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Wine Tours

In Bordeaux you find world famous châteaux and world famous wines but also a lot of new exciting initiatives (less famous but maybe more important for the future of Bordeaux!) and young enthusiastic wine makers. On this trip we will visit both some big, famous Grand Cru Classé-châteaux and smaller ones that are less known, but very quality conscious. More info on this wine tour to Bordeaux.

More info on the BKWine wine tours here!

Custom wine tours

We also make custom designed wine tours – on-demand tours for you and a group of friends, for your company (maybe to scout new winegrowers?), for a special event… We can combine winery visits and wine touring with other activities: gastronomic workshops, visit to an oyster farm, truffles hunting, cheese making, and more. We’ve done tours for wine clubs, for sommelier educations, for corporate events, for wine importers, for wine course study groups… just to mention a few.

You'll get a tour designed exactly according to your requirements and tastes, made by one of the most experienced wine people in the business. We personally visit some 200 wineries and taste thousands of wines every year; we write on wine for various wine magazines (we had more than 30 articles published last year); in 2007 we published a ground breaking book on the wine of the Languedoc and this year we have another one coming. And we have organised hundreds of wine tours over the years.

 More info on the BKWine wine tours here!

 □  Wine of the Month

Criteria: an interesting wine (not too cheap) and one that you can enjoy with dinner or friends (not too expensive). And very good! (Jack is BKWine’s reporter in Stockholm, following the Swedish wine market. Åsa is BKWine’s specialist on Italy, based in Florence.)

Jack’s wine pick of the month
Saint Joseph 2007, Les Vins de Vienne
April brings with it both Easter and cool evenings, the perfect context to try some fruity, young syrah. And what better than to try something from the somewhat lesser-known district Saint Joseph, in the middle of the northern Rhône “Syrah Land”. My choice is a bottle from Les Vins de Vienne, a joint venture between three growers: Yves Cuilleron, François Villard, Pierre Gaillard and Jean-Pierre Villa (sold for around 14€ in Sweden). It gives you plenty of young and fresh fruit and the classic syrah charcuteri flavours, with a wrapping of raw meat and some oak character. Drink it now before it closes up, or save it another five to eight years. Perfect to accompany the bloody steak or hard cheeses. Or the Easter lamb.
-Jack Jakobsson

Åsa’s wine pick of the month
Le Volte, an elegant wine for every day
Ornellaia is a world famous wine and is a top “super Tuscan”. at least if you look at the price tag. Count on no less then 150 euro, if not more, so it’s not quite for every day drinking. Tenuta Ornellaia, started by Ludovico Antinori, but now owned by the American wine giant Mondavi, they also produce a baby brother wine called le Volte. Le Volte is made from 50% sangiovese, 35 % merlot and 15 % cabernet sauvignon with a barrel aging of 10 months (two year old barrels, already used for Ornellaia and Masseto). Le Volte is well balanced with a full, round taste with a refreshing acidity in the finish, which is typical for (well made) sangiovese. An affordable, yet elegant wine for around 15 euro. www.ornellaia.com
-Åsa Johansson

It’s spring. Can you hear the twittering?
“Social media” is a somewhat vague term, but one has to try and understand it. “Twitter” is a web service that became well known much thanks to the American presidential election. Obama twittered. I’m not sure if Mc Cain (was that his name?) twittered. Now BKWine too twitters. To twitter is to send short messages, not more than 140 characters. A bit like SMS, or texting on the phone. The difference is that anyone (or more precisely, any follower) can read the message. So now we’re twittering to our heart’s delight… About what we’re drinking for dinner. Where we’re travelling. What we’re writing about just now. And so on. If by any chance you’d be interested in that. And perhaps one day we’ll figure out what it’s good for. If you want to listen to our twittering we’re here: http://twitter.com/bkwineper. And you do have to try and figure it out, don’t you?

