Is the purpose of a classification to benefit the consumer or to benefit the producer? That is one of the questions one can ask when reading about the new (yet to come) classification in the
In an article last week Jancis Robinson advocated a freeze period for comments and reviews on wines tasted at the Bordeaux primeur circus next week (presentation and trade tasting of the new 2010 vintage) until
Jancis Robinson, the heavy-weight British wine critic, wrote an article last week about the imminent Bordeaux Primeurs circus called “Bordeaux 2010 – when to publish?” It has sparked an intense debate both on her site
Or: “A Prima Donna shouts too loud”? – A Portuguese challenge First of all I want to apologise to all my Portuguese friends, winemakers and others. And to all other who love Portugal and its
Comments on the 1st International Wine Meeting and Tasting (in Portugal) This post is really a comment on a blog post by Luiz Alberto over at The Wine Hub, but for some mysterious reason the
You can ask the question differently (many do): “should we all be able to buy e.g. classed growth claret at reasonably affordable prices?” surprisingly often you get the answer “yes” to both questions. Many seem
A few years ago the EU countries agreed a big reform of the wine production sector. A big part of this was the abolishment in time of the “planting rights” system. (It was also suggested
It is exciting to have a new site about wine in Swedish; a site which writes news about wine and which comments and recommends wines. There are not too many sites to choose from. ”
There is currently a debate raging in Sweden on an issue that seen from the outside seems peripheral to say the least. Nevertheless it has escalated to become the most important item in the Swedish
In the olden times there was something called the Cru Bourgeois classification in Médoc (Bordeaux). But then, in 2003, they decided to review and modernise the classification. But unfortunately they hit on some road bumps.
The Swedish retail monopoly Systembolaget has announced that they will release the long awaited lot of wines from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti on October 19. It is various cuvées from DRC from the
Some areas in the Languedoc, that fulfil certain criteria, will be classified as Grand Cru according to a new proposal from the producers association, the CIVL. They want to have two levels: Grands Vins du
Some of the world’s most expensive wines come from Domaine de la Romanée Conti in Burgundy. They can go for around 4000€. Per bottle. The Swedish monopoly Systembolaget received its allocation of the 2006 wines
One can with good reason wonder why it is that Bordeaux 2009 is so expensive. It is the most expensive vintage ever, in spite of an international wine crisis, with prices reaching dizzying heights: Yquem
Genetically modified grapes, or any other crop, is a very sensitive issue in Europe. A trial plantation of GM grapes in Alsace was destroyed by vandals. But perhaps there is a slight change in attitudes
In the newsletter WoW News we read that several catastrophe relief organisations in Sweden have refused or returned donations from wine importers who have wanted to support the work in Haiti. SOS Children’s Villages is
Usually, this is a story that would only appear in the Swedish edition of the BKWine Brief but this is so outrageous so we have to share it with everyone. In a recent issue of
One of the discussions that came up on the recent European Wine Bloggers Conference (#EWBC) was about free wine samples: should bloggers accept free tasting samples from importers or wine producers? It was debated in
In many places this is a controversial statement, not least in Sweden, our country of origin. But there’s recently been quite some discussion on that theme on the internet. It started with Dr Vino (Tyler
We’ve previously written about filtering of wine (us being wine tech geeks!?). Does it matter? Is it good or bad? Is there any substance in the fashion of making unfiltered wines? Here’s an interesting article
No, we’re not talking about the French anti-wine campaigns. 2.3 million euro (25 M SEK to be precise) is the budget that the Swedish retail monopoly Systembolaget spends on advertising in a year, according to
Our piece on filtering wine (is it good or bad? – in view of today’s trend of boasting “unfiltered” on the label) a while back sparked a comment from a reader. (Comments are always welcome!)
