Category: News

BKWine Blog

Wine crisis in Australia

The price of wine exported from Australia has gone down with 30% according to a report by the consultant Deloitte. It is feared that a continued trend of lower export prices of cheap bulk wines

Russia blocks wine imports from Georgia and Moldova

Wine prices are expected to go up with 30% in Russia after the government outlawed wine imports from Georgia and Moldova. The ban has been introduced for health reasons according to the government but some

Château Montrose sold for 140 million euro

Château Montrose, a 70 ha property, Grand Cru Classé in St Estèphe (Medoc, Bordeaux), has changed hands. Martin & Olivier Bouygues bought the chateau and vineyards from the Charmolue family for some 170 million euro.

Get a Master in wine – wine program in Angers

The Ecole Supérieure d’ Agriculture in Angers in the Loire Valley offers a study program that leads to a Master of Science (MSc) in Wine. It is a mixture of general wine knowledge, technology, finance

Bordeaux 2005

The primeur tastings – the one week wine jamboree for the trade in Bordeaux to present the latest vintage – are now over. Everyone seems to agree that 2005 is an outstanding vintage, and that

The Lurton Brothers looking for a vineyard in Portugal

François and Jacques Lurton are already successful winemakers in several wine regions: Languedoc, Chile, Argentina, Spain,… Their next project is, apparently, Portugal. They have already made one wine in the Duoro Valley in partnership with

Higher Gastronomic Education

Institut des Hautes Etudes du Goût de la Gastronomie et les Arts de la Table Behind this long name hides an interesting education that was created two years ago in the capital of the Champagne

Wine Travel Special

Now is the time to start thinking about how to brighten up the autumn season so I thought it would be a good idea to give you some inspiration. Here are some details about the

Top Bordeaux – over the top?

This period of the year is traditionally full of news about the “primeur” tastings of the latest vintage in Bordeaux. You will find links to some of the most interesting commentaries in the Brief. I

Mumm launches prestige champagne: Mumm Grand Cru

Mumm recently launched a prestige champagne called, simply, Mumm Grand Cru. They only made 2300 hl (30,000 bottles) of the first “edition”. It is not a vintage champagne: it was bottled in June 2002, with

Instant Champagne knowledge

Champagne covers about 33,000 hectares (e.g. the equivalent of a third of Bordeaux). The main sub-districts are: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs. The soil is primarily chalk. There are

Wine Evolution 2006

Every year since 1999, the two last days in January there is a conference in Paris called Wine Evolution, organised by Skalli & Rein, a marketing consultancy firm specialised in the wine industry. At Wine

Wine Boom & Bust?

While large parts of the wine marking world (France, Australia, California,…) seem to have great problems with over production collector wines apparently do not have the same issues. According to Liv-ex 100 (a kind of

Invest in wine cheaply – in Fenouilledes

That is one of the arguments in a recent press release from the wine growers in Fenouilledes (Languedoc-Roussillon). The other argument is that the region will be “the next Pic St Loup” in Languedoc. Compared

Masculine wine

No, it is not Hermitage or Côte Rôte (sometimes called the most “masculine” of wines, as opposed to more feminine wines like Burgundy). A vineyard in California has launched a range of wine targeted and

How to survive a wine harvest

If you are thinking of taking part in the grape harvest this autumn, now is the time to organise it. But you should not think that it is a nice way to get a week

Auction prices go upwards at Sotheby’s

Some encouraging or discouraging (depending on if you are buying or selling) prices from Sotheby’s recent auction L06603 (98.5% of all wines sold): 12 bt Lafite 1982: £7,130 12 bt La Mission haut Brion 1989:

Champagne with screw cork?

No, at least for the moment that is unlikely. But the champagne growers’ association (CIVC) has created a project group to study alternative closures. They have done tests with synthetic corks and have concluded that

The wine fair in Brussels cancelled

Brussels Wine Expo has been cancelled according to information on their site. Perhaps there are too many wine shows around the world now: Vinexpo (in 2005), Vinisud on February 20-22, Vinitaly on April 6-10, Prowein

World’s best Tempranillo

On May 22-24 the World’s Best Tempranillo competition will be held i Cologne. The competition is organised by a Spanish organisation which perhaps is not surprising since much of the world’s Tempranillo is made in

Salaries up 5.8% in the wine business

According to a report from Wine Business Monthly and Western Management Group salaries have gone up with on average 5.8% in the wine industry during 2006, compared to 3.5% for all sectors. A wine maker’s

The genetic code of Pinot Noir established

A group Italian researchers at the agricultural research institute Michele all’Adige have identified the genome (the genetic code) of Pinot Noir. It is the first grape that has had its DNA mapped. The researchers say

René Renou reappointed chairman of the INAO

René Renou will continue as chairman of the semi-governmental control authority INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) that supervises much of what has to do with wine production in France. Renou is a wine maker

Wine crisis in Australia

The price of wine exported from Australia has gone down with 30% according to a report by the consultant Deloitte. It is feared that a

Bordeaux 2005

The primeur tastings – the one week wine jamboree for the trade in Bordeaux to present the latest vintage – are now over. Everyone seems

Higher Gastronomic Education

Institut des Hautes Etudes du Goût de la Gastronomie et les Arts de la Table Behind this long name hides an interesting education that was

Wine Travel Special

Now is the time to start thinking about how to brighten up the autumn season so I thought it would be a good idea to

Top Bordeaux – over the top?

This period of the year is traditionally full of news about the “primeur” tastings of the latest vintage in Bordeaux. You will find links to

Instant Champagne knowledge

Champagne covers about 33,000 hectares (e.g. the equivalent of a third of Bordeaux). The main sub-districts are: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and

Wine Evolution 2006

Every year since 1999, the two last days in January there is a conference in Paris called Wine Evolution, organised by Skalli & Rein, a

Wine Boom & Bust?

While large parts of the wine marking world (France, Australia, California,…) seem to have great problems with over production collector wines apparently do not have

Masculine wine

No, it is not Hermitage or Côte Rôte (sometimes called the most “masculine” of wines, as opposed to more feminine wines like Burgundy). A vineyard

How to survive a wine harvest

If you are thinking of taking part in the grape harvest this autumn, now is the time to organise it. But you should not think

Champagne with screw cork?

No, at least for the moment that is unlikely. But the champagne growers’ association (CIVC) has created a project group to study alternative closures. They

The wine fair in Brussels cancelled

Brussels Wine Expo has been cancelled according to information on their site. Perhaps there are too many wine shows around the world now: Vinexpo (in

World’s best Tempranillo

On May 22-24 the World’s Best Tempranillo competition will be held i Cologne. The competition is organised by a Spanish organisation which perhaps is not

Salaries up 5.8% in the wine business

According to a report from Wine Business Monthly and Western Management Group salaries have gone up with on average 5.8% in the wine industry during

René Renou reappointed chairman of the INAO

René Renou will continue as chairman of the semi-governmental control authority INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) that supervises much of what has to do

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