Hungary’s Royal Tokaji Company plans to double production by opening a new €3.25million winery in September. The official launch of the winery will coincide with the company’s 20th anniversary, co-founded by Decanter columnist and Decanter’s Man of the Year 1995, Hugh Johnson OBE.
The new facility will increase annual production capacity from 30,000 to 60,000 six-bottle cases, and will focus on increasing volumes of dry Furmint and a late harvest wine rather than the region’s signature style Aszu. Continue reading “New Royal Tokaji winery to open in September”
Adam Lechmere in Hong Kong – Western producers have to concentrate on education before they make any real headway in the Chinese market. This is the message from exhibitors at Hong Kong Vinexpo this week.
Veterans of the market, like Camille Seghesio of Seghesio Family Vineyards of Sonoma, or Robert Shen of the massive Aussino retailer in mainland China, are convinced that educating Chinese consumers in the basics of wine is the key to success. Continue reading “Education, education, education is key for China”
by Stuart Peskett – The proportion of UK wine drinkers buying Pinot Grigio has increased by 30% over the past three years, according to new research. More than 1,000 regular wine drinkers were polled by research group Wine Intelligence for the survey (on behalf of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association), which compared drinking habits over a three-year period, between March 2007 and March this year. Continue reading “Pinot Grigio continues UK rise”
just-drinks.com editorial team – Exchange rate losses on wine exports have forced Australian Vintage to cut its net profits forecast for the current financial year.
Australian Vintage said today (26 May) that it expects net profits after tax to increase by 75% for the 12 months to the end of June, compared to the same period last year.
Jubiläum: 75. Buch bei KünzlerBachmann Medien AG erschienen.
Am Anfang war das Wort: 75 Bücher als Bekenntnis zu Print. Verleger Roland Köhler setzt erfolgreich auf lesernahe
Periodika mit hohem Nutzwert. „Ein Buch muss Leserwünschen entsprechen, die Lesertreue fördern und neue Leser
gewinnen“ – nach diesem Prinzip wurde 1983 bei der KünzlerBachmann Medien AG in St. Gallen das erste Fachbuch publiziert.
Die Devise von Roland Köhler hat sich bewährt: Was damals mit dem ersten „Schweizer Energiefachbuch“ begann, ist heute eine verlegerische Erfolgsgeschichte. Denn seitdem wurden im St. Galler Medienhaus 75 Bücher zu verschiedenen Themenwelten veröffentlicht. Darunter so erfolgreiche Periodika wie Jahrbuch Marketing, Strassenverkehr Schweiz, Schweizer Energiefachbuch, Scriptura sowie das Branchenregister Kö. Jubiläumsbuch ist Printmedien Schweiz, das bereits zum sechsten Mal erscheint. Continue reading “Vinum-Verleger Roland Köhler feiert”
By Rebecca Gibb – Australia is making ‘good progress’ in reducing its wine glut and now needs to start rebuilding its reputation, a leading industry body says. Following the release of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia’s vintage report, which estimates that the size of the 2010 Australian grape harvest has fallen to 1.53m tonnes, the Federation’s chief executive Stephen Strachan told decanter.com, ‘We are pretty pleased.
‘It shows that the industry adjustment process is well underway. While the supply issues are still there, the industry focus is rebuilding confidence. We need to build our reputation internationally. We don’t want to be the country that is on promotion most often.’
This year’s crush marks a 12% decrease on 2009 and represents a 300,000 tonne reduction compared with the 2008 vintage. Strachan said, ‘We are not adding to the surplus and that’s got to be a good thing. We need to have another reduced intake next year, then we may be able to say we have turned the corner.’
It is estimated that 8-12,000ha of vines have been removed or abandoned in Australia in the past year. ‘We still have further to go but we never thought there would be such a large reduction in one year,’ added Strachan.
