Anteprima – BKWine goes to Italy to taste Chianti Classico

By Åsa Johansson, BKWine’s reporter in Italy

BKWine recently participated in the annual tasting of to-be-released Chianti Classico wines. The tasting is held in Florence in February every year in an ex-railway station called Stazione Leopolda, a beautiful setting for a wine tasting. 148 producers were presenting their wines to the trade and press, showing more than 358 different samples.

The vintages on show were Chianti Classico Reserva 2006 (at least 24 months aging before release), and Chianti Classico 2007 (can be sold after October 1 the year following the harvest). Some 70 producers also brought tank/barrel samples of the 2008. (It will be released at the earliest the coming autumn.)

The 2008s were very promising. The growing season was excellent and very healthy grapes were brought in at the harvest, with good levels of acidity and good quality. What remains is that the winemakers nurture the infant wines to a finished wine before anyone can really declare it to be “an outstanding vintage”.

Here is our pick of producers to look out for:

Castellinuzza e Piuca
A very small winery with only 2 ha at 300 metres altitude not far from Greve in Chianti. Giuliano Coccia, the father, and Simone, the son, stick to the local traditional grape varieties, such as sangiovese, canaiolo and colorino. Winemaking is also traditional indeed, in concrete vats and with no barrel aging. This results in a splendidly drinkable food wine with plenty of fruit that, without being overly complex, will give you pleasure at the table.

Villa di Geggiano
They farm their vines organically. They only make a Chianti Classico in years when they consider the fruit and quality to be sufficiently good and rather skip a vintage than make an average wine. Chianti Classico Geggiano is made from 90-95% sangiovese with a small addition of cabernet. The wine is aged in ‘tonneau’ (500 litre barrels) for 18 months. An elegant and complex wine to drink for example with game or matured cheese.

Fattoria Le Filigare
They make a wide range of wines. Filigare’s Chianti Classico is excellent value for money. The owner, Carlo Burchi, explains that one of his biggest problems is that he has named his wines after all his grand-children and there are more and more of them. He has run out of cuvees and don’t know what to do for the youngest grand-daughter…

-Åsa Johanson, BKWine's reporter in Italy

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BKWine Pick: Monte de Penha, Portalegre, Alentejo, Portugal

To the north in Alentejo you can find Monte de Penha. Francisco and Veronica Fina made their first vintage in 1999. The winery is not far from the town of Portalegre, 100 km from the famous city of Evora. The region is mountainous and the vineyards are at high altitude on granite soil. The climate is a bit cooler than the rest of Alentejo. Monte de Penha use traditional regional grape varieties. “Why would we use grape verities that everyone else has?” as Francisco puts it. One of my favourites is Monte de Penha Reserva made from trincadeira, aragoñes and alicante bouschet. Their 2002 has wonderful fruit, very good structure and pronounced but smooth tannins. Long and elegant.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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Welcome to the BKWine Brief nr 68, March 2009

Last month we suggested that you try a wine from a not so well known wine region every once in a while. So, here are some suggestions for wine regions that can be worth discovering (and that merit more attention from wine lovers):

Chenin blanc, but primarily the dry white wines from the middle Loire Valley (they often have more personality than the South African versions, even if they can be good too). For example: Vouvray, Savennières or quite simply a dry white Anjou. One of the most underrated white grape varieties.

Red wines from the south west of France, le Sud-Ouest, with the two major districts Madiran and Cahors. Powerful wines that in modern winemakers’ hands also has lots of fruit and flavour.

Jurançon. Jura-what? No. Jurançon is a small district on the edge of France towards Spain, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. They make wonderful white wines, quite full-bodied with a very refreshing acidity from the grapes petit manseng and gros manseng. They come in both dry and sweet versions. You must try a dry one. Excellent and original.

Jura. Yes, why not also mention Jura, a mountainous region in eastern France. Know for its vins jaunes (yellow wines) made in an oxidative way reminiscent of sherry (with flor). But they also make “normal” white wines from chardonnay and savagnin. They too often have a hint of the nutty sherry style, but not as much. Perfect with a gruyere cheese or the local comté.

Sherry. Let’s jump to sherry then. A hidden gem. Above all the magnificent dry fino and manzanilla, and the somewhat more full-bodied amontillado. Make sure you serve it very dry and well chilled, to, for example appetizers (tapas, of course) or perhaps a flavoursome starter, say smoked salmon or gravlax. (Or have it on its own a sunny summer afternoon.)

Greece, but forget the resiny retsinas and look for one of the small and ambitious quality producers. You can even find excellent white wines (albeit reds are more common) from e.g. the assyrtiko grape. We’ve written about them before here.

