2005 Bordeaux soaring in value since release, says Berry Bros & Rudd
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Berry Bros & Rudd is finding cases of Bordeaux 2005 that it sold ‘en primeur’ have increased in value more than any other vintage between harvest and being shipped to the UK. Some of the wines are now worth over 300% more than they were when they were released two years ago. For example, a 12-bottle case of 2005 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, released at £3,300, is now worth £10,100.

Many top wines are now unavailable, making them even more valuable, said Britain’s oldest wine merchant, which sold over £60 million worth of the 2005 vintage ‘en primeur’. This is the practice whereby wine lovers, investors and prospectors buy the wine before it’s bottled with the hope that they will have got it at a more favourable price than when it is actually available.

The interest in the 2005 vintage is as a result of many people lauding it as the most impressive vintage ever, says the company, which has seen furious trading in anticipation of the wine’s arrival. In the last week alone, Berry Bros has sold over 1,700 cases worth £6.8 million – an average of £4,000 a case.

Sales director Simon Staples said, ‘2005 Bordeaux is an incredibly impressive vintage and demand from the Far East and Russia has pushed prices sky high. Despite the fact most of the 2005 red wines won’t be ready to drink for at least 10 years, we are expecting some Berrys’ customers who have been waiting in anticipation for their wine to arrive to show up to collect it.’

Simon reckons that, on average, wine from top quality vintages will see a return in the region of 10-15% per annum over five years, making wine more profitable than some conventional investments over the long term.    Full Story >>

Riverina beats drought to produce bumper crop
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Riverina, the largest wine-producing region in New South Wales, has harvested a record-breaking crop of grapes in spite of Australia’s drought conditions and low water availability.

Around 301,000 tonnes of grapes were harvested for the 2008 vintage, up 10,000 tonnes on the region’s previous record year of 2006.

Brian Simpson, chief executive officer of the Riverina Wine Grapes Marketing Board, told ThirtyFifty that, ‘Despite growers on average producing lower-than-average yields in their vineyards, the region has seen a resurgence in terms of production. Riverina is an area that is still planting wine grapes, principally to service export markets.’

He also said that Riverina, which is centred on the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, enjoyed a higher allocation of available water than other regions in Australia because it is closer to source – so the water is of better quality – and the region works on a different allocation system – here preference for water entitlements are given to producers of crops such as grapes over growers of annual irrigated crops, such as rice.

Brian added that, ‘Riverina also had timely rain that increased our tonnage to greater than expected levels,’ and, ‘The season was also very good for producing excellent quality grapes. Although some disease was prevalent in vineyards, overall the wine quality should be exceptional as the vines were well-nurtured and maintained, ie no major stress incidences.’

However, a bigger crop of quality grapes doesn’t mean lots of cheaper fab wine for the consumer. As Brian explained, fertiliser, water, fuel and labour costs have all risen over the past few years, so eventually the price of wine will need to rise to take this into account. He told ThirtyFifty, ‘Consumers are already getting a good deal at prices that are making Australian producers look to exit the industry, leaving the way open for lower-cost producers in other New World countries to possibly look to take market share from Australia.’

That said, Brian added, ‘We are very positive about the future in Riverina as we have more available land and better quality water than other regions. I hope that one day consumers will look for Riverina on the label as a region that can and does produce consistent quality wines on an annual basis.’    Full Story >>

Wetherspoon attempts wine-tasting record
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

J D Wetherspoon is inviting customers to take part in the world’s largest wine tasting in an attempt to create a new Guinness World Record.

The synchronised tasting will take place in all Wetherspoon pubs across the UK at 6pm on Wednesday 21st May, when customers will be offered a free 50ml glass of Fetzer Coldwater Creek wine. More than 5,100 tasters will have to sip at the same time to beat the current world record.

The event launches Wetherspoons’ 19-day wine festival, which runs until Friday 8th June, during which all wines will be sold at ‘house wine’ prices, including six guests wines that have been added to its list.    Full Story >>

Nyetimber plans leap from boutique to brand
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber hopes to go from ‘boutique to brand’ now that Stephen Clark, who spent over 20 years at Laurent Perrier, has joined the company to do the sales and marketing.

The new boy at the Sussex vineyard is certainly raring to go, promising that ‘Nyetimber will be said in the same breath’ as Laurent Perrier. That doesn’t mean that he thinks it has to compete with champagne. ‘I think an English label can have its own profile. We will become a serious brand in the sparkling wine sector of which champagne is a part,’ he told ThirtyFifty.

He believes now is a great time to join Nyetimber because of ‘the groundswell of interest in English wine’, and said, ‘I’m starting with Nyetimber where I started with Laurent Perrier 22 years ago: with a company that’s going places.

‘I discovered Laurent Perrier rosé in 1977 and loved it and sold it for 22 years. That’s exactly what I intend to do here at Nyetimber.’

Nyetimber, which is owned by Dutchman Eric Hereema, currently makes 70,000 bottles of sparkling wine a year from the Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. With the company’s six-year expansion plan, however, capacity will soar to 600,000 bottles. The demand is there – it’s currently still outstripping supply.

However, good English sparkling isn’t a cheap option wine – Nyetimber’s Classic Cuvee sells for £25 - especially if you compare it to the price of some ‘unknown’ Champagnes on the shop shelves. So what is the consumer getting for their money? Stephen says Nyetimber is trying to make ‘an exceptional wine that delivers at a quality level and we are building aspirational qualities into it as well.’

And he puts it this way: ‘If you open a really good bottle like Nyetimber, the party just gets better!’    Full Story >>

World Atlas of Wine makes Hall of Fame
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The World Atlas of Wine has won a Hall of Fame award for being a fundamental reference book that changed wine tourism and publishing. Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson’s sixth edition took the prize in The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, which this year judged thousands of books from 107 countries.

The new edition was called ‘a gem’ by the competition’s organisers and was said to be the book that ‘changed wine book publishing in 1971.’ The competition’s Edouard Cointreau told ThirtyFifty, ‘It is an extremely important book, indispensable in all wine libraries.’

The revised and updated book also took the Best in the World Award in the category Atlas-Wine Tourism at the presentation in London this month.     Full Story >>

Three Chapel Down wines go exclusively into M&S
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

English producer Chapel Down has created three wines exclusively for Marks & Spencer.

A white wine, a still rosé and a sparkling rose will be launched in 100 M&S stores from the beginning of June. The trio have been made by four-times-winning UK Winemaker of the Year Owen Elias.

M&S wine technologist Sue Daniels said, ’We know that our customers want to buy more local produce and these new English wines have a delicious fresh, youthful taste that we are sure our customers will enjoy.’

The white and still rosé are from the 2007 harvest, which Sue admits is, ‘not an easy one to start on, but one which has delivered lovely freshness, if in limited quantities’. However, both fit the bill for consumers looking for wines that are slightly lighter on alcohol as the English white comes in at 10.5% and the still rosé at 11.5%.

The white wine is made from mostly Pinot Blanc with some Bacchus, while the rosé is a blend of Schonburger, Rondo, Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Regent and Bacchus. Both are priced at £9.99. The non-vintage sparkling rosé, which has been aged for a minimum of 18 months, is £16.99 and made from Pinot Noir with Reichensteiner and Muller Thurgau.

Marks & Spencer points out that English wines have steadily gained credibility with Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aikens championing them and featuring them on their restaurant wine lists. Sue said, ‘We hope to extend the range over the next 12 months to truly put English wines on the M&S map.’     Full Story >>

Marlborough's harvest is a 'savalanche'
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Marlborough has had a huge grape harvest, so big that is locally being referred to as a ‘savalanche’ due to the prominence of Sauvignon Blanc in the region.

The harvest is expected to be at least 25% bigger than last year’s record 121,000 tonnes, according to Warren Adamson, UK & Europe Director of New Zealand Winegrowers, with around 75% of it being Sauvignon Blanc.

Demand for the kiwi wine abroad has been outstripping supply for a while, so the bumper crop will help ease the situation somewhat, although Warren warned that, ‘In some areas, notably Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, we are expecting smaller crops than last year.’

