Cook Magazine is a very beautiful glossy magazine for restaurants, chefs, and hotels in Belgium. As many publications in Belgium, it is bilingual and publishes everything in two languages. A bit like BKWine Magazine by the way. The difference being, of course, that for Cook it is Dutch (or Flemish) and French, two of the […]
You will have heard it (more than enough?) by now: our Champagne book, Champagne, the Wine and the Growers, was awarded the prize as “the best wine book on France” by the Gourmand Awards in Sweden. We were not there at the awards ceremony unfortunately. But instead, we have now just received our very pretty […]
Lorenza Scianna is a winemaker at the wine producer Il Fondo Antico in western Sicily, not far from Marsala. She was one of the first to believe in the characteristics of the grape grillo and since 2002 she makes a wine with a hundred percent grillo called Grillo Parlante (the talking grasshopper). At the end […]
On the travel blog on BKWineTours we have recently published a selection of comments from people who have travelled with us to different wine destinations. We are always happy for feedback. Read what some of the travellers sad: Campania: “A lovely and interesting tour” Rioja “Beyond expectations; overwhelming” Sicily: “Wonderful and Inspiring Wine Tour” Chile […]
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 where they have to be irrigated? Undoubtedly an interesting question. We asked ourselves approximately the same question when we wrote […]
Could it be that Tokaji is more than “just” sweet botrytis with points (puttonyos)? After a tasting of a number of Chateau Cloche’s products, I can say that the answer to that question is YES! BKWine Magazine’s reporter Henrik Stadler reports from an exciting Hungarian tasting. Chateau Cloche is located in the town of Szerencs […]
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 many other French wine regions as well. Loi Evin. This is the law that regulates what you can say and […]
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 you’re wrong? Jean-Philippe Perrouty from Wine Intelligence recently spoke to a group of wine producers in the Loire Valley. He […]
Just before Christmas we received an email that was one of the best Christmas presents we could get. In the email we read that our latest book, “Champagne, the wine and the growers”, had been awarded the first prize as the year’s best wine book in the “French wines” category in the Swedish edition of […]
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 is a new invention. The tunnel is a transparent rain cover for the vines that automatically folds out when it […]
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 irrigation dams in Western Cape, where most of the wine regions are located, are just 30 % full compared to […]
Winter 2018 Chile and Argentina, January 27 – February 11 (full) South Africa, February 23 – March 5 (full) Spring 2018 Bordeaux, April 25-29 Autumn 2018 More to come: Bordeaux, October 10-14 South Africa, November 9-19 Winter 2019 Chile-Argentina, Jan-Feb New Zealand, March For more information please contact us on email or on phone (we’re […]
Safe bets or daring chances? A question that is certainly important when choosing wines for New Year! But first, let’s start with … some publicity, now as a new year begins, to make a good start of 2018: Wine tours So, if you are not at all interested in wine tours (who could not be?) […]
Safe bets or daring chances? A question that is certainly important when choosing wines for New Year! But first, let’s start with … some publicity, now as a new year begins, to make a good start of 2018: Wine tours So, if you are not at all interested in wine tours (who could not be?) […]
—Wine producers usually see the production of olive oil as a problem and not as an opportunity. Here at Dievole, it is the first time I see a long-term ambitious project, says Stefano Capurso, General Manager of Dievole. Dievole is a farm located in the southern part of Chianti Classico in a landscape that is […]
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 reputation. Perhaps Ackerman is on the way to turning up the steam to pull Loire Valley wines forward. Ackerman has […]
Many countries have special food traditions for Christmas. In Sweden, as an example, you have the “julbord”, with a specially prepared ham, special herring, special cabbage, and many other things. In France, curiously, they don’t really have much special food for Christmas and New Year. Instead they just eat more and better of what one […]
—Piromàfo means fighting fire in Greek says Elio Minoia. It’s a stone used for ovens in the past because it resists the heat so well, he continues. Elio Minoia is a low-profile winemaker and a big smile at the winery Valle dell’Asso. The winery is located in Galatina, just outside Lecce in Salento, at the […]
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 is a very young wine region. Substantial investments and savvy marketing are bringing Ningxia to the attention of international wine […]
It was a year that might turn even the most devout teetotaller to drink – unless their name is Trump In 2017, we witnessed the inauguration of a Twitter-obsessed reality TV star as US President (whose grandfather came from the Pfalz wine region in Germany); the ongoing tragicomedy of North Korea; shocking events in Manchester […]
“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 happened at his Domaine St. Jacques d’Albas during the year. It all started well, which he was happy about because […]
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 least a lot. It means a lot to a winery to have a wine in the guide with four or […]
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 and unusual wines. Southwest is really a wine region for the curious wine lover. The region has 47,000 hectares of […]
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, the third Thursday in November. But in 2016, Beaujolais Nouveau sold for 22 million euros over 10 days. That is […]
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 1990s to today’s 7,500 hectares. Washington was originally known for its white wines with fine acidity and crispness made from […]
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 of all the “vin de pays” wines (that have changed name to IGP). But the success was not obvious from […]
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 were worst affected by the fires. These three regions grow only 12% of California grapes and 85-90% of the grapes […]
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 Chablis and is more famous for its beautiful basilica than its wine. Burgundy has also a new regional appellation: Bourgogne […]
On our Champagne wine tours, we show both the grandiose and famous “houses” and the smaller growers’ champagnes (and much more) of this wine region. The cellars with millions of bottles in stock and kilometres of tunnels, and also the family wineries where we are received by both the winemaker and the owner, because it […]
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 grapes are still harvested by hand (the exact number is hard to know). And in Champagne it’s 100%. It is […]
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