Austria: Supposedly a very trendy wine country at the moment but wine lovers seem not yet to have discovered it. A great pity since they make excellent whites from gruner veltliner and other grapes. (see more further down)

Lombardy: a neighbouring district to Piedmont, not at all as well known. They also make splendid reds from for example the nebbiolo grape.

Galicia in north-west Spain, which is virtually the origin of the albariño grape, producing interesting and refreshing whites (see more on the grape further down).

Or if you prefer to be more classic and less exotic:

“Petits châteaux” in Bordeaux: Put the “great” châteaux, costing a fortune, to the side and look for smaller, less well known producers. There are many that make excellent wines, both reds and indeed whites that are good value for money in the range of €5-20. E.g. in Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers, Graves (not Péssac-L), Côtes de Bourg etc.

The southern Rhône Valley: “simple” Côtes du Rhône is a big district and there is a wealth of good producers making wine at a fraction of the price of the famous Rhône appellations (forget Cote Rotie, Hermitage, Chateauneuf... for the moment). You can also try some of the lesser-known appellations such as Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Costières de Nîmes, or simply the Cotes du Rhones.

And this is just a few suggestions. There are many more.

The only challenge with this is that you need to know which producers to choose. Not all wine producers in (for example) Greece are worth your attention. You have to choose your supplier/wine producer with care. But you already read the BKWine Brief (and no doubt other recommendations) so you’re well on your way to finding new discoveries. We try and help you find the most interesting wines instead of the run-of-the-mill producers.

We also try and help you find the best producers more literally, which leads me to our wine tours. We put a great deal of attention into choosing which producers to include on our tours. (And we’re there on the tours ourselves, and we certainly don’t want to go to any not-so-interesting places.) It’s easy to find a producer to visit but it’s not obvious that it will be a good visit (just like it’s easy to buy a bottle of wine, but requires a bit more of attention to make sure it’s good). We visit both of us (both Britt and Per) some 200 wineries each every year. (We sat down and counted and, yes, that’s about the right number.) And then we meet perhaps as many other producers on wine fairs, tastings etc. And we taste perhaps some 3-4000 wines in a year. So we have a bit of research to lean on when we plan our tours.

Take a look on the autumn program further down.

Britt & Per

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91 % of all wine cost less than 9 euro

Or to be precise: 91 % of all wine sold in Sweden through the government owned monopolist Systembolaget (having a 50 % market share!) cost less than 9.32 euro (less than 100 kr; 1 krona = 0.932 euro). Here are the ranges:

-39 kr: 0.1 %
40-49 kr: 5.1 %
50-59 kr: 24.1 %
60-69 kr: 26.7 %
70-79 kr: 17.6 %
80-89 kr: 10.5 %
90-99 kr: 6.8 %
100 kr - : 9.1 %

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Best selling countries in Sweden

This is the top list of wine origins, from the sales statistics from the Swedish government owned monopoly retailer Systembolaget. The stats concern wine :

1. South Africa, 16.6% market share (change: +10.7 %)
2. Italy, 16.3 % (+10.9 %)
3. Australia, 15.5 % (-1.9 %)
4. Spain, 13.7 % (-1.7 %)
5. France, 9.4 % (+1 %)
6. Chile, 7.1 % (+3.8 %)
7. USA, 4.8% (-0.7 %)
8. Germany, 4.6 % (-0.2 %)
9. Argentina, 3.4 % (+41.8 %)
10. Hungary, 3.1 % (-5.1 %)

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Biggest wine importers in Sweden

It’s only a partial truth since the state owned monopoly retailing chain Systembolaget AB only accounts for 50% of sales of alcohol in Sweden (yes, actually true), but this is the top list of their wine suppliers in 2008, with their respective market shares.

1. V&S Vin & Sprit Group, 20%
2. Fondberg, 7.6 %
3. Oenoforos, 5.9 %
4. Bibendum, 4.5 %
5. Hjo Grosshandel, 3.9 %
6. Vinunic, 3.7 %
7. Enjoy Wine & Spirits, 3.5 %
8. Pernod Ricard, 3.4 %
9. Giertz Vinimport, 3.4 %
10. Tegnér Hermansson, 3.2 %
11. Other, 40.7 %

In 2009 Pernod Ricard will move into first place, having bought V&S Vin & Sprit.

