Author: Britt Karlsson

Maker of World’s Top Wine Tours. On WBI’s Power List of wine journalists. Wine Profile of the Year 2011. We’ve been named World’s Top Wine Tours by Travel + Leisure Magazine. We’ve written a wine book that won the award World’s Best Wine Book for Professionals and another that’s been awarded Best Wine Book in Sweden for Professionals. We had (probably) the first web site on wine in Scandinavia in 1996. We publish one of the most read independent wine newsletters on wine. And lots of other things we’re proud of too.
Beaujolais nouveau 2023 from Jean Foillard with 11.6% alcohol

Can a de-alcoholised wine equal the original?

The EU now allows de-alcoholised wines to use geographical designations of origin (IGP, AOP, etc.). But it is up to each country’s appellations to decide whether to allow it in their local rules. It is

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 245, January 2024

— How many fruits, flowers and adjectives do you want? — It is quite difficult to describe flavours so that others can understand. Flavours, especially when it comes to wine, are mostly described with similes.

Vinonista wines from Italy

A handful of delicious and very Italian wines from Vinonista

Vinonista is a Swedish wine importer that has specialised in Italian wines from small producers. Vinonista primarily sells its wines through the so-called “on order range” (or assortment, as the Swedes like to say, “ordersortimentet”

Harvesting oak bark for cork, Alentejo, Portugal

France revives its cork oak forests

The fact that France has extensive oak forests is widely known, oak used for all the barrels. But France also has cork oaks. Once upon a time, there was a thriving industry around products from

Vineyards on Etna, Sicily

Etna, a future DOCG?

The red wines from Etna DOC have taken the wine world by storm in recent years. The elegant and flavourful nerello mascalese grape from the mighty and very active volcano is an exciting new acquaintance.

Vineyard landscape in Penedes in Catalonia, Spain

DO Penedès to be 100% organic by 2025

Catalan DO Penedès is just south of Barcelona. The region was a pioneer of organic viticulture in Spain 40 years ago. It was decided some time ago that the entire appellation would be organically grown

Rosé port made into a ”port tonic” at Quinta do Tedo, Douro Valley, Portugal

Innovative port wine producers find new customers

All wine regions need new customers. But global consumption is shrinking and if the global wine consumption continues to fall, consumers will become fewer and fewer. I just returned back home after 10 days in

Pinot noir bunches on the vine just before harvest in Alsace

Is pinot noir the future of Alsace?

Riesling is the flagship grape of Alsace, along with gewurztraminer. But the latter is no longer profitable to produce and the riesling harvests are getting smaller and smaller due to warmer weather. How will this

Lo Petit Fantet d’Hippolyte, Pierre Bories, a natural wine with a funny and cute label

What are young wine drinkers looking for?

We hear it all the time nowadays: young people don’t drink wine. The wine industry is worried, in Europe and the USA. Sowine, a French consulting firm, has conducted a study on what French wine

Ripe syrah in the vineyard at Unison Vineyard, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

New Zealand is much more than just sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon blanc is the primary grape in the New Zealand vineyards. But several other grapes do very well in the country. If you travel around the different regions, you realise that the variety in wine

The small town of Tain l'Hermitage and the Hill on the Rhone river

BKWine Tastes: Red and white from the Rhône Valley

The Rhône Valley has an enormous wealth of wines to offer. You will find wines here for most occasions. We have recently tasted wines from three prestigious appellations in the northern Rhône, Hermitage, Côte Rôtie

A “venenciador” sampling wine from barrel at Bodegas Toro Albala in Montilla-Moriles

Sweet delights, wines for Christmas

Sweet Christmas delights can be chocolate, marrons glacés or a sweet wine. Here are some last-minute recommendations and inspiration. Christmas is not quite complete without a sweet wine, often fortified, to go with the blue

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 244, December 2023

— Not yet time to abandon the New World — In the US, the big news from the wine world this week has been that the American Court of Master Sommeliers is said to have

Britt Karlsson and Per Karlsson, BKWine

BKWine Brief nr 245, January 2024

— How many fruits, flowers and adjectives do you want? — It is quite difficult to describe flavours so that others can understand. Flavours, especially

Vineyards on Etna, Sicily

Etna, a future DOCG?

The red wines from Etna DOC have taken the wine world by storm in recent years. The elegant and flavourful nerello mascalese grape from the

Pinot noir bunches on the vine just before harvest in Alsace

Is pinot noir the future of Alsace?

Riesling is the flagship grape of Alsace, along with gewurztraminer. But the latter is no longer profitable to produce and the riesling harvests are getting

A “venenciador” sampling wine from barrel at Bodegas Toro Albala in Montilla-Moriles

Sweet delights, wines for Christmas

Sweet Christmas delights can be chocolate, marrons glacés or a sweet wine. Here are some last-minute recommendations and inspiration. Christmas is not quite complete without

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