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Do you have ageing-mania?
Many people have ageing-mania. The refreshing flavours of a young wine are underestimated. When we taste wine with travellers on our tours, this question always pops up: “How long can I age this wine?”
Should the wine be judged for its ageing ability or its current character? Does the quality of a wine depend on its ageing potential?
Is it still the case that wines that can be drunk immediately can never be considered great wines?
Many professionals also have this tendency. We once saw a tasting protocol where the wine got extra points if it needed to be aged. A strange logic. It’s not so good now, but will (maybe) be better later, so plus points.
The ageing capacity is admittedly the unique thing about wine, compared to other beverages. Spirits last but don’t improve in bottle. A wine develops, into something better or something worse. Not everyone likes old wines. And most wines do not improve with age.
Instead, they are good to drink fairly promptly. But it is, of course, a matter of taste. And it’s good to have some kind of wine storage at home. Wine is not like freshly squeezed orange juice. If it is in a bottle and of decent quality, it will keep for some years even if it is not considered a wine to age.
But many red wines are so soft and smooth today that people have become sensitive to the slightest hints of tannins and acidity. It’s a shame. It is these two attributes that make the wine such a perfect companion to food.
Many “wine experts” insist on saying that wine – not least champagne – should be drunk in magnum. There we have it again, ageing-mania. The reason for buying wine in magnum is that it is considered to be the optimal size for ageing. The wine is said to develop more slowly in a magnum bottle. Whether it makes any difference to the quality is doubtful.
And by and large, the difference is so small that it is negligible. And even if there really is a difference that we can perceive between bottle and magnum after 20 years, who has decided that the magnum taste is better than the bottle taste?
Much of the wine world is about “that’s always been the case” without there being the slightest evidence of it. “The best temperature for a wine cellar is 12 degrees.” As you have in Champagne. But compare with the same wine that has been stored at different temperatures (without exaggeration of course) for some years. The wines will have developed differently. But who decides which taste is the right one?
Of course, some wines benefit from being aged. Some may even need to be aged, but this is often exaggerated. The origin is probably to be found in the fact that in the past – when everyone who drank wine had 12-degree cellars under their mansion – many wines were unreasonably harsh as young. Because they were not as good at making wine at that time as they are now. That this idea survives probably has a lot to do with the wine world’s gadget focus (“which is the best wine cabinet?”), myth-making (“the 100 wines you have to drink before you die”) and many wine drinkers’ insecurities (“I do not know much about wine so I do not know if this is good”) picked up from old-fashioned wine tasting courses or texts.
A winemaker would say, drink the wine now if you like it. Always trust your own taste.
WINE TOURS
This year’s wine tour season is over. It’s been a short season. In a normal year, we have about fifteen wine tours in September and October. This year we had two.
But eventually we will start traveling again. In time, we will triumph over the virus. In a not too distant future, we will be many who are really eager to get out in the vineyards again.
When that time comes, we hope that you will plan a wine tour with us at BKWine, one of world’s most experienced wine tour operator. And one of the most knowledgeable, with for example 10 award-winning wine books on the track record.
We have already planned the spring and fall of 2021 as well as the winter of 2022. Take a look at our program.
Enjoy the Brief!
Britt & Per
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What’s on at BKWine Tours
BKWine is also one of the world’s leading wine tour operators. Here’s what we currently have on our scheduled wine tour program:
- Bordeaux, April 21-25, 2021
- Champagne, May 19-23, 2021
- Champagne, September 22-26, 2021 (possible combination with Bordeaux)
- Bordeaux, September 29 – October 3, 2021 (possible combination with Champagne)
- Chile-Argentina, January 2022
- South Africa, February 2022
- New Zealand, March 2022
We also make custom designed wine tours.
We’re different than most other wine tour operators. We are people who know wine inside out, who travel constantly in wine regions, who write award winning books about wine. Who do this out of passion. Our tours are different from others. More in wine tours: BKWineTours.com.
Read our books
We have written several wine books, ten at the last count. Unfortunately, only one of them has been translated to English; the others are (so far) only available in Swedish. This is the one that is available in English:
All our books are on wine, but on different subjects: wines of the Languedoc, wine growing and wine making, the wines of France, Tuscany, Bordeaux, Piedmont, Burgundy, Champagne. Several have won prestigious prizes and awards from Gourmand International, OIV and others. Read more on our wine books.
News from the world of wineWhat’s been happening in the world of wine recently. |
The most popular Champagne brands in France
Read more: rayon-boissons Read: If you want to be a bit more original and drink other things that the big house brands, you can choose among hundreds of grower champagne that you can read about in our Champagne book. Travel: Taste many excellent champagnes on the wine tour to Champagne with BKWine. |
In France, there are lots of small wine shops, but the majority of all wine is sold in supermarkets. This is especially true of Champagne as Christmas approaches. Which brands are the bestsellers? Here is the top ten list where the leading brand Nicolas Feuillatte is the biggest by a large margin.
