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 […]
We have just launched a new and really exciting travel destination: New Zealand. The country is best known for its white wines made from sauvignon blanc (and perhaps also its rugby team?), but there are many other excellent wines as well, for instance exquisite pinot noir and powerful syrah wines. It is also a country […]
Bag-in-box wines have shorter durability than wines in bottle. And the small sizes, 1.5 and 3 litres have the shortest. These sizes are now becoming more and more popular, also in France. At a recent bag-in-box conference, where Smurfit Kappa and other bag-in-box manufacturers participated, it was discussed whether it is possible to improve, at […]
“The artist” himself, Gunter Künstler, is CEO of the company since 1992. He presented in a very humble manner six rieslings from different years and places and two spätburgunders (pinot noir). Gunter told me that there are documents showing that spätburgunder has existed in the Rheingau since the 12th century. However, Weingut Künstler’s history in […]
Italy shot to the top position in 2012, as the country selling most volume of wine into Sweden, and is still there. Not threatened by anyone at the moment. In 2017, 56.8 million litres of Italian wine were sold at Systembolaget, the Swedish retail monopoly. France, in second place, sold a meagre 26.5 million. The […]
How many Sicilian olive varieties do you know? Here are five examples of excellent extra virgin olive oil made with five different varieties on the biggest island in the Mediterranean. BKWine Magazine’s Åsa Johansson goes olive oil tasting. The farm Mandranova is one of Sicily’s most appreciated olive oil producers. It is run by Giuseppe […]
Nine new grape varieties have been approved to be planted in the French vineyards. Five of them are old, almost extinct and forgotten grape varieties from the Southwest, from Gaillac, Fronton and other southwestern appellations: Bouysselet Blanc, Tardif, Verdanel Blanc, Gibert and Noual. The other four are so-called resistant grape varieties. These are new crosses […]
Pierluigi Tolaini bought a one-way ticket to Canada when he was twenty years old. When he returned to Tuscany it was for making wine. Of the highest quality. Join us on a journey between Tuscany and Canada. BKWine Magazine’s Åsa Johansson tells the story. Pierluigi Tolaini was only 20 years old when he left Tuscany […]
Flavescence dorée is a dreaded bacterial disease that spreads through a grasshopper. It was discovered for the first time in 1949. In France it is especially difficult in parts of the southern Rhône Valley and Provence. Here we can even see a decrease in the number of organic producers because it is mandatory in some […]
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 […]
During our visit to South Africa at the beginning of March, the harvest was in full swing. The very difficult, and prolonged, drought in the wine regions of the Western Cape affects the grapes of course. But most of the producers we met told us that although the volume in most places will be small […]
Mexico is well on its way to become a very interesting fine wine country. It is true that much of the country is too warm and dry for wine growing, but if you know where to plant and what to plant you can make some very good wines here. Mexico does not have a long […]
France has 806,000 hectares planted with vines. This area includes about 70,000 hectares used for Cognac. Three grape varieties take up one third of this area: Merlot (112,000 hectares), Ugni Blanc (82,000 hectares, which is used mainly for Cognac) and Grenache (81,000 hectares). After the top three follow Syrah (64,000), Chardonnay (51,000), Cabernet Sauvignon (48,000), […]
This is not the story of the Sicilians that decided to stay and try to change things from within. It is not the story about those who decided to leave, trying to start over. Instead, this is the story of those who left, became successful, and chose to come back. Pino Cuttaia and the restaurant […]
Comité Champagne has published their sales figures for 2017. Champagne made a record turnover of 4.9 billion euros in 2017. 307 million bottles were sold, a slight increase compared with 2016. The sales record counted in volume from 2007 is still valid. 338 million bottles of champagne were sold that year. France is still the […]
Grenache is one of the world’s most planted grapes. Most of these vines are in France and Spain. In 1982, Rhône Valley enthusiast Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon Vineyards in California made his first Grenache wines. The term Rhone Rangers was coined to describe producers with a penchant for Rhône grapes. Grenache was on its […]
