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Are consumers paying lip service or is it a paradigm shift? | New Brief out, #201 | The Wine & Wine Travel Newsletter

Is the consumer just paying lip service in the enthusiasm for environmentally friendly and sustainability? Or are we approaching a...

BKWine Brief nr 201, May 2020

Is the consumer just paying lip service in the enthusiasm for environmentally friendly and sustainability? Or are we approaching a...

”Pétillant naturel”, petnat, obtains official recognition in Montlouis-sur-Loire

The oldest way to make sparkling wines is called méthode ancestrale in France. The method is mainly used in Gaillac,...

Four top-quality wine producers from South Africa

If you are planning a wine tour later on to South Africa, the best way to prepare is to drink...

The world market for sparkling wines. Which are the winners and losers? | Britt on Forbes

Wine consumers around the world drink sparkling wines like never before. The message from producers and wine writers has been...

Where are we now? What is happening with our wine travel activity?

This is from the introduction to the BKWine Brief #200 and also from our wine travel site BKWineTours.com on how...

Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, May 2020

Uncorked: Under this heading, we collect various wines that we have tasted, and liked, recently. It can be wines that...

Argentinian wines to make your barbecue a success, not only Malbec

Argentina is known for its Malbec and its excellent meat. They both go amazingly well together. But if you want...

Asado, some rules for a successful Argentine barbecue

Barbecues are loved in many countries and the season is starting. In South Africa, they invite you to a braai,...

Pressure chamber will help New Zealand wine growers to irrigate at the right time

Many wine regions are doing research to better understand the challenges posed by climate change. In the recently inaugurated Bragato...

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”Pétillant naturel”, petnat, obtains official recognition in Montlouis-sur-Loire

By Britt Karlsson on May 28, 2020 in News

The oldest way to make sparkling wines is called méthode ancestrale in France. The method is mainly used in Gaillac, Limoux and Die. A more modern, or at least trendier, style of this method is called pétnat, or pétillant naturel. It is an easy-drinking bubbly wine, often from the Loire Valley, popular at “natural wine […]

Four top-quality wine producers from South Africa

By Britt Karlsson on May 27, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

If you are planning a wine tour later on to South Africa, the best way to prepare is to drink South African wines. We have many favourites. Read below about four excellent producers we sometimes (or regularly) visit on our tours to South Africa. Glenwood, Franschhoek Stark-Condé, Stellenbosch Post House, Stellenbosch The Ahrens Family, Paarl […]

The world market for sparkling wines. Which are the winners and losers? | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on May 25, 2020 in More

Wine consumers around the world drink sparkling wines like never before. The message from producers and wine writers has been clearly understood. Bubbles can be drunk at all times and not just when you are celebrating. The production has increased by 57% since 2002. The world now produces 2.5 billion bottles or sparkling wine. This […]

Where are we now? What is happening with our wine travel activity?

By Per Karlsson on May 24, 2020 in News

This is from the introduction to the BKWine Brief #200 and also from our wine travel site BKWineTours.com on how life is in the wine tourism sector currently. Where are we now? It is easier to know where we are than where we will be. Our activity is fundamentally affected by what is happening in […]

Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, May 2020

By Britt Karlsson on May 22, 2020 in Tastings

Uncorked: Under this heading, we collect various wines that we have tasted, and liked, recently. It can be wines that we have had during dinner at home, at wine tastings, press lunches, visits to vineyards, or other occasions. We describe the wines just with a few short sentences, tasting notes that we hope will give […]

Argentinian wines to make your barbecue a success, not only Malbec

By Britt Karlsson on May 20, 2020 in News

Argentina is known for its Malbec and its excellent meat. They both go amazingly well together. But if you want to make an Argentinean evening at home, which is quite easy if you have a grill/barbecue, you don’t have to limit yourself to Malbec see our separate text on asado). We explained recently how to […]

Asado, some rules for a successful Argentine barbecue

By Britt Karlsson on May 16, 2020 in Food and Wine

Barbecues are loved in many countries and the season is starting. In South Africa, they invite you to a braai, in Argentina and Chile to an asado. What’s so special about an asado? Is it like any barbecue party, except that it is, of course, mandatory to drink Malbec? There are actually some specific asado […]

