BKWine Blog

Domaine de La Tour du Bon, Bandol

>> Monday, October 23, 2006

La Tour du Bon is in the small Mediterranean appellation of Bandol. The 17 hectares are beautifully situated at the foot of the hilltop village Le Castellet (and with a view over the sea a clear day!). Lots of sun and vines growing on a soil dominated by clay and limestone gives powerful wines full of individual character. The owner and winemaker, Agnès Henry-Hocquard blends the archetypical Bandol grape Mourvèdre with some Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan. Just Mourvèdre gives wines that are a bit one-dimensional, she says. 14 euro for the 2003 vintage at the winery

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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Truffle hunting in the Rhône Valley

Next year’s travel program starts with a magnificent trip: truffles, olive oil and wine in the southern Rhône Valley. I can promise you a very exciting, and unusual, trip. The tour takes place already in February (at the very end of the truffles season) so don’t delay getting registered!

More info on truffles and wine tours (coming soon).

Wine Books

A suggestion to those of you who like reading about wine: We have a section on the site with recommendations on good wine books. We add new reviews continuously. Let yourself be inspired to do more reading when browsing our “library”. (And if you are a publisher or an author who would like your books reviewed, just let us know.)

http://www.bkwine.com/vininformation/wine_books.htm

Wine Pictures

We have recently added lots of new wine photographs on the site, both from France and from other countries. In our photo galleries you can find lots of information on wine making and wine producers (and pictures of course!).

Wine Photos

The Wine Picture Blog

The Harvest

>> Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The harvest is now almost to an end and it is bubbling in almost every cellar. How will the vintage 2006 be? Well, the wine producers seem in general quite happy with the result. It will be a good, but perhaps not an exceptional vintage. The summer got off to a very good start with flowering in June without any problems and a (small) heat wave in July. But then arrived August with cold and sometimes wet weather which, of course, is not ideal. September was much better and recovered a bit of the fall-down in August so things turned out pretty well in the end even if some places have had too much rain close to, or during, the harvest. There were some areas in Bordeaux, for example, that had 100 mm of rain in September. So this is a year when the sorting table will pay for its price to remove some rotten grapes.

Where are you?

>> Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Tell us where in the world you are located. Put your pin on the BKWine Brief Frappr map. Just for fun. We're curious to know where in the world you are! (Or just follow the link to find out where other readers are.)

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Get email notification on updates to our blog

>> Monday, September 25, 2006

Do you want to get an email notification if our blog has been updated?

We are testing a new service (based on a web service called Zoodoka) that will send you and email once a week with the updates to the blog.

You will receive a weekly email with the new posts - in similar format as the blog.

Try it! It's free!

Follow the link below.

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Some link tips

>> Friday, September 22, 2006

Some wine sites that you might enjoy visiting:

EncycloWine, the Wikipedia of the wine world, an encyclopaedia that everyone can contribute to, and benefit from. www.encyclowine.org
Interested in New Zealand wines? Read the New Zealand Wine Grower
Why are some people happy to pay $500 for a bottle of wine? Read (on theory) here: SFGate.com

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Book Review: The Wines of Italy (new and revised edition)

>> Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Wines of Italy (new and revised edition)
Micèle Shah
Mitchell Beazley £9.99
An almost pocket sized book that is easy to carry with you on the trip. Each Italian wine regions gets a short introduction which is followed by a listing of the appellations and a selection of producers, all with a short description. Not a book to read from cover to cover but it will certainly help you get an initial understanding of Italy. Perhaps, as a travel companion, one would have wished for more detailed maps but that may be too much to ask for in such a small book on such a big region.

Click here for more book reviews on my site or to buy the books.

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Book Review: The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide

>> Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide
By Peter Moser
Falstaff Publications, €19.90
The bulk of the book is a listing of Austrian wine producers. Each producer is described in detail and the wines are rated. It is virtually a catalogue of Austrian winemakers. But the book also contains good introductions to each of the wine regions as well as a couple of chapters on Austria and its wines and grapes in general. Several good maps too. In other words, an aptly chosen title. www.falstaff.at

Click here for more book reviews on my site or to buy the books.

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Book Review: The Journal of Wine Economics (JWE)

The Journal of Wine Economics (JWE)
American Association of Wine Economists
This is not a book but a specialist, peer reviewed, scientific journal. The JWE is published by the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE). In the first issue you can read about, for example, how to interpret the result of wine tastings, what is influencing the price of wine (objective or sensory analysis), an analysis of the importance of the “en primeur” price for wines and more. In other words, very scientific but interesting reading for the specialist. www.wine-economics.org

Click here for more book reviews on my site or to buy the books.

Selling wine online gives teenagers easy access to alcohol. Or…?

A decision last year by the US Supreme Court lead to the opening of the internet market for wine (internet sales had previously been very restricted). Pressure groups argued that this would lead to teenagers getting easy access to alcohol. A study recently published by the Teenage Research Unlimited in Illinois has show that very few teenagers have taken the opportunity to by alcohol online. Ironically the study was commissioned by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, one of the pressure groups against the change. Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control says that online alcohol sales to teenagers is not a major problem, but adds that that could change. As reported in: USA Today and TechDirt.com

Bordeaux harvest started on August 28

>> Tuesday, September 19, 2006

On August 28 Chateau Carbonnieux started picking its white grapes (Sauvignon Blanc) Preliminary reports sound quite positive for this year’s quality even if weather at the end of August has been not quite perfect.

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Wine growing is spreading across the USA

Apparently there is wine grown in every state but one in the USA (no prizes for guessing which state has no wine). Here are some examples:

North Carolina (with a NC wine quiz): Winemakers hoping for the perfect crop
Idaho wine industry seeks its place in the sun
Colorado: High country wine
Virginia: Dry, hot summer could add up to good year for Virginia wine

High tech vineyards

Some California vineyards have gone literally high tech. It is probably a contamination from the neighbouring Silicon Valley, or at least indirectly. High Tech ex-executives invest their earned millions in vineyards and cannot completely leave the technology behind. Some examples: sap flow sensors on the vines, linked to irrigation systems of course, laboratory equipment (called titrator) costing $15000 to test for every thing you’d want to know about a must or a wine, humidity sensors in the ground etc. Read more on CNNMoney.com

This month’s must have gadget: Vino Cacao, chocolate wine

So this month it is not a gadget but actually a drink. A drink made from a base of wine that is then flavoured with chocolate. It is recommended e.g. as an aperitif, in sauces, or “during society parties”. We have not tasted it but our impression is that it is a not a joke but a serious initiative. More info: Vino Cacao

Robert Parker changes shape

>> Monday, September 18, 2006

Perhaps a bit cryptic as a heading. Many people probably think that what is referred to as Robert Parker’s ratings (and comments) come from the famous wine critic himself. Of course, that is partially true, but he actually has a staff of collaborators who work (and taste) for him: Pierre-Antoine Rovani writes e.g. about many parts of France, Daniel Thomases writes about Italy and David Schildknecht about German and Austrian wines. Changes will come though. Rovani is leaving “the firm” and also Thomases will be leaving. Schildknecht, however, is staying on. Latest news is that Schildknecht will take over much of France (except “core” regions that stay with Parker). There will be two new staff: Antonio Galloni who will cover Italy and Jay Miller who will write about much of the world outside of Europe plus Portugal. Read more in The Wine Enthusiast and Decanter.com

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New Spanish wine classification

Spanish authorities have decided to introduce a new category of wine called Vinos de la Tierra de los Viñedos de España. It will be a notch below the category that today is called DO (Denominacion de Origen).

