Tag: wine newsletter

— The Key to a Wine Producer’s Success: Marketing — Sometimes, one marvels at how all the wines produced manage to find consumers. And the right consumer. The one who enjoys that particular wine. Also,

— “We do what we always have done,” when did you last hear that? — For an industry that celebrates tradition and old myths, the wine industry is surprisingly obsessed with news, from the Swedish

— When ideals meet reality — water becomes wine? — The French winemaker we had in front of us the other week on the Rhône wine tour looked a little stumped. He had just been

— Volcanic wines, myth or truth? — “Volcanic origin is not a marketing concept,” says Jean-Baptiste Deroche, referring to the fact that wines can now be certified “volcanic origin” by the Vinora association of which

— No, it is not difficult to choose a wine for the barbecue! — “Choosing wine for a barbecue can be a challenge.” That’s what it said in a food magazine I read last week

— “Adapt or perish” – the Winemaker’s Dilemma? — No one can have missed that the buzzword in today’s wine industry is adaptation. But that’s nothing new. Wine producers have always had to adapt to

— Blending – a scam or a noble art? — This past spring, we have been to Champagne and Bordeaux, among other places. Wine regions that are undeniably masters of their respective wine styles. They

— In search of lost grapes — Our guide at Champagne Leclerc-Briant tells us with a certain pride in her voice that they have planted the grape voltis, Champagne’s eighth permitted (with restrictions) grape variety.

— The impossible favourite wine, with or without tannins — There is no real answer to the eternal question “what is your favourite wine”; not for us and probably not for other wine enthusiasts. Much

— Are we stuck in an old rut? — The Prowein Business Report takes the pulse of the wine industry once a year. The new report states that the wine industry is at a crucial

— Allow time for the food — We all occasionally long for a break from the fast pace of daily life. One way of doing that is to spend time with your food. And I

— Trends and non-trends — New trends don’t appear just because the calendar says it’s a new year. But at the end of December, many people have a go at predicting everything new that will

— Are we drowning in labels? — The wine world is being flooded with labels. I recently read that Champagne Bollinger was awarded the label “Entreprise du Patrimoine vivant” (roughly “a company that keeps historical

— 100 points! — There is no such thing as perfection. At least not in wine. If anything, the perfect wine is the one you currently have in your glass. Yet one gets the impression

— Is a number worth a thousand words? — Everyone who reads the Brief is probably more or less a wine enthusiast. We are, of course. We have been called geeks and it has probably

— Why is Italy doing so well? — What can others learn from Italy? The country has been incredibly dominant in the Swedish market for several years. Italy sells twice as much as Spain and

— Can a wine be “typical”? Should a wine be typical? — A wine can be typical or not typical. Typical of what? It can be typical of a grape, a region, a vintage, or

— Wine – a question of style — “What is your favourite wine (or favourite region)?” I get asked this a lot, and it is an impossible question to answer. The last time someone asked,

— The Forgotten Winemaker — No, it is not the title of a new thriller novel. “Good wine is made in the cellar, but exceptional wine is made in the vineyard,” Stellios Boutaris of Greece’s

— High alcohol content? Don’t blame (just) climate change — The alcohol content in wine has been controversial for some time. We often hear people complain that the alcohol is too high and that it

— Wine brands – a curse or a blessing? — Surveys show that young people who drink wine are no longer loyal to a particular brand. This is good; maybe they will be curious to

— Terroir or Not Terroir? — One word that stands out in all wine communication today is “terroir”. Wine drinkers claim to find it in the wine, and winemakers strive to express it in their

— How many fruits, flowers and adjectives do you want? — It is quite difficult to describe flavours so that others can understand. Flavours, especially when it comes to wine, are mostly described with similes.

— Not yet time to abandon the New World — In the US, the big news from the wine world this week has been that the American Court of Master Sommeliers is said to have

— All the strange things that you can find on a wine label — The other month, we wrote in the Brief about rules and regulations in the wine industry. The other day, I had

— Contrasts, people, experiences — Our heads are spinning right now from all the impressions from the autumn wine tours, the wine regions we visited and above all the many growers we met. The Loire

— Rules, rules, rules… — Rules are helpful, but some of them are unnecessary. Sometimes, we are asked if there is a lot of cheating among winegrowers. Our answer is no. Besides the fact that

— How do you choose wine at a restaurant? — Much has been written about the anxiety one feels when having to choose a wine at a restaurant. How do I avoid choosing the “wrong”

— Are we drinking too little wine? — History always repeats itself. Now it is time for crisis distillation again in Europe. It has been a while since the last time. We remember Languedoc’s overproduction

— Working with wineries in Ukraine on wine tourism — Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a project on wine tourism for the winemakers in Ukraine. I am immensely impressed that