As far as prices this year are concerned though, Warren told ThirtyFifty that, ‘It is too early to say what will happen. He did, however point out that, ‘Key drivers which have underpinned recent price increases remain unchanged, for example wineries investing heavily in quality production systems, high grape and other costs in New Zealand, the high NZ dollar and UK tax increases.’

Looking ahead, New Zealand will be producing more and more wine. Warren said, ‘In total we are seeing an increase of 2,000 hectares this year, moving the national harvest coverage to around 27,000 hectares,’ and he added, ‘We will see continued growth in the coming years.’ This, he said, is due to strong and growing demand for New Zealand wines in the super-premium and above levels in the country’s key markets, such as the UK.    Full Story >>

WHO aiming for a global strategy to reduce alcohol harm
Thursday, April 24, 2008

The harm caused by alcohol is now causing so much concern that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed a plan to develop a global strategy to reduce it.

The need for such a plan is thought to be twofold. Firstly, there is concern about the harm drinkers are doing to their own health. In the EU alone some 55 million adults are estimated to drink to harmful levels, according to the European Commission.

Alcohol consumption at harmful levels is also estimated to be responsible for approximately 195,000 deaths each year in the EU. These are as a result of cancer, liver cirrhosis, suicides and neuropsychiatric conditions as well as road traffic and other accidents and homicides. This brings us to the second issue, which is the growing numbers of people who are suffering as a result of the reckless or aggressive behaviour of those who have been drinking.

In the UK, British Crime Survey figures for 2006-07 show that in nearly half (46%) of all violent incidents, victims believed offenders to be under the influence of alcohol. And this figure rose to 58% in cases of attacks by people they did not know. In fact, in more than a million violent attacks, the aggressors were believed to be drunk. Furthermore, nearly 40% of domestic violence cases involve alcohol.

The aim for the WHO global strategy is to look at the best available evidence and best practices around the world and come up with a menu of recommended measures that Member States can implement at a national level.

The WHO plan will be discussed when government representatives meet in Geneva, Switzerland, in May for the annual World Health Assembly and if an agreement is reached, the draft strategy is scheduled to be completed by 2010.    Full Story >>

Sainsbury's to help shoppers with Top 10 wines
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sainsbury’s is introducing a Top 10 display to its wine aisles to help customers shop for the right bottle.

The supermarket chain says the move has been sparked by research findings that have shown the majority of wine drinkers are still unconfident about picking the right wine. It also says it has looked at how other retailers, such as Waterstones, have helped customers make a good personal selection when confronted by an enormous and varied choice. Basically, Sainsbury’s is taking a leaf out of the booksellers’ book!

Warren Anderson, from the wine team, said, ‘Our Top 10 Wines section is designed to give our customers the confidence to try something new. We hope to assist shoppers broaden their knowledge and become a little more experimental when they choose wine.’

The Top 10 display will feature in nearly 400 stores by the end of April and will reflect a different theme every six weeks. The first will be New Wines; others will include Buyers’ Favourites, Top 10 Rosés and Award Winners. Wines will be ordered by their characteristics, and food-matching notes and endorsements will be included to help customers find a wine to match their taste, says Sainsbury’s.
    Full Story >>

Valpolicella producer favours screwcaps over Classico
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Italian producer Allegrini has chosen screwcaps over its Valpolicella Classico denomination.

The Italian regulations for Valpolicella Classico don’t allow for the use of screwcaps, but Allegrini believes that they retain the freshness of its wine better than corks and, as the producer sees this as such a key component, it has decided it’s worth abandoning it and becoming just Valpolicella.

Classico appended to the name of a wine indicates that it has been produced in the historic zone, which gave the wine its name. As such, this zone should offer the ideal climate and soil conditions for making the wine.

David Gleave MW, managing director of Liberty Wines, the UK distributor for Allegrini, explained to ThirtyFifty that the Italian producer had hoped that the law was going to change in Valpolicella Classico. However, he said, ‘Once it became clear that the law wasn’t going to change, they made the move anyway.’

Liberty believes this is the right decision. And, more broadly, David thinks Italy is losing ground by not amending its regulations.

He said, ‘Italy’s current position as an exciting and dynamic producer of wine has been built on the solid base of innovation that has taken place in the past 40 years. In the past, producers were able to move outside of DOC when faced with official lethargy or intransigence (as in the case of the vini da tavola in Tuscany in the 1970s and 1980s). With screwcap, this option is open for certain wines, as in the case of Valpolicella.’

However, David pointed out that this is not the case in Soave Classico, which comes under a ministerial decree of July 1993. Here anything other than cork is prohibited for not only DOCG wines but also wines from sub zones. Even the fact that producers from the zone have voted to amend the law makes no difference – still it’s cork or nothing.

David doesn’t think this is right. ‘It should be up to the producer if they wish to use screwcap,’ he said. ‘ It should not be a decision made by bureaucrats in Rome.’    Full Story >>

Sparkling wine sales soaring more than Champagne
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sparkling wine is bursting Champagne’s bubble here in the UK, with more and more drinkers reaching for a bottle of fizz but not necessarily from France’s famed region.

According to the latest research from Mintel, volume sales of sparkling wines in the UK have soared 44% since 2002 – and last year alone sales were up 13% to hit 42 million litres. Champagne volume sales, on the other hand, increased by only 24% over the same five-year period, to reach 29 million litres in 2007.

Mintel senior market analyst Mathilde Dudouit explained that, ‘Champagne used to be the only accepted choice and sparkling wine was simply seen as a second-rate imitation, but sparkling wine growers have now turned the market around by producing consistently good-quality wines and giving people a much greater variety of wines to choose from.’

She added, ‘For many, sparkling wine is now seen as a really enjoyable treat in its own right, and the fact that it costs only a few pounds more than a regular bottle of wine is just an added bonus. People can now afford to see simply meeting friends after work as reason enough to break out the bubbly.’

In value terms, sparkling wine sales rose 27% on 2002 figures to reach £385 million in 2007. New World wines, such as Jacob’s Creek, Hardys Crest and Lindauer, have proved particularly popular in the UK, according to Mintel, because of their strong branding and reputation for quality. They are also the wine of choice for many young professionals, especially when out and about after work, says the market analyst.

And, looking to the future, Mathilde believes sparkling wine will be promoted as a cocktail ingredient, which will ‘further boost its image as a glamorous drink amongst the going-out crowd’.    Full Story >>

£12 million being spent on getting us to drink Hardys
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Hardys is hitting us with a £12 million marketing campaign this year – the most ever to be spent on a wine brand in the UK.

With the aim of maintaining its number one wine brand position here as well as getting new consumers to try wine, the campaign focuses on Hardys heritage. The theme is ‘One love since 1853’, which shows Thomas Hardy, whose passion and determination founded the Australian brand over 150 years, according to owner Constellation Europe. The story goes that he had a dream to produce exceptional wines from the New World and his enterprising and resourceful spirit brought that dream to life.

Constellation research has shown that film is of major interest both to Hardys existing consumers and potential new wine drinkers, so the big push begins this month with TV advertising within films and dramas, along with sponsorship of Sky Box Office and a promotional link-up with The Times for ‘Movies that matter’. Hardys is also sponsoring Lovefilm, the UK’s biggest DVD rental service.

Beyond this, there will be events, in-store activity and promotions running, everything to get us trying and drinking Hardys wine. As Troy Christensen, president of Constellation Europe, puts it, ‘We’re giving consumers a compelling reason both to buy into wine and to buy Hardys.’    Full Story >>

Aussie wine producers are on the increase
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

The number of Australian wine producers is on the increase despite all the recent concerns over drought and water restrictions. Even taking closures and mergers into account, this year’s Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory showed over 150 more wine producers, bringing the total to 2,299.

These new producers, however, look to be joining a challenging market, not least because of the weather issues. Most Australian wine producers are small, and statistics show that the vast majority of them are competing for just 10% of sales. This is because around 20 large wine companies in Australia account for a massive 90% of them, both domestically and abroad.