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Famous Languedoc winery sold to a Russian

Prieuré Saint Jean de Bébian is one of the most famous wine estates in the Languedoc and one of the first to be recognised as a quality wine producer. The wine guru Robert Parker has called it one of the greatest wines in Languedoc, but one has to admit that Parker is perhaps not very up-to-date on the Languedoc of today. The Prieuré St Jean de B has bee sold to a Russian investor (oligark?) via a company called Sinara (that according to some sources is Swiss and to others is Russian). Perhaps we can hope for renewed investments in the Prieuré that in recent years seems to have mostly coasted along. Vitisphere.com

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Australian wine course

Wine Australia, a government financed promotional organisation, has launched a new web site that includes a very ambitious wine course. It contains thirty modules where you can learn (not quite) all about grape varieties, wine making, regions etc. With a focus on Australia of course. Here’s the course: www.wineaustralia.com

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”Hooray, sales are going down”, says champagne

Sales of champagne fell by 5% in 2008. “The fall is a good thing: our purpose was to decrease sales by 2% at the start of 2008. Hopefully grape growers can stop increasing their prices and Champagne pricing will be more stable” Ghislain de Mongolfier, co-president of CIVC, the powerful champagne house organisation, according to Decanter.com. Thanks to price increases it is expected that the value of the sales will remain unchanged for 2008 in spite of the volume decline. Is this not a touch too much of a rosy after-construction, or “embarrass de richesse”? Decanter.com

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Take the WSET diploma in Paris

Why not come to Paris to take the WSET diploma (Wine & Spirits Education Trust), Intermediate level. It’s the Ecole du Vin who organises a three day intensive course on March 16-18. They promise more than 50 wines at the tastings. More info: www.professionnel.ecole-du-vin.fr (No, we’re not one of the lecturers on the program, but I’m sure we can organise an additional evening class if you come here…)

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France – the country of ridicule in the wine world?

Serve no wine please. We’re French.

France is to many the cradle of wine and the world’s biggest wine producer (tying with Italy). Wine is also a major export product for the country. Not to mention the cultural heritage of wine and gastronomy. But how strange is it not then what goes on inside the country. The latest item of bemusement and ridicule is a proposal for a new law. Its initial purpose was to stop open-bars-evenings for students, fixed-fee events where youngster could (and would) drink as much as possible in as short a time as possible. The unfortunate thing is that the law has been written in so sweeping language that it will potentially make illegal all serving of wine at a fixed fee or free sampling. This would make illegal, for instance, serving wine tasting samples at wine shows or agricultural shows, serving wine at municipality gatherings, serving wine as part of a fixed-price all-inclusive menu in restaurants, serving wine samples to visitors at wineries…

Wine? Hush, don’t mention it. We’re French.

Since quite some time the French anti-wine lobby, spear headed by the state financed ANPAA (~70M€ budget), supported by the ironically named Loi Evin (Loi Pas de Vin?), has persecuted various forms of advertising and editorial content. It is of course illegal today in France to advertise for wine and show a happy couple or an attractive woman (and we’re not talking any lewd illustrations) on the picture. Unless it is a wine grower. Even more astonishing, the ANPA has also taken editorial articles on wine to court and had them condemned to pay a fine. The court considered the article to be equivalent to promotion and decided that it should have carried a warning text.

Wine on the internet? We’re French, we'll do like China: censorship of the internet.

In the same vein it is probable (the legal situation is not entirely clear) that it will be considered illegal to communicate about alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, spirits) on the internet. In consequence, French wine producers will have to take down their internet sites or risk being taken to court and fined. Or implement sophisticated filtering of visitors. We recently tried to visit the site of Champagne Perrier-Jouet. To access it you have to select the country you are in. We’re in France so we selected that. Et voilà: “You are not allowed to access this site due to the current regulation in France. EXIT.”

Do you read Asterix & Obelix? If you do you know what we mean: “Ils sont fou les français.”

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This month’s marketing gimmick: the cat in the egg

We recently discovered a wine from Côtes du Ventoux (recently renamed AOC Ventoux) called Chat-en-Oeuf, which obviously is a lame attempt to bask in the glory of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A few years ago there was a big row over a South African wine producer making Goats do Roam and Goat Roti (Côtes du Rhône and Côte Rôtie, of course). French authorities protested and tried to stop the wines from coming to Europe. So, now it is a French producer who tries the same cheap trick. What will the authorities do now? Can one assume that the wine is lacking as much in individuality and own identity as the name indicates?

