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Fredholms Vingård (Winery) in Scania wins a Great Gold Medal in Rioja

The Swedish vineyard Fredholms Vingård has won a medal in a wine competition in Rioja, the International Wine Awards Spain

The most popular grape varieties in Italy – the country of many grapes

Few wine countries, if any, can compete with Italy in terms of the number of grapes used for wines. The

Finally, it rains in South Africa

It’s winter in South Africa and it’s raining, at last. A relief, but more rain is needed, says DP Burger,

Hail nets are now permitted in France

Wine producers in France are now allowed to use vertical hail nets. After three years of experiments in Burgundy, the

Vineyard prices in France on the rise

Buying a vineyard in France is not getting any cheaper. On the contrary. All categories of vineyards are becoming more

A quick 101 on making gin-and-tonic

I imagine hardly anyone needs an instruction on how to make a Gin-and-Tonic, or G-and-T. Could it be the world's

Popular bubbles from the Loire Valley

The various sparkling crémant wines produced around France are becoming more and more popular. Not least the Crémant de Loire,

No, organic-biodynamic-natural is not like “in the old days” | New Brief out, #179 | The Wine Newsletter

No, organic-biodynamic-natural is not at all like “in the old days” We often hear people say that organic (biodynamic, “natural”)

This post is also available in: Swedish

Fredholms Vingård (Winery) in Scania wins a Great Gold Medal in Rioja

By Britt Karlsson on August 14, 2018 in News

The Swedish vineyard Fredholms Vingård has won a medal in a wine competition in Rioja, the International Wine Awards Spain 2018. And not just any medal but a Great Gold Medal. We say a big congratulations! The award-winning wine is ELSA 2017 and is a white wine made from the solaris grape. Solaris is sometimes […]

The most popular grape varieties in Italy – the country of many grapes

By Britt Karlsson on August 13, 2018 in News

Few wine countries, if any, can compete with Italy in terms of the number of grapes used for wines. The ten most planted grapes account for only 38% of the total plantings. In France the top-ten account for 70% and in Spain 75%. “Other grapes” are thus planted on and extraordinary 62% of the total […]

Finally, it rains in South Africa

By Britt Karlsson on August 9, 2018 in News

It’s winter in South Africa and it’s raining, at last. A relief, but more rain is needed, says DP Burger, winemaker at Glenwood in Franschhoek, and others we have heard from. The draught in Western Cape, where the wine regions are, have long been a serious problem, but the situation is now improving. The water […]

Hail nets are now permitted in France

By Britt Karlsson on August 8, 2018 in News

Wine producers in France are now allowed to use vertical hail nets. After three years of experiments in Burgundy, the INAO has decided that the nets do not affect the maturity or quality of the grapes. The background is that in recent year hail has caused extensive damage and lost harvests in several wine regions. […]

Vineyard prices in France on the rise

By Britt Karlsson on August 7, 2018 in News

Buying a vineyard in France is not getting any cheaper. On the contrary. All categories of vineyards are becoming more and more expensive. This is evident from numbers recently published by Safer, a governmental organization overseeing property transactions. The average price per hectare of AOP vineyards is 143,900 euros, an increase from last year of […]

A quick 101 on making gin-and-tonic

By Per Karlsson on August 6, 2018 in More

I imagine hardly anyone needs an instruction on how to make a Gin-and-Tonic, or G-and-T. Could it be the world’s most popular drink? But there are different ways to do it. For example, in this video, they use a blood grapefruit. Personally, I prefer a slice of lemon or lime. Some use cucumbers, blueberries and […]

Popular bubbles from the Loire Valley

By Britt Karlsson on August 2, 2018 in News

The various sparkling crémant wines produced around France are becoming more and more popular. Not least the Crémant de Loire, which has seen a huge boost for its exports. 2017 saw an increase in exports to the US by 9%. The wines are made mainly in the Saumur area but can also be made in […]

