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Wine Tours

For info, contact me on winebrief@bkwine.com or +33 (0)6 80 45 35 70 or check the site: http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm

Finnish Language Wine Tours - Viinimatkoja Ranskan viinialueille!

 Tours on the schedule (in Finnish):

For info, contact me on winebrief@bkwine.com or +33 (0)6 80 45 35 70 or check the site: http://www.bkwine.com/suomi/viinimatkoja/viinimatkoja.htm

 □  Producers

Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur-Champigny, Thierry Germain
Originally from Bordeaux, Thierry Germain arrived in the Loire Valley some 15 years ago (and his father, Bernard Germain, arrived a bit later and bought Chateau de Fesle in Bonnezeaux). Thierry makes a Saumur-Champigny that counts among the best and also most substantial Cabernet Franc wines you can find. There are few others who manage to get so much power and body from this grape. His property includes 20 hectares red and 2 ha white.
Click here for address and more recommendations.

Château de Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Chateau de Beaucastel, located in the north eastern corner of the appellation, is among the top of the top wine estates in Chateauneuf. The brothers Jacques and Jean-Pierre Perrin takes good care of the heritage created by their father Jacques and grand father Pierre. The vineyards are managed organically since the 1950s. Chemical treatment and fertilisers destabilise the soil and eliminates the terroir characteristics they think. They have increased the part of Mourvèdre and it now counts for 30% of the total which is high in this Grenache-dominated appellation. One peculiarity for Beaucastel is that they use all 13 permitted grape varieties – all vinified separately – admittedly some in very small quantities. But each variety contributes something in their opinion. In addition to magnificent red and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape they also have a range of less costly wines from other appellations: Côtes-du-Rhône, Côte du Luberon and Côte de Ventoux under the names Domaine Perrin or La Vieille Ferme.
Click here for address and more recommendations.

Read about more recommended producers on the site: Favourite Producers

 □  Wine Bars and Restaurants

Paris:

Midi Vins, Paris 6e
Newly opened wine bar and bistro in a renovated traditional café. Original tables made from old champagne “pupitres”. Very good value menu with starter, main course and dessert from 21 euro. I had an excellent salad with crayfish to start with followed by a perfectly grilled “bavette” (steak) with potato gratin. The fish was also very good. Very traditional desserts with crème brulée, tarte aux pommes (apple tart), strawberries etc. Nice wines, for example a Moulin-à-Vent from Domaine des Terres Dorées, an Anjou from Domaine Gilet, Crozes-Hermitage from Chapoutier, Chiroubles from Domaine Joubert…
Click here for address and more recommendations.

Gothenburg:

Barrique Wine Bar
Barrique Wine Bar is actually the name of the restaurant Hamngatan in the evenings... The two owners and wine enthusiasts, Rolf Olofsson and Thomas Norman, had the idea a few years ago to create a wine bar concept, something they now want to develop into a chain of wine bars (something unheard of in Sweden!). A new Barrique is supposedly on its way. In the evenings at Barrique it is wine that has centre stage. They continuously run special 5-week campaigns with selected wines and an accompanying menu. I tried a delicious tapas menu when they had a Spanish theme. Right now they run Tuscany. The whole restaurant is beautifully done and it all makes for a very attractive place. www.barrique.nu
Click here for address and more recommendations.

Read more recommendations on where to shop for wine on my Wine Shop Page

Global warming threatens Spanish wine production? Wines reach new heights?...
Will climate change and hotter weather make wine production disappear in Spain? That is what some people fear, estimating that temperatures will rise by 7 degrees centigrades to the end of the century. Some wine producers have started to look for land in hig-altitude areas in the mountains. Torres is one of them. Read more on Bloomberg

Château Guiraud in Sauternes sold
Château Guiraud is a Sauternes property of 128 hectares. It has been acquired by a group of investors including the Peugeot family (FPP), Domaine de Chevalier and Neipperg Invest. FFP (Société Foncière, Financière et de Participations) is managed by Robert Peugeot and is the biggest shareholder in the car manufacturer. Domaine de Chevalier is one of the best properties in Graves (Pessac-Léognan) owned by the Bernard family (Olivier Bernard). Neipperg Invest is led by Stephan Neipperg and also controls Château Canon La Gaffelière, La Mondotte, Clos de l’Oratoire, Peyrau, d’Aiguilhe and Clos Marsalette. The price tag? – 20 million euro (actually almost a steal). Petrolium in Riesling wines or burnt rubber in Syrah wines – so why not in Sauternes? But according to what is reported Peugeot will remain a passive financial partner. Vitisphere.com and Decanter