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Manjari chocolate on Brittany sablé with black figs – gold medal winner

That delicious sounding desert was the winner in the Roussillon Dessert Trophy, served together with AOC Rivesaltes Domaine Gauby Caricia 2005. The winning entry was created by Thibaut Panas and Anne Coquellin from Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saison in England. They beat teams from e.g. Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark. The competition wants to promote successful combinations of dessert with sweet and fortified wines (primarily from the Roussillon, of course). The winning chocolate cracker certainly sounds delicious. (photo: Nathalie Hanon Icicom)

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Discover the wines from the southwest

On April 8 and 9 you can visit the wine and food show Sud-Ouest Découverte in Toulouse. It is a meeting place primarily for buyers and importers who look for interesting products, both wines and other gastronomic products, from the French Sud-Ouest. 8 & 9 April, Espace Diagora-Technopole, Toulouse. More info: cbourguignon-at-adhes.com, or www.adhes.com

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Lucian Freud illustrates the new vintage Mouton-Rothschild

Lucian Freud is a British artist who can boast to be the painter with the price record for paintings by living artists. He is also grandson to Sigmund Freud. A drawing by Freud will adorn the new edition of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild when the 2006 vintage is released. The illustration is on the same theme that he used for a painting he did in 1943 called The Painter’s Room, with a zebra and a palm tree.

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EU pondering what organic wine really means

Strictly speaking, there is no organic wine today. Instead, we have “wine produced from organically grown grapes”. This is because it is not defined what “organic” means in the winery, only what it means in the field. There is an ongoing EU research project, called ORWINE, that aims to define what organic winemaking should mean – what processes can be used, what substances can be added etc. The project recently organised a conference in Siena where BKWines reporter in Italy participated. It is clear that there is a long way to go since the perspectives are very different in different countries. But if all goes well it will not be too long before we have really organic wines.

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New labelling for organic wine

On January 1 the EU approved a proposal for organic agriculture and organic products. The most visible result will be a common labelling of organic products. The regulations also include definitions of the methods of organic agriculture (Fr. agriculture biologique) and production. More info www.frenchwinesbulletin.co.uk

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The travails of Fenouillèdes

Not many people know of Fenouillèdes. Unfortunately. It is a small wine region in southern France, in Roussillon close to the Spanish border. There are several very interesting producers in the area, but it is small, remote, unknown and impossible to pronounce… (Well, actually not, say: feno-yed.) But they are making valiant efforts to become better known. One of the more original initiatives is the emails they send out once in a while promoting the area as the ideal spot for foreign investors who want to become winemakers (“vineyard land for less than 10 000 euro/ha”). In the latest mail we can also read about Robert Parker scoring some of the wines between 95 and 100 and that you can find old vine grenache wines for export for as little as 2 euro. We actually do think it’s great that people try and promote their wine regions in a bit of an original fashion. And on top of it some of the wines from Fenouillèdes are actually excellent, well worth drinking! More info: www.fenouilledes-selection.com

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Kosher wine

Sometimes when we’re visiting wine producers we se a few barrels or a tank wrapped in tape with mysterious symbols on. On closer inspection it turns out to be Hebrew. We’re then at a producer who sets aside part of his production to make a kosher (casher) wine. Now there’s even a company specialising in making batches of kosher wines at famous producers’. The company is called IDS Wine and makes kosher versions of e.g. Chateau Valandraud, Smith Haut Lafitte, Lafon Rochet, Rauzan Gassies, Labegorce Zédé, Rolland de By etc. More info: www.idswine.com

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BKWine TV: [E] Willy Brundlmayer, Austrian winemaker interview

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Willy Brundlmayer, owner and winemaker. Weingut Brundlmayer (or Bruendlmayer) is an old family winery that is located in Langenlois, about one hour away from Vienna in Austria. Today it is run by Willy Bruendlmayer.

They have some very old vineyards with vines that are even 80-100 years old.

Because of global warming and the climate changes they are becoming a moderately cool region and are now making more and more red wine too.

He makes more than 20 different wines, many from parcel / vineyard selections. He is very fond of making the soil and microclimate express itself.

The main grape varieties are gruner veltliner, riesling, pinot noir, pinot blanc, pinot gris, . . .

They also make an excellent sparkling wine from the different pinot grapes.

"Weingut Bruendlmayer is situated in Langenlois, some 70 km north-west of Vienna, upstream along the Danube in the Lower Austrian Kamp Valley. The wooded hills of the Waldviertel protect the vineyards from the cold north-westerly winds. During the day, the sun warms the stony terraces, while at night the fresh, fragrant forest air drifts through the Kamp Valley into the Langenloiser Arena."

http://www.bruendlmayer.com

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

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Looking good for armagnac

Sales of armagnac grew with 18 % within France and 10.8% (in value) on the export market over the period from January to October 2008. This compares to the total spirits market in France that fell by 4.5% over the same period. Armagnac is a spirit that comes from the south-west of France, from Gascony. It is often compared to cognac; both are made from distilling wine, but contrary to cognac armagnac is often bottled with a specific vintage and producer on the label.

