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Welcome to the
BKWine Brief nr 63, October 2008 |
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That done, it’s been an unusual autumn. But a very interesting one for
wine and the harvest. Here are some summaries of what people have told
us about the vintage in some of the places we’ve been:
In Alsace growers were over all very happy. Slow ripening (cool weather)
and late harvest but excellent weather in September for the harvest.
Most winegrowers were looking forward to a very successful vintage.
In Burgundy opinions were more divided. Here too they’ve had a quite
cool summer, leading to a late harvest. They were just beginning when we
were there, around September 24-25. But even if the summer has been cold
it’s been quite dry so there has not been too much problems with rot
during summer. But then came rain in the beginning/middle of September
and people feared the worst (one grower said that at that time he was
ready to start crying). This, if it continued, would inevitably lead to
rot problems. But the rain quickly passed and was followed by sunshine,
strong winds and more cool temperatures, so the fears for the worst were
dispelled. But all the same, opinions seem to vary. Some, a bit more
pessimistic, say that there is actually some rot problems and also that
there is a problem with uneven ripeness, meaning uneven ripeness on
bunches: parts of a bunch can be ripe and other parts unripe. Unusual
and difficult to remedy with sorting. And also saying that the low
temperatures are not doing much for ripening the grapes. Others are much
more optimistic: they say that the cool weather will minimise rot
problems and that the strong winds will contribute to keeping the
vineyards dry and to concentrating the juice in the grapes. As a
conclusion there seems to be a good chances for a quality harvest with
mainly very healthy grapes. Even if we did see some threatening dark
clouds on the horizon some days… We keep our fingers crossed.
In Portugal’s biggest wine district, the Alentejo, most growers had
finished the harvest by the end of September (except some, like e.g.
Quinta do Mouro, who waits until the very last moment to have super-ripe
grapes and who don’t fear a few raindrops). Most people in Alentejo say
it will be a good vintage. Quantity will be a bit less than usual but
quality will be very good. There was some rain during flowering which
for some has led to a 30-40% drop in volume. The whole year there’s been
quite a lot of rain in Alentejo, so much so that they have almost not
needed any irrigation at all this year.
In Champagne: Considering the circumstances, after a summer that left
much to be desired, quite a good vintage seemed to be the general
consensus for the harvest.
And soon we will go down to Bordeaux where harvest is in full swing
(we’ll come back with a report later). We have a trip planned this week
with a group of wine lovers and one part of the program is that we will
hand out secateurs to everyone and drop them off in the vineyards at
Chateau Paloumey in Margaux. “And don’t come back until the bucket is
full…” Perhaps it will be a Cuvée BKWine?
Now is the time to plan for a wine tour the coming season. The
winter/spring program is now available and registrations have started to
arrive. Take a look and see if there something on our tour plan that may
tickle your palate!
Britt
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News from BKWine |
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Autumn 2008
program
Fully booked.
 Champagne...
Luxury, celebration and of course excellent wines. But champagne is not
just wines. There is also an outstanding gastronomy that we will pay
special attention to on this trip. We will visit some world famous
champagne houses and some small high-quality family producers. And we will
enjoy the Champenoise gastronomy at our dinners (in a one-star
restaurant!) and at the lunches, some of which will be with, and as guests
of, champagne producers. Is drinking champagne all through a meal a good
idea? Decide for yourself!
More info on the Champagne wine tour!
Spring 2009
program
 | February
11-15: Truffle, wine, duck and foie gras in the south west of France |
 Have
you always dreamed of going truffle hunting? Now you have the opportunity.
Join us in February on this trip to the south west of France – le Sud-Ouest.
We truffle hunt, learn how to make foie gras and, of course, taste a lot of
good wines too.
More info on this wine tour!
| March
25-29: Alentejo in Portugal, one of the most exciting and modern
Portuguese wine regions |
 In
Portugal you find tradition and innovation side by side. Many of the
wineries are recent and with leading edge technology, but that does not
prevent them from sometimes treading the grapes by foot. The traditional
style of Portuguese wines has been generally replaced by a decidedly modern
winemaking style. The best producers build on tradition, e.g. by using
Portuguese grape varieties, and use modern technology to make fruity and
very drinkable wines, and certainly some very high quality cuvees.