But with the latest Australian wine export figures from the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) showing a strong downturn in bulk and soft-pack shipments, which dropped 30% and 45% respectively, while bottle volumes increased 4%, the suggestion is that small producers wanting to make quality wines are more likely to find a market. In fact, the AWBC export profile shows that regionally distinct and fine wines are making an impression on global consumers to the point where they account for 12% of total value of Australia’s wine exports. Wines from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Margaret River and Coonawarra Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are particularly cited as helping to improve this export profile.

Overall, volume-wise, Australian wine exports fell 7% to March this year and value was down too, falling 2% to A$2.85 billion (£1.3bn).

The UK is still the top export market for Aussie wine both by volume and value, in spite of value dropping 1% to A$936 million (£439m) in the past 12 months. Volumes, on the other hand, grew 3% to 278 million litres.

Looking forward, Melissa Worthington, Marketing and Communications Manager at Wine Australia UK, believes things look very positive for Australian wine here. She told ThirtyFifty, ‘People are looking at this market and are being calculated in approaching it this year. As a result, we’ll get better wines and a much better export plan of attack. And, ultimately, consumers are going to benefit.’     Full Story >>

Gearoid Devaney takes UK's top sommelier trophy
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Gearoid Devaney from Tom Aikens’ Michelin-starred restaurant in London has won UK Sommelier of the Year 2008.

Gearoid beat other finalists Isa Bal from Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in Bray and Cyril Thevenet of the Hotel du Vin group after competing against them in front of a live audience. For the top sommelier title, the finalists had to do a blind tasting, wine and food recommendations, correct errors on a wine list and pour a magnum of Champagne into 16 glasses, ensuring that each glass was equal, no glass was filled twice, nothing was spilt and the bottle ended up empty.

Gearoid Devaney has been the chief sommelier at Tom Aikens’ restaurant since it opened in 2003, where he has created a wine list of around 500 bins. Most recently, he set up an all-English wine list at Tom’s new fish and chip restaurant in Chelsea, Tom’s Place, which has the aim of being as environmentally friendly as possible,

The sommelier competition, which attracted 100 entrants this year, is run by the Academy of Food & Wine.
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US TV wine series host is Communicator of the Year
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Emmy award-winning wine writer, educator and broadcaster Karen MacNeil has been named International Wine & Spirit Competition’s 2008 Communicator of the Year.

The award is given to the individual who the industry panel decides has contributed the most to consumer communication on wines or spirits over the preceding 12 months. Karen, from the US, was acknowledged, according to IWSC marketing manager Lesley Gray, ‘For a prodigious wine-writing career which spans 30 years, however, more than this, it was her work in 2007 that particularly separated her from the other finalists.’

Karen, who is author of The Wine Bible, is host of a TV wine series, Wine, Food and Friends with Karen MacNeil, which went nationwide across America last year. She also wrote and launched a wine studies course for a network of cookery schools and initiated and organised a week-long residential course on wine education in the Napa Valley. Beyond this, said Lesley, ‘There was the production of an annual wine calendar, books and lectures. It was an astonishing amount of work and we are hoping that we might now see more of her writings and film-work here in Europe.’

On collecting the trophy Karen said, ‘Over the last three decades I have worked extremely hard to communicate the pleasures of wine to the largest possible audience of consumers. In 2007, that lifetime of work came together in numerous initiatives that I hope will further the culture of drinking the world’s most compelling beverage.’

Other journalists short-listed for this year’s award included Jamie Goode, Olly Smith, James Halliday and Natalie MacLean.

Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson MW, Tim Atkin MW, Oz Clarke and Matthew Jukes are among previous winners.

And if all this wine communicating wasn’t enough for Karen, she also co-owns Fife Vineyards in Napa Valley with her husband Dennis.    Full Story >>

Research shows more wine labels feature animals for a reason
Thursday, April 03, 2008

Look around the wine shelves and you’ll find that animals on wine labels are becoming pretty common. In fact, according to market research firm, AC Nielsen, nearly one in five table-wine brands introduced in the past three years features an animal on the label. This goes against traditional brand research, which argues that logos should be highly relevant to the product they represent in order to be successful. But apparently the marketing people have got it right because new research shows that, as consumers, we have an easier time processing images when we are already ‘primed’ – that is, if we have already thought about the image earlier in an unrelated context or if we already associate the logo with something in our personal lives.

As part of the study which proved this to be the case, researchers Aparna Labroo of the University of Chicago, Ravi Dhar of Yale University and Norbert Schwarz of the University of Michigan had participants doing a word jumble, either searching for words related to dogs or cats. They then participated in an ostensibly unrelated study where they were asked to rate a series of products, including batteries and dog shampoo. Those who had done the word jumble relating to dogs rated the dog shampoo higher, on average, than those who’d done the cat-related jumble.

The American researchers said that, ‘Whereas common branding wisdom suggests that identifiers should be strongly associated with the product category, our findings suggest that it may be beneficial to choose visual identifiers that consumers strongly associate with themselves.’

Whether we really associate strongly with creatures like porcupines and geckos is a moot point but they do make for attractive labels.    Full Story >>

M & S and Waitrose top first own-label awards
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Marks & Spencer and Waitrose trumped other supermarkets and high street retailers to take the trophies for the best red and white wines respectively in the first Own Label Awards Championship.

This new Championship – to be held annually – compares like-for-like wines, which are judged in a blind competition, and is designed to give the consumer a transparent overview of the best own-label and exclusively imported wines available in supermarkets and major multiples throughout the UK, according to Matthew Jukes, the competition’s leading judge.

Richard Chappell, operations director for the Championship, told ThirtyFifty, ‘This is the only competition looking at what people are drinking every day. Ninety per cent of all wine drunk in the UK is less than £5 and 40% of supermarket sales are own-brand yet most of these wines never go into competitions. We’ve already decided that next year we will have a Best Red Wine and Best White Wine under £5 as well as over.’

For 2008, it was Marks & Spencer’s Barossa Shiraz 2006 that was the Best Red Wine trophy winner. This wine, priced at £7.99, is made by St Hallett and also won the Australian red wine over £5 category. Waitrose scooped the Best White Wine trophy for its Sancerre 2007, produed by Joseph Mellot. This sells for £9.99 and was the winner in the Loire category of white wines over £5.

Altogether, 427 products (including beers, spirits and other alcoholic drinks) in 86 categories were submitted by all the major supermarkets and high street major multiples, except Sainsbury and Majestic. These were then tasted by the panel of judges, which along with Matthew Jukes included Charles Metcalfe, Anthony Rose and Peter McCombie MW. Trophies were only awarded where finalists were considered worthy of them. As a result, only 31 categories had trophy winners.

All the results are available on the Championship’s website at www.ownlabelawards.com.    Full Story >>

C02 emissions similar for lightweight glass and PET bottles, shows study
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Putting bulk-imported wine into lightweight glass wine bottles in the UK is broadly no less environmentally friendly than putting it into PET, according to a recent study.

The WRAP (Waste & Action Resources Programme) study, which looked at the carbon impact of bottling Australian wine in the UK in PET and glass, showed that lightweight glass wine bottles with a high recycled content produce around the same amount of C02 emissions as much lighter PET bottles.

Although lightweight glass bottles are more efficient in production than PET bottles, importing empty glass bottles from Europe is less efficient than transporting empty PET bottles within the UK. The PET bottle also makes some greenhouse-gas savings during UK wine distribution because of its low weight, but the distances involved are short so the extent of these savings is relatively low. In fact, road transport accounts for only a maximum of 9% of all emissions.

However, the fact that glass bottles can be produced with higher recycled content than PET means their impact compares favourably here. Also, systems for glass recycling are more sophisticated than for PET, so additional carbon savings are obtained for glass when end-of-life impacts are considered. End-of-life emissions are those caused through the fate of the bottles once they are disposed of by the consumer.