New Zealand wine production to increase

An NZ government agency estimates that the production this year will increase by 20% and that it will continue to increase by 10% per year until 2010. This years production is estimated to 185 000 tonnes. 55% of the production is exported. Exports are estimated to be worth $1 billion by 2010. The largest variety is of course Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Pinot Noir that has recently overtaken Chardonnay as number two. More info theage.com.au

Revival for Kurdish wine

Until 1987 there were vineyards planted in the northern Iraqi region of Dohuk. then they were all destroyed by the war. Mohammed Saleem, then winemaker, has now replanted his vineyard in the Kurdish village Beri Bahar. Read more in Middle East Online

Len Evans, Australian wine legend, passed away

Len Evans was one of the most emblematic persons of the Australian wine industry. He wrote several books and contributed greatly to the advancement of the Australian wine production. He passed away in August at the age of 75.

California wine production, some statistics

>> Wednesday, September 13, 2006

California represents 95% of the wine production in the United States. These are the main regions:

Sonoma 20 000 ha
Napa Valley, 18 600 ha
Monterrey 18 300 ha
Central Coast 9 900 ha
Mendocino County 6 300 ha
Lake County 2 300 ha
Sierra Foothills 2 300 ha
San Francisco Bay 1 600 ha
Southern California 1 400 ha

A world tour of vineyards

The WineWorldTour was launched by two young wine enthusiasts in Bordeaux. They have travelled around the globe and visited almost 200 vineyards in 17 countries. They have created a site that tells the story behind their trip (you have to navigate around the site a bit to find the info) and are currently working on a book on their odyssey. Read more on their site www.wineworldtour.com. You can also read about some of their visits on BKWine’s guest writer page.

French industrialist François Pinault buys Burgundy vineyard

>> Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Domaine Engel in Vosne Romanée, a six hectare domaine including some of the most famous names in Burgundian vineyards (Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, Vosne-Romanée…) has been sold to the super-rich French industrialist François Pinault. Pinault already owns a vineyard in Bordeaux: Chateau Latour. Vitisphere.com

Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon sells Big House Red and Cardinal Zin

Randall Grahm, cult wine maker at Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz, California, has sold two of his most popular wines, Big House Red and Cardinal Zin, to The Wine Group LLC. He keeps, and will continue to produce the remaining range of wines, e.g. Le Cigar Volant, his famous Châteauneuf copy. WineBusiness.com and LATimes.com

Global warming will increase land prices in Germany

At least, that is the thesis of a paper written by the two American scientists Orley Ashenfelter and Karl Storchman (Using a Hedonic Model of Solar Radiation to Assess the Economic Effect of Climate Change: The Case of Mosel Valley Vineyards). Their reasoning is that the climatic changes will have a direct impact on the solar radiation and thence the hedonistic appreciation of the wines and land valuations. In other words, warmer weather in Germany will make the German wines better and more expensive (perhaps I am oversimplifying?). As you can guess, it is a scientific paper , 39 pages in all, and you can read it all here. If the full paper is a bit too much for you you can read the article in Forbes Magazine

Wine investments in Argentina decreasing

>> Monday, September 11, 2006

Exports are going up but the investments in new wineries are decreasing. Land prices have gone up sharply and have now reached around 15 000 USD per hectare for virgin wine land and between 20 000 and 35 000 USD/ha for vineyards in production. With a grape price around 1.2-1.3 USD/kg it may take up to 30 years to amortise an investment (on the top quality land grape prices may of course be higher). According to Vitishpere.com

Top level gastronomic education

It is time to prepare the dossier for one of Europe’s more original gastronomic educations. “IHEGGAT”, or Institut des Hautes Etudes du Goût de la Gastronomie et des Arts de la Table, is accepting submissions for the next program. The program quite unique in that it focuses more on the overall concepts of gastronomy and wine (and is certainly not a cooking school). Read our review in BKWine Brief 34 and go to their site to find out admission criteria: www.iheggat.com

Unique wine cellar stolen in top restaurant

The Ulriksdals Wärdshus restaurant was famous for it’s wine cellar: virtually all vintages from the 20th century of Mouton-Rothschild, Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Yquem. But during summer thieves broke into the closed restaurant and took everything. They obviously knew exactly what they were doing (e.g. cut the electricity in a control box half a kilometre away…). So, if someone offers you a nice collection of Premier Crus – don’t buy, call the restaurant.

Tell us where you are!

>> Sunday, September 10, 2006

Tell us where in the world you are located. Put your pin on the BKWine Brief Frappr map. Just for fun. We're curious to know where in the world you are! (Or just follow the link to find out where other readers are.)

BKWine Pick: Eriks Vinbar Wine Bar, Stockholm

Eriks Vinbar (wine bar in Swedish) is at ground level in the same building as the luxury restaurant Eriks Gondolen (from which you have a view over all of Stockholm), close to Slussen. It is a small and cosy place, really a bar and not a restaurant even if you can have some small things to eat (cheese, charcuteries…). The wine list is very extensive and they regularly have “specials” that are not on the list – so ask for advice! Very competent wine staff. Another good idea is that they have two serving sizes, the small being 5 cl so that you can taste a lot of different wines if you want (otherwise all too often in Stockholm a serving in “a glass of wine” is ridiculously big). One of the few places in Stockholm that really is a good wine bar and not just a bar serving a few wines.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

Enough Stockholm for now!