Replay of ”The Paris Tasting” of 1976: Californians win again
30 years after the original Paris Tasting when Steven Spurrier (an eminent British wine critic) organised the original version of the event to compare French and Californian top wines he repeated the experience. In the 1976 tasting Californian wines came top both for red wine and white wine which created quite a stir. One comment often voiced about the original tasting was that Californian wines are easier to appreciate when young but that they don’t age well. So in the re-run wines of similar vintages as in the original tasting was included – now 30 years older. Top of the reds emerged Napa wine 1973 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and the top rated white wine was 1973 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay. Read more in San Francisco Chronicle and Slate.com and plenty of details on JancisRobinson.com

Israeli wine? Swedish retailer tries (and fails) to be politically correct
The Swedish state-owned monopoly retailer of alcohol, Systembolaget, was criticised for selling Golan Heights wine under the country label “Israel”. They consulted with the Foreign Ministry which resulted in Systembolaget changing the country of origin in their catalogue to “Israeli occupied Syrian territory”. A representative for the opposition party Christian Democrats, Annelie Enochson, said the decision was unfair, treating Israel different from other countries, and represented a politicising of the state owned monopolist. Not too surprising though: The monopoly have a habit of running political campaigns since several years, although it usually has to do with alcohol politics (the recent campaign to influence EU policies on alcohol for example, infamously called “Dear Mr Barroso”). Read more in Jerusalem Post and in Decanter

Last minute update: in a very careful and politically correct press release the monopoly Systembolaget announces that they will henceforth use as country of origin for these wines … nothing!

Tattinger back in French hands
The champagne house Taittinger was sold last year to the American company Starwood. Now, Taittinger has returned to French hands. But that was probably more or less part of the scheme originally. Starwood is primarily a hotel operator and the Taittinger Group owned some very prestigious hotel properties. The champagne house just happened to be part of the total package. It is Crédit Agricole du Nord-Est, a co-operative agricultural bank in the Champagne district, that has bought the champagne business for some 660 million euro. But it could have landed in Indian hands: United Breweries Group, a leading Indian brewery group, was in the bidding for the champagne house. Several other parties were in the running for having a new “house champagne”. Read more in Vitisphere and ChannelNewsAsia.com

Rosé Wine Conference on June 30
Rosé is gaining in popularity. Spurred by this (we assume) the second international conference on rosé wine is organised in Aix-en-Provence on June 30 with presentations of experts and discussions. Information: a.guenot*at*albineco*dot*com.

New articles by our Guest Writers
We have several new articles by our guest writers this month. Here are the new texts:

Many thanks to the contributors!

Wine course at Sotheby’s
Interesting for Londoners: The auction house Sotheby’s, one of the world leaders in wine auctions, also arranges wine tasting courses. The coming autumn there will be two courses: one varietal course (starting 18 September) and one focused on wine districts (6 November). Each course has six sessions with highly competent lecturers. More info: www.sothebys.com/wine (for some strange reason the course info is not on their site so you will have to contact the course responsible in their staff list).

Wine auctions in June at Sotheby’s
We also received some info recently on upcoming auctions. June has two high profile auctions: June 21 with “Finest and Rarest” and June 29 with “A Magnificent Bordeaux Cellar in aid of The Charles-Albert Frère Foundation” More info: www.sothebys.com/wine

Monks start a vineyard in California
Historically the Church has been very involved in winemaking and many vineyards have historic links to Christianity. But today very few wineries have any direct connection with religion. But now 25 monks of the order of St Benedictine have started a winery near the town of Chico. It is supposedly the first Roman Catholic winery in North America. “We don't want or expect to get rich” said Father Harold Meyer. Probably quite reasonable expectations. Read more on post-gazette.com

Norwegian wine
A while back we wrote about an April’s Fool joke by the London wine merchant Berry Brothers and Rudd where they (jokingly) talked about Norwegian wine. At the moment we noted that there actually are vines in Norway but that we did not know exactly where. A reader has supplied us with more details: There is a vineyard in Norway planted with 2000 vines. The winemaker is called Sveier Hansen and the vineyard is called Hallingstad Vineyards, located near the Oslo Fjord. The wine, called L’Esprit d’Edward Munch, is made from Pinot Noir. We hope that there is not too much Munch esprit in the taste though… Read more on WineOnTheWeb

Organic port from Fonseca
Fonseca has launched an organic port wine: Terra Prima. They have since 1992 been cultivating a small plot of vineyard at the Quinta de Panascal with organic methods. Now they have developed the production sufficiently to make a bottling of organically made wine. The last step was to find a distiller of organic spirit to be used in the blending of the port. According to David Guimarens, the wine maker, their experiences with organic production has led to several changes, e.g. a return to copper sulphate (the “Bordeaux mixture”) and letting grass grow in the vineyards. Unfortunately we have not tasted the wine but you can buy it in England for around £11.