Whichever container is used, the major component of carbon emissions is still the bulk shipment of wine from Australia to the UK, the report found. The second most important factor is the manufacture of the bottle, while road transport is relatively insignificant. For heavier 496g glass bottles, emissions from manufacture are slightly more significant, at 49%, than those arising from bulk shipment (42%).    Full Story >>

French wine brand hopes to compete with New World
Thursday, March 27, 2008

A new French national wine label – Vins de Pays Vignobles de France - is finding its way onto shop shelves.

This is a huge move for the country that is the stalwart for terroir and regionality as this new category is a ‘French’ multi-regional blend. Wines sold under this label are mid-range vins de pays blended from any of 64 different geographical areas of France, so a bit similar to the Australian S E Australia label. Certainly, the French are hoping it is going to be their answer to competing with the New World.

Michel Servage, president of the Vins de Pays Vignobles de France Committee, explained that, ‘French viticulture has always been based upon wines of specific terroirs.’ But he added that, ‘With globalisation, branded wines have become increasingly important and France has had no means with which to respond. The new Vins de Pays Vignobles de France denomination now means we can meet the needs of the international market.’

‘Blended wines to suit every consumer’s tastes’ is how the French are selling it, because, as Bruno Kessler, director of the big French brand JP Chenet, explains, the new category means that, ‘Each producer will be able to make wines specifically to suit the tastes of each individual country.’

There are rules, of course. Wines have to qualify for vins de pays, use only approved grape varieties and blends can only be made of up to three varieties. And it’s not just different regions that the grapes can come from, fruit for these new national wines can come from different years too.     Full Story >>

Yeast find lifts fruity zing of NZ Sauvignon Blanc
Thursday, March 27, 2008

Researchers in New Zealand have discovered a wild yeast that increases the fruity qualities of Sauvignon Blanc.

The find could give winemakers a tool to alter wine style as the yeast lifts the gooseberry, passion fruit and grapefruit flavours that are so important to the country’s Sauvignons. Not only that, but it also increases mouthfeel and complexity, ‘And we hope that it makes a more sophisticated wine,’ lead researcher Dr Mat Goddard of Auckland University told ThirtyFifty.

The find came about as part of a six-year New Zealand Government-funded research programme, which is seeking to understand what makes kiwi Sauvignon Blanc the way it is. Mat explained that he works closely with Michael Brajkovich at Kumeu River, who conducts traditional ferments – he adds no yeasts but lets whatever is naturally present conduct the ferment. Among Kumeu River’s diversity of wild yeasts, they discovered the fruit-flavour-boosting Pichia kluyveri.

Although the yeast only produces small amounts of alcohol, Mat says this is not an issue since it is not intended to be used on its own, only in combination with the traditional wine-making yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with which it interacts to create a more diverse and complex wine.

Commercial trials using the yeast, which has been patented, are now underway at several Marlborough vineyards, including Saint Clair, Delegat’s, Nobilo, Forrest Estate and Pernod-Ricard New Zealand.

And when are we likely to see these more zingily fruity Sauvignons? Mat cautiously says, ‘If the commercial trials are successful and if we can supply this at commercial scales, we may see wine on the shelves in two to three vintages.’     Full Story >>

Pregnant women told not to drink alcohol
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Women are now being told that they shouldn’t drink any alcohol during pregnancy despite no new evidence that a small amount is harmful.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which is responsible for providing guidance on the promotion of good health, issued new guidelines today saying that pregnant women should avoid drinking alcohol, especially during the first three months because there may be an increased risk of miscarriage. If women choose to drink, then they are advised to drink no more than 1-2 UK units once or twice a week.

This brings NICE’s guidelines in line with Department of Health advice, but is confusing for women who were told last year that it was ok to drink a small glass of wine a day while pregnant.

Dr Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive of NICE, said that the aim of the change was to make things simpler, but she admitted that, ‘Clinical evidence is fairly weak’.

Currently, no studies are being planned that could provide useful evidence, although NICE has made recommendations for a study.    Full Story >>

WineDater service launches for singles who love wine
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

If you are a single Londoner that likes decent wine and is looking for love, then there’s now a new dating-events service that introduces people while tasting some good glasses of vino.

WineDater offers wine tastings for singles run at top-end central London bars featuring premium wines that are a fry cry from the average post-work tipple, according to Nicolla Greaves, who has set up the company along with her partner (in the business and romantic sense) Nigel Littlewood.

Nicolla, who started running wine-dating events three years ago through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust when she was fed up with being single herself, explained that, ‘Having tried every type of dating event there is, I realised that they are not set up primarily for the benefit of the daters but instead to generate as much money for the organisers as possible. Quality over quantity is our motto, so we will only be working with the best venues and wines, which means WineDaters can expect a very “tasteful” experience.’

The way it works is that equal numbers of men and women are arranged for a WineDater evening at a bar, which starts with a brief tutored wine tasting. Then everyone goes through dates lasting around five minutes while tasting different wines blind and guessing what they are. After the event, daters log onto the website and complete the online matching form if they are interested in contacting anyone again.

Singles can register free at www.winedater.co.uk and events cost £30.     Full Story >>

Thresher makes plans to improve shops and pricing
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

High street drinks retailer Thresher Group is to abandon three-for-two on wine and champagne in favour of lower single-bottle prices. The move is part of Thresher’s major restructuring programme, which will develop three distinct shop brands, each designed to attract different types of consumers.

Under the new strategy, Wine Rack will target 35 to 55 year olds, offering premium and fine wines starting at the £5 to £10 price mark; Thresher will target busy shoppers, with wines at £4 to £6; and The Local will provide convenience-style local shopping facilities for young mums and local residents, focussing on branded wines, beer and spirits.

The company’s plan will reshape the stores down to 1,500 from the current 1,620 by closing underperforming shops as well as opening new ones. The group’s Scottish brand, Haddows, will also be repositioned, but nothing definite has been announced for that yet.

Thresher’s says that the new ‘look and feel’ of each brand will include more attractive store layouts and improved product sign-posting to appeal to new and existing customers. It also plans to launch online sales.

Thresher Group’s CEO Yvonne Rankin said, ‘We will be investing in our brands for the long-term, and improving our ranging, pricing and promotions – that’s good news for existing and new customers.’    Full Story >>

Aussie producer finds screwcaps keep wines fresher
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Australian producer Leeuwin is rebottling older vintages of its Chardonnay under screwcap having found that trial cases sealed this way stayed fresher and were far better preserved than bottles under cork.

The boutique winery has been releasing the bulk of its wines under screwcap in recent years. Ten years ago, however, most of its wines were sealed with cork except a few cases of various varieties that were put under screwcap as a trial. Denis Horgan, the company’s founder, told ThirtyFifty, ‘After a subsequent tasting a few years back of current vintages, one of the winemakers suggested that these wines be tested against those under cork. The results, done blind with decanted wines, were amazing, with the wine under screwcaps clearly fresher and far better preserved.’

Denis said that all but two of Leeuwin’s export markets are now asking for all of their wines under screwcap, pointing out that, ‘The market shift towards screwcap closures has occurred despite Leeuwin using the highest-quality corks and having a low level of cork problem.’

The company’s success with screwcap, he said, ‘has prompted the rebottling of the older vintage library stock from cork to screwcap as our winemakers have higher confidence in the ability of screwcap closures to better preserve ageing wines into the future.’     Full Story >>

Navarra plans for more than just a rosé future
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

If you don’t know much about the wines from Navarra, chances are you soon will. This Spanish region is planning to put itself on the wine map with a three-year campaign to show us what it has to offer in terms of quality and diversity.

The move, which is hoped to make consumers see Navarra as more than just that region to the east of Spain’s most famous wine area – Rioja, has come about since the appointment last summer of Pilar Garcia-Granero Marquez as the new president of the region’s promotional body, the Consejo Regulador. Pilar told ThirtyFifty, ‘In Navarra we have many climates, many altitudes and many grapes and we have to promote the really good wines.’