BKWine Pick: Beluga Restaurant, Stockholm

The name speaks partially true but don’t let yourself be deterred. They do serve caviar but they also serve real food. Both the menu and the wine list is restricted to a small number of well chosen references. What is particularly interesting is that for each dish they have a suggested wine – and all wines are served by the glass. So you can easily compose a nice dinner with a different and appropriate wine to every dish. The restaurant is quite small, discretely designed, so booking is a good idea. A slightly upscale (especially if you go for the caviar) and elegant restaurant in the “nice” part of Stockholm but with a dedicated team who runs it.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick: Terreno Wine Bar, Stockholm

Perhaps the most important reason to visit this wine bar is to see how it functions. It built around an original self-service concept: First you have to buy a “wine card”, like a pre-paid phone card. then you go to the “dispensing machine”, insert your card, push the button for the wine you want (don’t forget to hold out your glass) and you are served a good 4cl tasting dose. An interesting concept if you want to taste several different wines, but perhaps not the most romantic way of drinking wine (perhaps well suited to Swedes who are not known for their romanticism, but rather for their pragmatism…). You can also get some not-too-complicated Italian food with the wine. New, and certainly original concept, worth visiting even if the wine selection (and the food) is a bit limited.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

Want wine news on your site?

>> Thursday, September 07, 2006

Do you want to have a news headline gif like this on your site?:

Read this post and find out how you get it!

BKWine Pick: Bodega Pisano, Progreso, Uruguay

Uruguay is a comparatively small country in South America with many small family run vineyards and a climate that is similar to that of Bordeaux. There are many interesting wine producers in the country and one of them is the Pisano family, a family that seems to be producing only male – very charming – offspring (“it’s the red wine, you know”). Today the winery is run by three brothers: Daniel takes care of sales, marketing and exports. Gustavo is the winemaker, and Eduardo takes care of the vineyards. Between them they have eight sons (!) and all want to work in wine. It was grandfather Pisano who created the vineyard in 1914. He came from Liguria and his wife came from the Basque region – quite a common background with Uruguay winemakers. Try their Rio de los Pajaros Reserve Tannat Merlot for example, or any of their other cuvées.

There are more pictures in our photo gallery.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick: Domaine Yves Cuilleron, Condrieu, Rhone

When Yves Cuilleron made his first wine in 1987 not many people knew of Condrieu or Viognier. “I was part of the young generation that was part of the recreation of the northern Rhône valley as a wine district” he says. Today, Yves is one of the big stars in Condrieu. All his wines are of excellent quality, from an aromatic Viognier Vin de Pays for around 11 euro to his different cuvées of Condrieu (around 30 euro).

There are more pictures in our photo gallery.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

Book Reviews: Spain and Tuscany

>> Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Northern Spain - How to find great wines off the beaten track
Susie Barrie, text; Tory McTernan, photo

Mitchell Beazley Tuscany - How to find great wines off the beaten track
Monty Waldin, text; Tory McTernan, photo

Mitchell Beazley The series Discovering Wine Country from Mitchell Beazley has recently seen two new additions: one on northern Spain, including Catalonia, Rioja, Galicia and Navarra, and one on Toscana.

Both books follow the same formula: The author makes a short introduction to each region and its wines, followed by recommendations of wine growers to visit, restaurants, hotels, and sights. The books are ideal companions for travelling, also thanks to the handy and small format. But also perfect to start travelling already on the couch in the living room. There are also some tips and suggestions as to what to do, and what not to do – e.g. wear a shirt and not a T-shirt in Tuscany, don’t try and schedule any visits over lunch time in Spain, always call ahead etc. Quite good maps with suggested itineraries.

Click here for more book reviews on my site. You will also find links to on-line book shops on that page.

Médoc and Bordeaux Statistics

From In Vino Veritas: Total vineyard area in Bordeaux: 122,000 ha. Médoc: 16,000 ha (14% of the total). Médoc appellations, in percentage of total Médoc (volume):

Médoc 34%
Haut-Médoc 28%
Margaux 9%
Saint Estephe 8%
Pauillac 7%
Saint Julien 6%
Moulis 4%
Listrac 4%

Ch d’Alesme Backer sold to Labégorce

Hubert Perrodo has just bought Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker for an estimated €25-30 million. Perrodo already owns Ch Labégorce and Ch Labégorce Zédé. The deal includes everything except the main chateau building that remains in the hands of the seller, the Zuger family, who has owned it since the 1950s. Read more on Decanter.com.

German export up 11%

The German wine export grew by 11% in value and 4% in volume over the 12 month period ending in April ’06. It is the popularity of the Riesling grape that is driving demand for German wines. The United States has seen the most positive performance but the United Kingdome remains the biggest market. Read more journee-vinicole.com

Wine, business and marketing

It seems to be the thing to do these days – focus on wine and “business”. (Actually makes a nice change from discussions on “terroir”.) Earlier this year saw the creation of the American Association of Wine Economists that also publishes a refereed journal (the Harvard Business Review of wine?) called The Journal of Wine Economics. Also, not long ago The Third International Wine Business & Marketing Conference i Montpellier. Both of these (the AAWE and the conference) are very scientific things with participation primarily from researchers but they cover a number of interesting topics, both practicl things like tasting methodology and more market oriented themes as customer perceptions and marketing. More “populist” are two other events: Every January Skalli & Rein (a French consultancy) organises the conference WineEvolution that discusses market opportunities across the globe and how better to sell wines. Another business conference is organised by William Reed called The International Wine Conference 2006 on September 6. In spite of its name this conference seems to have a much more UK focus but is also talking about how to sell and market your wine to consumers. We are particularly interested in this kind of information and events so if you are active in this area, do keep us informed.

New organisation for Languedoc-Roussillon promotion

The collaboration between the different wine regions in southern France is being reinforced. This is no doubt due to the increasing international competition and a desire to pool resources. And it may also be a good idea to have more collaboration rather than competition in face of the international market. So, “Inter Sud de France” has just been created (“Inter” is the trend word in French wine producers’ organisations these days – making reference to the term “interproffessionel”, i.e. producers’ association). Inter Sud de France is the result of the merger of CIVL (Languedoc), CIVR (Roussillon), Inter’Oc and Anivit. It will represent a total production of some 15 million hectolitres, which is about the same as the total production of Argentina.

Cork statistics

Each year some 17 billion bottles of wine are sold. The way to plug the neck varies greatly from one country to another. Catherine Pivot at the Université de Lyon has collected statistics of the closures:

France: 90% natural cork, 9% plastic cork, 1% capsule.
Switzerland: 80% screw cap.
Australia: 30% synthetic (plastic) cork.
USA: 75% natural cork, 17% plastic cork, 8% screw cap or other type of capsule.

The price of the closure: Natural cork: 2 euro cents – 1 euro. Plastic cork: 1.7-8 cents. Aluminium capsule: 2-8 cents. Read more : vitisphere.com

Wine fair for organic wines: Millésime Bio 15-17 January 2007

>> Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The next edition of the wine fair for organic (and bio-dynamic) wines, Millésime Bio, will take place on January 15-17, 2007 in Narbonne in the south of France. It is the 14th edition of the event! More info www.millesime-bio.com

Primeur prices for consumers – €40 per centilitre...

