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French coopers honours California

The French Coopers’ Association (Fédération des Tonneliers de France) recently held its annual meeting in Napa Valley, California. It was

Is Prosecco a grape or an origin?

A Prosecco debate rages in both Australia and New Zealand. The big question is whether Prosecco should be considered as

Wine Paris, finally Paris has a major wine fair

Paris’ first major professional wine fair, Wine Paris, took place on 11-13 February. Many consider it about time that the

Is it worth while ageing wine? | New Brief out, #186 | The Wine Newsletter

Is it worth ageing wine? “With age comes complexity but wines get more similar with time. You find more nuances

BKWine Brief nr 186, February 2019

Is it worth ageing wine? “With age comes complexity but wines get more similar with time. You find more nuances

A wine tour to Champagne like no other!

We will of course have a wine tour to Champagne this fall. If you are a champagne enthusiast then you

Foglia tonda, who dares to bet on the unknown Tuscan grape with the round leaves?

A wine does not have to have strong colour to be good, just look at pinot noir and nebbiolo. But

Sauvignon blanc, loved and maligned, but who makes the best? | Britt on Forbes

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular grape varieties in the world. With 123,000 hectares it is in fact

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French coopers honours California

By Britt Karlsson on March 20, 2019 in News

The French Coopers’ Association (Fédération des Tonneliers de France) recently held its annual meeting in Napa Valley, California. It was the first time they gathered outside France. That the meeting took place in Napa is not a coincidence. It was the Californian wine industry that gave new life to the French cooperage (barrel making) industry […]

Is Prosecco a grape or an origin?

By Britt Karlsson on March 17, 2019 in News

A Prosecco debate rages in both Australia and New Zealand. The big question is whether Prosecco should be considered as being a grape variety or a geographical origin. Up until 2009, Prosecco was the name of the grape with which the sparkling wine Prosecco was produced in north-eastern Italy. But then the Italians changed the […]

Wine Paris, finally Paris has a major wine fair

By Britt Karlsson on February 28, 2019 in News

Paris’ first major professional wine fair, Wine Paris, took place on 11-13 February. Many consider it about time that the French capital hosts a large wine fair. Wine Paris is a merger of Wine Vision and Vinisud. Wine Vision is a fair that made its debut in Paris in February 2018 with exhibitors from France’s […]

A wine tour to Champagne like no other!

By Per Karlsson on February 20, 2019 in News

We will of course have a wine tour to Champagne this fall. If you are a champagne enthusiast then you want to go there sooner or later. There are many ways to do that. Travel on your own. Go with some tour operator, BKWine or someone else. And other options. Everything will be different, you […]

Foglia tonda, who dares to bet on the unknown Tuscan grape with the round leaves?

By Åsa Johansson on February 19, 2019 in Grape Varieties

A wine does not have to have strong colour to be good, just look at pinot noir and nebbiolo. But it helps, at least if one goes with many consumers’ preconceived ideas. If one were to judge by the colour, foglia tonda would be among the most treasured grapes, but instead the grape has almost […]

Sauvignon blanc, loved and maligned, but who makes the best? | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on February 18, 2019 in Grape Varieties

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular grape varieties in the world. With 123,000 hectares it is in fact the third most planted white variety in the world, after the Spanish grape Airen (218,000 hectares) and Chardonnay (210,000). France has the biggest plantings, followed by New Zealand, Chile and South Africa. It is a […]

Piedmont’s treasure of lesser-known native grape varieties

By Sara Nässén on February 17, 2019 in Grape Varieties

Piedmont has a wealth of little-known traditional varieties. Time to discover them! The wine region Piedmont in north-western Italy is best known for its powerful Nebbiolo wines Barolo and Barbaresco, its fruity Barbera and sweet Moscato wines. But the region has much more to offer. Piedmont hosts an impressive range of indigenous (autochthonous) grape varieties […]

Rålund blueberry wine producer Li Holmberg

A big surprise: Rålund, wine made from blueberries

By Sven-Olof Johansson on February 16, 2019 in Wine Producer Profiles

“The wine world’s outsider, literally” Imagine starting a journey in Jerez down in the sherry triangle and finishing it up among the riesling vineyards in Piesport, Germany. You will then have travelled almost two thousand three hundred kilometres and covered most of Europe’s vineyards. That’s what you might have thought anyway. If you continue the […]

Vineyards, a winery and mountains in Franschhoek, South Africa

The giant Distell in South Africa is investing in premium wines

By Britt Karlsson on February 14, 2019 in News

Distell is South Africa’s largest wine producer. With brands such as Alto, Nederburg, Durbanville Hills, Plaisir de Merle, Pongrácz, Fleur du Cap, Allesverloren, Zonnebloem, Two Oceans, Drostdy-Hof and others, the company accounts for a not insignificant part of the entire South African wine production. Now all the premium wines of Distell will be managed separately. […]

Street art, graffiti, in Valparaiso in Chile

Street art to promote Chilean wine in Valparaiso

By Britt Karlsson on February 7, 2019 in News

The mythical Chilean port city of Valparaiso is a fascinating city in many ways, not least thanks to the artistic street art that gives the colourful city even more colour. Now the wine is also represented. In November, a group of talented street artist were asked by some Chilean wine producers to create large murals […]

Ripe merlot grapes on the vine in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux

Organic nurseries: It is time to be organic from the very beginning

By Britt Karlsson on February 5, 2019 in News

Today, an organic wine farmer who wants to plant new vines can buy the same vines from the nursery as a conventional wine farmer. But this will change. New rules, although not until 2035, will require organic wine producers to buy organic certified plants. The nurseries are already preparing. And the authorities are busy writing […]