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New CEO for Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly

The Swedish government has appointed the successor to Anitra Steen, CEO of Systembolaget AB, the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly. The future CEO is Magdalena Gerger, currently Vice President at Arla Foods with a career history including Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Tampax. According to some press info she has also during a part of her career been responsible for a whisky product range. Before joining her present employer, Arla, she ran her own management consulting company about which we have not found much information (apart from the curious fact that the company some time ago advertised for a part time child care person). Gerger also has some previous experience from operating a monopoly since she was member of the board of Svenska Spel (Swedish Gambling) ’04-’06 which is also a government run monopoly. It is definitely a big step forward to appoint someone who has experience of running a business and not solely selected on political party membership and creed (the retiring CEO is married to the ex-Prime Minister of Sweden). Perhaps it is surprising that they did not choose someone with more retailing experience though. It will be interesting to see what happens. TheLocal.se

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Natural wines in Italy

VinNatur is an association of Italian wine producers who make ”natural” wines. They organise a wine show and some tastings with several producers of “natural” wines: VinNatur, April 5-6 in Vicenza. www.vinnatur.it

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BKWine Pick: Chateau de Rochemorin, Bordeaux

Criteria: an interesting wine (not too cheap) and one that you can enjoy with dinner or friends (not too expensive). And very good!

Jack's selection: Chateau de Rochemorin, Bordeaux

Dry white Bordeaux are terribly underrated so this month I've selected the Chateau de Rochemorin (12-16 euro). A white Bordeaux that is very good value. It has a very good balance with a touch (but not too much) of barrique ageing, fresh acidity and delicious citrus aromas, primarily lime. It is bone dry and very aromatic and will go excellently with both cheese, meat and fish. Anything from the classic combination with a chevre goat cheese to lighter meat dishes, or the more powerful fish dishes perhaps with a creamy sauce. In the shadow of stars like Haut-Brion and Domaine de Chevalier this wine gives you an affordable version of the same thing, but lighter of course. PS: If you keep it a few years it will get even better!

(Jack Jakobson is BKWine's reporter in Stockholm.)

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BKWine Pick: Les Bacchantes – Restaurant – Bistro à Vins, Paris 9

Just off Boulevard de la Madeleine and next to the Olympia theatre you find this small restaurant. When you step inside it feels as if it has been there for many years. Probably it has. The staff is very welcoming and even if it’s your first time there they make you feel as if you are just coming back to your stam tisch. Many guests come here before going to the theatre so it is very crowded already well before 8PM, which is indeed unusual in Paris. Food is traditional French bistro fare. You can have an andouillette, if you have a penchant for this strong-smelling offal sausage, but fortunately there are many other delicious things to choose from, for example a classic côte de boeuf (a “beef chop” grilled whole and served for two, sliced up – delicious for the carnivorous) or a superb lamb. Several other French classics are on the list too. Try the charcuteries for an entre. If you’re two (or maybe three) it’s perfect to share. And they have delicious cheese too (which is not always the case in restaurants). The wine list is not extensive but well chosen. Try a Cornas from the Durand brothers for 39€ or perhaps a less expensive St Joseph. If you want white, try the absolutely delicious Jurançon from Domaine Hours, full-bodied with lots of taste. And very rare to find in a restaurant.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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BKWine Pick: Domaine Giraud, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Sister and brother couple Marie and François Giraud took over this property from their father ten years ago and have today 19 hectares. They have great respect for the appellation and the terroir but have also introduced some modern ideas in the wine making. Destemming, for example, which was not systematically done before. Marie says that the stems (la rafle) give the wine a green taste and harsh tannins. Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Gallimardes 2006, with a bouquet of fresh fruit, liquorice, black olives and tapenade, with an intense yet soft mouth feel. A modern-style chateauneuf with lots of fruit and concentration and a very clean style. (Watch our video interview with Marie, in their wine cellar, on BKWine TV.)

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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BKWine Pick: Champagne Philippe Gamet, Mardeuil

A family property that is run by the husband-wife couple Fabienne and Philippe Gamet. They have 8.6 hectares of vines around Epernay. Brut Séléction can be had for 12.50€ at the winery. It is made from pinot meunier and pinot noir. They only use the cuvee (the first pressing) for the wine. It is mouth filling with lots of flavours, aromas of citrus and apple and with a youthful style. Very good value. Cuvée 5000 has had a bit more aging before being recorked (dégorgement) and has a classic style of toast and flowers. Millésimé 2004 has very good concentration and body with aromas of grapefruit and an excellent acidity.

Click here for address and more recommendations.