Pressure chamber will help New Zealand wine growers to irrigate at the right time

By Britt Karlsson on May 15, 2020 in News

Many wine regions are doing research to better understand the challenges posed by climate change. In the recently inaugurated Bragato Research Institute in Blenheim, Marlborough, in New Zealand, 84 small fermentation tanks and a lot of other necessary equipment, some in miniature format, will enable various research projects for both viticulture and vinification. After two […]

Parusso – Barolo with plenty of everything

By Åsa Johansson on May 11, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

“I want to give everything, I only live once and I want to give everything I have,” says Marco Parusso from the eponymous wine estate in Monforte d´Alba in Barolo. You can feel that in the wines. There’s a lot of everything. Fruit. Colour. Tannins. “Tannins are the hallmark of Barolo and they should be […]

Landscape and vineyards in Chablis, Burgundy

Record-breaking heat and drought this spring in Burgundy

By Britt Karlsson on May 10, 2020 in News

It has been an extremely warm and dry spring in some parts of France, especially the northern and north-eastern parts. We asked Philippe Bernard at Clos Saint Louis in Fixin (Côte de Nuits) how the vines are doing. “This is another ‘année de folie’, a crazy year”, he says. “It has been hot and very […]

A vine leaf attacked by mildiou (downy mildew)

Reduced spraying in the vineyard with the help of viscosity

By Britt Karlsson on May 8, 2020 in News

The idea seems brilliant. The company De Sangosse has developed a new product, a so-called adjuvant, named LE 846, whose viscous and liquid properties help to reduce the spraying by a quarter against downy and powdery mildew, two difficult fungal diseases. This adjuvant will reduce the amount of fungicide remaining in the air. There will […]

Large-scale viticulture, how does it work?

By Britt Karlsson on May 7, 2020 in News

How is it possible for some wines to cost so little? Is it about mass production, about advanced industrialization? A new project run by Anivin de France, the association of producers of Vin de France, in collaboration with the research institute Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin, shows how to mechanize more efficiently […]

Hail at Chateau Bernateau, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux

Hail in Bordeaux, reporting from Château Bernateau in Saint Emilion

By Britt Karlsson on May 3, 2020 in News

Bordeaux was hit by violent hailstorms on April 17. In Saint Emilion, Château Bernateau – that we were supposed to visit the day after on our Bordeaux spring tour, if everything had been normal – was hit, but not as much as they first feared, says owner Karine Lavau. But they needed to react quickly […]

Tariro Masayiti, winemaker at Springfontein Wine Estate, Walker Bay, South Africa

“Good” news for South Africa: Wine exports again permitted as the country eases lockdown

By Britt Karlsson on May 1, 2020 in News

Wine producers in South Africa have been through some tough times but now things are at least getting a bit better. During five weeks of lockdown, they have not been allowed to sell their wines locally (all alcohol sales are prohibited) or to export. Today, on May 1, the government will remove some restrictions. The […]

Unison Vineyard Reserve Merlot Gimblett Gravels, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

New Zealand pioneer Unison Vineyard interprets Gimblett Gravels terroir | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on April 28, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand was famous for its red wines long before Central Otago. Already in 1851, the country’s oldest still existing winery was founded here, Mission Estate. Another prominent pioneer in Hawke’s Bay, founded in early 1900, is Church Road, now owned by French Pernod Ricard. Having been overrun by Central Otago as […]

Maxime Debure, founder and CEO of WineFunding

Investing in wine through crowdfunding, interview with WineFunding CEO | Per on Forbes

By Per Karlsson on April 27, 2020 in More

Unless you have millions of euros to spare you’re not going to be a winery owner. But it can still be fun to get involved with wine. There is a less onerous way to do it – through crowdfunding. I met with Maxime Debure, founder and CEO of WineFunding. Dubure trained as a winemaker and […]

Champagne bottles that are organic, "bio"

Organic certification makes financial sense for vineyards according to new study

By Britt Karlsson on April 27, 2020 in News

It is often debated whether it makes economic sense to work organically and if it is possible to raise the prices of the wines if you switch to sustainable or organic agriculture. Now we have it in black and white, yes, it does pay off, according to a new report. At least for bulk wines […]

Tasting wines blind in hidden bottles at the Languedoc Week

How to choose 100 good producers from Languedoc-Roussillon among the 10,000 there is?

