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Origin or grape variety or traditions?
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I recently read that wine investors are buying a lot of wine at the moment. They fear that the specific character of various wines will soon be a thing of the past, that new weather patterns and new, hardy grape varieties will change the taste and style of their favourite wines.
Of course, wine styles have changed regularly during the long history of wine. If we take the last 50 years, we have had to get used to a wide range of changes, most of them positive. So, changes don’t have to be seen as a threat. Rather the opposite.
The identity crisis of Bordeaux, Burgundy or Brunello and other famous wines are still some way off. But that doesn’t mean that identity isn’t important. Because how do we choose a wine? Maybe because it is cheap or because you have drunk the wine before and know that you like it. But many people buy an origin, a burgundy, bordeaux, chianti, rioja, etc., because they have a hunch about the different styles. (We use lower case when we talk about the wine – a glass of bordeaux – and upper case when we talk about the geography – a wine tour to Bordeaux.)
A geographic origin on the label is of great help to the consumers. An origin is easier to remember than the names of the countless wine producers out there.
France created the wine appellations to protect an origin, to protect the producers who grow their grapes in a specific area. To prevent any unscrupulous producer from using grapes from other places. Some years later, rules were added about grape varieties and other things so as to not only protect the origin but also “a character that gives the wine its distinctiveness”, as Joseph Capus said, one of the men behind the French appellation rules. He gave the wines a common identity.
A stated origin gives a product a certain aura of exclusivity. This applies to food as well as to wine. Benin, an African country, has just received a geographical indication (GI) for its pineapple, which will hugely increase the status of that pineapple. The value of an agricultural product that has a GI increases by 40% writes The Economist. The consumer will be intrigued by a protected origin. I bought a black pepper from Kampot (Cambodia) this week because it has a PGI.
France occasionally creates new AOP regions. I recently met Laurent Brusset who owns Domaine Brusset in Cairanne in the southern Rhône Valley. He is also president of the wine growers’ association in the village. Cairanne became “cru” (a word used to signify that it has its own appellation) in 2016. For nine years, Laurent worked to make this happen. Experts came and analysed the soil, tasted the wines; then a new group of experts came and did the same…. In the end, everything went well, and for Laurent, it was a great satisfaction to see “Cairanne” on the label instead of the long, cumbersome Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne.
AOP laws are sometimes criticised for not being flexible enough, especially now that climate change may require quick decisions.
You can, of course, have a stated origin without detailed rules, as most New World countries. We are, however, used to seeing the grape variety on the label, which means we still know (at least vaguely) what we can expect from the wine. I remember being confronted with a wine from Franschhoek in South Africa without a grape variety. I felt utterly lost. What kind of wine was this? That might have been the case in France if Monsieur Capus had not got his way. Imagine opening a bottle of bordeaux and not knowing what grapes it is made of? A good thought exercise for the future, perhaps.
More traditions
We also have traditions in the wine industry. This Tuesday, we had a particular date, February 22nd. It will be 2022-02-22, or in the American model, 22-02-2022, a palindrome (which, with the right font, is identical upside down). It gets even better because it was a “Twosday”. But the best thing is that you are now reading the bilingual BKWine Brief number 222, the February Brief! We wrote the very first Brief in May 2003. In other words, a long tradition.
But not only that, we launched Sweden’s first website about wine already in 1996. We have been at it for a while… (Although maybe we shouldn’t emphasise that.) It was Sweden’s first wine site and one of the first wine sites and wine blogs in the world. Even before that, we published a printed newsletter in Swedish called VinNytt (Wine News). The first issue, 1995, was about which wines go with French Christmas food (and much more).
And if you want to go even further back, to 1979, I (Per) made a newsletter about wine called (in Swedish) Collegialt, a membership magazine for the wine club CVP-Vincollegiet at KTH (my university/”grande école”).
And today, the tradition continues.
Travel
You still have the opportunity to book a wonderful wine tour in the autumn to inspect traditions in two of France’s most famous wine regions on site. Book now!