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BKWine Brief 67: French and Swedish folies

Welcome to the BKWine Brief nr 67, February 2009

French folies

”Ils sont foux les romains” is what Asterix and Obelix says about the old romans. It may now seem more apt to say “ils sont foux les français”. They are about to vote on a law proposal that may lead to that restaurants cannot serve all-included menus, including wine. Or that you cannot organise wine shows where the visitors are served samples after paying a simple entrance fee. Or that wine producers cannot serve tasting samples at his winery without charging by the glass. (What about barrel samples?)

There’s an anti-wine lobby in France that is surprisingly strong and this is only latest folie. Wine production is a major agricultural industry and wine is one of the more important exports from France, so one would have thought that it would be more positively treated. But that is not the case. Many wine producers are today more in great need of support, rather than hindrance. In particular on the marketing side there are lots of things that could be done to improve the situation. That’s not an area that the French and wine producer in particular, are good at. But the French government is actually more inclined to help the wine producers outside of the country rather than inside. They have for example the Sopexa international marketing support organisation (albeit not particularly effective when it comes to wine). Read more about the recent developments further down in the Brief.

Swedish folies

We just read that the Systembolaget (Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) has plans to implement on-line shopping towards the end of 2009. That is, of course, great for people living in Sweden. Only … why has it not been done long ago? Can you imagine a major and dominant retailing business that has not since long started offering its customers on-line shopping. Retail is a monopoly in Sweden, but import of wine is not. There is a thriving industry of independent importers, but they all have to sell to consumers through the monopoly. Curiously, many of these independent importers have created small web applications that allows consumers to place an order on-line, that is then forwarded automatically by the system, e.g. by fax, to the Systembolaget… Since the Systembolaget didn’t do anything the importers, with minimal resources, did it themselves. There are also a few on-line wine shops that sell direct to consumers and even deliver the wines directly to the door. That’s possible thanks to an EU regulation that has forced Sweden to accept that individuals are allowed to privately buy from e-shops located in other EU countries. So a few enterprising Swedes have opened an eshop based in Denmark or Germany and are selling direct to consumers in Sweden. And providing home deliver. Home delivery is not part of the Systembolaget plans, as we understand it. That’s the joys of a monopoly. Wonderful customer service.

France and Sweden are not the only oddball countries of course. Take England: if you are serving wine by the glass you are not allowed serve it in whatever quantity you like. The wine glass must have a certain measure. Small tasting samples? No, no.

Or the USA, the beacon of the free market (one would have thought): due to archaic rules and regulations (partisan corporative self interests and pork?) the wine trade is strictly controlled and it is virtually impossible to sell to a consumer from one state to another. The big e-tailer Wine.com recently pulled out of, was it Michigan (?), for this reason. Admittedly, these rules seem to be loosening up a little. A little. Or take the wine shop (in New York?) that was recently fined ($10 000?) because it provided a nice gift bag to carry the bottle in. And you even have some states with almost a monopoly situation. Just like in Sweden. You wouldn’t have thought the Americans to be such Socialists would you?

I promise…

It is perhaps too late with New Year’s vows but it can anyway be a good time now in winter to think about how to improve one’s wine year 2009. Here are a few suggestions for vinous vows for 2009:

1. Buy six different bottle in stead of six of the same. In some “buying advice” you read that you should always by a case of 6 or 12 to see how the wine develops with age. But it can be even more fun to discover a new wine instead. And anyway, how many of us have the possibility really to lay down wine? In our own wine cellar there are very few wines that we have more than a single or at most a few bottles of. And then we do have a cellar with more bottles than most.

2. Spend a couple of extra euros/dollars on the bottle, at least for the ones for the weekend dinners. It’s not more than the price of a latte/pint/hot dog but it will give you a faaar better wine experience.

3. Don’t choose the house wine in a restaurant. Select something else. It doesn’t have to be expensive but at least you know what it is. If you insist on taking the House Wine, at least ask what it is first. And if the answer comes back as “oh, I think it’s some nice and fruity red”, then I know what I’d choose.

4. At least once (or twice) a month choose a wine that comes from a district that you’re not very familiar with. Pick a Vouvray, or a wine from Austria, Alto Adige, Jura, Uruguay or something else that is not BBC (*).

5. Choose a wine that is not on recommendation from an ”expert”. There’s nothing wrong with good advice but taste is so different. “Recommended producer” by BKWine, 90/100 from Robert Parker, five stars in Decanter… all depends on personal preferences. Don’t look at someone’s recommendation and then apply rule #4. (You can’t image how often we’re not d’accord with each other or with some ”expert” on a wine.) Why not occasionally pick a wine because it has a pretty label?...

6. Discover a new wine region in situ. This is of course our final and best suggestion. Look at our travel program below…

Britt & Per

(*) BBC: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne

Read all of the BKWine Brief 67 here!