Fun (?) to take a look at what prices the Bordeaux Primeurs reach in shops, where you and I can buy them (and get delivery in two years’ time). Some of the dearest: Pomerol: Château Lafleur 1200€, Ch Le Pin 1150€; Pauillac: Ch Mouton-Rothschild 480€, Ch Latour 650€, Ch Lafite 480€, Yquem around 500€. Prices per bottle in case you wondered. Add on VAT (19.6% in France) and transport charges. To be paid now and delivered in two years’ time. Sample prices from Chateauonline.fr. Alternatively, from Berry Brothers & Rudd in London: Ch Petrus £1750 (2557€ - which, after adding French VAT (that’s where we’re writing) but no transport fee adds up to arund €40 per centilitre...), Le Pin £1250 (1826€), Lafleur & Ausone £750 (1095€), Latour £475 (694€), Margaux £475 (694€).

The EU Wine Production

>> Monday, September 04, 2006

Some statistics selected from the briefing material released when EU presented it’s discussion proposal for new wine policy: Europe counts for 40% of the world’s wine acreage and 60% of world wine production. It also accounts for 60% of consumption. Average production (of EU 25) is 178 million hectolitres, worth €16.1 billion.

France is the biggest producer with 55M hl (30% of the total). If counted in value France actually represents 50%, producing €7.7 bn worth.
Second is Italy with 51M hl (28%) or €4.2 bn (26%).
Third place goes to Spain with 43M hl (23%) worth €1.2 bn (7.6%).
Germany produces only 10M hl but the value is almost the same as that of Spain (€1.1 bn). So, the other 21 countries share the remaining 10%:
Portugal (7.2M hl/€1 bn),
Hungary (4.5M hl/€181M),
Greece (€3.6 M hl/€46M),
Austria (2.5M hl/€437M),
Slovenia (1M hl),
Czech Republic (0.5M hl),
Slovakia (0.4M hl),
Cyprus (0.4M hl),
Luxemburg (0.14M hl), and
Malta (0.07M hl)

EU expects overproduction to reach 27M hl, i.e. 15% of production, by 2010 – unless a reform of support policies are agreed. Total acreage within the EU 25 is 3.4 million hectares of vines.

Wine pictures update

We have done a major update to the wine photography section on our site. A few thousand new pictures are now available online. Both the northern and the southern Rhône Valley, South America with Argentina and Uruguay, Sweden (!) with photos from Stockholm, Château d’Yquem, Provence and more. You can find all the new photos on our gallery page here.

BKWine Pick: Ulriksdals Wärdshus, Stockholm

One of Stockholm’s old classics! Classic food, classic building, classic surroundings (in the park of a royal palace). Very well made, excellent cooking and beautiful surroundings. And also the wine selection is leaning to the classic with an emphasis on France even if there is a reasonable selection of wines from other countries too. And Ulriksdal also has something really unique: a collection of the six top Bordeaux chateaux Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild, Lafite-Rotschild, Haut-Brion, Latour and d’Yquem including almost all vintages from the beginning of the (last) century. Ask if you can take a peek when you are there!

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick: Il Fantozzi, Stockholm

I can’t claim to be an expert on Italian restaurants in Stockholm but this one must be high up on the list of the top ones. But first you have to find it: it is on a small, obscure street but not far from Skanstull, the metro station. In the husband and wife team he does the cooking and she takes care of the guests. The interior decoration is cool, low key and elegant. Food is excellent and exceptionally good value for money. The wine list is ambitious (if oversized in format) and has lots of information about the wines. Definitely worth a visit. And they have just opened a small wine and grappa bar where you can have a drink while waiting for a table.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick: Sturehof, Stockholm

This must be considered as one of the classics in Stockholm today. Fetching inspiration in classic Parisian brasserie they are open almost around the clock and you can get a meal at any hour. Very informal (and busy) atmosphere. Excellent kitchen with some rather exclusive things and a few more reasonably priced. Very good wine list, always ten reds and ten whites to chose from by the glass. Ask the wine waiter Niklas for advice if you don’t know what to chose. One of the best wine watering holes in town.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick: Château de Pressac, Saint-Emilion

>> Sunday, September 03, 2006

Château de Pressac, Saint-Emilion

Many chateaux in Saint-Emilion are very humble abodes and hardly merits the term chateau. For Chateau de Pressac the case is the opposite. The main building is on a hilltop and reminds you of a medieval knight’s castle and it actually dates from the 15th century (at least in parts). Jean-François and Dominique Quenin bought the chateau in 1997 (after a previous life in the corporate world) and started a new life as vignerons. The chateau is surrounded by all of its 30 hectares of vines and the wines are excellent. The chateau may well be included in the new classification for Saint Emilion, that is under preparation, and if it is not it is not due to the quality but to that the Quenins have been there for “only” nine years.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

BKWine Pick - Domaine Viret, Rhone

>> Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Domaine Viret
Côtes du Rhône-Villages

Philippe Viret and his father Alain has been practicing something called “cosmoculture” since the early 1990s – a form of organic and bio-dynamic method of cultivation where they fetch inspiration from both Maya and Inca cultures and also ancient Egypt. The wine cellar has been constructed as a pyramid and the interior has well deservedly been described as a “wine cathedral” by Philippe. The different cuvées have names like La Cuvée Solstice, Renaissance, Emergence, La Coudée d’Or or Energie. All are very well made, often with a lot of elegance and spiciness, with good fruit and structure. Can be found at Lafayette Gourmet in Paris and in many other shops. (And many new pictures on the domaine in our photo galleries.)

Click here for address and more recommendations.

August wine

I hope you have had (or still have) a nice vacation. So far, we have not had much time for holidays ourselves but been busy with several projects.

The most exotic one is, no doubt, our wine trip a few weeks ago to Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Yes, that’s right, we visited the four Balkan countries to visit vineyards and wine producers. There is a lot of new development and changes happening there now. You will read more about our trip in future issues of the Brief and also in other publications on wine, gastronomy, and travel. And perhaps we should put a trip to Albania and the Balkans on our wine tour program. What do you think?

We have also spent quite some time in the Languedoc. There are plenty of exciting things happening there now. You could read about one of the producers we visited in the last Brief and you will see more here soon.

If your vacation is nearing it’s end it is perhaps time to think about how to brighten up the autumn, for instance with a visit to wine country. Take a look at our travel program. What about the trip to Portugal? Some really exciting things happening there too.

But first it is my turn to go on vacation – two short weeks in Sweden. I will see you again soon!