Two violent hailstorms have hit parts of the Barolo zone, causing serious damage. The storms hit between 2am and 4am on Friday and were scattered among the territory’s communes. La Morra and Serralunga d’Alba were the hardest hit, though the communes of Barolo, Verduno and Roddi were largely unaffected.
Producers fear the damage will affect the quantity of Barolo production for 2010. Pietro Ratti confimed notable damage in his vineyards in La Morra, although the exact amount will not be known for a few days.
Danilo Drocco, winemaker at Fontanafredda in Serralunga, remarked that in the winery’s section of the Lazzarito cru in Serralunga, ’50% of the crop is lost for the year.’
Sergio Germano, winemaker of Serralunga’s Ettore Germano estate, also noted serious damage in his Lazzarito plot, although his rows in the nearby Prapo and Ceretta vineyards of Serralunga were only minimally harmed.
While production will be down, producers it is too early to write off the 2010 vintage yet. ‘If this is the worst we get,’ Vaira said, ‘we will be alright.’ www.decanter.com
Two violent hailstorms have hit parts of the Barolo zone, causing serious damage.
They are believed to have made wine from the 2009 vintage at a rented winery facility at Lezas near Laguardia. Vega Sicilia has been owned by the Alvarez Díaz family since 1982 and is headed up by Pablo Alvarez. The Grupo Vega Sicilia portfolio also includes Bodegas Alión (Ribera del Duero), Bodegas Pintia (Toro) and Tokay Oremus in Hungary, which were all established or acquired in the 1990s. www.decanter.com
Chris Mercer – The CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers has said he is confident that winemakers have begun to drain a surplus that threatened to devalue the country’s wine industry.
Trade body New Wines of Greece has opened its North American division.
The organisation said earlier this week that it has set up offices in New York, Montreal and Toronto, which will run a three-year campaign designed to increase awareness of Greek wines with consumers, members of the trade and media in the continent.
The initiative is sponsored by the Greek National Inter-Professional Organization of Vine and Wine (EDOAO) and is financed by the EU and Greece.
New Wines of Greece held its first events last week in Toronto and Montreal as part of a 2010 North American Roadshow, a series of tastings and seminars sponsored by the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board – HEPO – and financed by the EU and Greece.
This week, the roadshow visits Chicago and New York, with 50 wineries in attendance, representing all of the major wine producing regions of Greece.
Further details of future events are available by clicking here.
LIWF 2010 is estimated to have hosted over 10,000 buyers, importers and trade visitors.
Tuesday (18 May) saw the start of the 2010 London International Wine Fair (LIWF). Here we take a look at the latest news from the fair.
It is estimated that over 10,000 buyers, importers, sommeliers, restaurateurs and many other trade visitors have been exploring some 20,000 wines from around the world at this year’s fair.
For the first time, this year’s event has incorporated a bloggers’ zone, reflecting the growing trend for social media within the wine trade. Organiser Brintex teamed up with Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of internet marketing site Catavino, plus WineConversation.com, the European Wine Bloggers Conference, and Wineblogger.info to create ‘The Access Zone’. The 60m2 stand incorporates an area for recording video interviews, as well as Wi-Fi and powerpoints. Continue reading “just the facts – LIWF 2010″
The wine industry in the UK is still in recession, according to our survey
The majority of the UK wine trade still believes that the industry is in recession, but optimism levels have increased over last year as the sector comes to grips with a new business landscape, a survey conducted for just-drinks has found.
The fourth annual State of the Nation UK wine survey, sent to 50 key decision makers in the UK wine trade and a select band of just-drinks’ wine audience, found that 62% of the trade believed the wine market was still in recession. Only 11% of respondents said they thought it was out of recession.
When asked whether one was optimistic or pessimistic about the prospects for the UK wine market over the next 12 months, 48% answered that they were, up from 37% last year. Only 28% said they were pessimistic, down on 30% last year. Continue reading “UK: Wine industry still in recession – just-drinks survey”
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – The world’s largest Bordeaux wine store has opened in Lafayette Gourmet on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. The new store is located within the flagship Galeries Lafayette that is the second most visited destination in Paris after the Eiffel Tower, with 25 million people per year.