INAO proposes two tier appellations
INAO, the semi-governmental body that control French wine production rules, has proposed that the system of Appellation Contrôlée should be split into two tiers: one that follows traditional, strict rules on production, terroir etc, and one that allows for more flexibility and for more new technology (should we read “oak chips” between the lines?). As always in French procedures this is so far just a proposal and will have to be debated with various organisations. Read more on Vitisphere.com

Wine for women
Do you remember a few months ago when we talked about the wine specially designed for men? Now it is the turn of women. The English supermarket chain have spent years of research and development to discover that many women find today’s average wine with 12.5-14.5% alcohol too heavy. Therefore they will launch a lower alcohol wine called Early Harvest Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc with only 9.5% alcohol (and 19% fewer calories!). Wouldn’t it have been easier to just buy some German wines instead? Read more in The Times

This month’s must-have wine gadget: Private Preserve
This heading is usually reserved for items that we talk about with a certain irony. But this time it’s serious. Private Preserve is definitely worth trying! Private Preserve is a pressurised bottle of neutral gas that makes it possible to keep an opened bottle for a long time without the wine going bad. Perfect if you drink just half a bottle, or if you have a big wine tasting and want to save what remains in the bottle until later. It actually works fine just putting the bottle in the fridge for a week or two (many people think it will turn to vinegar in a few days but that’s not the case), but Private Preserve is much better. Just spray a few puffs of gas in the half empty bottle and the wine keeps excellently. We have trialled PP for a month and it seems to work very well. A month ago we opened a lot of bottles and served just a little from each bottle. Then we used Private Preserve on all bottles and put them (standing) in the cellar. And still, more than a month later, the wines keep well. Every bottle we bring up is well preserved. We almost start wondering for how long it will keep… So, well worth trying if you worry that your half empty bottles will go bad. Just $9 per canister. Unfortunately it is difficult to get hold of in Europe but you can get it directly from the producer www.privatepreserve.com or www.winepreserve.com (and do tell us if you know of a European distributor…)

The world’s most powerful brands
Drinks International, an English trade publication, has made a ranking of the world’s most powerful wine and spirits brands. Different factors have been combined to arrive at the ranking: brand perception, market share, price position etc. Here’s the ranking:
1. Smirnoff
2. Bacardi
3. Johnnie Walker
4. Martini
5. Stolichnaya
6. Hennessy
7. Jack Daniel’s
8. Absolut
9. Ballantine’s
10. Baileys

France’s most planted grape varieties
Since 1979 a lot has changed in the vineyards so it is time to review old truths about what is taught in wine classes. The statistics is from Drinks International and based on SCEES RGA79 and CVI (area in ‘000 of hectares):

Australians learn from the French – even their bad habits
The Australian Wine Grape Growers Association (WGGA) wants that the government should support producers in difficulty due to over-production and falling prices. They have requested that a guarantee fund be created with $35 million to reduce production. They estimate that 40% of the producers will go bankrupt if the oversupply is not corrected (and support measures put in place) within two years. Sounds scaringly similar to the EU Agricultural Policy and militant French wine producers… Read more on Vitisphere.com

Bordeaux primeur prices sky-rocket
As expected (or feared) the prices of the highly acclaimed 2005 vintage in Bordeaux are up, and not by little. According to the Danish, but Bordeaux based wine merchant Iakob Schjerbeck, the prices are up with between 10% and … 85%, and that is before probably the “sorties” of the heavy hitters. This has even generated quite a lot of criticism from the down-stream trade. Decanter quotes for example John Avery (Averys Wine Merchants): ”We are a little disillusioned with some in Bordeaux, who seem to be profiteering” (a British understatement?) and described some producers as “just plain greedy”. Well, as we said in the last Brief: Don’t complain of the prices. Buy something else if you think it is too expensive. There are plenty of good value good wine on the market today. Decanter.com

California lowers the requirements for vintage wines
It will now be allowed to add 15% of a different vintage to the one indicated on the label in California, so no more than 85% has to come from the given year, according to a new rule on the proposal of the Wine Institute. A pity, especially since the Napa story of the producer who wanted to put Napa on the lable even though the wine did not come from that district has finally been decided by the courts. A step in the wrong direction it seems. But the old rule of 95%/5% is still valid for “regional appellations” though, like Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley.

