Category: BKWine Brief Archive

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– Chasing the news Novelties are exciting.

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– Focus on the environment in 2021,

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– “Noble grapes”, isn’t that an obsolete

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– Wine is not just a drink

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– Do you have ageing-mania? Many people

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– How do trends in the wine

–– The newsletter on wine and wine travel –– –– Read by wine lovers and wine professionals all over the world –– –– On the internet since 1996 –– Unnecessary and vital items in the

Creative ideas for new times Creativity thrives in crises. That’s how the saying goes, isn’t it? We hope so. Because the wine industry will need all the ingenuity, it can muster. The wine world is

It’s great to have access to all this wine information… But watch out! Most things we want to know about today, we can google in a few seconds. It’s terrific and it’s hard to imagine

Is the consumer just paying lip service in the enthusiasm for environmentally friendly and sustainability? Or are we approaching a paradigm shift? Temperature control is one of the most important technological improvements ever in the

Chardonnay, the swan that became an ugly duckling? …and… Issue 200 …and… Where are we now? This will be a long Brief, so save it and read when you have the time. Let’s start with

The best or the most practical terroir? The world’s classic wines come from places, usually in France, which have been praised for so long that it is difficult to say if the first vines were

Time for Pinotage to come out of the closet? The apple never falls far from the tree. Well, sometimes it does. For, to be honest, does pinotage really resemble its parents, pinot noir and cinsault?

Are we wine consumers ready to stand up for our environmental commitment? Or are we merely paying lip service? A trend for 2020 will undoubtedly be the continued focus on organic and sustainable wines. Many

The wine world’s vague and hard-to-explain words There are difficult words in the world of wine. It may not be obvious to know exactly what is acetaldehyde, tangential filter or sexual confusion. But these words

Seek out diversity, ditch the same-same and fame Diversity is what makes the wine world unique. Wine is in essence nothing but an agricultural product. For most of those who make wine, life as a

Should we lament that the taste of wines have changed? That the wines we are accustomed to drinking will eventually change is probably inevitable in the wake of climate change. Some regions may need to

Stop harping on about “good” years and “bad” years! The harvest is in full swing. And so, inevitably, the discussion whether or not it will be a good year. But what is a good year?

The new “no sulphur” trend There is a new trend, still in its infancy. But it will – most likely – increase. You see it in France and probably in other wine countries as well.

Aroma wines and structure wines Sometimes a wine has a very small nose, does not smell much. We sometimes say a discreet or shy nose. Is that always bad? There is so much talk about

Experimenting with summer wines Do we drink differently in summer? To some extent yes. Especially if it’s a hot summer. Which is not always the case. But if it is hot and you eat outdoors,

Has organic lost momentum? What counts now is sustainable? The trend towards organic wine has lost momentum. More and more producers choose to be “almost organic” in order to be able to use non-organic pesticides

The unpredictable weather and the importance of water The weather is unpredictable and even more so right now it seems. Admittedly, it is said that farmers (and wine growers are just that) always complain about

The dangers of becoming a super-celebrity The biggest problem with making wine is probably not to make sure the wine is good but rather to sell it. Then it can be very helpful to be

Is it worth ageing wine? “With age comes complexity but wines get more similar with time. You find more nuances in young wines. They are purer and wilder and you can taste the place where

9 myths and 9 truths about organic, biodynamic, “natural” Organic wine continues to increase, it seems. Commercial success is well established in several countries already. We recently wrote about sales in France that have increased

Trend spotting at New Year’s Eve dinner party With Christmas and New Year dinners coming up you might be in need of a conversation topic. Why not try trends in the wine world 2019? What

Typical. Guessing right again…? They are easily counted, the times I have called a wine “typical” during the past year. But what is typical? Everyone who has attended a wine course has learned typical aromas

The most important factor for making great wines! We can’t control the weather. The weather determines the size of the harvest and, to some extent, also the character of the wine. The overall climate (the

Sweet dry wine and the taste police A dry wine should be dry and a sweet wine sweet. That sounds obvious. But considering the amounts of not-so-dry red wines sold in the world today, one