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – As more Bordeaux chateaux put their 2009 wines onto the en primeur market, many are showing price rises to above their 2005 levels. Duhart Milon was released yesterday up 72% on 2008 (€22), and up 46% on 2005, continuing the price rise trend on 2005 seen from the majority of releases so far.
Chateau Gazin in Pomerol came out last week at €45 (per bottle) ex-Bordeaux merchants, a rise of 56% on 2008 (€28.8) and 41% on 2005 (€32) – a price that was dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ by UK wine merchant Nick Stephens. Chateau Fourcas Hosten came out at €7 this year, up from €5.7 in 2005, while Denis Dubourdieu’s Clos Floridene was at €9, up from €7.50 in 2005 (but unchanged from 2008) and Chateau d’Agassac at €8.75 this year, compared to €8.5 in 2005. Continue reading “Bordeaux 2009: Prices rising above 2005″
Sigi Hiss – Bei Interesse bitte direkt bei Uwe Bende melden via email (bende(at)weinforum-ruhrgebiet.de), ich kann die degus von uwe ohne weiteres empfehlen. ich wäre selber dort, wenn ich nicht in sachen wein in griechenland unterwegs wäre.
Liebe Weinfreunde,
am Samstag, den 22. Mai möchte ich gern im Kreise einiger Bordeauxfreunde folgende Buddeln öffnen:
1943 Chateau Lafite, 1er Cru Classe, Pauillac
1950 Chateau Pichon Comtesse de la Lalande, 2em Cru Classe, Pauillac
1952 Chateau Bel Air, 1er Cru, Haut-Neac, Pomerol
1953 Chateau de Sales, Pomerol Into Neck
1953 Chateau Thibaut-Maillet, Pomerol, ts
1961 Chateau Lafleur-Gazin, Pomerol, TS
1964 Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
1967 Chateau L’Arrosee, St-Emilion
1970 Chateau L’Arrosee, St-Emilion
1978 Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande de Longueville, 2eme Cru Classe,
Paulliac
1981 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac
1983 Leoville las Cases,. Saint Julien
1986 Chateau Canon, 1er Cru Saint Emilion, Magnum
1988 Chateau Mouton Baron Rothschild, (d’Armailhac)
1989 Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc
1989 Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande de Longueville
und als Vertreter grosser junger Weine:
2001 Chateau Pichon Baron
2002 Leoville Barton
Das Ganze in der Gesellschaft-Harmonie.de und bei einer Umlage von 111,85 zzgl Essen in der Harmonie bei 14 Teilnehmern.
by Adam Lechmere – Philip Laffer, one of the architects of Jacob’s Creek and an icon of Australian wine, bowed out last night at a raucous dinner in a London club. The Jacob’s Creek chief winemaker has been one of the most senior figures in the Pernod Ricard hierarchy since 1994. Continue reading “Phil Laffer bows out in style”
by John Abbott – The Decanter World Wine Awards unveiled a record number of entries this morning, as it announced the results of the 2010 competition. The results were announced to the wine trade at the London International Wine Fair at the ExCeL centre in London’s Docklands.
A total of 10,983 wines were entered, more than double the number of entries to the first competition seven years ago. There had been earlier concerns that the numbers might be down due to natural disasters in Chile, Madeira and Turkey.
But the surprise bumper result confirmed the Decanter World Wine Awards as the largest international consumer wine competition. In total, 68.8% of wines submitted received an award – with 11.9% being awarded Silver medals while 2.86% won a Gold or Regional trophy.
Announcing the results at Decanter’s stand, Sarah Kemp, Decanter publishing director, said ‘it was a record year for Decanter and, in one of the toughest years the wine trade has ever known, we’re thrilled with the result.