Le Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2006
You might expect the Concour Mondial de Bruxelles to take place in Belgium, and it usually does, but this year it was off-shored to Lisbon. 220 international wine experts (including BKWine) tasted 5447 wines and spirits from 43 countries. 1613 were awarded medals. There were 49 Grande Médailles d’Or (Great Gold Medals), 583 Médailles d’Or (Gold Medals), 974 Médailles d’Argent (Silver Medals) and 7 Médailles de Bronze. On addition to all medals there were four awards for “Best Wine”: the red went to Bernard Magrez’s micro cuvée Tivoli 2003 from a small 2.5 ha vineyard in northern Médoc. Spain got the Best Wine for whites with Conces de Albarei Carballo Galego 2004 from Rias Baixas, and Luxemburg (!) for sparkling wines: the Cuvée du Domaind Kohll-Reuland Crémant de Luxembourg. Canada had the sweet Best Wine award for Magnotta Riesling Icewine Limited Edition 2003 from Niagara Peninsula. Here are some of my own favourites:

For more medal winners: www.concoursmondial.be

Coup de Coeur des femmes journalistes
The cooperative wine producers in the French departement l’Hérault organise a yearly wine competition followed by a “final” called “Coup de Coeur des femmes journalistes” (best-of selected by women journalists). 15 female writers are invited to taste the gold medal winners in the preceding competition and to choose their preferred red, white and rosé. These three wines will for the following year represent the Hérault cooperatives at all official occasions. This year BKWine was part group – the only non-French journalist on the jury. Quality was overall high on the wines tasted. The red winner – coup de coeur – was called ”Etnik” from the cooperative in Montpeyroux. It even has a modern design label that should appeal to a younger market and on export. These are the wines the jury selected:

More info: http://vignerons.com/ (be sure to click the big picture on the welcome page, otherwise you'll get last year's result...)

Have a news item you'd like to see here or have a news tip? Send me an email: winebrief@bkwine.com

Wine Travel

Now is the time to plan the next season's wine and food tours. Take a look at what we propose on the program. I hope that you will find something that will interest you and I look forward to hearing from you.

September 27 – October 1: The Northern Rhône Valley

If you love the Syrah grape, this is the trip for you! The northern part of the Rhône Valley is mostly about powerful red wines but we will also get to know the regions delicious, full bodied whites. We stay in Tain l'Hermitage, just at the foot of the Hermitage hill and discover some of today's most exciting winemakers in Hermitage, Cote Rôtie, St Joseph, Condrieu and Crozes-Hermitage. A must for he (or she) who loves the fruit and spice in Syrah! More info here!

October 11 - 15: Bordeaux at harvest time

This trip to Bordeaux is just at the end of the harvest season (though you can never predict in advance exactly when harvest will be). For a wine lover a trip to Bordeaux is a must! Here you find not only world famous châteaux and world famous wines but also a lot of new exciting initiatives. We will make excursion to all the main appellations in Bordeaux. The chateaux we visit will be both some of the "famous" and prestigious (and expensive) "demures" of the aristocracy as well as some of the most interesting of the new generation of wine grower in the lesser known (but better value-for-money) regions. A superb mix of tradition and innovation. More info here!

October 18 - 22: Portugal

In ten year Portugal has developed from being an old-fashioned, backwards wine producer to being one of the most interesting and innovative places in Europe for wine. No more candle-holder bottles, instead you get highly ambitious, forward-thinking wine producers but who still use traditional grape varieties full of character. Not for Portugal the standard, international Cabernet-Shiraz blend. And on this trip we will, as an added plus, stay two nights in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Evora! More info here!

For info and booking, contact me on winebrief@bkwine.com or +33 6 80 45 35 70 or check the site: http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm

Book now !

Finnish Language Wine Tours - Viinimatkoja Ranskan viinialueille!

 Tours on the schedule (in Finnish):

20.9 - 24.9 2006: Viinimatkan kohteena Bordeaux

Bordeaux on viininystävälle ehdoton matkakohde! Siellä ovat tunnetut isot viinitilat, klassiset viinit mutta myös paljon uutta perinteisen rinnalla. Kolmena päivänä vierailemme sekä kuuluisilla arvotiloilla että pienemmillä erittäin laadukkailla tiloilla jotta pääsemme tutuiksi myös itse viininviljelijän kanssa. Paina tästä!
 

4.10 - 8.10 2006: Viiniä ja tryffeleitä Bourgognessa !

Nyt sinulla on mahdollisuus oppia tuntemaan Bourgognen maailmankuulut kylät, viinitilat ja tuottajat. Sekä heidän ainutlaatuinen erikoisuutensa : Bourgogne- tryffeli ! Paina tästä!
 

October 18 - 22: Portugal

In ten years Portugal has developed from being an old-fashioned, backwards wine producer to being one of the most interesting and innovative places in Europe for wine. No more candle-holder bottles, instead you get highly ambitious, forward-thinking wine producers but who still use traditional grape varieties full of character. Not for Portugal the standard, international Cabernet-Shiraz blend. And on this trip we will, as an added plus, stay two nights in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Evora! More info here!

For info, contact me on winebrief@bkwine.com or +33 6 80 45 35 70 or check the site: http://www.bkwine.com/suomi/viinimatkoja/viinimatkoja.htm

Book now !

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- - Sweden:

- - UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark,...:

Wine auction agendas:

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