To do this, she says, ‘It’s very important to make a separation between the good wines and the popular, cheap ones.’ As a result, new much stricter regulations are being introduced and a new tasting panel is being trained to test all the wines and select which ones will qualify for the DO and which for the lesser vino de la tierra (equivalent of vin de pays). However, unlike any tasting tests done in other regions in the world, Navarra’s, which starts for the 2008 vintage, will be a double one – with a first test at bottling and a second one year later for rose wines and one and a half years later for red and white wines. The aim is to encourage producers to make wines that will hit the DO criteria. This will be more profitable for them and give the consumer a higher quality wine.

Other changes include allowing a couple more global grape varieties to be used. Small quantities of Syrah and Pinot Noir are to join the around 70% of Tempranillo and Garnacha and 30% of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.

Surprisingly, since Navarra has the image as a producer of rosé, 70% of wine made in the region is red, but Pilar doesn’t think this is necessarily a problem. She believes that if consumers are familiar with Navarra’s rosé, it can help introduce them to other wines from the region. However, she said, ‘We need to communicate that we are doing things other than rosé and make people taste our wines. This is one of the reasons for a new consumer website, which should be up and running in three months’ time. This will give information about all that Navarra produces and may even be used to sell wine to the public.

While for UK drinkers particularly, Pilar believes Navarra has a lot to offer. Not only can the region take advantage of the recent rocketing demand for rosé here with its ‘fantastic rosé21` with lots of fruit’, but she said, ‘Navarra is a good paradise to discover. Navarra wines are very modern, with a lot of fruit, deep colour and a lot of oak. But we also have juicy young wines that are easy to drink. We have everyday wines and we have very complex wines. You can find all the Spanish DO styles in Navarra.’    Full Story >>

Waitrose to plant English vineyard
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Waitrose is going to plant its own vineyard in England, so that it can start to make sparkling wine in a few year’s time.

Waitrose saw sales of English wine nearly double in 2007, being led by the soaring interest in our home-grown fizz, and currently producers here can’t keep up with demand. As a result, the retailer has taken the decision to plant vines next year on its own farm in Hampshire, The Leckford Estate.

Waitrose’s English wine buyer Justin Howard-Sneyd MW said, ‘Our customers are really enthusiastic about English wines and we have seen some fantastic quality from Nyetimber, RidgeView, Chapel Down, Camel Valley and Denbies. We are all incredibly excited about being involved with the planting and growing of our first vineyard. In addition to the Estate sparkling wine, the vineyard also provides an opportunity to connect our wine specialists to the production cycle of the vineyard, and to enhance their education about how wine is made.’

The Leckford Estate is located on gently rolling chalk hills either side of the River Test, which has several sites with a sheltered southern aspect where the soils have just the right balance of chalk and clay loam for the grapevines, says the retailer. In fact, many of the soils of southern England are similar to those where the most famous sparkling wine in the world is made - Champagne.
Customers for Waitrose’s own sparkler will have to be patient though because the vines will need three years before there is a first crop of grapes, followed by a two-year winemaking and maturation cycle. This means that Chateau Waitrose won’t debut on the shelves until 2014.    Full Story >>

Majestic's Tim How to retire
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The man in charge of the hugely successful Majestic Wines has announced that he is to retire within the next year. Tim How has been chief executive of Majestic for 19 years, turning it from a small, loss-making chain at the end of the eighties into a highly profitable business - with sales of £191.2 million and profits of £16.2 million last year.

The retailer, which has made its money selling wine by the mixed case, can boast an amazing £128 average consumer spend and £5.85 average bottle price. It also saw sales of its fine wine – bottles over £20 – increase by 17½% last year.

Tim How told ThirtyFifty that, apart from sourcing good wines from the big regions, such as Burgundy, Bordeaux and the like, having great staff with good product knowledge and convenient stores with parking have helped attract people who are interested in wines.

Majestic’s current chief operating officer Steve Lewis, who joined the company as a graduate trainee manager in 1985, will replace Tim How on his retirement.    Full Story >>

Medical journal debates smaller wine bottles for responsible drinking
Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Why does wine have to come in 75cl bottles? That’s the debate being raised by the British Medical Journal, which suggests that putting wine into smaller bottles could help to cut alcohol consumption and related health problems.

Dr Trish Groves, the journal’s deputy editor, said, ‘I like a glass of good wine with my supper. But, once two of us have had a glass each, it’s hard to know what to do with the rest. It’s all too tempting to finish the bottle there and then to avoid waste. Coupled with the news that wine is getting stronger, it's no wonder Britain's middle-aged middle classes are getting wasted.’

In a timely move, Waitrose is this week launching Vin a Deux, a range of eight wines in 50cl bottles, which the supermarket says is ‘a comfortable size for two people to share’ and caters ‘for responsible drinking habits of the future’.

Wine buyer Nick Room said, ‘Drinking “a deux” will dispense with unfinished bottles of wine or “feeling the need” to finish off a full bottle.

The new 50cl range, with bottles costing from £3.99 to £6.99, joins Waitrose’s 25cl ‘solo glass’ format wines.
    Full Story >>

Italians agree name for Tocai
Tuesday, March 04, 2008

The Italians have resolved the fiasco of what to call the wine that used to go by the name of Tocai. After much disagreement and a couple of court cases, the Italian Government has declared that the DOC wines formerly known as Tocai will be labelled either Tocai Friulano or just Friulano in Italy, while wines to be exported will be marked Friulano.

The issue started because, under Hungary’s accession to the EU, it was agreed that the country would have sole use of the name Tokaji and winemakers in Italy and Alsace would relinquish the name. The Italians were given until last March to find another and, although most agreed the wine should be called Friulano abroad as Tocai is grown in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a band of producers from Trieste took legal action to block the use of the name and twice won their case. It was a serious problem as far as the producers in the region were concerned because it looked as if the 2007 vintage would be nameless and as such the DOC wines would have to be downgraded to vins de pays or vino da tavola.

However, this isn’t the end of it because the European Court has yet to make its decision, which, according to Liva Nocenti of the FederDoc regional trade body, Federazione dei Consorzi Tutela Vini del Friuli Venezia Giulia, won’t probably happen until the autumn.

In the meantime, the Italian Government’s decision will be valid, allowing us to enjoy bottles here labelled Friulano.
    Full Story >>

Blossom Hill branches out internationally
Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Californian wine brand Blossom Hill has just gone international with the launch of a range of wines from Italy, Chile and South Africa. The new selection is priced slightly higher than the core Californian range at £5.49 to £5.99 and features an Italian Pinot Grigio and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon and a South African Chenin Blanc and Shiraz.

Innovations manager for Blossom Hill in the UK Erin Hurst said, ‘When we speak to consumers, we find that they are keen to explore new wine regions and try new wines, but they often lack confidence and end up buying the same wines every time. The aim of the new Blossom Hill range is to give people the confidence to try new wines, with the reassurance that such a well-known and loved brand gives.’

This move by Blossom Hill, which is the second-biggest-selling brand in the UK, comes only a few months after Lindemans went from just being an Australian brand to a New World brand, with wines from Chile and South Africa as well.

Retailers for the new Blossom Hill range, which is sealed with a screwcap, include Tesco and Asda.

Recently Blossom Hill also launched a website for consumers to help them ‘feel confident’ about their wine choices. The site, www.blossomhill.com, includes such information as a tasting guide, seasonal recipes and a section on recycling and how consumers can work with the brand to reduce its impact on the environment as well as hints and tips on how to drink responsibly.     Full Story >>

Sainsbury's launches first own-brand sulphur-free wine
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Sainsbury’s has started selling the UK’s first widely distributed wine made without the addition of sulphites. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is produced by the Stellar Winery in South Africa and is sold under Sainsbury’s So Organic label, priced at £4.99.

Senior wine buyer Michelle Smith told ThirtyFifty, ‘We at Sainsbury’s know that there is a market trend for natural products as well as organic products, so we have added in this organic wine as it has the added advantage of having no added sulphur – so is in its natural state. The fact that Stellar is Fairtrade is also key to why we are working with them.’

Sulphites – as sulphur dioxide (SO2) – are added to most wines principally as a preservative and antioxidant and, although they are considered harmless at the levels they are used in wine, some asthmatics have been found to react badly to them.