‘What we’re most proud of is our judging. Our judges, we believe, are the best in the world – from Isa Bal MS at the Fat Duck, to Jeannie Cho Lee, Asia’s first master of wine.’
The international trophy winners will be announced at a special dinner at London’s Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on 1 September. Trade members can click to view the Decanter World Wine Awards 2010 results.
Adam Lechmere – Speculators, not drinkers, are likely to be the biggest Chinese buyers of Bordeaux 2009, according to a decanter.com survey. decanter.com asked five Bordeaux buyers, merchants and restaurateurs both in Hong Kong and mainland China for their opinions on where the Bordeaux 2009 market was headed.
According to some of these veterans, 2009 will be bought to be sold on – and buyers will be more sensitive to price than Europeans. As Simon Zhou of Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai said, ‘speculators will be the biggest buyers of 09 Bordeaux. Wine drinkers … will not buy as enthusiastically as most overseas trade and media seem to think.’ Continue reading “Chinese speculators not drinkers will buy Bordeaux 09: survey”
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A Salmanazar of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia 2007 has raised $45,000 for the Whitney Museum of American Art in an auction held by Sotheby’s New York. The auction – the second edition of the Vendemmia D’Artista ‘L’Armonia’ organised by the Bolgheri estate – raised a total of $167,000, with the proceeds going to the restoration and preservation of American works of modern art. Continue reading “Ornellaia sells for record $45,000″
Sigi Hiss – DOP ist das Kürzel für die neue Weinbezeichnung der EU-Weinmarktordnung. Es ersetzt in
Italien die Kürzel DOC, DOCG ( DOP = Denominazione di Origine Protetta)
Portugal die Kürzel IPR, DOC (DOP = Denominação de Origem Protegida)
Spanien die Kürzel DO, DOCa (DOP = Denominación de Origen Protegida)
Deutschland & Österreich QBA mit Wein g.U. (Wein g.U. = Wein mit geschützter Ursprungsbezeichnung)
Wobei in Deutschland & Österreich weiterhin das QbA System verwendet werden darf. Die Quelle für diese Information ist das Glossar von Norbert Tischelmayer auf Wein-Plus, das ich jedem wärmstens empfehlen kann. Es gibt deutschsprachig keine besser recherchierte & umfangreichere Datenbank was Wein anbetrifft.
Sigi Hiss – Weinfeder, die Vereinigung deutschsprachiger Weinpublizisten, lädt wieder zum Mainzer Tag der Weinkritik am 1. Juni ein. Das Programm sehen sie hier:
• MAINZER TAG DER WEINKRITIK am 1. Juni
• WEIN-TALK-SHOW: Was trinken wir in 5 Jahren? Wie entwickelt sich der Weingeschmack – alles Riesling?
• Sechster ‚Preis der Deutschen Weinkritik’ geht an FRANK & FREI
• Förderpreis an GIPFELSTÜRMER MITTELRHEIN
.
Wohin entwickelt sich der Weingeschmack – mehr zur süßen Frucht oder zu trockenen Weinen? Beim MAINZER TAG DER WEINKRITIK diskutieren dazu Weinexperten: Prof. Dieter Hoffmann (FH Geisenheim), Artur Steinmann (Winzer, Vors. Weinbauverband Franken), Steffen Schindler (Deutsches Weininstitut) und Sandra Kantwerk (Hotel Favorite, Mainz).
Zum sechsten Mal vergibt ‚Weinfeder e.V. – Vereinigung der deutschsprachigen Weinpublizisten’ den Preis der Deutschen Weinkritik’. Ausgezeichnet wird die fränkische Winzervereinigung FRANK & FREI. Die deutschsprachigen Weinjournalisten würdigen damit das Engagement des Vereins für qualitätsorientierten Weinbau.
Bisherige Preisträger: 2005: VdP, 2006: Deutsche Wein- und Sommelierschule, 2007: ECOVIN, 2008: Vinissima – Frauen & Wein e.V., 2009: Message in a bottle.