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BKWine TV: [E] Domaine Giraud, Marie Giraud interview

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Marie Giraud co-proprietor and co-winemaker of Domaine Giraud. She runs the property with his brother Francois. It's a family vineyard since 40 years back. Marie works with the Vinification and Francois works with the vineyards. It is located in Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhone Valley (France).

They make three different wine cuvees with various portions of grenache, syrah and mourvedre.
-Tradition
-Les Gallimardes (vieilles vignes)
-La Crau (viellies vignes, 100% grenache)

They are very fond of grenache and their wines all have a big portion of grenache. They make quite modern grenache, with good extraction and lots of fruit.

They debud and sometimes do green harvest in the vineyards. They sometimes go over the vineyards twice to select the grapes when they are at top maturity. They also select the bunches and the grapes both in the vineyards and on a sorting table when they arrive inn the vineyards. They do use a little barrel aging but not too much.
They have quite a big export to the United States. Chateauneuf has become quite popular in the USA, not least because Robert Parker (a famous wine guru) have praised it and given it high points.

[F] Entretien avec la vigneronne Marie Giraud, co-proprietaire du domaine Giraud.
Une propriete dans le vignoble Chateauneuf-du-Pape, une region viticole dans le sud de la vallee du Rhone connu pour ses vins charnu. Elle parle de ses vins, sa vinification et son facon de faire et deguster son vin.

http://www.domainegiraud.fr/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

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BKWine TV: [F] Dom. La Tour des Videaux, Paul Weindel interview

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Volker Paul Weindel, winemaker and owner since 1996 of Domaine la Tour des Videaux in Pierrefeu de Provence close to Massif des Maures.

We’re in the vineyards in winter before the vines have been pruned. This year they have had a lot of rain

The vineyard is in organic farming (culture biologique). It covers 24 ha in AOC Cote de Provence, primarily used for making red wines, in contrast to what is current trends and what many other winemakers do (focusing on rosé wines).
Five grape varieties are used which makes for a more complex wine.

He makes four different cuvees:
Tradition : genache, cabernet sauvignon, carignan, and syrah.
Farnoux: syrah and grenache
Saint Paul: aged in big foudres and grenache cabernet syrah
Allegria: almost pure syrah
Paul Weindel makes wines with lots of fruit and is not too fond of barrel aging.

The vineyards are in biodynamic framing since 2000. Paul says that biodynamic farming makes for much more life in the vineyards and more character and minerality.

The language is French [F]

[F] Entretien avec le vigneron Volker Paul Weindel, proprietaire du domaine la Tour des Videaux.
Une propriete dans le vignoble AOC Cote de Provence, une region viticole dans le sud de la France connu pour ses vins rosé. Il parle de ses vins (surtout les rouges), sa vinification et son facon de faire et deguster son vin.

http://www.tourdesvidaux.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

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• Subscribe: Subscribe to our channel and you will get an email notification each time we publish a new video. There’s a yellow ‘subscribe’ button on the page. (You have to have a YouTube account, but it’s free and easy to register, and it is not at all necessary to upload a video when you have an account)
• Choose a subject: You can choose videos on specific themes, e.g. Bordeaux, Portugal, Italy etc. Go to our Playlists (menu link on the top of the channel page) and choose the subject
• Choose a language: If you want to see videos only in a specific language (English [E], French [F], or Swedish [S]) choose the corresponding Playlists or the link to the language sections on the BKWine TV channel page
• High Quality: most videos are also available in “high quality”. Click on the link “watch in high quality” just under the video box. Much better playback but you’ll need a good broadband. Try it!
• Feedback: You make us happy if you rate our videos or give us other feedback: give star ratings, write comments, or put videos on your favourites list
• Share: If you like a video you can share it with friends. Click “share” to send them an email.
• Advanced…: If you are a true enthusiast and have a web site (or blog) you can “borrow” our videos. Just copy the “embed code” on the video page and use it on your site.

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The wine louse threatens Australia

The wine louse (phylloxera vastatrix) has been found in Australia. The dreaded insect showed it’s ugly head in Europe at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries and almost wiped out all of Europe’s vineyards. Luckly, someone found the remedy: graft the European vines on American rootstocks to get a disease resistant plant. Three years ago the devastating insect was found in a small area in Australia but seemed to have been fought back. Now it has been found again, this time in the Yarra Valley. The risk for the winegrowers is that they will have to do expensive replantings if the pest spreads. No end to the misery in Australia it seems. More: www.vitisphere.com

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The classification of Saint Emilion, a true slapstick

The meandering story of the new classification of Saint Emilion seems to be a story without an end. It has long since past the limit between reasonable and ridiculous. The classification is supposed to be reviewed every ten years, the last time in 2006. Here’s the story in (very) short:

• In 2006 a new classification is announced with a few upwards moves and (fewer) demotions that replaces the one from 1996
  
• A few discontent chateau owners make a case in court against the new classification
  
• They win the court case and the classification is annulled. The 1996 classification rules.
  