- Champagne
- Bordeaux
- Champagne & Bordeaux combined
And more exotic, but also very traditional, are of course the winter tours to the southern hemisphere:
- Chile & Argentina
- South Africa
- New Zealand
Travel to the wine regions with an experienced and knowledgeable wine tour operator. You know who. ;-)
If you want to discover the best in the wine regions and get some unforgettable memories, travel with one of the most experienced and most knowledgeable wine tour operators.
More info on our wine tours here.
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 20-24, 2022
- Champagne, May 4-8, 2022
- Bordeaux and Champagne, Sept 28 – Oct 6, 2022
- Champagne, Sept 28 – Oct 2, 2022
- Bordeaux, October 2-6, 2022
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- Chile-Argentina, January 16-29, 2023
- South Africa, February 8-18, 2023
- New Zealand, March 15-30, 2023
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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 wine tours are different from others.
A typical year we organise more than 30 wine tours to destinations across the world. In Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and more. World-wide: South Africa, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand. Thanks to our Scandinavian background we have a separate offer for the Scandinavian market. These are sometimes offered in English and also available as custom made tours. For example, these destinations:
Read our books
We have written eleven wine books. They have won awards from the Gourmand Awards, The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and others.
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:
Here’s the full list of our books:
- The Wonderful World of Wine
- Languedoc-Roussillon, the Wines of Southern France
- Champagne, the Wine and the Growers
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News from the World of Wine
Short briefs on what’s been happening in the world of wine recently and other interesting things.
Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, a long-awaited wine fair
On February 14-16, Wine Paris, a large wine fair, took place after two years of absence. We saw many happy faces. Exhibitors and visitors alike were glad to meet each other again in real life. 2,864 exhibitors met 25,739 professional visitors, 28% of whom were foreigners from 109 different countries. The five largest non-French countries were Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States. Wine Paris took place for the first time in 2019 and is a merger of Montpellier’s wine fair Vinisud and Vinexpo, previously held in Bordeaux. The collaboration seems to be going well, and everything worked perfectly during the three days of the fair. The next edition of Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris will be held on February 13-15, 2023. Read more about our visit to Wine Paris.
Wagram is Austria’s 17th DAC, and it will include phenomenal grape roter veltliner
Wagram has become the 17th DAC region in Austria. Wagram DAC wines are divided into three different categories of origin: Gebietswein (regional wine), Ortswein (village wine) and Riedenwein (wine from a single vineyard). At the Gebietswein level, the traditional range of 13 permitted grape varieties, white and red, is maintained. For Ortswein, there are 27 protected designations of origin. The number of grape varieties allowed is reduced to seven. These wines must be single grape wines. The top of the pyramid is Riedenwein, wines from a single vineyard. Grüner veltliner, roter veltliner and riesling are permitted grapes. Roter veltliner is a rare but fascinating grape, and despite the name, it is not related to grüner veltliner. All the DAC wines must be dry and under no circumstances have a pronounced oaky tone. All this applies from vintage 2021. Read more: AustrianWine
“Natural wine” fair by VinNatur in Italy in April
VinNatur in Italy is organising its annual natural wine fair on April 9-11 in Gambellara in Veneto. It is the seventeenth edition of this wine fair! The association certifies around 200 natural wine producers. VinNatur is a highly ambitious association that do extensive research and educational activities to teach its members the best methods for producing wines with no or few additives and process aids. And, of course, how to work the vineyard as environmentally friendly as possible.
170 winemakers from eight different countries (in addition to Italy also from France, Spain, Greece, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia) will be present during the fair in April. A golden opportunity to meet natural wine producers, taste their wines and hear them tell their stories. Read more: VinNatur
The wine grower’s challenges in the vineyard 2022
In the French wine magazine Vitisphere, we read about the five most significant challenges facing the winegrowers in the vineyard in 2022. These are not new challenges, but some have become more difficult.