Britt

Link Tips

>> Monday, August 28, 2006

Some wine sites that you might enjoy visiting:

About Max Schubert, the creator of the legendary Grange Hermitage (now called only Grange) from Penfold: The Living.Scotsman.com
The University of Missouri uses biotechnology to create grapes that are resistant against diseases USA Today
For and against plastic corks JancisRobinson.com
An American’s view of the fight between the giants, “The Paris Tasting” (or “The Judgement of Paris”) where California won again, 30 years later: Appellation America

Book Review - The Wines of the Northern Rhône

Book Reviews The Wines of the Northern Rhône
John Livingstone-Learmonth
University of California Press

I bought my first book about the Rhône valley wines sometimes in the early 1980s. It was the second edition of a book written by John Livingstone-Learmonth. So JLL is certainly no novice to the Rhône Valley, nor to writing about wine. As a matter of fact, there are probably few people who know more about Rhône vines than him. And that is well illustrated by his new book about the wines of the northern Rhône. It’s a brick of 703 pages. But if you are interested in Rhône wines this book is a must. JLL explains the history of the Rhône wines (that he knows since long) and speculates about the future. It is obviously not something that you read from cover to cover but more of a reference book. The bulk of the book is taken up by profiles of the vignerons (and the appellations), including tasting notes, and you will find all the details you can ever think of wanting to know. There are also some excellent, but simple maps of the vineyards. The only thing that perhaps is missing is a bit more photographs to give the reader more of a feeling of how the region and vineyards look – but that would have made the book even thicker! (Instead you can go to our photo galleries and take a look.) Now we are only waiting for the next volume on the southern Rhône…

Read some extracts from the book here:

Buy the book here.

Interested to know more about Rhone wines? Go an a wine tour with BKWine! More info here!

The Swedish wine market: The biggest Swedish importers

This is the top-ten list of wine suppliers (importers) to the monopoly Systembolaget (May 2006):

V&S Group 18,9 % (=2 273 990 litre) (Just as Systembolaget, V&S is owned by the Swedish government)
Fondberg & Co AB 10,6 %
Philipson & Söderberg 5,4 %
Oenoforos AB 5,3 %
Bibendum 4,0 %
Arvid Nordquist Vin och Sprithandel 3,6 %
Enosvezia AB 3,5 %
Stellan Kramer AB 3,2 %
Premium Wines Nordic 3,1 %
Giertz Vinimport AB 3,1 % (=368 429 litre)
Others 39,2 %

Total 12 022 294 litre

South Africa Day in Stockholm on October 13

Wines of South Africa (WOSA) organises a South African wine day in Stockholm in the restaurant Operaterassen (part of Operakällaren). More info will (we hope) be published on www.wosa.se

Rhône festival in Denmark on September 16

For the third consecutive year Dansk Vincenter near Copenhagen organises the great Danish Rhône Festival. On Saturday September 16 a large number of wines will be presented from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 vintages. More than 30 exhibitors (including wine producers) are expected. Entry fee 210 kronor, including a light lunch. More info www.rhonevinfestival.dk

Spanish researchers discover why wine is good for your cholesterol level

Grapes (and thence grape juice and also wine) contains large quantities of polyphenols. Polyphenols is a group of substances that are “anti-oxidants” and that has been shown to have beneficial effects against some cancer and heart diseases, e.g. cholesterol related ones. It has, however, not been quite clear why polyphenols have this positive effect. A Spanish research team, under the management of Alberto Dávalos at the University of Alcala, has identified what could be the mechanism behind the good effects of wine and grapes. Read more NutraIngredients.com

Two new Vin de Pays launched: VdP des Alpilles and VdP des Côtes de Meuse

Viniflhor, a French administration with responsibility for certain wine categories, has proposed two new Vin de Pays: Vin de Pays des Alpilles, after a mountain range in the southern Rhône valley, and Vin de Pays des Côtes de Meuse, by the river Meuse in northern France. You can find more information on Vin de Pays here. (The text is in Swedish but you have a list of the VdP and links to other info sources.)

Australian wines – on the other hand – reaches rock bottom prices

An interesting comparison with Australian wines: Australian Wine Grape Growers’ Association predicts continued falling prices. Spot prices for wine in Australia is expected to fall to $100-$150 per tonne (so you get quite a few Australian bottles for the top Bordeaux price of 300€ per bottle…). This is said to be below the production cost for the grapes, estimated at $200 to $800 per tonne. Read more The Advertiser

Ch Lafite first 1GCC to launch prices for primeur 2005: +275%!

>> Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Château Lafite was the first of the Premier Grand Cru Classé chateaux in Bordeaux to present the price for its 2005 primeur – a vintage that has been highly acclaimed critically (and with high expectations on the prices too). The “release price” for Lafite is 300€ (per bottle of course). That is the price that a négociant (wholesaler) can buy it for on the “place” in Bordeaux (in practice, from the chateau). On top of that comes margins for himself and downstream as well as taxes before the bottle arrives at the consumer… Decanter notes that it is a price increase with +275% since last year. Mouton-Rothschild has also released its wine – at 320€ per bottle. Decanter predicts Ausone to be the most expensive, according to trade sources, at around 500€ (still per bottle). However, this is just the first “tranche” that is released from the chateaux. Subsequent tranches are often higher priced. One can only assume that the chateau owners have a happy smile on the face all the way to the bank. (But as we have said before, if customers are ready to pay the prices, you can not expect the chateau to set the prices any lower, can you? But for those of us who think it is expensive … there are fortunately other wines.)

→ Don't miss this autumn's wine tour to Bordeaux. ??
More info here. Book now!

EU wine policy to be reformed

On June 22 the EU agricultural commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel presented a proposal to reform the cash-consuming wine support policies in the EU. The purpose is to improve the competitiveness of European wines and create more balance between demand and supply. The proposal contained e.g. changes in the system of planting rights, measurements to encourage grubbing up vines in areas with overproduction, an end to “market support” measures such as distillation (at subsidised prices) of excess production, modernisation of the technical rules governing the production, an end to chaptalisation (adding sugar to the fermenting must to increase the alcohol content) changes in labelling rules (allowing for example the mention of grape varieties on table wines) and much more. The proposal will now be discussed and a decision is expected towards the end of 2006 or beginning of 2007. Read more Journee-Vinicole.com, Jancis Robinson, Decanter

Parker writes for Business Week

Robert Parker, the world’s best known and influential wine critic, often referred to as ”guru”, will write a weekly column for Business Week magazine, starting on June 16. (BTW a famous economist, often referred to as “guru” commented that journalists had a habit of calling him “guru” because they could not spell to charlatan.) Other weekly magazines can perhaps be expected to follow suit and start a wine column. Here on BKWine we are anxiously waiting by the phone for the call from Time Magazine. Read more on PRNewsWire.com

