In late October, a conference called Tasting Climate Change was held in Canada. The subject was the impact of climate change on wine growing. An important question asked was: is it justifiable to plant vines
On February 8, BIVB, Interprofession des Vins de Burgundy (BIVB), will host its annual conference, Vinosphère, to discuss the future of Burgundy. The things that will be discussed are probably high on the agenda for
At this time of year, it is popular to try to figure out new trends for the coming year. It’s hard, but on the other hand, you can almost say anything because who can say
Ten Bordeaux chateaux will in 2018 and 2019 try out a new way to reduce the spraying in the vineyard. They will protect their vines against rain by installing in their vineyard a Viti-tunnel. This
There is a severe water shortage at the moment in South Africa’s wine regions. The harvest 2018 will probably be the smallest in ten years. The South Africans begin picking their grapes in February. The
The Loire Valley is short on “locomotives”, producers with an international reputation for quality. There are many, many top-quality small producers and also a few big houses and co-operatives, but none with a significant international
One of the most ambitious and fast growing wine regions in China today is Ningxia, at the foot of the Helan Mountains. But few people have heard about Ningxia which is not strange since it
“2017 will go down in history as a very complicated vintage for more or less all French wine regions,” says Graham Nutter in Minervois. He contacted us to tell us a little bit about what
The 38th edition of the Platter’s Wine Guide of South African wines has just been launched. This wine-bible gives you, in a handy format, all you need to know about South African wines. Or at
South-west, or Sud-Ouest in French, has been named ”Wine Region of the Year 2017” by the American wine magazine Wine Enthusiast. Congratulation! A well-deserved award to a wine region that makes a host of interesting
Many believe that the hype around Beaujolais Nouveau is over. But that’s not entirely true. It is not the same hysteria as it was 30 or 40 years ago when the new wine was released,
No, this is not about preferences in the White House. We are talking about wine production in Washington State, north of California and Oregon. Cabernet Sauvignon has grown significantly, from 560 hectares in the early
A success story in the Languedoc celebrates 30 years. Robert Skalli and Jacques Gravegeal created IGP Pays d’Oc in 1987. At the time it was called Vin de Pays d’Oc. It became the most successful
We have received a harvest report from California that says that 2017 will be a very good vintage. The fires in October have not affected the quality of the wines. Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino
Burgundy has a new village appellation. Bourgogne Vézelay has been upgraded to AOP Vézelay. The new village appellation has 70 hectares planted with chardonnay, the only grape permitted. Vézelay is located 50 kilometres south of
Where do all the harvest workers come from? This is a question we are often asked on our wine tours. Even though harvesting machines are being used more and more, still perhaps 40% of all
We have heard it before. The established wine regions want to protect their brands. And therefore they are afraid of new players. This time it is the Burgundy producers that are afraid that wines without
The future in Europe for glyphosate, a substance used in the well-known Round-Up and other herbicides, is uncertain. The EU was supposed to have taken a decision on this issue at the end of October
Clos de Tart is a 7.5 hectare grand cru vineyard in Morey-Saint-Denis in the Côte de Nuits. The vineyard has been known for many hundreds of years and is owned by the Mommesin family since
Cognac has a long-term plan to reduce the spraying in the vineyards. Currently, four different hybrids are being tested in the vineyards. All four grape varieties have good resistance to both downy mildew and powdery
In the previous issue of the Brief. we wrote about myths in the wine world. Some of our readers have contacted us with comments. Among others, William H. Shoemaker, retired horticulturist from the University of
Ningxia started an original project in 2015, the Ningxia Winemakers Challenge (NWC). 48 different wine makers from all over the world were invited to Ningxia for the harvest that year. Each winemaker was paired with
Some of the most exciting wines in Bordeaux are made by the smaller chateaux, not so well-known internationally. It can be worth a small effort to seek them out and taste their wines. One such
We were recently doing wine tour with wine lovers in the Loire Valley we tasted some really delicious chenin blanc wines, many of them. Chenin blanc has never really caught on as a trendy grape,
Around 40 people died in very extensive fires north of San Francisco in mid-October. Wine regions like Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino were affected and the fires caused damage to a large number of wine estates.