- Mildiou and oidium: two fungal diseases that winegrowers struggle to contain more or less every year. 2021 was extremely difficult and showed the importance of being attentive, choosing the right products for spraying and in the right quantity.
- Weeds: Many herbicides have been banned or restricted in France. More and more winegrowers are getting used to removing weeds mechanically. Or do not remove it at all.
- Sustainability labels: to meet the requirements, more and more bio protection is used. However, not everything in this category is effective but new, and some promising products are on the way to market.
- Flavescence dorée: a bacterial disease spread by a grasshopper. The disease is seen more and more in France. Young plants can die, and older ones weaken. In France, spraying is mandatory if you have infected vines.
- Protect the neighbours: It is now mandatory to inform your neighbours that you intend to spray your vineyards. Could be a hassle if you have many neighbours.
Read more: Vitisphere
Why are so many rosés in transparent bottles? Is it bad for the wine?
Many rosé wines are bottled in clear glass bottles instead of coloured (green or brown) glass. The producers want to show off the beautiful colour of the rosé wines. Rosé wines owe a lot of their success to the colour. Sometimes it is even more important than the taste (oh yes, we’ve heard producer talking about buyers who only care about the colour). But a clear bottle lets through more UV (ultra violet) light, affecting both the colour and the aromas. A research report shows that colour decreases in intensity after a few months of storage under fluorescent light (maybe in a supermarket) and even more so if the bottle is clear. Storage in the dark showed no significant effect on the colour.
The aromas in the rosé wine are also affected depending on how it is stored. The most important thing to preserve the aromas in the rosé wine is to keep the bottles in the dark. Not surprisingly, the experiments show that storage at high temperature in a clear bottle and in a brightly lit room have much more impact on the aromas than low temperature and darkness.
Read more about the exciting experiments here: Winetech
Quinta de Chocapalha from Sandra Tavares, acclaimed winemaker in Portugal
In February, the wine monopoly in Sweden launched a wine from acclaimed winemaker Sandra Tavares in Portugal. We take that as an excuse to tell you about Sandra’s delicious wines since her wines are widely distributed both in Europe and in the US. The new launch was Quinta de Chocapalha Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. It comes from Sandra’s parents’ wine estate outside Lisbon. Her parents saw the potential for cabernet sauvignon and planted the vines more than 30 years ago. Now it’s Sandra who makes the wine.
Sandra is better known for her Douro Valley wines, where she and her husband run Wine & Soul. They make mainly Douro wines but also some extraordinary port wines. I strongly recommend all their wines. Look, for instance, for the white and red Manoella, the white Guru, the reds Pintas and Pintas Character and the Vintage Port 2018.
Exciting wine job opportunities in Dijon with OIV
OIV, International Organization of Vine and Wine, often appears in what we write. They have lots of interesting info. (And has given us great awards which we are very proud of for several of our books). They will now move from Paris (triste époque!) to new impressive headquarters in Dijon. In connection with that, they are looking to recruit people. So if you want to work with wine in an international environment, this may be something for you. The principal function of the OIV is the creation of internationally harmonised and accepted standards for the production of vitivincultural products, a very important role in today’s world of wine. This is what they are looking for:
- Head of viticultural Unit
- Head of oenological Unit
- Head of Safety and Health Unit
- Data Manager
- Secretariat Scientific and Technical Department
More information here: OIV. Deadline is April 1.
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Features of the Month
Articles and features published on BKWine Magazine and on our wine travel blog and (occasionally) photography blog in the last month.
Big challenges ahead; will the young stop drinking wine? | Per on Forbes
2021 has been a good year for the US wine industry, even great for some. Sales have, in some sales channels, recovered from the difficult 2020. This is one of the conclusions from the Silicon Valley Bank US Wine Industry Report 2022. However, there are several serious challenges looming in the future. Younger generations are not so keen on wine. The wine drinking cohort is ageing. Climate change is also a threat, not least when it affects the water availability for the wine growers. Does this matter for all of us in Europe and in the rest of the world? Yes, it does.