“Burgundy… Say it. Feel it. Taste it. The word evokes a very special wine country and a very special wine. It makes me think of gently rolling hills. Vineyards all the way to the horizon. Winding roads. Small villages. Unique wines and superb French gastronomy. When I started tasting and drinking wine Burgundy was one […]
Vinisud, the big wine fair in Montpellier, took place earlier this year, on 18-20 February. Vinisud is about wines from southern France and other countries around the Mediterranean. If you want to meet good producers from Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, the Rhone Valley, and more, Vinisud is an excellent wine fair, not least because many of the […]
Varietal or terroir? Or just “different”? The grape variety was not really important before the New World wines appeared on a larger scale in the 1990s. Well, of course it was important. But consumers did not care about which grapes the wines were made of. They bought a Bordeaux, a Burgundy, a Moselle or Rhine […]
Varietal or terroir? Or just “different”? The grape variety was not really important before the New World wines appeared on a larger scale in the 1990s. Well, of course it was important. But consumers did not care about which grapes the wines were made of. They bought a Bordeaux, a Burgundy, a Moselle or Rhine […]
It doesn’t stop raining in Bordeaux. As spring progresses, wine producers face problems. It is difficult to drive the tractor and to walk in a wet and muddy vineyard. This is inconvenient for those growers who mechanically remove the weeds. Maintenance in the vineyard, such as replacing the poles that hold up the wires, is […]
Made in China, on Tredje Långgatan street nr 9 in Gothenburg, is more oriented towards Asian fusion food than pure Chinese. The food is delicious, modestly priced and the wine list is very interesting, not least the collection of riesling wines. From 425 kronor (40+ euro) and up to 950 kronor; you can choose between […]
The week of Tuscan previews, anteprima, ended with the presentation of Brunello di Montalcino 2013 and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2012. An appointment you do not want to miss. Even Sting came by and played some songs the last day. BKWine Magazine’s Åsa Johansson reports and picks her favourites among all the wines tasted. The […]
A winery in Gothenburg sounds like an April Fool’s joke, but it is not. Nor is it a result of that the feared climate change has made farming conditions favourable in our dear Rainy City, which would be almost as scary as prevailing world politics. This is something completely different. Wine made in Gothenburg, but […]
During the week of Tuscan previews, anteprime, invited journalists travel from one town to the next starting in Florence, to taste new vintages of the region’s wines. When it was time for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, hopes were high, but how did it actually go? BKWine Magazine’s reporter Åsa Johansson was there. It is always […]
New vintages: Chianti Classico 2016 and Chianti Classico 2015 The Chianti Classico Collection, the preview of the new vintages from the wine region Chianti Classico between Florence and Siena, takes place in Florence every year in the beautiful former train hangar Stazione Leopolda. It is one of the Tuscan “anteprima”, or “anteprime” as it more […]
My taste and your taste We all have our own personal taste. We enjoy different styles of wines, not necessarily the same as our neighbour. Our opinion about a wine is always personal. It is virtually impossible to give a completely neutral, yet meaningful, review of a wine. In fact, to think that there is […]
My taste and your taste We all have our own personal taste. We enjoy different styles of wines, not necessarily the same as our neighbour. Our opinion about a wine is always personal. It is virtually impossible to give a completely neutral, yet meaningful, review of a wine. In fact, to think that there is […]
Le Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB) is one of the largest of the many wine competitions organized around the world. CMB constantly look at trends in the wine world in order to best organize the competition. China has increased both its consumption and its production of wine in 2017, and CMB believes that this increase […]
Les Outsiders is a group of winegrowers in the Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France, and in a few other places across France. They make some excellent wines, often with a lot of character. They are often focused on a terroir style of wine; they are often organic, sometimes biodynamic. And they all come from other places […]
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