By Per Karlsson on April 26, 2020 in Languedoc-Roussillon, the book, Wine Regions

“Languedoc-Roussillon is a big area. Around 200,000 hectares. Exactly how many producers there are is difficult to know, but it is probably about 10,000 to 15,000. In our book “Languedoc-Roussillon, The Wines Of Southern France” we have selected almost 100 with profiles and around 150 more which we basically only mention by name. All equally […]

One jury team at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

A medal on the label can mean a lot for a wine

By Britt Karlsson on April 25, 2020 in News

A recent Wine Intelligence study shows that consumers’ knowledge of wine decreased between 2015 and 2019. But that does not mean that these consumers do not buy wine. So how do they choose their wines? Maybe they are attracted by a medal sticker on the bottle. Recently, the big wine competition Concours Mondial de Bruxelles […]

Participating in the Pebbles Project at Creation Wines in Hemel en Aarde, South Africa

South Africa: Creation Wines in Hemel-en-Aarde supports The Pebbles Project

By Britt Karlsson on April 24, 2020 in News

During our South Africa tour in February we visited Creation Wines in beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde on the south coast. We tasted the lovely wines of course. But owner Carolyn Martin also took the opportunity to tell us about something that is dear to her, namely The Pebbles Project. This project was founded in 2004 and helps […]

Roccafiore Fiorfiore, grechetto from Umbria

Roccafiore Umbria, Italy’s best grechetto

By Åsa Johansson on April 22, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

“Just don’t make the same wines as your grandfather did, my friends said when I told them I would start making my own wines,” says Luca Baccarelli of the Roccafiore winery in Umbria, laughing. His grandfather’s wines were rustic, blunt and heavy. Just the opposite of what Luca makes today. “In Umbria, we have always […]

Jenny Dobson, winemaker and wine consultant in New Zealand

Jenny Dobson, legendary Kiwi winemaker, talks about changes and challenges in New Zealand | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on April 21, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

After having worked for 16 years in France, winemaker Jenny Dobson returned to New Zealand in 1996. Her home country was at the time slowly changing from being only a country of sheep and rugby to being also a country of wine. The region she chose to settle in was Hawke’s Bay on New Zealand’s […]

The harvest 2020 in New Zealand is saved and looks very promising, in spite of challenges, and South Africa

By Britt Karlsson on April 20, 2020 in News

In New Zealand, wine producers were in the middle of the harvest when the message came on March 25 about a total lock-down of the country. The relief was great when they were told that the harvest, despite everything, could be continued and completed. “Farming and viticulture have been defined as essential industries, so we […]

Kevin King, owner of South Hill Wines, Elgin, South Africa

Some inspiration for all home-dinners with wines from South Africa

By Britt Karlsson on April 16, 2020 in News

There will be many dinners at home in the coming weeks. Here are some recommendations from producers we met on our tour in South Africa in February. Gabriëlskloof Amphora Sauvignon Blanc, Cape South Coast, Bot River, ~15 euro Gabriëlskloof No. 79893 The Blend, South Africa, ~15 euro Family winery in Bot River, next to more […]

Jamie Verbraak at Casa Marin, San Antonio, Chile

Casa Marin’s crunchy Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses from Chile’s cool Pacific coast

By Britt Karlsson on April 15, 2020 in Wine Producer Profiles

Casa Marin is the wine producer who showed the world that you can make quality wines just a few kilometres from the cold Pacific Ocean in Chile. Last year, the Lo Abarca area of the San Antonio Valley even obtained its very own designation of origin. We have visited Casa Marin once a year since […]

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