I (Britt) visited Ningxia, one of China’s new wine regions, at the end of August. Ningxia is about a two hours’ flight west of Beijing, on the border to the Gobi Desert and Mongolia. There
OIV, International Organisation Of Vine And Wine, presented recently preliminary figures for the world’s wine production in 2017. “As expected,” said director general Jean-Marie Aurand, “the production has been affected by the extreme heat and
Natural wines are fashionable at the moment and there is a lot of talk about the difficulty of making wine without adding sulphur. But what if it’s not that hard? Since a few years’ back
Sweden is definitely a cool climate wine country. We have a few brave wine producers, most of them very small and most of them in the southernmost part of Sweden. Fredholms Wine Estate in Tyringe
Red Burgundy that is both good and does not break the bank can be difficult to find. Maison Ambroise is one place to look. We visited the house this spring on one of our wine
In late October, a conference called Tasting Climate Change was held in Canada. The subject was the impact of climate change on wine growing. An
On February 8, BIVB, Interprofession des Vins de Burgundy (BIVB), will host its annual conference, Vinosphère, to discuss the future of Burgundy. The things that
At this time of year, it is popular to try to figure out new trends for the coming year. It’s hard, but on the other
Ten Bordeaux chateaux will in 2018 and 2019 try out a new way to reduce the spraying in the vineyard. They will protect their vines
There is a severe water shortage at the moment in South Africa’s wine regions. The harvest 2018 will probably be the smallest in ten years.
The Loire Valley is short on “locomotives”, producers with an international reputation for quality. There are many, many top-quality small producers and also a few
One of the most ambitious and fast growing wine regions in China today is Ningxia, at the foot of the Helan Mountains. But few people
“2017 will go down in history as a very complicated vintage for more or less all French wine regions,” says Graham Nutter in Minervois. He
The 38th edition of the Platter’s Wine Guide of South African wines has just been launched. This wine-bible gives you, in a handy format, all
South-west, or Sud-Ouest in French, has been named ”Wine Region of the Year 2017” by the American wine magazine Wine Enthusiast. Congratulation! A well-deserved award
Many believe that the hype around Beaujolais Nouveau is over. But that’s not entirely true. It is not the same hysteria as it was 30
No, this is not about preferences in the White House. We are talking about wine production in Washington State, north of California and Oregon. Cabernet
A success story in the Languedoc celebrates 30 years. Robert Skalli and Jacques Gravegeal created IGP Pays d’Oc in 1987. At the time it was
We have received a harvest report from California that says that 2017 will be a very good vintage. The fires in October have not affected
Burgundy has a new village appellation. Bourgogne Vézelay has been upgraded to AOP Vézelay. The new village appellation has 70 hectares planted with chardonnay, the
Where do all the harvest workers come from? This is a question we are often asked on our wine tours. Even though harvesting machines are
We have heard it before. The established wine regions want to protect their brands. And therefore they are afraid of new players. This time it
The future in Europe for glyphosate, a substance used in the well-known Round-Up and other herbicides, is uncertain. The EU was supposed to have taken
Clos de Tart is a 7.5 hectare grand cru vineyard in Morey-Saint-Denis in the Côte de Nuits. The vineyard has been known for many hundreds
Cognac has a long-term plan to reduce the spraying in the vineyards. Currently, four different hybrids are being tested in the vineyards. All four grape
In the previous issue of the Brief. we wrote about myths in the wine world. Some of our readers have contacted us with comments. Among
Ningxia started an original project in 2015, the Ningxia Winemakers Challenge (NWC). 48 different wine makers from all over the world were invited to Ningxia
Some of the most exciting wines in Bordeaux are made by the smaller chateaux, not so well-known internationally. It can be worth a small effort
We were recently doing wine tour with wine lovers in the Loire Valley we tasted some really delicious chenin blanc wines, many of them. Chenin
Around 40 people died in very extensive fires north of San Francisco in mid-October. Wine regions like Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino were affected and the
I (Britt) visited Ningxia, one of China’s new wine regions, at the end of August. Ningxia is about a two hours’ flight west of Beijing,
OIV, International Organisation Of Vine And Wine, presented recently preliminary figures for the world’s wine production in 2017. “As expected,” said director general Jean-Marie Aurand,
Natural wines are fashionable at the moment and there is a lot of talk about the difficulty of making wine without adding sulphur. But what
Sweden is definitely a cool climate wine country. We have a few brave wine producers, most of them very small and most of them in
Red Burgundy that is both good and does not break the bank can be difficult to find. Maison Ambroise is one place to look. We
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