European Wine Bloggers’ Conference in Lisbon in October
For the second year in a row there will be a big meeting for all European wine bloggers, this time based in Lisbon. The conference is above all an occasion to meet many other wine bloggers: wine enthusiasts, journalists, blogging winemakers, marketers and anyone else who’s interested in wine blogging. And there will be plenty of opportunities to taste many exciting Portuguese wines. The EWBC takes place in Lisbon on October 30 to November 1. And it’s virtually free for wine bloggers! More info http://winebloggersconference.org/europe/ (And for twitterers: #EWBC )

American Wine Bloggers’ Conference
If instead you are in North America you can attend the American Wine Bloggers’ Conference. It takes place on July 24-26 in Napa and Sonoma. More about this here: http://winebloggersconference.org/america/

Over dose of wine critic
A recent phenomenon in the (primarily) American world of wine critics is Gary Vaynerchuk. He owns and used to run a wine retailing business but has now moved on to building a brand around himself on video. His videos have become immensely popular and are watched by thousands of people… All follow the same format: Gary Vee (as he calls himself) talks to the camera and tastes a handful of wines, sometimes together with a guest taster. The clips are undeniably original and not to everyone’s taste. That they have such an immense following is somewhat of a mystery. If you have never seen one of his videos this is a good introduction, a bit like an amarone Recioto of Vaynerchuk, or an OD of wine criticism: www.boozemonkey.com Difficult not to laugh.

Constellation unloads six wineries for $234 million
Constellation, one of the worlds biggest wine producers, has sold six vineyards and eight brands for $234 million. the buyer is a new venture capital backed company called Ascentia that is run by Peter Ekman, who has previously been with e.g. Wine.com. Ekman is of Swedish origin but has lived in California for several years. Which wineries and brands that are included is not disclosed, but we are led to believe that it is the Beam Wine Estates that was acquired by Constellation in 2007 for $885 million. Nice discount.

Which grape variety is the most planted in France?
What is your guess? Cabernet? Syrah? Ugni blanc? Or something else? No, none of those. For most of the 20th century it was carignan, but half of that acreage has been up-rooted, primarily in the Languedoc region. So, the answer is: merlot. Here’s the latest statistics:
1. Merlot: 117 000 ha
2. Grenache: 99 000 ha
3. Ugni blanc: 83 000 ha
4. Carignan: 74 000 hektar
(according to the Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin, plantings in 2006)

Much has changed during the 20th century. Looking back, this is the evolution of carignan plantings:
1958: 169’ ha
1968: 211’ ha
1979: 207’ ha
1988: 167’ ha
1998: 102’ ha
2006: 74’ ha

Carignan was hard hit by the campaigns to pull up vines to dry out the “wine lake” in Europe. 130,000 ha were lost (a bit more than the entire acreage in Bordeaux) and plantings were cut in half. Which today many lament inn the Languedoc region since there are many talented producers there who know how to make quality wine from carignan (albeit it used to be used mainly for quantity). As is the case in e.g. Priorat in Catalonia, under the name cariñena or mazuelo. But yes, too much went into bad wine.

Merlot (merlot noir)
1958: 17’ ha
1968: 25’ ha
1979: 38’ ha
1988: 60’ ha
1998: 90’ ha
2006: 117’ ha

Merlot is the big winner with its friendly, fruity and round wines.

Grenache (grenache noir)
1958: 25’ ha
1968: 52’ ha
1979: 78’ ha
1988: 87’ ha
1998: 92’ ha
2006: 99’ ha

Also a grape that has progressed much. Which in many ways is positive. It is a relatively unknown grape that many think is uninteresting. But in the hands of a competent winemaker it can produce excellent wines. E.g. in Châteauneuf and in the Languedoc.

Ugni blanc
1958: 62’ ha
1968: 94’ ha
1979: 127’ ha
1988: 102’ ha
1998: 96’ ha
2006: 83’ ha

A grape that is primarily used to produce the base wine for cognac, which is the explanation for the extensive plantings.

In other words, until 1998 carignan was the most planted grape, but since then it has declined dramatically.