More info on this wine tour!
You can find the pictures on
www.bkwine.com/wine_pictures/photo_galleries.htm |
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News from the Wine World |
Fifteen new
Masters of Wine
 Master
of Wine, MW, is a very prestigious title in the wine world. It is only held
by 227 people today. The latest “promotion” of MW students added 15 new
titulars, the first ever Asian MW, the first Brazilian, and the second
Swedish. Here’s the full list: Sarah Abbott, 37, UK - Joanne Ahearne, 46, UK
- Francisco (Pancho) Campo Carrasco, 46, Spain - James Cluer, 38, Canada.
James passed his Dissertation and became a Master of Wine in May this year.
- Martin Hudson, 53, UK - Jeannie Cho Lee, 40, Hong Kong, originally from
Korea - Benjamin Lewin, 62, USA - Christophe Macra, 36, France - Debra
Meiburg, 47, Hong Kong, originally from USA - Sara Muirhead, 37, UK - Lisa
Perrotti-Brown, 41, Singapore, originally from USA - Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan,
35, USA - Madeleine Stenwreth, 40, Sweden - Dirceu Vianna Junior, 40, UK,
originally from Brazil - Tim Wildman, 38, UK. BKWine says a big hooray to
all of them! BKWine in
Alsace on French television
When we recently were in Alsace the big French television channel France 2
took the occasion to make a program for its News at One (Journal de 13h). It
features our visit to the famous Alsatian wine producer Domaine Weinbach
(Mme Faller & Filles) with Catherine Faller. It was featured in the “journal
de 13h” on October 7. It is still available on the FR2 web site. Here’s what
you need to do if you want to watch it:
a) Go to
http://jt.france2.fr/13h/
b) Choose Tuesday 7 October: “Mardi 7”
c) Click on the table of contents (that starts with Générique début”) in the
video player on ”FEUILLETON 2/5 Vendanges à l’alsacien 00h30min14s”.
d) Wait until the program reaches 31min 40sec, and there you go…
(and if you want to watch more wine videos you can visit BKWine TV on
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/bkwine)
Top ten wines at Systembolaget
 Systembolaget
is the monopoly wine retailer in Sweden and (as a consequence) one of the
largest wine and spirits retailers in the world. Here are some top-ten sales
lists for January to August 2008:
Red wines sold in bottle:
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Hidden Rock Petit V Cab S 410,105 bottles
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Penfolds Rawson's Retr Shir Cab 356,099 bl
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Viña Maipo Carmenere 334,663 bl
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Selvarossa Salice Salentino 322,752 bl
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Campolieti Ripasso 288,846 bl
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Monterosso Sangiovese 257,254 bl
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Mauro Primitivo 257,111 bl
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J P Chenet Cabernet-Syrah 248,955 bl
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Ecologica Shiraz 241,595 bl
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Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cab 232,751 bl
White wines sold in bottle:
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Lindemans Chard Bin 65 295,579 bl
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Ecologica St Florent Tor Chard 276,918 bl
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Foot of Africa Chenin Bl 251,697 bl
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Black Tower Rivaner 212,453 bl
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Jacob's Creek Chardonnay 197,881 bl
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Fontana Candida Frascati 179,182 bl
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Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chard 171,406 bl
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Hidden Rock Colom Verdelho 167,509 bl
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Chapel Hill Riesling Sauvig Bl 165,156 bl
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J P Chenet Colombard Chardonnay 161,093 bl
If you take the top ten regardless of colour, seven are reds and three are
whites. Looking at it from an ‘Old World’ perspective, the top ranking
French red wine is in seventh place and in tenth place for the whites.