Oak barrels with Burgundy wine ageing in the cellars of Chanson, Beaune

Burgundy shows off its best figures

By Britt Karlsson on January 31, 2019 in News

For the lover of statistics and/or the lover of Burgundy wines, we have found a handy and updated summary of all relevant figures concerning the wines of Burgundy, from Chablis to Mâconnais (Beaujolais not included). Burgundy has 84 appellations, which is 23% of all France’s wine appellations. Grapes are grown on almost 30,000 hectares. 50% […]

Champagne inspires German quality sekt

By Britt Karlsson on January 30, 2019 in News

VDP stands for Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweinguter and is a highly respected association of around 200 German top producers with their own set of rules for wine growing and wine making. VDP recently launched a new category of German high-quality Sekt. This new category, VDP Sekt, can, like the still VDP wines, be made in four […]

"Water", a sign in an old-style grape press in Champagne

California wine: from the time of prohibition until now

By Britt Karlsson on January 21, 2019 in News

For 100 years, the magazine Wines and Vines (formerly called California Grape Grower) has written about Californian wine news. To launch a wine magazine in the United States in 1919, just a few months before the prohibition started in January 1920, may not seem as the smartest of ideas. On the other hand, nobody thought […]

XXO, new category of cognac now official

By Britt Karlsson on January 18, 2019 in News

Cognac has a new category: XXO. In 2017 Hennessy launched a prestigious Cognac which they named XXO. But the authorities were not happy about it as this category of Cognac didn’t exist. Thus, the sale of this particular Cognac was suspended. But Hennessy did not give up and with the help of luxury conglomerate LVMH, […]

Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, January 2019

By Britt Karlsson on January 16, 2019 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 […]

A wine adventure on the Greek islands in the Ionian Sea

By Marina Mirzabekian on January 14, 2019 in Wine Regions

Sun, sea and sand in Greece is not bad, but it is even better if you get some good wines with it. One great destination is the islands in the Ionian Sea. There you can find some unusual wines, made from local grape varieties that match perfectly the Greek food. BKWine Magazine’s contributor Marina Mirzabekian […]

Lessona, a pioneer in Piedmont

By Åsa Johansson on January 13, 2019 in Wine Regions

Nebbiolo is more than Barolo and Barbaresco! There is much more to discover in Piedmont than just the well-known classics of Barolo and Barbaresco. Today the region is bubbling with a new generation of winemakers, almost like the Far West, and small wine regions that are in the process of rebuilding their wine production. Much, […]

A barrel that has been treated with sulphur

Tea instead of sulphur to protect the wine

By Britt Karlsson on January 12, 2019 in News

A few years ago, we wrote in the Brief about the South African wine producer KWV who had made a wine called Earth’s Essence without added sulphur. Instead, they had used the rooibos plant, known for its antioxidant properties. Continued research in South Africa has now shown that the South African tea plant honeybush also […]

Favourite Biodynamic Wine Producers Certified by Biodyvin | Britt on Forbes

By Britt Karlsson on January 11, 2019 in Winemaking & Viticulture

The number of biodynamic wine producers is growing in France and in the world. It is still only a small percentage of all organic producers that are biodynamic, but they get noticed not least because many of them make outstanding wines. You can work biodynamically without being certified, of course, but many choose a certification. […]

Rosé wine in Provence: The success continues with even higher prices

By Britt Karlsson on January 9, 2019 in News

There is no end to the success of rosé wines in Provence. Producers and wine merchants are already thinking of next summer. Many producers in Provence will have sold their vintage 2018 before Christmas. And prices for Cote de Provence rosé continue to rise. The wholesale purchase price of 350 euros per hectolitre – bulk […]

A vine leaf attacked by mildiou (downy mildew)

Three white fungus resistant hybrid grape varieties approved in Austria

By Britt Karlsson on January 8, 2019 in News

Four new white grape varieties have just been approved for use in Austrian Qualitätswein (quality wine) Three of these are so-called PIWIs, which is fungal resistant crossings. PIWI is a German abbreviation for Pilzwiderstandsfähig (literally fungus resistant). The fourth grape is Goldmuskateller, a regular Vitis vinifera that also has a good resistance to rot. The […]

The Baron cooperage in Cognac plants trees for the environment

By Britt Karlsson on January 7, 2019 in News

The family-owned Baron cooperage will plant as many oak trees as the number of barrels they produce each year, starting this year, which is 12,000 (barrels and trees). From one tree you can make more than one barrel, but not many more. The “waste” is around 80% which of course can be used for other […]

A stainless steel tank with organic wine

The market for organic wines will continue to grow in France

By Britt Karlsson on January 6, 2019 in News

Demand for organic wine will continue to increase in France, SudVinBio announced after looking at developments in recent years and on future trends. The study has been made as a prelude to the organic wine fair Millésime Bio, which takes place in Montpellier in late January. Organic wine sales have grown annually by 16.8% by […]

Sculpture at the Palais Royale in Paris, chrome silver spheres, balls

Spherical, biodynamic … an oak barrel can be made in many different ways

By Britt Karlsson on January 4, 2019 in News

The big trade fair Vinitech 2018 took place in Bordeaux in November. Every year Vinitech presents new and innovative equipment for winegrowing and winemaking. This year, for example, a biodynamic oak barrel drew attention. It is manufactured by Tonnellerie Sylvan and is made with trees that have been cut down at specific dates according to […]

Cigalus 2016 from Gérard Bertrand in Languedoc was the 2018 Nobel Prize wine

By Britt Karlsson on January 3, 2019 in News

In fierce competition (we guess), Cigalus 2016 from Gérard Bertrand in Languedoc had the honour of being selected as the red wine served during the Nobel dinner in Stockholm on December 10th. We have been particularly fond of Languedoc wines for a long time, so we are happy that this amazing region was chosen for […]

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