The best chardonnay wines
The competition Chardonnay du Monde has ranked the top chardonnay wines among the 923 competing entries from 37 countries. One wine was awarded Great Gold medal: Champagne Mandois 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs 2004, but 65 were given Gold. You can find the full results here www.chardonnay-du-monde.com

Denmark’s first commercial vineyard celebrates 10 year anniversary
In 1999 a few crazy souls started Dansk VinCenter. They planted 10,000 vines and thus became the first commercial vineyard in Denmark. In 2003 they launched their first wine with the odd name Nordlund (it’s a bit like calling a wine Smith or Jones in English). So this year they celebrate their 10th anniversary. Happy birthday! More info: www.vincenter.dk

Garage wine show in Copenhagen
Each year Dansk VinCenter organises the Garage Wine Fair in Copenhagen. This year they have announced the date to be 23 August at 11.00 to 16.00. There will be many wines to taste and good food on offer. Numerous importers and producers will be represented. More info: www.garagevin.com

Falling Bordeaux prices?
It is still too early to say what will happen to the Bordeaux prices. The presentation phase of the primeur campaign (wines from 2008) is now over and we are moving to the “price game”. Up? Stable? Down? We will know in the coming days and weeks. The UK market (most loudly) has clamoured for lower prices. Among the very first (perhaps the only one so far) to “release” its price for the 2008s is Chateau l’Angélus, owned by the business man Hubert de Boüard. He has launched his wine at 50 euro, compared to 85 euro for the 2007 – down by 40%. de Boüard says that his primary markets are in a crisis and that the 2008 is released at the same price as the 2004. One can then do the reverse calculation and note that between 2004 and 2007 Angélus raised their prices with 70%! So there is perhaps some margin for falling prices. Not many suppliers get a 70% price increase in three years. bordeauxwinenews.blogsudouest.com

New DOC in Piedmont: Alba
The regional regulators in Piedmont have approved a new DOC, adding to the 44 already present. To qualify for the new DOC Alba the wine has to contain at least 70 % nebbiolo and 15 % barbera, the remaining being made up of other local varieties. The reasons for creating yet another DOC are, it is said, commercial. The city of Alba is internationally well known and will perhaps attract new buyers… www.italiaatavola.net

Lafite buys vineyard in China
Lafite (Domaines Baron Rothschild) has bought a vineyard in the Shangdong province in China, in Penglai. They will initially plant 25 hectares of vines. The investment is done in collaboration with the Chinese group CITIC. Read more: newbordeaux.blog.co.uk

Barolo and its cru all’italiana
Many Barolo producers have a tradition of indicating a specific vineyard on the bottle. In Italy this is called Cru all’Italiana or singolo vigneto. However, this is in no way regulated by laws or regulations. This is about to change if the regional committee for DOCG Barolo has its way. The intention is to delimit and define the vineyards (borders, names, etc) that can be indicated on the label. If, that is, the Italian parliament gives it green light to the plan. Then, the only thing that remains is to agree on the details locally… www.italiaatavola.net

Are wine bloggers journalist? Do wine bloggers exist in the real world?
Are you a journalist if you blog about wine? That’s the question that Gabriella Opaz poses. She’s member of the British Circle of Wine Writers, CWW (just like us at BKWine). The reason is that the chairman of the CWW, Julie Arkell, has said in a letter to Off License News (OLN, a UK trade paper) that the CWW do not accept memberships of bloggers, if blogging is their only published activity. Gabriella is a member of the CWW and writes only on Catavino.net, a blog, sort of. Perhaps somewhat of a storm in a tea cup – if you are a “communicator” with a certain level of professionalism then what does the medium matter? Read more on wineblogger.info (On the picture: David Sifry, CEO of Technorati)

2.3 million euros for indoctrination and propaganda
No, we're not talking about the French anti-wine campaigns. 2.3 million euro (25 M SEK to be precise) is the budget that the Swedish retail monopoly Systembolaget spends on advertising in a year, according to numbers released at their AGM recently. But don’t get it wrong, they are not making publicity for wine or spirits. The “advertising” they do is primarily telling the Swedish people how lucky they are to have the Systembolaget monopoly, how wonderful a job they do in making sure Swedes have a muuuch better wine selection than in countries without a monopoly etc etc. The CEO Anitra Steen says: “It is important to all the time talk about the mission we have because if people are to continue supporting the monopoly they have to know why we have a retail monopoly, how it works, and what the effects of it are, and that’s what we talk about in our campaigns”. Every year they make a survey to gauge the support. In the latest one they have just over 60% support for the monopoly, up from less than 50% a few years ago. Is it very remarkable when they spend 2.3 million euro each year on telling people how wonderful they are?