. ‚Förderpreis der Deutschen Weinkritik’
Zum fünften Mal vergibt ‚Weinfeder e.V.’ den ‚Förderpreis der Deutschen Weinkritik’.
In diesem Jahr erhält den Preis: Gipfelstürmer Mittelrhein.
Die Preise werden am Dienstag, den 1. Juni 2010 um 19:00 Uhr im Presseclub Mainz, Augustiner Straße 55 (Frankfurter Hof, Eingang Badergasse) übergeben. Die Wein-Talk-Show (Moderation: SWR Weinexperte Werner Eckert) findet unmittelbar nach der Preisübergabe statt.
Bitte melden Sie sich für die Teilnahme an der Veranstaltung per Email an. Die Teilnahme incl. Weinprobe und Finger Food ist kostenfrei.
Weinfeder e.V. / 1. Vors.: Wolfgang Junglas / Tel.: 0 67 23 • 88 55 45 / Email: info@weinfeder.de
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A group of former Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels are boycotting the new Alliance Cru Bourgeois system, and forming their own group. The members of the group include Chateau Chasse Spleen, Chateau Les Ormes de Pez, Chateau de Pez, Chateau Potensac, Chateau Poujeaux and Chateau Siran.
Chateau Labegorce-Zede has merged with Chateau Labegorce and is not eligible to join, but older vintages of the wine will be included in certain tastings.
Christophe Labenne, co-director of Chateau Poujeaux, told decanter.com, ‘This is a group that was originally formed in 2003, when we were first named Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels. Continue reading “Former Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels boycott new system”
by James Lawrence – The 56-acre estate of the legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi is to be sold, with an asking price of $25 million. The 56-acre estate of the legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi is to be sold, with an asking price of $25m.
Mondavi (pictured), who died in 2008 aged 94, worked throughout his life to promote the Napa Valley as an area of fine wine production. He and his widow Margrit commissioned the architect Cliff May, who had previously designed the Robert Mondavi Winery, to design the property in 1979.
The Mondavi estate, known as ‘Wappo Hill’, has no vineyards but gives spectacular 360 degree views of Napa.
The 11,500-square-foot main house, with two bedrooms and a pool in the living room, is positioned on a hill south of Yountville in the Napa County. Mondavi’s son Michael Mondavi, a joint trustee of the estate said, ‘His hobby was wine, his friends were wine and I think this was one of the ‘non-wine’ projects that really thrilled him.’
Stuart Todd – Global exports of Loire Valley wines declined heavily in 2009, figures from trade association Inter-Loire show. Exports fell 28% in volume to 368,802 hectolitres and by 20% in value to EUR166m, compared to the previous year. “There was some minor improvement toward the end of the year but this made little impression on the prevailing downward trend in 2009 as a whole,” an Interloire official told just-drinks today (13 May). Shipments to the UK, the Loire’s premier export market, fell 44% in volume and 32% in value.
Unsold wine in tanks, wineries shutting down and vineyards being uprooted. It’s not a pretty picture for India’s infant wine industry as it bears the twin-pronged brunt of global glut and domestic roadblocks. That was the backdrop against which India’s first National Wine Conference was held in New Delhi last week and, if anything, the meet underlined fears that the country’s wine sector is in a ‘make or break’ situation.
By Rebacca Gibb
LIWF 2010 is estimated to have hosted over 10,000 buyers, importers and trade visitors.
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – As more Bordeaux chateaux put their 2009 wines onto the en primeur market, many are showing price rises to above their 2005 levels. Duhart Milon was released yesterday up 72% on 2008 (€22), and up 46% on 2005, continuing the price rise trend on 2005 seen from the majority of releases so far.
by John Abbott – The 
by James Lawrence – The 56-acre estate of the legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi is to be sold, with an asking price of $25 million. The 56-acre estate of the legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi is to be sold, with an asking price of $25m.