Challenging harvest 2020 in the Douro Valley
Vasco Valente Lopes Quinta Senhora da Graca in Lobrigos started harvesting already in August. It was only the second time he had experienced such an early harvest. That meant picking in 35 C heat. The fermentation was long, and the alcohol level ended at 15%. We tasted the new vintage from the tank; the fruit is wonderfully intense. Vincent Bouchard at Quinta do Tedo was happy with the result so far, but it is too early, he said, to make comments about the quality. He did tell us, however, that there was no foot treading this year at Tedo. It is too difficult to keep appropriate social distancing in the lagars. |
One of our very few autumn wine tours went to the Douro Valley in late October. All the winemakers we met agreed on one thing: the 2020 harvest was a challenge, and it was not mainly due to the pandemic but to the weather. During the winter they had quite a lot of rain, and it was much-needed. During the growing season, they had to fight both mildiou, a fungal disease, and then drought and heat that led to small, almost dried grapes. In the end, the volume was relatively small. The unique thing was, said Tiago Alves de Sousa at Quinta da Gaivosa, that despite the high sugar content in the grapes, the acidity was also very high. 2020 will be an interesting (potentially very good) year.
The Torres family in Catalonia gets good results with old grape varieties at high altitude
Pirene is a grape that almost disappeared with the phylloxera. But it has been replanted by the Torres family. The grape ripens late and can withstand both heat and drought, which, says Torres, makes it a “promising grape variety in a changing climate”. Pirene has proven to be particularly well suited for high altitude viticulture. |
The Torres family’s most spectacular winery is called Tremp and is located at an altitude of 950 meters up in the mountains, northwest of Barcelona. In the 1950s and 1960s, people made a living here from their vineyards, but they were hard to work and eventually they were abandoned. Torres planted new vines here a few years ago, around 100 hectares. The grapes are pinot noir, riesling, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, garnacha, tempranillo and a few more. Also, a number of forgotten grape varieties were planted as an experiment to see how they would do. Up here it is 7 C cooler, and the harvest is usually 2-3 weeks later. This year, the harvest in Tremp ended on October15. The last grapes harvested were an old variety called pirene.
Wine from California spreads sunshine in European restaurants in NovemberWine from California spreads sunshine in European restaurants in November Go here for more information on which countries and restaurants are participating in this event: www.californiawineweeks.com |
Harvest 2020 in the world: Fires, el niño and reduced sales, but records in some places
Argentina and Chile both had a reduction in volume due to severe weather conditions brought by El Niño. South Africa, on the other hand, finally returned to normal volumes after several years of drought. Australia’s harvest was low due to the bush fires in the country while there was a record harvest in New Zealand. |
On October 27, OIV Secretary-General Pau Roca presented the first estimates of the world wine production in 2020. Volumes in the EU were lower than the average as several regions deliberately reduced their harvest despite very favourable climatic conditions in many places. The reason for this is reduced demand and large stocks. The first harvest forecasts from the USA show figures in line with 2019, but there is significant uncertainty due to the fires in California. Many harvested grapes may never become wine.
Douro Valley: Tiago Alves de Sousa receives enology award
In September, Tiago received a fine award from the Port Wine Institute (IVDP) during the seventh edition of the Port Wine Day. Four different “Douro + Sustainable Awards” were given and the “Enology Award” went to Tiago for creativity, innovation and ambition. Congratulations Tiago! |
We meet many fantastic and talented winemakers on our wine tours around the world. (You can watch video interviews with many of them on
Trees and hedges in the vineyard pay off, results in less pests and less disease
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A large study that lasted for thirteen years shows that biodiversity in the vineyard is a good thing that pays off. If a vineyard is surrounded by hedges, trees and shrubs, the number of pests (insects bad for the vines) decreases significantly, e.g. the dreaded grape worm (vers de la grappe). The survey was conducted on 400 estates in Andalusia, Spain by the University of California, Davis. The properties with rich biodiversity used fewer insecticides and were less likely to suffer from reduced yield. Read more:
FeaturesArticles and features published on BKWine Magazine and on our wine travel blog and photography blog in the last month. |
“Vin méthode nature”, a definition of natural wine? No.
In much that has been written, one easily gets the impression that “vin méthode nature” is something that has the support of, or was even initiated by, French authorities. That is not the case. Read Per’s article on BKWine Magazine to learn the true story behind vin méthode nature: “Vin méthode nature”, the natural wine method, new private natural wine label, with fuzzy rules. Read more: On organic, natural and biodynamic wines in our book. |
There has been a lot of writing about “vin méthode nature”, the natural wine method, a new phenomenon in the French natural wine world. This has sometimes been affected by misconceptions or ambiguities, so here is an attempt to explain what “vin méthode nature”, the natural wine method, is and what its status is in France.
Pinot noir, a revered and feared grape variety
Read the full grape profile in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: Pinot noir seduces and challenges | grape profile | Britt on Forbes. This is the sixth article in our series on grape varieties. You find links to all in the article above. Travel: Discover all the nuances of pinot noir on a wine tour to Champagne or to New Zealand with BKWine. |
Pinot noir has a reputation for being a difficult grape, yet it is found in many places around the world. Maybe the grape isn’t so tricky after all if you free yourself from the idea that a pinot noir must taste like a Burgundy. Read on if you want to know what pinot noir wines from around the world taste like, and get to know the basics of growing and drinking this delicious grape. After all, it produces some of the world’s top wines, and they don’t have to be unreasonably expensive. Pinot noir is the star grape in Burgundy’s red wines and in Champagne. It is grown throughout Europe and in the New World. With its 112,000 hectares, it is the fifth most planted red grape in the world.
Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, October 2020
This month: Natural wines, the retsina grape from Greece, skin macerated from Slovenia, superb dry Jurançon wines, gamay from the very unusual Côte Roannaise, Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the warm and sunny 2009. Many unusual grapes this month, romorantin, camaralet, lauzet, negrette or folle noire as it is also called. Read all the comments, together with mouth-watering food pictures, in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: Uncorked: Good wines we have tasted recently, October 2020. |
Uncorked: Under this heading, we collect various wines that we have tasted, and liked, recently. It can be wines that we have had during dinner at home, at wine tastings, press lunches, visits to vineyards, or other occasions.
Campania Stories 2020, a great tasting of Campania’s wines
The Campania wine region is located in southwestern Italy and was already known in ancient Greece and during Roman times for its fine wines. Although the region is so far south, it is best known for its white wines; fiano, falanghina and greco, are three white grapes that account for 46 percent of total production. The region does not make much wine by Italian standards. In total, there are 26,000 hectares of vineyards, about four percent of Italy’s total area. Read more on these wines in Åsa Johansson’s article on BKWine Magazine: Campania Stories 2020, a great tasting of Campania’s wines. |
Campania Stories became Italy’s first major wine event after the country’s quarantine due to the corona pandemic. It was took place in early September. BKWine’s Åsa Johansson was on site and tasted the new vintages of the region’s many interesting wines.
Wine ToursSome information on our current and future wine tours. Book a wine tour with the “world’s top wine tour operator” today (or when you feel like travelling to wine country). |
Plan your wine tour in spring or autumn 2021: Bordeaux and ChampagneIn the spring of 2021, we offer exciting tours to our favourite wine regions in France. Of course, we do not yet know how spring will turn out, but if you are interested in a tour, please get in touch. The spring programme is available on our site and also some of the autumn tours. The programmes will be completed very soon. Bordeaux, a classic wine tour destination with a modern outlook
Wine tour to Bordeaux, April 21-25, Wine tour to Bordeaux, September 29 – October 3 (This autumn tour will also be offered in combination with the Champagne tour; more details will soon be available on our website) Champagne, a wide variety of styles
Wine tour to Champagne, May 19-23 Wine tour to Champagne, September 22-26 (this tour will also be offered in combination with the Bordeaux tour; more details will soon be available on our website) |
Bordeaux is a classic wine tour destination with luxurious chateaux but also smaller family-owned estates with ambitious and very talented winemakers. Bordeaux is a reference for the whole wine world. But today the Bordeaux producers need to fight to stay in the limelight. This makes the region all the more interesting. We will enjoy magnificent gastronomic meals at the chateaux. We will show you “the real” Bordeaux, not just the famous brand show-cases that others take you to.
Join us on a sparkling wine tour in Champagne and learn that this is so much more than something you toast in for a celebration. It is, above all, a high-quality wine. It goes very well with food, as you will discover during our magnificent champagne lunches. You will also get to know the wide variety of different champagne styles; we will visit big houses with impressive cellars and small, independent producers, often very creative and innovative. A Champagne tour like no other.
Sun and summer weather in the Southern Hemisphere, winter 2022 | wine tours with BKWineWe are just now planning our long-distance tours for 2022. We dare to hope that the pandemic is over by then and that all borders have been opened. Travelling to the southern hemisphere during our northern winter is a great change of scenery that we are probably all longing for. Our three New World tours take us to Chile-Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. These countries all offer magnificent landscapes, wines that are getting more and more extraordinary and wonderful wine people. If you are interested in any of these three trips, contact us with your questions. Chile and Argentina in January 2022
The programme for South America, Chile and Argentina 2022 is not entirely settled yet, but it will be similar to the South America wine trip 2021 South Africa in February 2022
The travel programme for South Africa 2022 is not entirely settled yet, but it will be similar to the South Africa wine trip 2021. New Zealand, March 2022
The programme for New Zealand 2022 is not entirely settled yet, but it will be similar to the New Zealand wine trip 2021. |
Our spectacular South American trip takes you to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, several of Chile’s exciting wine regions, Santiago and also to the mythical port city of Valparaiso. We visit vineyards up in the mountains and on the coast. Our bus takes us across the Andes, the impressive mountain range that separates Argentina from Chile. A journey to remember for a long time.
Discover the high-class wines in this charming and understated wine country. We visit the classics Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, but also exciting Walker Bay down on the south coast and trendy Swartland with its rebel winemakers. We taste the typical and spicy Malay cuisine and much more.
A fantastic 2-week trip that shows the whole of New Zealand, from Auckland down to Queenstown. A great experience. We taste a lot of wine, of course, we visit many of the country’s wine regions, famous Marlborough and spectacularly beautiful Central Otago not least. Still, we have time for nature experiences and some culture as well.
