Sparkling trends
It is popular to talk about upcoming trends at this time of year. An ongoing trend that certainly will continue in 2017 is the world’s unquenchable thirst for bubbles. In 2016 Prosecco and Cava had an enormous success. Champagne has been doing well although the domestic market is a bit slow at the moment. English sparkling increased in quantity (and quality), although still a midget.
Very recently the decision also was taken to allow the large southern French appellation IGP Méditerranée to also make sparkling wine. The decision was not popular with the Crémant appellations (Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne, etc.) French winemakers sometimes have difficulties to accept competition. Perhaps they fear that the word Mediterranean will have an attraction for customers, especially if they are on holiday down there. As they often are.
But competition is a good thing and above all, variety is. As more bubbly wine is made in the world and as the quality gets better and better, the consumers will start to treat the sparkling wine just as a still wine.
In other words, we consumers will no longer buy only “a wine that sparkles”, just as little as we buy a “white wine” or a “red wine”. We buy a wine because it has a specific origin or is made from a certain grape variety or by a particular producer, or has a certain character. And we will more and more buy sparkling wine in the same way. It is not just the bubbles that are important, but also what’s behind them.
We wine lovers can certainly consider ourselves lucky today. There has never been so much delicious bubbly as today, from Champagne, crémants, cava, Franciacorta, Prosecco, South African MCC, or even – that we had the pleasure to drink the other day – Crisecco from Cricova in Moldova.
20 years of wine on the internet
This year it is 20 years since we started to write on wine on the internet! This gave us a reason to look back on the time that has passed. It turned into an interesting (I think) review of how technology and communication has changed. 20 years ago “the internet” was something obscure that few people used. And mobile phones were considered by many to be an unnecessary fad! Read the article (below and on BKWine Magazine) on this story. As far as we know we were even the very first web site (“home page”) on wine in Swedish.
Book Award
Can’t help to also mention how proud and happy we are having been awarded first prize in “Årets Svenska Måltidslitteratur”, ie the Gastronomic Academy’s Annual Book Awards for our new book series “Guide to the World of Wine”. The jury said “[a book series] of international class”. Read more on that below. Today there are four books in the series: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, and the Piedmont.
Wine travel
And don’t forget to take a look at the spring season wine tours. It is high time to decide. Book now!
We have also published the autumn dates and destinations if you like longer term planning.
We wish all our readers a very Happy New Year!
Britt & Per
PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief !
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