Michelle added that the reason that this wine can be made without the addition of sulphites is that the winemaker, Dudley Wilson, has selected good, ripe, quality fruit, which has reduced the need to add sulphur during the winemaking process.

The wine, which Sainsbury’s believes is the only supermarket own-brand ‘no added sulphites’ product, has a neck collar telling consumers what this means and warning them ‘once opened, do not store this wine’.    Full Story >>

Government and supermarkets working on promoting responsible drinking
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Professional and middle-aged women ‘who are drinking themselves into an early grave’ are to be targeted in a government anti-drinking advertising campaign this spring. According to a Department of Health spokesperson, the £10 million campaign is designed to make sure everyone know how much they’re drinking and challenge the British mentality that says it’s ok to be drunk, while particularly warning women about the health hazards of drinking too much.

The campaign comes after the National Office of Statistics revealed that the alcohol-related death rate for women aged 35-54 doubled between 1991 and 2006 from 7.2 to 14.8 per 100,000 population. However, men continue to drink far more than women and ONS statistics show that in 2006 the alcohol-related death rate for men at 18.3 per 100,000 was more than twice that for women.

The DH spokesperson said, ‘After the campaign has launched no one will be in any doubt as to how many units they’re drinking – whether it’s a pint of strong Belgian lager or a large glass of Rioja.’

Meanwhile, supermarket giant Tesco has announced that it wants to work with the Government to discuss the introduction of legislation to ensure responsible pricing on alcohol and alcohol promotions. Executive director for corporate and legal affairs Lucy Neville-Rolfe said, ‘We have a role to play in addressing the problem of anti-social drinking,’ adding that, ‘all shops that sell alcohol need to act together.’ But she said that, because of competition law, the Government needs to lead these discussions and bring forward legislative proposals which Tesco and others in the industry can support. ‘Such proposals would have to apply to all retailers of alcohol otherwise they would be ineffective as those looking for cheap alcohol would simply shop with lower-priced operators,’ she said.

Sainsbury’s has responded by saying it welcomes the opportunity to discuss any proposals for legislation on pricing that the Government may make but adds that, ‘We have seen no evidence of a link between alcohol pricing and increased consumption. We feel any change in Government policy must be based on clear evidence and not penalise our customers who drink responsibly.’

Asda, however, this week announced measures aimed at limiting access to alcohol in its stores and making it harder for under 18s to break the law now. Included in these is a move to stop selling alcohol after midnight in town centre stores, to prevent people leaving late-night bars and clubs from purchasing even more booze. In addition, Asda says it is adopting a zero-tolerance approach to under 18s who illegally attempt to purchase alcohol.

Asda’s chief executive officer Andy Bond said, ‘Our aim is to make it practically impossible for under 18s to break the law in our stores.’ To meet this challenge, the retailer is extending its proof-of-age scheme to 100 more stores and independently testing every store at least once a month.

However, the CEO added that, ‘I am not in favour of indiscriminate price rises, which would disproportionately hit the vast majority of people who drink sensibly and in moderation.’     Full Story >>

UK top destination for Rioja
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The UK is the top importing country for Rioja, according to the latest figures. Nearly 32 million litres of the popular Spanish wine came here in 2007, accounting for more than a third of total exports and making us by far the biggest destination country for it. The amount also represents an increase of 13.7% on the previous year.

Germany was the second largest importer, with just under 15 million litres, while Switzerland was third, with nearly 7 million litres, according to data from Rioja’s Consejo Regulador DOC.

Sales of Rioja continue to soar in the UK, with volume up 18% and value up 20% compared to 2006, show figures from Nielsen. Reserva was the category that most increased, up nearly 29% over the previous year. The average price of a bottle of wine from Rioja has also increased to £5.20, which is £1.19 above the average for light wine.     Full Story >>

Climate change to alter future grape-growing
Sunday, February 17, 2008

Grape-growing is going to change in the future because of global warming. That’s the message being delivered by speakers at the Climate Change and Wine Conference in Barcelona this weekend.

Bordeaux is one place that will have to focus on different grape varieties as the climate gets warmer, according to wine consultant Bronco Prats, who is also the former owner of Chateau Cos D’Estournel in the region. He said that Bordeaux has had some good vintages in the past 10 to 15 years but that as the climate gets warmer there will be a problem with grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and particularly Merlot. He believes the new varieties of the region will be Petit Verdot, Carmenere and Malbec, while some areas won’t be able to sustain grape-growing at all any more.

German producer Ernst Loosen, talking about the Mosel, said that during the 1950s, 60s and 70s it was hard to get grapes right and if you got three good vintages in 10 you were happy. The 90s, he said, produced very good vintages but 2003, 2005 and 2006 were almost overripe. As a result, he is buying and replanting vineyards that were abandoned 10 to 15 years ago because they were too high for successful grape-growing in the Mosel. These higher-altitude sites will be used as an acid reserve, he said, because they produce grapes that will add the necessary crispness to wines.

However, Riverland in Australia, is unlikely to have the luxury of being able to alter grape varieties or vineyard locations because, according to viticulturalist Richard Smart, this area will probably become unsustainable as a wine region due to increasing temperatures.    Full Story >>

Tetrapaks shown to have environmental advantages over glass
Sunday, February 17, 2008

Tetrapaks use 80% less energy to produce than glass, making them a good packaging alternative from the environmental point of view. So says environmental scientist and manager of Banrock Station in Australia Tony Sharley, speaking at the Climate Change and Wine Conference in Spain.

Tetrapaks also have other environmental advantages over putting wine into bottles, said Tony, such as that they are square, which allows a higher density for transportation. This makes them almost as good as bulk wine shipping from an environmental standpoint, he said.

On the other hand, if a wine is in a glass bottle, 50% of the volume and 50% of the weight is wasted during transportation, according to Pancho Campo, president of the Wine Academy of Spain.

Tetrapaks, however, not only have the transportation benefits, but can also be recycled. So, for instance, explained Tony, in the UK the one-litre cartons of Banrock Station that Tesco sells are recycled into egg containers.    Full Story >>

Co-op flags Fairtrade Fortnight
Sunday, February 17, 2008

The Co-op is highlighting Fairtrade Fortnight, which kicks off on 25th February, by knocking 20% off all its own-label and branded Fairtrade wines. The company, which is the UK’s leading supermarket supporter of Fairtrade, has a range of 16 wines and has done much to help the UK become one of the largest Fairtrade markets in the world.

Vicky Wood, category marketing manager for wine at the Co-op, told ThirtyFifty, ‘The Co-operative sold over 270,000 cases of own-label Fairtrade 2006 wine and are set to sell over 370,000 cases of the 2007 vintage.’ This means that, year-on-year, sales of Fairtrade wine are up 35%.

Vicky added that, ‘More importantly, over £180,000 went back to our producers in 2006 as a result of the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) premium and our additional contributions, and for 2007 this will be over £260,000.’

This is because not only do the Fairtrade producers receive a social premium from the FLO but the Co-op is also matching it, thereby doubling the money the growers receive through the sale of the wines. This is used to fund special projects in these areas. For example, the supermarket chain gets all its Argentine wines from the La Riojana co-operative in Chilecito, a remote town in the Famatina Valley. In this case the project has been able to help a community in the village of Tilimuqui where there was no water supply to the houses. The money has been used to renovate an old water supply with the addition of a well and pump, giving each household access to regular, clean water.

In another project, money generated for the Du Toitskloof co-operative, which makes the retailer’s South African Fairtrade wines, has funded three new day-care facilities for the children of the wine co-operative, a community centre and bought a minibus for the workers.

In another project, money generated for the Du Toitskloof co-operative, which makes the retailer’s South African Fairtrade wines, has funded three new day-care facilities for the children of the wine co-operative, a community centre and bought a minibus for the workers.    Full Story >>

Argentinian Malbec and rosé making their mark
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Malbec and rosé were the big success stories last year as far as wine from Argentina is concerned. Figures for 2007 show imports to the UK up nearly 27% by value and 16% by volume, with Malbec leading the charge. Furthermore, according to Wines of Argentina UK, the amount of rosé coming here almost doubled to over 1,200,000 bottles.