Top ten wines, counted in units sold (bottle, bag-in-box, tetrapak,…):
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Aussie Great White Chard papp 1l WHITE WINE 1,221,348 units
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Castillo de Gredos Blanco papp 1 l WHITE WINE 1,213,074 units
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Aussie Kangarouge Shiraz papp 1 l RED WINE 1,091,421 units
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Castillo de Gredos Tinto papp 1 l RED WINE 1,048,891 units
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California White papp 1 l WHITE WINE 933,450 units
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Foot of Africa Chenin Bl Box 3L WHITE WINE 649,117 units
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J P Chenet Cabernet-Syrah box 3 l RED WINE 618,517 units
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Chapel Hill Riesling Sauv Bl box 3l WHITE WINE 512,009 units
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Mauro Primitivo box 3 l RED WINE 491,802 units
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Spanskt Lant tetra 1 l RED WINE 459,413 units
And if you instead count in volume (total litres sold):
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Foot of Africa Chenin Bl Box 3L WHITE WINE 1,947,351 liter
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J P Chenet Cabernet-Syrah box 3 l RED WINE 1,855,551 liter
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Chapel Hill Riesling Sauv Bl box 3l WHITE WINE 1,536,027 liter
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Mauro Primitivo box 3 l RED WINE 1,475,406 liter
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Chill Out Sunset CS box 3 l RED WINE 1,344,075 liter
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Aussie Great White Chard papp 1l WHITE WINE 1,221,348 liter
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Castillo de Gredos Blanco papp 1 l WHITE WINE 1,213,074 liter
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Barone Ricasoli Formulae box 3 l RED WINE 1,151,562 liter
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Podium Pinotage 3 l box RED WINE 1,134,219 liter
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Drostdy-Hof Cape Red box 3 l RED WINE 1,129,458 liter
Curiously, the balance between red and white is almost 50/50 when it comes
to these volume sellers.
New wine video on Madiran
 We
have published a new wine video on the Madiran district in the south-west of
France. It is a region that has undergone somewhat of a renaissance over the
last decades. Today you can fins many exciting, and good value wines there.
This is an interview with one of the vignerons in the regions. The language
is French. Here's the
interview with Denis Degache: Madiran, an introduction.
New issue of the ezine Fine Wine
A new issue of the internet magazine Fine Wine has been published. In it you
can read about e.g. Domaine Bertagna in Burgundy and about the city of
Bordeaux. You can download it here:
www.finewine.nu
Book on Portuguese wines win prestigious prize
 ”The
Wine & Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal” is an excellent book onn Portuguese
wines and wine districts full of tips and recommendations of how to travel,
where to stay, and of course what to eat and drink. It has now won a well
deserved prize, the Louis Roederer International Wine Book of the Year 2008.
“This book absolutely makes me want to jump on the next plane to Portugal”,
enthused one of the judges. The authors are Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn
McWhirter who wrote their first book about Portugal 20 years ago. Read more
about the book in
our book review that you can find here (scroll down on the page). There
you can also find links to where to buy it. (And if that makes the urge to
go to Portugal too strong to resist we can recommend that you take a look at
our next Portuguese wine tour: in March 2009 to the Alentejo (click for more
info). )
Bordeaux voted most popular wine tour destination
 The
7 million members of TripAdvisor.com have selected the world’s most popular
wine tour destination. On top came Bordeaux, in front of Tuscany, Napa,
South Africa and all the others. Bordeaux certainly seems to be doing
something right. Visitor numbers are up 21% compared to last year. Read more
on
The New Bordeaux and on
prnewswire.com
(And if you feel like testing the recommendation we can suggest
a Bordeaux tour with BKWine… )
Didier Dagueneau dies in flight crash
 Didier
Dagueneau was a winemaker in Pouilly-sur-Loire (Pouilly-Fumé wines) who has
contributed much to putting Pouilly more clearly on the map for wine lovers.
He started making in 1982 and became famous for his very concentrated
sauvignon blanc based wines (Pur Sang, Silex). A contributing factor may
also have been his very original cave man-like appearance with long hair and
wild beard. Dagueneau died in September in a crash when flying an ultralight
aircraft.
WineSpectator.com
and
Vitisphere.com The
owner of Ch Carbonnieux dies
 Anthony
Perrin, owner of Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan / Graves, died in
September of lung cancer aged 68. It was his father who bought the property
in 1956 and passed it on to Anthony in 1982. Under his leadership
Carbonnieux has regained its place as one of the leading chateaux in Graves/
/ Pessac-Léognan.