The Australian government will not foot the $35 million requested by grape growers

The Australian government has rejected the call from the Australian Grape Growers’ Association (AGGA) to create a guarantee fund of $35 million to support producers in financial difficulties. “The government is in now way responsible for the wine crisis in Australia” said agricultural minister Peter McGuaran. “The Australian wine industry is not on its knees. [...] A government intervention in a sector that is continuing to expand is difficult to motivate”. Read more Vitisphere

French Castel plants vineyards in Azerbaijan

>> Monday, July 24, 2006

The French wine group Castel is planting new vineyards in Azerbaijan in collaboration with the local government. The plan is to plant 500 hectares, half of which is already planted. The wine is primarily for local consumption and will not be exported. Castel is a big French wine company that is both a négociant and retailer, controlling e.g. the chains Nicolas in France and Oddbins in the UK. We tasted an Azeri wine some time back and our impression is that Caste may have great potential to improve the quality. Read more on Vitisphere

→ Don't miss this autumn's wine tour to Azerbadjan. ??
No -But France and Portugal instead. Book now!

René Renou, president of INAO, passed away

René Renou, president of the INAO, died in his sleep during the night of June 19 while on a business trip to South Korea. He was only 54 years old but suffered from cancer. Renou came from the Loire Valley where he was wine producer in the sweet wine district Bonnezeaux. During his time as president of the INAO (the semi-governmental French control organisation for wine) Renou launched a number of initiatives to renew and reinvigorate French wine regulations. Decanter

Norwegian wins European Championship for sommeliers

The Trophée Ruinart, popularly known as the European Championship for Sommeliers, was won this year by a Norwegian: Robert Lie. Lie works at the luxury restaurant Bagatelle in Oslo. Second place went to Paolo Basso from Switzerland and third place to Eric Zwiebel from France.
(Photo: Ruinart/aperitif.no)

Wine and Business - International Wine Business Research Conference

The Third - International Wine Business Research Conference will take place in Montpellier on July 6-8. Around one hundred researchers will congregate to discuss marketing, business development, packaging, communications, etc – all with a business focus. The previous editions of the conference has taken place in California and Australia. This year a new publication will be launched: “Academic Wine Business Research” (AWBR). More info: www.agro-montpellier.fr

Black Dead Arm – now in France

It sounds scary and it is not the nicest thing to catch. Black Dead Arm (BDA) is a new kind of disease first discovered in 1999. It is a fungus disease that attacks the vine when it is pruned – vines are pruned all year round, not just in winter. During the whole growing season the vigneron has to cut back the branches, if not the vine would grow uncontrolled into long lianas. One of these prunings are technically (in French) called “épemprage” – when unwanted young shoots are removed; - and is sometimes done mechanically (with a tractor). It is this type of vineyard work that new research findings from the University of Nîmes (Bernard Mollot) has identified as the probable cause of Black Dead Arm. Vitisphere.com

BKWine Pick: Clos Marie, Coteaux du Languedoc-Pic Saint Loup

>> Thursday, July 20, 2006

Clos Marie, Coteaux du Languedoc-Pic Saint Loup

Christophe Peyrus loves the concept of “terroir” and the wild almost barren landscape around Pic St Loup in Languedoc. His property, Clos Marie, that he runs together with Françoise Julien, has almost from the very first vintage in 1994 been among the best wineries in Pic Saint Loup and the whole of the Languedoc. Christophe runs the vineyards according to bio-dynamic principles and has an unusually high planting density to get more concentrated wines, better balance, freshness and elegance. An example is the white 2005 Roussanne/Carignan Blanc/Macabeu blend giving a very good and flowery wine; the Metaire du Clos 2001 with lots of fruit, tobacco, and mint; or the softer 2000 Olivette with hints of violet and black and red currants. “They Musigny” of the Languedoc… according to Christophe.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

Welcome to the BKWine Brief nr 36, June 2006

Finally, it seems, summer is here. Maybe that will be a good time to make some new and enjoyable wine discoveries.

Summer wines

Why not take a few leisurely afternoons or evenings and discover a few new and exciting wines. Instead of just buying the same old rosé (or, horror!, the plastic bag in the carton) for summer drinking (nothing wrong with rosé though!), buy a couple of different bottles and compare. They don’t have to be expensive, just different, and you can enjoy and experience the differences.

Travelling in wine districts this summer?

If you plan to go visit some wine districts this summer here are some suggestions to help you plan the trip:
- Restaurants worth visiting
- Producers worth visiting
- And even more producers in our picture gallery
- Some suggestions for books to help you prepare the trip
- Wine shops

Still feel like travelling after the summer?

If you don’t have the time to go visiting vineyards this summer (or want to do it again!) take a look at my wine tour program and let yourself be tempted. Full details a bit further down in the Brief.

Britt

PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief or forward it to them !

Link Tips

Some wine sites that you might enjoy visiting:

New findings on how soil (or terroir if you wish) influences wine: “A new, improved level of soil mapping” in Wine Business Monthly
Pacific Ridge Winery, not least because the owner is Bob Kelly, thus with the initials BK..., but also because of the beautiful location: www.pacificridgewinery.com
On Crozes-Hermitage in International Herald Tribune
Food, Wine and Travel – that’s the heading on the site of the Australian wine writer Christine Salins. Sounds interesting: www.foodwinetravel.com.au
Volatile acidity – What is it? How to prevent it? Read and learn on Wine Maker
All about Rhône. Well, maybe not quite, but a lot of interesting commentaries on tasted Rhône wines by John Livingstone-Learmonth, the author of the best books on Rhône wines: http://www.drinkrhone.com (we will review his new brick-size tome on northern Rhône in a future issue)
100 Top Wine Blogs. (Cannot help being a bit proud of BKWine having three blogs on the list: 15 for Wine Pictures, 22 for The Monopoly Blog (about the Swedish monopoly), and 83 for the BKWine Brief Blog. What do we do wrong with the BKWine Brief Blog??)

Coup de Coeur des femmes journalistes

The cooperative wine producers in the French departement l’Hérault organise a yearly wine competition followed by a “final” called “Coup de Coeur des femmes journalistes” (best-of selected by women journalists). 15 female writers are invited to taste the gold medal winners in the preceding competition and to choose their preferred red, white and rosé. These three wines will for the following year represent the Hérault cooperatives at all official occasions. This year BKWine was part group – the only non-French journalist on the jury. Quality was overall high on the wines tasted. The red winner – coup de coeur – was called ”Etnik” from the cooperative in Montpeyroux. It even has a modern design label that should appeal to a younger market and on export. These are the wines the jury selected:

Rosé: Cuvée Sabel Rosé 2005, Vin de Pays d’Oc, Clocher et Terroirs.
Red: Cuvée Etnik 2005, Vin de Pays de Mont Baudille
White: Cuvée « Fleurs de Montblanc »: Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue

More info: http://vignerons.com/ (be sure to click the big picture on the welcome page, otherwise you'll get last year's result...)