Read more in Per’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: The US wine industry in 2021 did well or great, say many, but huge challenges are coming, according to The Silicon Valley Bank Wine Report | Per on Forbes.
Challengers and classicists: pinot meunier vs. chardonnay at Champagne Romain Tribaut
Everyone who tastes wine knows that you learn more if you compare two, or more, wines at the same time. You will often discover things you wouldn’t find if you taste the wines separately. It does not have to mean that you must figure out which one you prefer. But rather to discover the differences. Champagne Romain Tribaut is a new small Champagne house, founded in 2015. However, winegrowing has been in the family for more than 100 years. The house today makes 35,000 bottles. Recently, Romain Tribaut launched two champagnes, a duo, which he named “Les Opposés”, the opposites. Pinot meunier and chardonnay.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: The Opposites: Chardonnay and Meunier as interpreted by Champagne Romain Tribaut.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Champagne with BKWine.
Delicious wines from Vignobles & Signatures
In today’s tough competition, a little help from friends and colleagues doesn’t hurt. Therefore, wine producers sometimes form associations or clubs with like-minded people. Vignobles & Signatures was created in 1984 after an impromptu meeting between six different producers at the Bordeaux wine fair Vinexpo. Today, the club consists of 17 French wine families, with several generations of winegrowers behind them. The idea is that they should complement each other. They come from all over France but only one from each wine district. We have tasted some of the members’ wines from Roussillon, Saint-Emilion, Pouilly-Fumé, Chablis, Champagne and Jurançon.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: Vignobles & Signatures, a club of 17 French wine families that joined forces.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to France with BKWine.
Wine from New York: Ravines Wine Cellar in Finger Lakes | Britt on Forbes
It can be quite cold in Finger Lakes in western New York. It used to be popular to plant the American grapevine Vitis labrusca here since it is can take the low temperatures. The unfortunate thing is that they wines are not always particularly good. But since the 60s, when a pioneer started to grow quality grapes there, Vitis vinifera, the wine-fame of the region has grown. Ravines Wine Cellars is one of the producers who have been very successful with some “European” cold-climate grapes. Britt met with the founder of Ravines, Morten Hallgren, and tasted and talked about his wines.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: Ravines Wine Cellars in Finger Lakes: freshness from a cool climate | Britt on Forbes.
Small-scale German wines from Baden, Franken, Pfalz and Württemberg
We don’t have the opportunity very often to taste German wines, but when we do, we always enjoy it. Recently we tasted a selection of whites and reds from small, family-owned producers in the regions of Baden, Franconia, Württemberg and Palatinate. A new Swedish wine importer has carefully selected the producers. The wines offered an exciting spectrum of different characters. And it showed how German wines have developed in recent years.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: Small-scale German wines from Baden, Franken, Pfalz and Württemberg.
The environmentally friendly cork stopper and why we should preserve the cork oak forest | Britt on Forbes
The cork oak is a unique tree. It gives us not only wine corks – still the world’s most popular closure – but also a forest habitat with tremendous biological diversity. A diversity we should try to preserve. What can we do to help more than buy bottles with cork closure? We can, for example, recycle the corks when we’ve finished the bottles. But not only that!
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: The environmentally friendly cork stopper and why we should preserve the cork oak forest | Britt on Forbes.
Back to normal in the wine industry with Wine Paris/VinExpo as a great success? | Per on Forbes
Just recently Wine Paris-Vinexpo took place in Paris. It is one of the world’s biggest wine shows, in competition with Vinitaly in Verona and ProWein in Düsseldorf. We were of course there. There were a good number of exhibitors and more visitors than I expected. It was, of course, not quite like “before” but the show seemed to have been a great success. And it felt almost as if we were back to “normal”, to the good old times. Let’s hope it is the start for that. Here are my impressions.
Read more in Per’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: Back to normal in the wine industry with Wine Paris/VinExpo as a great success? | Per on Forbes.
