a port producer). Porto itself is a superb city to visit, with its old city [...]
South Africa wants to be recognized for its high-quality wines too, says PIWOSA
A new association to promote South African quality wines South Africa is probably most famous for its wines in the entry and middle price segment, often with “plenty of wine for the money”-aspects. Now a new association called Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA) wants to make the world aware of their top class [...]
Malbec World Day on April 17
A great occasion to taste malbec wines from all over the world! As if you needed any excuse to drink malbec wines, the Malbec World Day is coming back. This year it will be on April 17. There will, we hope, be many celebrations of this excellent grape, one of which is a big tasting [...]
Are you interested in learning more about wine or about wine and photography?
We are thinking about two new travel projects: a wine tour including a wine course; and a wine tour combined with a photography workshop. The “wine course” project is simply a “normal” wine tour with many visits to wine producers combined with a number of more structured sessions of teaching wine theory as well as [...]
Chateau Lestrille wins award in wine tourism
Best of Wine Tourism is a prestigious international competition that promotes wine tourism initiatives. One of the awards for this year has been given to Chateau Lestrille, one of the estates we often visit on our Bordeaux wine tours. The chateau is run be the young female winemaker Estelle Roumage, with the help of her [...]
Press release: The new book on organic wines by Britt and Per Karlsson wins Swedish and international awards
“Wine and the Environment, Organic, Biodynamic, and Natural”, the latest book by Britt and Per Karlsson (of BKWine), has won two prizes. It was first named “Best Wine Book for Professionals” in Sweden. Then it was awarded silver, second place, in the category “World’s Best Educational Wine Book 2012”. Both awards were given by the [...]
We taste a range of champagnes from Bruno Paillard, to our satisfaction
Bruno Paillard, in person, was recently in Stockholm for a tasting of his champagnes, organised by the wine importer Tryffelsvinet. It is always particularly interesting and exciting to taste wines together with the producer. You can get a totally different understanding of the how:s and why:s when you have the person in front of you [...]
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