Welcome to the BKWine Brief nr 51, October 2007

Most early forecasts for this year’s harvest has been moderate to pessimistic. A summer that has been in many places not very warm (to say the least) and humid has not meant ideal weather for the grapes. But – you should never cry foul too early. Since the beginning of September the weather has generally been very nice: sunshine, not much rain and good temperatures. This has given the grapes the extra push at the end to reach excellent maturity in good health and most wine growers we have talked with recently have sounded optimistic, or even very optimistic. A few week’s good weather at the end of the season can make a big difference. But… never cash in before the deal is done. Last week we were in Bordeaux. The weather was splendid and the early ripening Merlot grapes were being brought in. Cabernet ripens later and still needs a few weeks on the vines. And what happens? At the end of the week the weather unexpectedly changes and we get rain (the grower we visited say “I finished harvesting Merlot last night”…). If it is a short shower it won’t be a problem but if it keeps raining until the Cabernets are ready to be harvested it won’t be too good… Fortunately, the weather forecast mainly predicts good weather.

Perhaps the wisest thing to do for a wine grower is to say like Catherine Papon Nouvel at Château Gaillard: “I don’t worry about the weather. If I did I’d be a nerve wreck. The weather isn’t my responsibility and I can do nothing about it. What I do worry about is what happens in the vineyard and in the wine cellar. That’s my responsibility!”

BKWine in print

If you’re curious to know a bit more about BKWine (and the story of how I created it) you should take a look at Sterling Airways’ in-flight magazine Sterling Magazine. In the latest issue they have an article on me called Living Abroad: Paris Uncorked

BKWine on radio

I was recently “subject to” (it almost felt like that) a radio appearance too. Lynn Krielow Chamberlain, “The Wine Fairy” (www.winefairy.com) on Wine and Dine Radio interviewed me about the upcoming Truffles, Foie Gras and Wine tour. You can listen to the interview here on Wine and Dine Radio. I explain about the tour, about truffles and some other things.

BKWine on TV

Or at least almost. We have started to experiment with videos: interviews with wine makers, vineyard visits and more. You can find the very first experiments on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/bkwine. More will come. (Don’t be too harsh on us. It’s our very first adventure into moving pictures. But we’d love to hear your feedback!)

Spring wine tours

Do take a look at the spring 2008 program below. Two exciting tours on the schedule at the moment.

At the moment we’re almost constantly on the road (wine travel ‘oblige’). Therefore this Brief is a bit shorter. We’ll be back later in the autumn with the usual producer recommendations, restaurant and book reviews and more. Including of course new finds from our travel.

Britt

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

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