However, neither a Malbec nor a rosé proved to be the single biggest-selling wine. This was an own-label Shiraz – Tesco’s Finest Argentinian Reserve, which nearly broke the 100,000-case barrier in 2007.

For branded wines, Argento Wine Company took the top spot in value terms, while Finca Las Moras edged ahead in volume.    Full Story >>

German wine finding favour with UK drinkers
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Germany is in a unique position to offer consumers a wine with less punishing levels of alcohol than many other countries’ wines, according to Wines of Germany. Spokesperson Alicia Mellish told ThirtyFifty that, ‘More and more consumers are looking for wine around the 12% alcohol level these days and Germany is in a very strong position to deliver the right style of wine at this level.’

Already, it seems, UK drinkers are taking to the idea. Statistics from Wines of Germany show that sales at the higher value end of the market are soaring at the moment. In the £5-plus price bracket, Germany is the third-fastest-growing country, behind Italy and New Zealand, with sales up by 31%.

Even In the £4 to £5 sector, Germany is the second-fastest-growing country, with sales up by 22%.

‘German wine has become less of a mystery to consumers,‘ explained Alicia.
As a result, Riesling is doing well, as is Pinot Grigio, and as Germany produces almost two-thirds of the world’s Riesling, the scope for it here is enormous, said Alicia. Germany is also the world’s third-largest producer of Pinot Noir, so she predicts that we will start seeing more of these wines in the UK in the new few years.    Full Story >>

Elephant treads grapes for SA wine
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A South African wine producer has adopted foot treading for some of its grapes but hardly in the traditional way since the treading is being done by an elephant.

Boplaas wineries in Calitzdorp took some of their grapes for the 2008 vintage to Knysna Elephant Park where 22-year-old Harry has been trained to tread them. They were then transported back to Boplaas for incorporating into the company’s limited-production Elephant Rosé and Elephant Chardonnay.

Apparently, Harry especially enjoys Chardonnay, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and during the treading process couldn’t resist helping himself to some grapes for his hard work!

Some of the proceeds from the wines will be donated towards elephant research and conservation, says the company, and potential drinkers will be glad to hear that Harry had his feet washed and sterilised before he got down to the treading.    Full Story >>

Jacob's Creek to cut alcohol levels by up to 1%
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Jacob’s Creek is planning to lower the alcohol level of its wines to not more than 14%.

Philip Laffer, one of the company’s winemakers, told the UK Wine Show that he doesn’t believe drinking wine with higher alcohol levels is contributing to binge drinking, but that it could be contributing to people drinking more alcohol than they need to have an enjoyable glass of wine. As a result, he said, ‘We’ve set ourselves a goal to see if within two years we can produce wines of exactly the same amount of appeal as we do now but not exceeding 14% alcohol.’ He said that this would mean bringing the alcohol levels down by something like half to one per cent.

He explained that the reason wines are reaching such high levels of alcohol these days is because there has been tremendous investment in viticultural research over the past few years which has led to better vines. These, he said, have much larger canopies, partly because the vines are under less stress as they have less viral problems. But this also means that by the time the fruit is flavour ripe, the sugar development is higher than it traditionally was, so winemakers end up making wines with higher levels of alcohol.

However, Philip explained that there are several things producers can look at to try to redress the balance between the development of sugar and flavour. He cited using less nitrogen, being that this has an impact on vine vigour, as one possibility as well as delaying irrigation until vines are slightly in stress. Night harvesting - already a common practice in Australia - could also help as the grapes have the greatest amount of moisture when they are cold at night, so the percentage of sugar is fractionally lower and might affect a half per cent reduction in the wine, he said.

Using yeasts that are less effective in converting sugar to alcohol could also provide a solution. Philip said, ‘At the moment there is a small difference between yeasts but it’s possible that with breeding and selection that it could make a significant difference, maybe 1 – 2%.’

Philip believes the plan for the brand is ‘achievable and sensible’. However, he’s keen to stress that, ‘People are buying Jacob’s Creek not because of its alcohol content but because it’s an enjoyable glass of wine, so, first and foremost, we must retain the appeal of Jacob’s Creek.’    Full Story >>

Transportation is only small part of a wine's carbon footprint, say Aussies
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Australian wine doesn’t necessarily have a much higher carbon footprint than wine coming from other countries to the UK, according to Stephen Strachan, chief executive of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.

Speaking at The Green Debate conference, Stephen said that a preliminary study shows that a large proportion of the carbon footprint of Australian wines comes from winemaking and viticultural production rather than through transporting them to markets on the other side of the world. He said, ‘If you take the product from the vineyard to the consumer and look at the impact through glass manufacturing, packaging and other areas, a very significant proportion of the carbon footprint from our Australian vineyards - and, therefore, probably every other country’s as well - is in the winemaking and viticultural production of that product.’

He added, ‘Very interestingly, almost 40% of the carbon footprint actually comes through once the product lands in the market, so once the consumer starts doing what it does with the product – refrigerating it, going to the market place and buying it.

‘There’s probably a perception that, because Australian producers are a long way from the [UK] market, our environmental footprint is much higher than some of our competitors. I don’t necessarily believe that,’ he said.    Full Story >>

M & S's Pink Port - one for the girls
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Marks & Spencer is targeting younger, female drinkers with the launch of a ‘brand new port style’. M & S says Pink Port is ‘light in style, bright pink in colour with fresh fruit aromas’ and ‘is set to transform the port category’, adding that the last time a new port style was launched was Late Bottled Vintage in 1970.

This new Pink Port is designed to be drunk chilled or over ice as a ‘refreshing summer drink’ or with dessert, says M & S, so the company hopes it will appeal more than just at Christmas, when most port is bought. Priced at £7.99 for a 50cl bottle, it has the same sweetness as ruby ports and is made from the traditional port grape varieties.     Full Story >>

Oddbins to go for case sales like Majestic
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Oddbins is to go down the route of Majestic by starting to sell wine by the case in nearly 50 stores later this year.

The move is part of the plan by Castel, the French group that owns Oddbins and Nicolas, to split the shops into high street, bulk and suburban. This is in a bid to focus on the strengths of each shop, according to HR director for both chains, Ayo Akintola.

Following the lead of the successful Majestic chain, which pioneered selling wine by the case in the UK, 47 of Oddbins’ bulk stores or LRUs (Large Retail Units) will focus on case sales. These are the ones with car parks that allow customers to load their wine.

Ayo Akintola told ThirtyFifty, ‘We are to take our range, which is bigger than Majestic, to offer our customers a bigger choice.’

Up to £2.5 million is to be invested in the expansion of both high street and bulk stores, while 21 outlets are to be sold off. Some shops may also change from being one type of store to another.
    Full Story >>

ONS takes bigger glasses and stronger wines into consideration
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has updated its methods for calculating wine consumption in drinking surveys to reflect the increase in strength of the average bottle of wine as well as the size of the average wine glass.

‘Recent years have seen an increase in the availability of stronger wines, especially those from the New World, while wine glasses larger than the traditional 125ml are increasingly popular in licensed premises,’ said the ONS in a statement.

As a result, from now on a small glass of wine (125ml) will count as 1.5 units, a medium glass (175ml) as two units and a large glass (250ml) as three units. Where the glass size is unspecified, the unit value will now be counted as two units rather than one, based on an average glass of wine size of 170ml at 12.5% alcohol.

In the UK, one unit of alcohol is defined as 10ml alcohol by volume, or eight grams by weight, of pure alcohol.     Full Story >>

Alsace producer puts sweetness level on its labels
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

An Alsace producer is putting the amount of residual sugar on the labels of its Rieslings to help consumers know which wines are sweet and which dry.

Chateau d’Orschwihr’s winemaker Hubert Hartmann told ThirtyFifty that, unless a consumer knows a producer’s particular style of wine, it’s difficult to be sure just what sort of wine they are buying just by looking at the bottle for grapes that can be made to a variety of sweetness levels. So the company has included this to help drinkers make an informed choice.