Le Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2006

You might expect the Concour Mondial de Bruxelles to take place in Belgium, and it usually does, but this year it was off-shored to Lisbon. 220 international wine experts (including BKWine) tasted 5447 wines and spirits from 43 countries. 1613 were awarded medals. There were 49 Grande Médailles d’Or (Great Gold Medals), 583 Médailles d’Or (Gold Medals), 974 Médailles d’Argent (Silver Medals) and 7 Médailles de Bronze. On addition to all medals there were four awards for “Best Wine”: the red went to Bernard Magrez’s micro cuvée Tivoli 2003 from a small 2.5 ha vineyard in northern Médoc. Spain got the Best Wine for whites with Conces de Albarei Carballo Galego 2004 from Rias Baixas, and Luxemburg (!) for sparkling wines: the Cuvée du Domaind Kohll-Reuland Crémant de Luxembourg. Canada had the sweet Best Wine award for Magnotta Riesling Icewine Limited Edition 2003 from Niagara Peninsula. Here are some of my own favourites:

Château Ollieux Romanis - Cuvée Prestige ph: +33 4 68 43 35 20, Corbières Rouge
Château Valrose - Cuvée Alienor, Saint Estèphe Edonia (ph: +33 5 57 55 60 60)
Château Preuillac, Médoc Yvon Mau SA (ph: +33 5 56 61 54 54)
Ventisquero Reserva Carmenère Viña Ventisquero, Chile (ph: +56 72 20 12 40)
Viu Manent - Carmenère - Reserve Viu Manent y Cia. Ltda, Chile (ph: +56 2 37 90 020)
Esporão - Private Selection Finagra S.A.- Herdade do Esporão, Alentejo, Portugal (ph: +351 213 03 15 40)

For more medal winners: www.concoursmondial.be

California lowers the requirements for vintage wines

It will now be allowed to add 15% of a different vintage to the one indicated on the label in California, so no more than 85% has to come from the given year, according to a new rule on the proposal of the Wine Institute. A pity, especially since the Napa story of the producer who wanted to put Napa on the lable even though the wine did not come from that district has finally been decided by the courts. A step in the wrong direction it seems. But the old rule of 95%/5% is still valid for “regional appellations” though, like Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley.

Bordeaux primeur prices sky-rocket

As expected (or feared) the prices of the highly acclaimed 2005 vintage in Bordeaux are up, and not by little. According to the Danish, but Bordeaux based wine merchant Iakob Schjerbeck, the prices are up with between 10% and … 85%, and that is before probably the “sorties” of the heavy hitters. This has even generated quite a lot of criticism from the down-stream trade. Decanter quotes for example John Avery (Averys Wine Merchants): ”We are a little disillusioned with some in Bordeaux, who seem to be profiteering” (a British understatement?) and described some producers as “just plain greedy”. Well, as we said in the last Brief: Don’t complain of the prices. Buy something else if you think it is too expensive. There are plenty of good value good wine on the market today. Decanter.com

Australians learn from the French – even their bad habits

The Australian Wine Grape Growers Association (WGGA) wants that the government should support producers in difficulty due to over-production and falling prices. They have requested that a guarantee fund be created with $35 million to reduce production. They estimate that 40% of the producers will go bankrupt if the oversupply is not corrected (and support measures put in place) within two years. Sounds scaringly similar to the EU Agricultural Policy and militant French wine producers… Read more on Vitisphere.com

France’s most planted grape varieties

Since 1979 a lot has changed in the vineyards so it is time to review old truths about what is taught in wine classes. The statistics is from Drinks International and based on SCEES RGA79 and CVI (area in ‘000 of hectares): The grape statistics are here.

France’s most planted grape varieties

>> Thursday, July 06, 2006

Since 1979 a lot has changed in the vineyards so it is time to review old truths about what is taught in wine classes. The statistics is from Drinks International and based on SCEES RGA79 and CVI (area in ‘000 of hectares):

Grape Variety ha 1979 ha 2004 % change

Red Grapes 687 627 -9%

1 Merlot 38 115 200%
2 Grenache 78 99 27%
3 Carignan 207 74 -64%
4 Syrah 12 68 451%
5 Cabernet Sauvignon 23 61 164%

6 Cabernet Franc 23 39 72%
7 Gamay 34 35 4%
8 Cinsault 52 25 -52%
9 Pinot 17 28 61%
10 Aramon 63 4.2 -93%

White Grapes 311 255 -18%

1 Ugni 128 84 -34%
2 Chardonnay 13 42 221%
3 Sauvignon 7 23 231%
4 Semillon 23 13 -46%
5 Melon 10 13 36%

6 Chenin 10 10 2%
7 Grenache Blanc 16 5 -69%
8 Macabeu 7 4 -50%
9 Terret 9 2 -80%
10 Baco 7 1 -90%

The world’s most powerful brands

Drinks International, an English trade publication, has made a ranking of the world’s most powerful wine and spirits brands. Different factors have been combined to arrive at the ranking: brand perception, market share, price position etc. Here’s the ranking:

1. Smirnoff
2. Bacardi
3. Johnnie Walker
4. Martini
5. Stolichnaya
6. Hennessy
7. Jack Daniel’s
8. Absolut
9. Ballantine’s
10. Baileys

This month’s must-have wine gadget: Private Preserve

This heading is usually reserved for items that we talk about with a certain irony. But this time it’s serious. Private Preserve is definitely worth trying! Private Preserve is a pressurised bottle of neutral gas that makes it possible to keep an opened bottle for a long time without the wine going bad. Perfect if you drink just half a bottle, or if you have a big wine tasting and want to save what remains in the bottle until later. It actually works fine just putting the bottle in the fridge for a week or two (many people think it will turn to vinegar in a few days but that’s not the case), but Private Preserve is much better. Just spray a few puffs of gas in the half empty bottle and the wine keeps excellently. We have trialled PP for a month and it seems to work very well. A month ago we opened a lot of bottles and served just a little from each bottle. Then we used Private Preserve on all bottles and put them (standing) in the cellar. And still, more than a month later, the wines keep well. Every bottle we bring up is well preserved. We almost start wondering for how long it will keep… So, well worth trying if you worry that your half empty bottles will go bad. Just $9 per canister. Unfortunately it is difficult to get hold of in Europe but you can get it directly from the producer www.privatepreserve.com or www.winepreserve.com (and do tell us if you know of a European distributor…)