Fattoria Bini, a historic wine estate near Florence in Tuscany | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on July 30, 2018 in Wine Producer Profiles

Fattoria Bini is located not far away from Florence, in a small town called Empoli in the Chianti region. A villa from the 16th century is the centrepiece of the estate. It is surrounded by vines, olive trees and a rare variety of tree species. The Fattoria Bini Chianti wines have an unmistakable Sangiovese character […]

Organic vineyards increase in France

By Britt Karlsson on July 30, 2018 in News

Currently, there are 5,835 organically certified wine estates in France. This is an increase of 11% since 2016. The certified vineyard surface is 61,048 hectares, an increase of 4%. The trend shows a continued increase. 17,617 hectares are under conversion. Of these, 3,369 hectares are in their third (and last) year of conversion, 5,588 are […]

The most popular grapes in South Africa

By Britt Karlsson on July 29, 2018 in News

In South Africa, around 100 different grape varieties are grown on an area of approximately 117,000 hectares (table grapes not included). This is quite impressive, although of course many of the varieties are grown in very small quantities. The most planted variety in South Africa is still Chenin Blanc with 19,000 hectares. This is still […]

Sweden is world champion in bag-in-box wines

By Britt Karlsson on July 27, 2018 in News

Swedes are world champions when it comes to drinking bag-in-box wines. In 2017 box wines were separated from bulk wines in international import and export statistics. Up until then, everything over 2 litres was considered as bulk wine. So now we have statistics showing which countries export and import bag-in-box. The statistics show that Sweden […]

Three good value wines from Chile to taste this summer

By Britt Karlsson on July 26, 2018 in News

Chile has in recent years proven that it has an impressive breadth as a wine country. Producers big and small go exploring in all directions to find the perfect spot to grow vines. Here are three suggestions for good summer drinking from Chile: Emiliana VIGNO 2015 comes from Maule. It is made from 100% carignan […]

The truth about the size of the French wine regions

By Britt Karlsson on July 24, 2018 in News

Sometimes it is said that statistics is an effective way to hide the truth. But often it is very interesting and sometimes surprising. New statistics – very detailed – were recently published on the wine production in France in 2017. In total, France has 745,044 hectares of vineyards. Of this, 446,000 hectares are AOP vineyards […]

2018, a very good year in Mendoza

By Britt Karlsson on July 20, 2018 in News

The Argentinian wine farmers really needed this vintage. After small quantities due to severe weather conditions in 2016 and 2017, 2018 is a very good year both for quality and for quantity. The quantity is up 30% from last year. The growing season offered perfect weather. Not so much rain, hot days and cool nights, […]

Un chateau en ville by Lestrille, wine bar Bordeaux

Un Château en Ville, a new wine bar in Bordeaux

By Britt Karlsson on July 17, 2018 in News

Château Lestrille is a family-run chateau in Entre-deux-Mers, the region between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. This is a region that most people only pass through going from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion. But if you stop you will discover a lot of good wine producers. One of our favourites here is Lestrille, located in the […]

Oak barrel ageing and fermentation cellar, Chateau du Tertre

What’s on at BKWine Tours (June 2018)

By Per Karlsson on July 16, 2018 in News

Autumn 2018 Champagne, September 26-30 Bordeaux, October 10-14 Douro Valley in Portugal, October 17-21 South Africa, November 9-19 Winter 2019 Chile-Argentina, January 20 – February 4, 2019 South Africa, February 16-24, 2019 New Zealand, March 11-26, 2019 For more information please contact us on email or on phone (we’re on French time), or go to […]

Challenging Chianti: Morellino di Scansano in Maremma makes some great Tuscan wines too | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on July 12, 2018 in Wine Regions

The coastal region of Toscana, called Maremma, is beautiful but not as well known for its wines as Chianti or Montalcino. But there are, in fact, a number of famous wines. In Bolgheri, Sassicaia started the Super Tuscan trend in the 1970s, a trend that totally changed the Tuscan wine industry. A bit further south […]

Stuart George with Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945

The Mouton Mystery: Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945, fake or real?