The Jura makes some of France’s most unique wines, including vin jaune and chardonnay | Britt on Forbes
Jura is a small wine region with a large selection of different wines. They can be red, white, rosé, sweet and sparkling. Here we also find the unique yellow wine, vin jaune. Their chardonnay wines are made in a singularly unique style. In the Jura, uniformity is not in the vocabulary. More and more wine consumers are discovering the wines of Jura, not least outside of France. The wines have a character that appeals to wine enthusiasts, the young, the natural wine lovers and more. It is still an unknown wine region to many. 80% of the wines are sold locally. But things are slowly changing.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: The Jura makes some of France’s most unique wines, including vin jaune and chardonnay | Britt on Forbes.
New series: BKWine Tastes: Bordeaux and Burgundy | February 2022
Today we introduce a new series: “BKWine Tastes”. It is a collection of wines we have tasted recently. It is often samples that producers have sent us to show us what they do, or other bottles that we have come across at tastings or on our tasting table in the office. This month it is three different Bordeaux wines and one Burgundy. The first Bordeaux is Ceres, an experimental wine from one of the well-known producers, Claire Villars (of Château Haut Bages Libéral). The second is Château Branas Grand Poujeaux, a fairly new project following an acquisition. The third is a rebranded and rejuvenated second wine of the famous Saint Emilion chateau Franc Mayne. And to finish we contrast that with a burgundy from a very talented producer, Frédéric Magnien.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine: BKWine Tastes: Bordeaux and Burgundy | February 2022.
Domaine Franck Chavy, innovative Beaujolais producer in Morgon | Britt on Forbes
Beaujolais wine is much more varied in style than one often thinks. It can be light and refreshing, but it can also be complex and subtle. It can be made with carbonic maceration but it can even be oak aged. A recent tasting with an extensive range of wines from Franck Chavy in Morgon illustrates it beautifully. Britt met with Frank and tasted his wines, the classic thirst-quenching style but also oak-aged and with no added sulphur.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: Domaine Franck Chavy, innovative Beaujolais producer in Morgon | Britt on Forbes.
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Wine Tours
Details 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).
Treat yourself to an unforgettable experience in the beautiful wine-lands together with some of the most knowledgeable wine people around. Book now!
A classic wine destination but more exciting than ever –the wine tour to Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a classic wine tour destination with luxurious châteaux, small, family-owned estates and passionate wine people. A reference for the whole wine world. Magnificent gastronomic meals at the châteaux. It is the region against many others measure their quality, a kind of standard for prestige wines. It is the origin of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and , of course, of the original “Bordeaux blend”. But it is a region that has much more depth than what one might think. The city itself is one of Frances biggest, on the list of top-ten, but small enough so that you can walk almost anywhere. Among the vineyards, you find some of the world’s most famous and beautiful chateaux, but also many small family properties. There is almost 7000 wine producers in Bordeaux so it is impossible to know them all. But you can join us and meet some of the best. Learn all about Bordeaux on a wine tour with us. And taste the “original” cabernet and merlot wines.
- Wine tour to Bordeaux, October 2-6, 2022 (This autumn tour will also be offered in combination with the Champagne tour)
Book now: your wine tour with BKWine!
The Champagne wine tour: a special sparkling wine from steep slopes in northern France
What makes Champagne so special? You will have the answer to that after our tour in Champagne. You will learn through visits to both large houses and small growers, through fascinating tastings and 100 % champagne lunches. You will get to know some of the many small villages that make up the appellation of Champagne. They are surrounded by vineyard slopes, some of the quite steep. In Champagne, France’s most northern wine region, the vines need all the sunshine they can get. Some say it is the chalky soil – also known from the Cliffs of Dover – but that is a simplification. Champagne has many soils, giving many different styles to the wines. One also often hear that it is pinot noir and chardonnay that are they key grapes. Not quite true either. Pinot meunier is starting to get the credit it deserves for the great wines it can produce. You will get to experience this and much more in Champagne with us.