Of course, this assumes that consumers have any idea of what level of residual sugar constitutes a sweet or dry wine. But there are defined levels set down by the EU. A dry wine is one with anything up to 4g/litre of sugar; up to 12g/litre of sugar constitutes a medium dry wine; a medium or medium sweet wine exceeds the level for medium dry but does not exceed 45g/litre of sugar; and a sweet wine has not less that 45g/litre of sugar. So, for instance, one knows that Chateau d’Orschwihr’s Riesling Bollenberg with 1.4g/litre of residual sugar is going to be dry.

Hubert thinks it would be good if more producers followed Chateau d’Orschwihr’s idea, but in the meantime he says the move works to his company’s advantage as consumers hopefully won’t be disappointed by the style of wine when drink it.     Full Story >>

US sparkling wine labelled Champagne destroyed
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A shipment of more than 3,200 bottles of Andre sparkling wine made in California was seized and destroyed by Belgian customs authorities because the labels included the word Champagne. The wines, which were produced by E & J Gallo Winery and are legal to be sold in the US, bore labels referring to California Champagne and Andre Champagne Cellars. As a result, they fell foul of EU laws, which prohibit the use of Champagne on any wine produced outside France’s Champagne region.

The Office of Champagne, USA, said that, ‘Any US product that misuses the Champagne name and seeks to enter an export market that protects consumers from misleading labels is considered counterfeit. To avoid greater legal liabilities and legal procedures, the owner of the merchandise agreed to abandon it for immediate destruction.’ The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) then released a video of the wine being destroyed.

E & J Gallo issued a statement saying that the company, ‘respects and adheres to EU regulations and does not sell product labelled California Champagne in the EU. News released by the Office of Champagne, USA, misleads consumers by suggesting E & J Gallo Winery ignored regulations and intended to make counterfeit product available to European consumers.

‘The owner of the merchandise was in fact a third party based in the United States who sells product to cruise ships.’

This is the latest in a series of seizures. According to the CIVC, patrols in Europe have seized and destroyed over 14,000 bottles bearing the word Champagne in the last four years.     Full Story >>

Italian dispute leaves wine nameless
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

What do you put on the label of a bottle of wine that doesn’t have a name? That’s the problem right now for producers in Friuli Venezia Giulia in Northern Italy who are ready to bottle the 2007 vintage of what they used to call Tocai.

The issue has come about because under Hungary’s accession to the EU, it was agreed that the country would have sole use of the name Tokaji and winemakers in Italy and Alsace would relinquish the name. The Italians were given until last March to find another and most agreed the wine should be called Friulano abroad as Tocai is grown in Friuli Venezia Giulia, while the regional government passed a law allowing it to marketed under its old name in Italy.

However, a band of producers from Trieste took legal action to block the use of the name Friulano and twice won their case.

‘You can imagine how serious this question is for all the Friuli Venezia Giulia winemakers who do not know how to mark their wine,’ Livia Nocenti of the FederDoc regional trade body, Federazione dei Consorzi Tutela Vini del Friuli Venezia Giulia, told ThirtyFifty.

Livia added that producing a wine with no name means that about 70,000 hectolitres of DOC wine will become just vin de pays or vino da tavola, which requires less commitment from producers to make a quality wine, so there is concern that the reputation of Tocai/Friulano will be diminished. Not only that but wines graded vins de pays or vino da tavola rather than DOC also fetch a lower price.

The decision on the nameless wine now goes to the European Court, but Livia said that it ‘quite surely will not allow using Tocai’, adding, ‘We really hope that this huge problem will be solved as soon as possible.’    Full Story >>

We like wine more if it costs more, says study
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Drinkers think that more expensive wine tastes better, no matter its quality, according to a recent study. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology said that if people believe a wine costs more, they somehow convince their brain that it is more enjoyable.

The study involved scanning the brains of 20 people using functional magnetic resonance imaging while they sampled what they thought were five different Cabernet Sauvignons. Actually, there were only three different wines and a neutral water solution, and two of the wines were administered twice, once identified at a high price and once at a low price. For example, one wine costing £45 was half the time presented as a £5 bottle of wine.

The results showed that the same wine administered at a high price versus at a low price does not only increase the reported pleasantness, but also the way the pleasantness of flavour signal is evaluated in the brain, Halke Plassmann, co-author of the paper told ThirtyFifty.

Basically, the increase in the pleasure was real, even though the wines were identical.

Halke explained, ‘We think that is because the higher price creates a expectation about how good the wine should be that is integrated in the interpretation of the flavour pleasantness in the brain during the consumption experience.’    Full Story >>

Yalumba defines old vines
Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Australian wine producer Yalumba has established an Old Vine Charter, an initiative designed to help avoid confusion about the much-used term.

Yalumba proprietor and vigneron Robert Hill Smith said, ‘Presently in Australia there is no definition in our wine law to prescribe what constitutes an “old vine”, leaving it open to individual interpretation or to possible indiscriminate or misleading use.’ So from the 2007 vintage any wine from Yalumba that says Old Vine on the label must be 35 years old or more, an Antique Vine at least 70 years old and a Centenarian Vine at least 100 years old. Although at the moment this is just a company initiative, Robert hopes that in time others will see merit in the system and either come on board or develop their own charter.

In the meantime, however, the term old vine generally remains in the group of descriptors used on wine bottles that mean very little to the consumer. For a start, with no industry definition, producers can label wines as old vine that are comparatively young, hoping to attach to them some suggestion of quality. But, as Robert explained, ‘Whilst vine age may often be used as an indicator of potential quality, it is not a prerequisite, just as variety, region or maker does not, by themselves, create a superior wine.’

A worldwide charter would at least give some clarification for what an old vine is, but some terms will remain a mystery to the consumer and for a good reason – they actually don’t mean anything. Winemaker’s Selection and Cellar Selection, for instance, are nothing more than ways to market a particular wine. Reserve on a bottle is particularly misleading. Unlike the Spanish Reserva and Italian Riserva, both of which indicate that the wine has had extended ageing, the English Reserve is just a term used by wine producers for various bottlings and has few controls. Some wineries release bottlings under all manner of names incorporating the word: Proprietor’s Reserve, Estate Reserve, Reserve Selection and so on.

At least Superieur is a defined term in the French Appellation Controle system, although for consumers not in the know it does sound like it is implying something of better quality. In fact, wines are labelled this because of their higher alcoholic strength. It’s the same with the Italian term Superiore, though these wines have to have a longer period of ageing as well.

It seems that it spite of the EU wine reform, which hopes to make wine labels easier for the consumer to understand, we still need to read between the lines and take a few of the terms on our bottles with a pinch of salt.
    Full Story >>

Sales of Burgundy on the up
Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Sales of Burgundy have outstripped production for the second year running. Unlike a lot of Europe, where overproduction has helped contribute to the wine lake, demand for the 2006 vintage exceeded volume by 15 million bottles, according to the Bureau Interprofessionel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB).

The exceptional 2005 vintage partly accounts for this enthusiasm, says the BIVB, as do efforts to improve quality by producers.

Burgundy was, for a time, producing too much wine. This was because at the end of the Nineties the region didn’t have enough to keep consumers happy, so it increased its production just when the world market was declining. Suddenly, it was left with too much stock. However, through managing and promoting their wines, winning new markets and strengthening traditional ones, Burgundian producers now sell their entire production and have brought their stock levels back to normal, says the BIVB.

The UK remains by far the leading export market for wines from Burgundy by volume, accounting for 30%, according to 2006 figures. Volume sales have grown continuously here for the past 10 years and this has mostly been in white wines. In fact, whites now account for four out of every five bottles coming to our shores. The BIVB says this is due to the, ‘Outstanding reputation of the Chablis and Macon appellations, which account for one in two bottles of Burgundy wine shipped to the UK.’

Based on data for the first half of 2007, UK Burgundy sales are up by an average 17% by value while volume sales have increased by around 40% for both whites and reds, especially for the generic appellations.    Full Story >>

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