Decanter.com
Youthful American MW to pull for French wines
Sopexa is the name of a French marketing and promotional organisation
focusing on wine (and other agricultural products). for example, they run
www.wines-france.com. Their latest initiative is to recruit Sheri Sauter
Morano to popularise French wines. Her focus will primarily be to promote
everyday French wines – top-of-the-range luxury products like classed growth
bordeaux and champagne don’t have the same problems on the export market. Ms
Sauter Morano comes from North Carolina, is 33 years young, don’t speak
French, and is the youngest master of Wine ever. and only the second female
MW in the US. You can read her blog here:
www.wines-france.us. Read more
Bloomberg.com
Chapoutier expands in Portugal and/or Beaujolais
 The
famous Rhone wine producer Michel Chapoutier was on the brink of signing the
deal to acquire a 15 ha property in Beaujolais, but when the seller suddenly
raised the price from 90 000 euro per hectare to 120 000 euro Chapoutier
pulled out. Chapoutier is most famous for his hermitage and for his
enthusiasm for organic and biodynamic winegrowing. Instead of the Beajolais
Chapoutier is now looking the the Douro valley in Portugal for a potential
acquisition.
Lyonmag.com Will
champagne hit the wall?
 Carol
Duval-Leroy, owner of Champagne Duval-Leroy, producing some 6 million
bottles per year, is worried about the future with rising champagne prices
and looming financial crisis. Prices of grapes as well as of champagne as
gone up recently. Grape prices are up 11% over two years and the price of a
bottle have gone up 10% per year in some cases. At the same time, the most
recent export statistics show a sagging market: down 22% in the US, down
4.4% in the UK, down 18% in Spain… “We are entering a difficult period, and
I'm not sure consumers will put up with excessive price hikes” says
Duval-Leroy. Perhaps a welcome touch of reality with the champagne
producers? Read more on Bloombergs.com
Bloomberg.com
New edition of French wine atlas
« Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France » by Benoit France (Editions Solar) is
a big book with maps over the French vineyards. it was first published in
2002 and has now been reviewed and published in a new edition. We have not
yet had the opportunity to take a look so we will come back with a book
review if the opportunity arises.
Machine makes cheap plonk taste like grand cru
 “The
Wine Ager” is the concept name for a machine that with ultrasound supposedly
makes a cheap wine taste like a much more expensive wine in no time, or at
least in 30 minutes. And eliminates hangover! Casey Jones, the inventor of
the apparatus that looks like a large ice bucket, says: “This machine can
take your run-of-the-mill £3.99 bottle of plonk and turn it into a finest
bottle of vintage, tasting like it's hundreds”. The taste is improved by
chemical reactions induced by the ultrasound. It also acts on the alcohols
making them easier to absorb by the kidneys (sic), virtually eliminating the
risk for a hangover. Winemaker Andre Jones at Buzzard Valley Vineyards
commented: “Obviously it can't change the grape variety used, but it does
mean a relatively poor variety can be made to taste a lot higher market”. In
spite of the price tag being around £350 the inventor expects a big market
for it, e.g. from all the bankers who are used to paying £1000 for a bottle
and now can get the same taste for much less. Especially now, perhaps, with
the financial crisis in full bloom. (On the other hand, it might show a
certain lack of understanding of the motivations of people who do pay
thousands of pounds for wine bottles?) Unfortunately, we have not had the
possibility to try the machine. We’ll bring out the €3 cotesdurhone if it
comes our way… Read more
Dailymail.co.uk Have a news
item you'd like to see here or have a news tip? Send me an email:
winebrief@bkwine.com |
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Agenda |
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France:
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21-22/11, Paris: Le Grand
Tasting, Caroussel du Louvre,
www.grandtasting.com
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31/1-2/2 2009, Perpignan:
Rencontre du Muscat,
www.vinsduroussillon.com
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19-22/2, Cannes: Convention
internationale des vins & spiritueux,
www.winemeetings-cannes.fr (NEW)
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21-25/6 2009, Bordeaux: Vinexpo,
www.vinexpo.com
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2-4/7 2009, Angers: In Vino
Analytica Scientia,
www.angers.inra.fr
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22-24/2 2010, Montpellier:
Vinisud,
www.vinisud.com (NEW)
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Sweden:
- - UK,
Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark,...:
Wine auction
agendas:
Something we've missed? Send us suggestions for events to be added here:
winebrief@bkwine.com |
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Post Scriptum |
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 Copyright
©
Britt Karlsson, BKWine
www.bkwine.com
info@bkwine.com
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