By Stuart George on July 11, 2018 in More

A purchase of a special wine from the cellar of a special house with special owners, a story told by BKWine Magazine guest writer, as well as exclusive wine expert at Vins Extraordinaires, Stuart George. Faringdon House is a 14,510 square feet house in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, England. The house is Grade I-listed, protected as a […]

Wine Fair with Swedish (!) Wines on July 27-28

By Britt Karlsson on July 10, 2018 in News

Sometimes people as “Do you make wine in Sweden?” A fair question. The climate is obviously not ideal. The answer is “Yes.” I believe there is well less than 100 hectares in total, but quite a few producers. If you happen to be in the south of Sweden on July 27-28 you have a unique […]

Alexandre Penet, Champagne Penet Chardonnet

Top champagne Penet Chardonnet should be enjoyed as wines, not just bubbly | Britt on Forbes

By Per Karlsson on July 6, 2018 in Wine Producer Profiles

A lot of champagnes are drunk at occasions when all that matters are the bubbles. But if you open a high quality champagne with a strong character it deserves more attention. It should actually be drunk as a “normal” wine. And why not with food? When you meet Alexandre Penet at Champagne Penet-Chardonnet in Verzy […]

Assessing wine quality and the ageing potential of a wine; the pursuit of the perfectly mature wine

By Mattias Schyberg on July 4, 2018 in More

Taste is by definition subjective, but that should not hinder us from using a more objective approach when discussing wine and winnings. What we tend to like varies. Some prefer to drink wine with a lot of maturation tones, others to drink wine young. And in addition, there is a whole spectrum of taste preferences […]

Oil spray in the vineyard to fight weeds

By Britt Karlsson on July 3, 2018 in News

During our spring wine tours we have visited the small and interesting Champagne house Philipponnat. On our visit in early May we saw people working in their prestigious vineyard Clos des Goisses with knapsack sprayers on their backs. Obviously they were doing some kind of treatment. It turned out to be weed control with a […]

Young people drinking wine in a wine bar

The world’s wine consumption has grown a tiny little bit in 2017

By Britt Karlsson on July 2, 2018 in News

IWSR, an English company specializing in market research in the beverage industry, has published figures for global alcohol and wine consumption in 2017. Total alcohol consumption increased very modestly by 0.01%, but as it decreased in 2016, this small increase is still positive for the industry. It was mainly wine and cider that accounted for […]

Céline Gueguen with her scay vines (or chardonnay)

Sacy, a rare grape in northern Burgundy

By Britt Karlsson on June 30, 2018 in News

Unusual grapes can pop-up when you least expect it. On one of our tours in Chablis in the spring, a little-known grape called sacy made an appearance during the tasting of Domaine Frédéric and Céline Gueguen. Of course, this was not a Chablis. Some Chablis producers, including Domaine Gueguen, also make wine outside the Chablis […]

A glass of Italian bubbly wine being poured

Mini-Prosecco will be served on French TGV trains

By Britt Karlsson on June 28, 2018 in News

Champagne producers would like to make us believe that Prosecco’s huge successes does not affect champagne. That champagne and prosecco play in different leagues. It is possible, but hard to believe 100%. At least Prosecco has now succeeded with the feat of entering the French high speed TGV train bistro wagons. You can now buy […]

Hemel en Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa

Renaissance for wine from Zimbabwe; celebrating with sparkling?

By Britt Karlsson on June 27, 2018 in News

Wine production conditions have hardly been ideal in recent decades, but now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, at least one producer has decided to blow life in the dormant wine industry in Zimbabwe. Jonathan Passaportis, owner of Winelands of Bushman Rock, the almost only surviving vineyard, believes in Zimbabwe’s future […]

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