The Systembolaget profit = 833 million SEK
The net profit for 2008 for Systembolaget AB, the Swedish retail alcohol monopoly, reached 833 M SEK (76 M euro). Total turnover increased from 20.2 M SEK to 21.3 M SEK and sales measured in volume pure alcohol grew with 2.7%. The CEO, Anitra Steen, is keen to point out the benefits of having a monopoly that is not profit motivated. Not motivated? Decent enough anyway.

World Wine Statistics:
World wine consumption down, but exports up
Consumption of wine in 2008 shrunk with 2 million hl, but the world wine market is becoming increasingly global. 37% of all wine produced were exported, i.e. were drunk in another country than where it was made. That’s up from 18% in the early 80s. World wine consumption is estimated to have reached 242,.9 Mhl in 2008, which is 2 Mhl less than in 2007. Ironically, it is primarily the big wine producing countries that have seen the consumption fall. In the “EU-15” people drank 2.2 Mhl less. It’s the first time in several years that wine consumption falls. (Source: OIV)

World Wine Statistics:
Wine production stable at 269 Mhl
The total world wine production is estimated to have reached 269 Mhl in 2008. Within the EU production fell: 161.6 Mhl compared to 163.7 Mhl in 2007. Details: France -4.6 Mhl, Spain -2.2 Mhl, Italy +2.7 Mhl (!). For the rest of the world, there is a very slight increase. (Source: OIV)

World Wine Statistics:
USA overtakes Italy in wine consumption
The item that has probably attracted the most attention is that the USA passes Italy in wine consumption in 2008. They now drink more wine in the US than in the old country: 27.3 Mhl (up with 0.8 Mhl) in the US compared to 26 Mhl (down 0.7 Mhl). That makes the US the world’s second wine consuming market, after France where we gulp down 31.8 Mhl (down with only 0.4 Mhl in spite of various government anti-wine measures). (Source: OIV)

World Wine Statistics:
Wine exports: Spain overtakes France, the New World steams ahead
The world’s biggest wine exporter is Italy with 17.2 Mhl (down from 18.5 Mhl in 2007). In second place we now have Spain: 16.5 Mhl (15.1 Mhl) and in third place France, with a big fall to 13.6 Mhl (compared to 15.2 in 2007). This means that Spain passes France and becomes the world’s second largest wine exporter. If you look at it in a longer perspective The New World is steaming ahead and growing its exports: in 2008 it is estimated that the “New World” accounts for 30% of world exports, compared to 60% for the EU’s Big Five (gy, Sp, Fr, It, Po). In the first half of the 80s the numbers were different: the New World 1.6% and The Big Five 76%. Keep in mind though that the pie is now much bigger, so the “demise” of the old world does not mean that they export less wine if you count in volume, only that they have lost market share on a growing market, which is often forgotten. (Source: OIV)

Better sex drive for women who drink red wine
Researchers at the Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital in Florence have conducted a study that shows that women who drink red wine lead a more active sex life. The study included 789 women aged between 18 and 50. It showed that those who regularly drank two glasses of red wine per day we much more sexually active than those who drank nothing or only occasionally. Doses exceeding two glasses seem not to have been investigated. Santa Maria – doesn’t that sound like a monastic hospital? One wonders if a follow-up study might show that Chianti is particularly effective. Read more: www.vitisphere.com

Livingstone-Learmont wins prize for Rhône bible
It’s a brick of a book, but then it contains just about everything you might want to know on northern Rhône wines – written by John Livingstone-Learmont. That’s his latest book but he has previously written others and many, many wine articles on Rhône wines. He has now been decorated with the Albert Golay prize 2009 for his contribution to Rhône wine fame (for the brick and the rest). More: www.vitisphere.com The prize was created to honour the memory of the best French sommelier 1976. Read more about the book on our book review page http://www.bkwine.com/vininformation/wine_books.htm

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Copyright © Britt Karlsson, BKWine
www.bkwine.com
info@bkwine.com