Wine for women

Do you remember a few months ago when we talked about the wine specially designed for men? Now it is the turn of women. The English supermarket chain have spent years of research and development to discover that many women find today’s average wine with 12.5-14.5% alcohol too heavy. Therefore they will launch a lower alcohol wine called Early Harvest Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc with only 9.5% alcohol (and 19% fewer calories!). Wouldn’t it have been easier to just buy some German wines instead? Read more in The Times

INAO proposes two tier appellations

INAO, the semi-governmental body that control French wine production rules, has proposed that the system of Appellation Contrôlée should be split into two tiers: one that follows traditional, strict rules on production, terroir etc, and one that allows for more flexibility and for more new technology (should we read “oak chips” between the lines?). As always in French procedures this is so far just a proposal and will have to be debated with various organisations. Read more on Vitisphere.com

Norwegian wine

A while back we wrote about an April’s Fool joke by the London wine merchant Berry Brothers and Rudd where they (jokingly) talked about Norwegian wine. At the moment we noted that there actually are vines in Norway but that we did not know exactly where. A reader has supplied us with more details: There is a vineyard in Norway planted with 2000 vines. The winemaker is called Sveier Hansen and the vineyard is called Hallingstad Vineyards, located near the Oslo Fjord. The wine, called L’Esprit d’Edward Munch, is made from Pinot Noir. We hope that there is not too much Munch esprit in the taste though… Read more on WineOnTheWeb

Monks start a vineyard in California

Historically the Church has been very involved in winemaking and many vineyards have historic links to Christianity. But today very few wineries have any direct connection with religion. But now 25 monks of the order of St Benedictine have started a winery near the town of Chico. It is supposedly the first Roman Catholic winery in North America. “We don't want or expect to get rich” said Father Harold Meyer. Probably quite reasonable expectations. Read more on post-gazette.com

Wine course at Sotheby’s

Interesting for Londoners: The auction house Sotheby’s, one of the world leaders in wine auctions, also arranges wine tasting courses. The coming autumn there will be two courses: one varietal course (starting 18 September) and one focused on wine districts (6 November). Each course has six sessions with highly competent lecturers. More info: www.sothebys.com/wine (for some strange reason the course info is not on their site so you will have to contact the course responsible in their staff list).

New articles by our Guest Writers

>> Tuesday, July 04, 2006

We have several new articles by our guest writers this month. Here are the new texts:

Many thanks to the contributors!

Taittinger back in French hands

The champagne house Taittinger was sold last year to the American company Starwood. Now, Taittinger has returned to French hands. But that was probably more or less part of the scheme originally. Starwood is primarily a hotel operator and the Taittinger Group owned some very prestigious hotel properties. The champagne house just happened to be part of the total package. It is Crédit Agricole du Nord-Est, a co-operative agricultural bank in the Champagne district, that has bought the champagne business for some 660 million euro. But it could have landed in Indian hands: United Breweries Group, a leading Indian brewery group, was in the bidding for the champagne house. Several other parties were in the running for having a new “house champagne”. Read more in Vitisphere and ChannelNewsAsia.com

Israeli wine? Swedish retailer tries (and fails) to be politically correct

The Swedish state-owned monopoly retailer of alcohol, Systembolaget, was criticised for selling Golan Heights wine under the country label “Israel”. They consulted with the Foreign Ministry which resulted in Systembolaget changing the country of origin in their catalogue to “Israeli occupied Syrian territory”. A representative for the opposition party Christian Democrats, Annelie Enochson, said the decision was unfair, treating Israel different from other countries, and represented a politicising of the state owned monopolist. Not too surprising though: The monopoly have a habit of running political campaigns since several years, although it usually has to do with alcohol politics (the recent campaign to influence EU policies on alcohol for example, infamously called “Dear Mr Barroso”). Read more in Jerusalem Post and in Decanter

Last minute update: in a very careful and politically correct press release the monopoly Systembolaget announces that they will henceforth use as country of origin for these wines … nothing!

Replay of ”The Paris Tasting” of 1976: Californians win again

30 years after the original Paris Tasting when Steven Spurrier (an eminent British wine critic) organised the original version of the event to compare French and Californian top wines he repeated the experience. In the 1976 tasting Californian wines came top both for red wine and white wine which created quite a stir. One comment often voiced about the original tasting was that Californian wines are easier to appreciate when young but that they don’t age well. So in the re-run wines of similar vintages as in the original tasting was included – now 30 years older. Top of the reds emerged Napa wine 1973 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and the top rated white wine was 1973 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay. Read more in San Francisco Chronicle and Slate.com and plenty of details on JancisRobinson.com

Château Guiraud in Sauternes sold

Château Guiraud is a Sauternes property of 128 hectares. It has been acquired by a group of investors including the Peugeot family (FPP), Domaine de Chevalier and Neipperg Invest. FFP (Société Foncière, Financière et de Participations) is managed by Robert Peugeot and is the biggest shareholder in the car manufacturer. Domaine de Chevalier is one of the best properties in Graves (Pessac-Léognan) owned by the Bernard family (Olivier Bernard). Neipperg Invest is led by Stephan Neipperg and also controls Château Canon La Gaffelière, La Mondotte, Clos de l’Oratoire, Peyrau, d’Aiguilhe and Clos Marsalette. The price tag? – 20 million euro (actually almost a steal). Petrolium in Riesling wines or burnt rubber in Syrah wines – so why not in Sauternes? But according to what is reported Peugeot will remain a passive financial partner. Vitisphere.com and Decanter

Global warming threatens Spanish wine production? Wines reach new heights?...

Will climate change and hotter weather make wine production disappear in Spain? That is what some people fear, estimating that temperatures will rise by 7 degrees centigrades to the end of the century. Some wine producers have started to look for land in hig-altitude areas in the mountains. Torres is one of them. Read more on Bloomberg

BKWine Pick: Barrique Wine Bar, Gothenburg, Sweden

>> Friday, June 23, 2006

Barrique Wine Bar is actually the name of the restaurant Hamngatan in the evenings... The two owners and wine enthusiasts, Rolf Olofsson and Thomas Norman, had the idea a few years ago to create a wine bar concept, something they now want to develop into a chain of wine bars (something unheard of in Sweden!). A new Barrique is supposedly on its way. In the evenings at Barrique it is wine that has centre stage. They continuously run special 5-week campaigns with selected wines and an accompanying menu. I tried a delicious tapas menu when they had a Spanish theme. Right now they run Tuscany. The whole restaurant is beautifully done and it all makes for a very attractive place. www.barrique.nu

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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