It is very common that wine is filtered before bottling. There are even oenologists who say that any winemaker who does not filter is irresponsible and careless. In the opposite corner we have the crowd
You can read more on wine ratings in the article in the Wall Street Journal that you’ll find in the ‘link tips’ in another post. But the question certainly has a point. Yes, it can
Appellations and brand names? Does it serve any useful purpose to have appellations and classifications (by the way, do you know the difference between the two?)? Not an easy question to answer. Yes, it can
“[the monopoly] is a vestige from the 1920s. […] a privatisation would not only benefit the consumers but it would also allow the government to increase its revenues from this sector. […]No reason exists to
According to Swedish radio and press the monopoly retailer Systembolaget has decided to act against some of the importers/suppliers in Sweden who are under investigation for having bribed personnel at the monopoly. The three importers
According to a recent survey 55% of Swedes are positive to keeping the monopoly, 35% are negative and 10% don’t know. The survey was commissioned by the Swedish Spirits and Wine Importers Association. Of course,
An often heard argument to keep the monopoly is that if it disappears (in Sweden or in other monopoly markets) the range of wines on offer will decrease dramatically. We at BKWine find that hard
The Swedish alcohol retail monopoly Systembolaget AB fires the 50 employees who are suspected of bribery and who are still employed by the company. We do not quite understand how this works. How can they
Is the purpose of a classification to benefit the consumer or to benefit the producer? That is one of the questions one can ask when
In an article last week Jancis Robinson advocated a freeze period for comments and reviews on wines tasted at the Bordeaux primeur circus next week
Jancis Robinson, the heavy-weight British wine critic, wrote an article last week about the imminent Bordeaux Primeurs circus called “Bordeaux 2010 – when to publish?”
Or: “A Prima Donna shouts too loud”? – A Portuguese challenge First of all I want to apologise to all my Portuguese friends, winemakers and
Comments on the 1st International Wine Meeting and Tasting (in Portugal) This post is really a comment on a blog post by Luiz Alberto over
You can ask the question differently (many do): “should we all be able to buy e.g. classed growth claret at reasonably affordable prices?” surprisingly often
A few years ago the EU countries agreed a big reform of the wine production sector. A big part of this was the abolishment in
It is exciting to have a new site about wine in Swedish; a site which writes news about wine and which comments and recommends wines.
There is currently a debate raging in Sweden on an issue that seen from the outside seems peripheral to say the least. Nevertheless it has
In the olden times there was something called the Cru Bourgeois classification in Médoc (Bordeaux). But then, in 2003, they decided to review and modernise
The Swedish retail monopoly Systembolaget has announced that they will release the long awaited lot of wines from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti on
Some areas in the Languedoc, that fulfil certain criteria, will be classified as Grand Cru according to a new proposal from the producers association, the
Some of the world’s most expensive wines come from Domaine de la Romanée Conti in Burgundy. They can go for around 4000€. Per bottle. The
One can with good reason wonder why it is that Bordeaux 2009 is so expensive. It is the most expensive vintage ever, in spite of
Genetically modified grapes, or any other crop, is a very sensitive issue in Europe. A trial plantation of GM grapes in Alsace was destroyed by
In the newsletter WoW News we read that several catastrophe relief organisations in Sweden have refused or returned donations from wine importers who have wanted
Usually, this is a story that would only appear in the Swedish edition of the BKWine Brief but this is so outrageous so we have
One of the discussions that came up on the recent European Wine Bloggers Conference (#EWBC) was about free wine samples: should bloggers accept free tasting
In many places this is a controversial statement, not least in Sweden, our country of origin. But there’s recently been quite some discussion on that
We’ve previously written about filtering of wine (us being wine tech geeks!?). Does it matter? Is it good or bad? Is there any substance in
No, we’re not talking about the French anti-wine campaigns. 2.3 million euro (25 M SEK to be precise) is the budget that the Swedish retail
Our piece on filtering wine (is it good or bad? – in view of today’s trend of boasting “unfiltered” on the label) a while back
It is very common that wine is filtered before bottling. There are even oenologists who say that any winemaker who does not filter is irresponsible
You can read more on wine ratings in the article in the Wall Street Journal that you’ll find in the ‘link tips’ in another post.
Appellations and brand names? Does it serve any useful purpose to have appellations and classifications (by the way, do you know the difference between the
“[the monopoly] is a vestige from the 1920s. […] a privatisation would not only benefit the consumers but it would also allow the government to
According to Swedish radio and press the monopoly retailer Systembolaget has decided to act against some of the importers/suppliers in Sweden who are under investigation
According to a recent survey 55% of Swedes are positive to keeping the monopoly, 35% are negative and 10% don’t know. The survey was commissioned
An often heard argument to keep the monopoly is that if it disappears (in Sweden or in other monopoly markets) the range of wines on
The Swedish alcohol retail monopoly Systembolaget AB fires the 50 employees who are suspected of bribery and who are still employed by the company. We
25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?
