New rules came into force for vinification of organic wines on January 1st, 2019. Six new additives are allowed. Autolysate of yeast: Nourishes the yeast during the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Inactivated yeast: Nourishes the yeast during alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Potato protein: Vegetable protein used as a fining agent. Provides a faster and often […]
The number of biodynamic wine producers is growing in France and in the world. It is still only a small percentage of all organic producers that are biodynamic, but they get noticed not least because many of them make outstanding wines. You can work biodynamically without being certified, of course, but many choose a certification. […]
Demand for organic wine will continue to increase in France, SudVinBio announced after looking at developments in recent years and on future trends. The study has been made as a prelude to the organic wine fair Millésime Bio, which takes place in Montpellier in late January. Organic wine sales have grown annually by 16.8% by […]
A European wine that is organic is easy to identify. You just look for the green EU leaf. If it does not have the leaf it is not organic. But now there are also more and more “sustainability” labels on the bottles in France. However, “sustainable” is different from “organic”. Organics is mainly about the […]
The European Commission has now voted on the future of copper in European agriculture. On November 27, the decision was made to lower the limit to 4 kilograms of copper per year and per hectare counted as an average over a 7-year period (in other words, 28 kg in 7 years). This 4 kilos average […]
The cooperatives are many and significant players in the Languedoc. They account for a large proportion of the production here. But to survive in today’s competition, they, like everyone else, have to invest in what consumers want. For example, in organic wines. That’s what Cave Héraclès in the Gard in the eastern part of Languedoc […]
Natural wines are the darlings of sommeliers and wine bars around the world at the moment. But what is a natural wine? For some people, it is a style of wine, a style that you recognize easier than the origin or the grape variety. Often the “style” is unusual, not to say odd, with wines […]
Currently, there are 5,835 organically certified wine estates in France. This is an increase of 11% since 2016. The certified vineyard surface is 61,048 hectares, an increase of 4%. The trend shows a continued increase. 17,617 hectares are under conversion. Of these, 3,369 hectares are in their third (and last) year of conversion, 5,588 are […]
During our spring wine tours we have visited the small and interesting Champagne house Philipponnat. On our visit in early May we saw people working in their prestigious vineyard Clos des Goisses with knapsack sprayers on their backs. Obviously they were doing some kind of treatment. It turned out to be weed control with a […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s nice to be quoted. Must mean that some people read what you write and even appreciate it! “Civil Eats is a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. We publish stories that shift the conversation around sustainable agriculture in an effort to build economically and socially just communities”, it says […]
The EU rules for organic farming are being reviewed and discussions are apparently in the final phase. Several proposals have upset the French (and also other countries’) organic growers. One of the new proposals is that annual controls should be reduced to every two years and perhaps even less frequent. Organic growers worry about the […]
Very strange things – even completely incorrect – are sometimes written and said about “natural wines”, the wine category that a few years ago became one of the hottest subjects among wine geeks (and that still is largely limited to the wine geek crowd), and one that no one can really agree on what it […]
Here’s a handful of organic wines that we have encountered recently that we certainly recommend trying: Anima, Avondale, Chenin Blanc, 2013, South Africa, ~15 €. Nice honey tone, a little pineapple and citrus, elegant and subtle oak. The wine is full-bodied without being heavy. Vacqueyras Garrigues, Domaine Montirius, Vacqueyras, France, ~16 €. Clean and nice […]
Being an organic winegrower means that you are obliged to spray with copper to prevent certain fungal diseases rather than using synthetic pesticides. Copper is effective primarily against mildiou. As with all other pesticides the authorisation to use copper is renewed every ten years. This year the EU will evaluate copper and decide whether to […]
The move to Marseille was short-lived. For the 2018 edition Millésime Bio returns to Montpellier. The dates for Millésime Bio will be January 29 to 31. There will be no cooperation with the other major Montpellier wine fair, Vinisud, something that Vinisud seems to have wanted but not Millésime Bio. Vinisud 2018 will take place […]
Demeter is a large, global organization that certifies biodynamic wine growers and other farmers. But Demeter is not alone in doing this. In France, Biodyvin certifies around 100 members. And now there is also a third group, with headquarters in Austria, called Respekt-Biodyn. This group is working, just like Biodyvin, only the wineproducers. Respekt-Biodyn’s members […]
If you shop at Amazon you are no doubt familiar with their recurring marketing mails. Depending on what you have previously bought and looked at they send you recommendations for other things “that might interest you”. The other day I had one of those mail after having browsed for some technical wine books. At the […]
Clàssic Penedès is a sparkling wine from Catalonia in northern Spain. Sparkling wine has been made under the appellation DO Penedès for quite some time. But in 2014 the rules for Clàssic Penedès were revised and it was launched as a new appellation under its new name. One of the new requirements is that the […]
For those of you who really want to know how a biodynamic wine producer work in the vineyard, and also in the cellar, this book is indispensable. Monty Waldin is a specialist. He believes in biodynamic agriculture and although you, as a reader, may doubt some of the things he write, there is no denying […]
All French wine regions today have some sort of environmental plan. In Bordeaux 45 % of the surface of vine has a label of some sort for sustainable viticulture. The aim is to quickly reach 100 %. The main goals are to reduce the use of pesticides, reduce waste and increase recycling, reduce energy consumption, […]
Bordeaux is perhaps the most traditional and aristocratic of all wine regions. But it is not immune to trends and to concerns about the environment. The latest big-name chateau to convert to organic wine growing and wine making is Château Latour, one of the premier grand cru classes of 1855 (yes, it IS a long […]
Miguel Torres is Spain’s most famous wine producer and a long time fighter for an environmentally friendly viticulture. According to him, the wine world is facing several major challenges. The two biggest are how to reduce the use of copper in organic farming and how to tackle global warming. And it was precisely these two […]
The organic wine producers are hiring more people, according to a French study published in October. The organic growers often say they need more people in the vineyard and in the cellar, and now it has been “proven”. On average, the organic producers create 1.5 times more jobs than the conventional producers. 34.6% of the […]
Books from BKWine and two wine university professors If you are an Amazon customer you know that they regularly come with suggestions of new purchases . Sometimes they are surprising and sometimes they are spot on. We often buy wine books of course. We have quite a few, probably a bigger wine library than most. […]
Organic viticulture has seen some astonishing growth. Today almost 10% of world wine production is estimated to be organic. A year like 2016 with very difficult weather conditions in many parts of Europe, that still accounts for the majority of the world’s wine, the growth in organics will no doubt be dampened. Bad weather is […]
One of our favourite chateaux in Bordeaux, the beautiful Château de la Dauphine in Fronsac, will be certified organic from vintage 2015, now resting in the chateau cellar. We have visited the chateau on a regular basis since a few years back and we have understood that, among other things, the fact that the chateau […]
We have been pleased to see a few reviews recently of the English language edition of our book on organic wines: Organic, Biodynamic, and Natural Winemaking. Here’s what they say: ”A very interesting book. It discusses and describes organic, biodynamic, and natural wine making, and viticulture in terms that anyone, not just a wine producer […]
Do organic wines cost more than conventionally produced wines? This has never been an easy question to answer because it is difficult to compare the prices of wines. It is easier with tomatoes and eggs. If you look at production costs however, it turns out that it is more expensive to produce an organic wine. […]
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