Welcome to the BKWine Brief nr 56, March 2008

Greener wines?

Green seems to be the most trendy colour these days with wine. In February there was a Climate Change and Wine conference in Barcelona with vice-president Al Gore (but not quite). Organic wines sell as never before (but “before” we didn’t have many). More and more wine growers talk about the importance of not spraying (at least not too much) pesticides or fertilizers in the vineyard, not to speak about driving a tractor that compacts the soil (not good for the well-being of earth worms and their colleagues). A new shipping company is launched that will specialize in shipping wine by sail ship. New methods af analyzing and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. Etc. etc. Read about all that and more in this month’s Brief. In any case we can at least be happy that white wine is made from ”green” grapes.

But sometimes the ecological aspects almost go over the top. Some winemakers insist on making wine without any sulphur (almost an impossibility). The result is not always successful and often unpredictable.

Spring is getting closer

It will soon be spring in the vineyards (although looking out the window, that’s not the feeling I get). Most winegrowers have now finished pruning, or will soon have to finish. It is preferable to be done with the pruning before the sap rises. On the other hand, you should avoid pruning too early in the season. Pruning early increases the risk for frost damages (because if you do the plant develops early).

It will be an interesting wine year this year. Last year (to be very general) northern wine regions had a cold and wet summer but were saved by an excellent autumn. In the south, on the other hand, many regions suffer from too much heat and too little water. Some have hardly had any rain in two years.

Lots of goodies

We were in Montpellier recently, for the big wine trade show Vinisud. On the television they announced emergency measures due to the lack of water. But Vinisud was an excellent event. Several thousand exhibitors and more than 35,000 visitors. When you go to that kind of thing you have to focus on something not to be totally confused. We choose to spend a lot of time on the Roussillon (the southern-most part of France, by the Spanish border close to Barcelona). A wealth of ambitious producers. But often they are quite small and have a difficult time marketing their wines on the export market. A great pity. We will be coming back to some of the things we’ve tasted later.

Portugal, with a special offer

If we continue south, to Portugal, we note that the country has recently had a excellent book written about it’s wine and food. It recently one a prize as one of the best wine book in England in 2007. We have made an agreement with the authors for a special offer to you as a reader of the BKWine Brief to buy at a reduced price. You can find all the details on this offer on the page on our autumn wine tour to Portugal.

Britt

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Read the whole Brief #56 here!

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