• A second court re-instates the classification. The 2006 classification rules.
  
• A third court re-annuls it. The previous classification is now supposed to be valid. The 1996 classification rules.
  
• Unhappy chateau owners, who were elevated in 2006 and now are deprived of the candy, don’t give in but take it to the Senate. In the senate the 2006 classification is sneakishly introduced as a paragraph in a new “law of finances”, and voilà, the 2006 one is valid again. We’re now in November 2008. The 2006 classification rules.
  
• The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) rejects the new law (the piece on the classification) arguing that a wine region classification has noting to do with a law on financing and should not be there.. Seems reasonable, doesn't it? December 2008. The 1996 classification rules.
  
• The senators (or the chatelains) don’t give up so easily: on January 8 the 2006 classification is made part of a proposal for a new law on financial stimulus… Will the 2006 classification rule again?

-- So here we are. Next steps:

• Have the economic stimulus law voted in the Senate
  
• Make sure the Constitutional Council accepts it
  
• Cross your fingers and wait

It is hard to believe one's eyes. The only thing that they seem to succeed in doing is making the whole classification, the chateau owners, the Saint Emilion region and all of Bordeaux look utterly ridiculous. And in the mean time they are loosing market share. Perhaps one can hope that this tragicomedy with bring something good: that the Bordeaux classification system will loose any little remaining credibility that it may have. And perhaps that the chateau owners finally will understand that it is the wine consumer who can judge the quality of the wine, not an elitist, more or less partial selection committee. Read more: www.winealley.com and www.vitisphere.com

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The world’s greatest wine collection to become museum?

Michel Chasseuil is a retired French engineer. A long time ago he caught the wine virus, long before it become trendy with wine tastings and long before the nouveaux riches started collecting wines. Today he has a collection of 20,000 bottles dating back to the 18th century. Perhaps the world’s greatest wine collection: all DRC RC back to 1905, Petrus back to 1924, Yquem 1811, a champagne produced for Napoleon… He no longer has the intention to drink all the wines. Instead he wants to create a museum dedicated to wine, in Saint Emilion in Bordeaux. But he does not currently have the funding to do so. Perhaps a kind-hearted reader can help? It would indeed be interesting to visit if it becomes a reality. Read more on TimesOnline.

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Most expensive wines on auction

Here are the top selling lots at Sotheby’s in 2008. Not cheap…
- $ 724,371: Ch Yquem, 70 vintages, 136 bottles ($5326/bottle)
- $169,400: Romanée Conti 1971, 6 magnum ($14166)
- $151,250: Romanée Conti 1985, 12 bt ($12604)
…follwed by another four lots of RC. And then:
- $102,850: Château Pétrus 1961, 12 bt ($8570)
- $90,750: La Tache 1985, 6 mag ($7562)
- $84,700: Château Latour 1961, 1 impérial ($10587)

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Become winemaker

To become a winemaker is perhaps a secret dream for some, but one that is not easy to make come true. Well, now there is another possibility to do it (other than dishing out 200€M for Latour): buy a WinePod. The WinePod is a stainless steel “thing”, shaped like a wine glass, a bit more than a meter high, in which you can make your own wine. You fill it with grapes and then the almost fully automatic “thing” does the rest. You can follow the process with the monitoring program installed on your computer. With built-in wine press. Makes up to 48 bottles. A must-have! And only $4500. More info: www.winepod.net

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Discover the wines of the Rhône

There are not many better occasions to discover the wines of the Rhône than the Découverte en Vallée du Rhône. Over several days there are many tastings and meetings with vignerons in villages all along the district. This year it takes place on March 16-21. Trade only. More info www.inter-rhone.com. The only better way to discover Rhône wins would be on a wine tour with BKWine…

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Chateau Latour for sale?

Château Latour, one of the five Premier Grand Cru Classés in Bordeaux, belongs to the fabulously rich French industrialist and financier François Pinault. According to persistent rumours (e.g. in TimesOnline) the chateau is now for sale. Pinault is said to have contacted the investment bank Lazard and asked them to discretely enquire for potential purchasers. It is estimated that you will only have to cough up some 150-200 million euros for the place.

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Loire wines

The big Loire wine fair will take place, as always, the first week of February: on February 2-4 in Angers. An outstanding opportunity if you are looking for Loire wines. (Trade show.) www.salondesvinsdeloire.com

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