- Wine Tour to Champagne, September 28-October 2, 2022 (This autumn tour will also be offered in combination with the Bordeaux tour)
Book now: your wine tour with BKWine!
PS: We have written a ground-breaking book about Champagne so we have a bit of a clue of what we’re talking about.
The Grand Wine Tour to Champagne and Bordeaux: from north to south, some of France’s best wines
Instead of choosing between Champagne and Bordeaux, you can go to both. This Grand Wine Tour is a 9-day tour where you will get to know both these two prestigious, classical French wine regions. We start in Reims in Champagne, with its stunning Cathedral, UNESCO heritage. After four nights and three days immersed in champagne, we continue with the fast train (TGV) to Bordeaux where famous chateaux await us. The wine producers we meet will treat us both to gorgeous wines and fabulous gastronomy. We will have a few dinners together but you will also have time to stroll and discover these two beautiful cities in the evenings. Bordeaux is one of the most beautiful cities in France.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to visit France’s two most famous wine regions in one very enjoyable go.
- Wine tour to Champagne and Bordeaux, September 28 – October 6, 2022
Book now: your wine tour with BKWine!
PS: We have written a ground-breaking book about Champagne, and also one on Bordeaux, so we have a bit of a clue of what we’re talking about.
Argentina and Chile 2023, the wine tour that will give you magnificent memories, and fabulous wines and gastronomy
Our wine tour to South America will give you many memories to take back home. It could be that lunch in Chile under the avocado tree. Or when we blend our own wine and feel like winemakers for a few hours. When we cross the Andes by bus and stop for lunch at an altitude of 3000 meters (9000 ft) in the clean, clear and cool air. The meat on the barbecue that makes your mouth water. The majestic Pacific Ocean in Viña del Mar. The tango night in Buenos Aires.
Both Argentina and Chile will offer us breath-taking experiences, both in terms of wine, food, nature and people. The wines today, in both countries, are superb. The producers learn more and more about their terroir and their specific growing conditions. You will hear all about the latest developments.
Join us on our wine tour to South America!
- Wine tour to Chile-Argentina, January 16-29, 2023
Book now: your wine tour with BKWine!
South Africa Wine Tour 2023: a perfect climate, beautiful scenery and wonderful wines
It is nice and warm in South Africa in February. Not too warm, though. We will thrive just as the vines do in this country. The grapes can ripen properly but without being overripe. The wines have acidity and structure. To the fine climate, we can add a spectacular landscape, with stunning mountain ranges in different colours running across the wine regions.
Of course, we will also take the cable car to Table Mountain (it IS flat on the top) and admire the view of Cape Town and the Ocean. The whole tour, actually, is filled with beautiful scenery. We will visit classic wine regions such as Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, and also the newcomers Elgin and Overberg, and Swartland. Here in Swartland, they used to make mostly bulk wines and fortified wines, but now it is a trendy haunt for a young, dynamic generation of winemakers. Really exciting.
Discover South Africa on a wine tour with us.
- Wine tour to South Africa, February 8-18, 2023
Book now: your wine tour with BKWine!
Exciting encounters with wine people: The wine tour to New Zealand 2023
A wine tour is about meeting wine people, taking a closer look at the vineyards, tasting wine together, about food and wine in combination. This is the case also on our tour to New Zealand. We will have time to visit around 20 different wineries, and everyone we meet will have something new and exciting to tell us. It is such a young wine country so we might even meet some of the legends that some decades ago launched the wine industry onto its path to the world fame it now has.
We will visit some of the famous wine regions but also some more unknown ones, a little further away, such as the exciting Awatere in Marlborough. Some of the wine world’s most beautiful vineyards are on the program. And much more, like the capital Wellington, geysers in Rotorua, Maori culture, seals, lobsters, and more.
Join us on our New Zealand tour, a great adventure.
- Wine tour to New Zealand, March 15-30, 2023
