BKWine Blog
Washington’s wine producers have summed up the 2020 vintage. The volume was slightly smaller than in 2019, but they are delighted with the quality. In addition to the pandemic, there were weather problems to deal
For as long as we can remember, the lucky winner of the Formula 1 races has celebrated with bottles of champagne. But not anymore. Ferrari Trentodoc has been named the Formula 1 race’s “Official Sparkling
Researchers continue to search for suitable yeasts that produce lower alcohol. Such yeast has already been identified, but a side effect is higher levels of glycerol in the wine, which is not always desirable. L’Institut
Philippe Bernard at Clos Saint Louis in Fixin in the Côte de Nuits has sent a greeting and some information about how the vine is on the brink of a new growing season. “2021 has
The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) was founded in 2019 by the Torres family in Spain, long-time environmentalists, and the Jackson Family Wines in California. The purpose of the association is to make the
The best springtime primeur is the white asparagus. Two weeks ago, in mid-March, asparagus from Les Landes, just south of Bordeaux, arrived at our food market (in Paris). In Les Landes, the asparagus grows in
Some people call them international varieties, but they are, in fact, French. These have increased in the world’s vineyards, from 29% of the global vineyard area in 2000 to today’s 39%. Most significant is the
South Africa’s acreage of chenin blanc is no longer declining as fast as before. There is hope that they will keep what is left of this fantastic grape and focus on its quality potential. Chenin
This is good news, among the bad, for the champagne industry. It turned out that people, after all, needed festive bubbles in the challenging year of 2020. Everybody thought that there would be a 30%
In 2020, the demand for wines in bag-in-box increased in several European countries. A survey conducted by Smurfit Kappa, a BiB manufacturer, and Wine Intelligence shows a large increase in BiB wines in France and
Water is vital for the vine. It should come in reasonable quantities. Whether it then comes naturally from above in the form of rain or from an irrigation system does not matter for the wine’s
Penfolds makes wine all over Australia. Now they are expanding their horizons overseas. For a few years now, they have been collaborating with Champagne Thiénot. The first joint champagne, a vintage 2012, was released in
In 2017, China imported 751 million litres of wine, a record figure for the country. In 2020, the volume was down to just over 430 million litres, a decrease of 43%. The pandemic has hit
Are there pesticide residues in wine? That’s become a hot topic in some media recently. We spoke with Matthieu Dubernet from Laboratoires Dubernet in Languedoc, who explained the rules for maximum residue levels (MRL) and
Despite major challenges (sales ban, export ban) for the South African wine industry in 2020, exports ended up at a phenomenal 319.2 million litres (3.2 Mhl). The vineyards have recovered well after the severe drought
It is interesting to look at the statistics showing how big a portion of the different wine regions in France is organically certified. The differences between the regions are partly due to climate and weather
The world’s largest wine producer, the American company Gallo, has become even larger. Recently, Gallo acquired US$ 810 million worth of wine brands from Constellation, another wine colossus. The 30 brands include well-known Ravenswood and
BKWine, or more precisely Britt and Per, have been appointed subject-matter experts or, if you like, subject-matter managers for all that relates to wine at the Nationalencyklopedin, the Swedish National Encyclopedia NE. You can in
Vines are also affected by viruses. The most difficult one in France since several decades back is court-noué, which is also found in other countries. In English, it is called grapevine fanleaf virus. It is
In South Africa, MCC, Méthode Cap Classic, is the fastest growing wine category, says Pieter Ferreira during a zoom conference. Pieter is South Africa’s guru of bubbly wine. He has been chief winemaker for 30
Amorim in Portugal is the world’s largest producer of wine cork stoppers. They sell 5.4 billion cork stoppers a year, both “natural” corks, which are extracted from a single cork strip, and “technical” corks, which
The huge South African producer Distell, with wine brands such as Pongracz, Two Oceans, Fleur du Cap and Neethlingshof, has sold one of its star properties, Plaisir de Merle in Paarl. We visited Plaisir de
Designers have a little more leeway to be creative when working with Bag-in-Box compared to bottles. In November, the best-designed Bag-in-Box was voted for in France. The organizers of the wine competition “Best Wine in
Relations between China and Australia have been strained for some time. At the end of November, China imposed import taxes on Australian wines of up to 212%, a major blow to the Australian wine industry.
The wine industry is very aware that it needs to adapt to cope with climate change. Champagne has been experimenting with lower planting density for some time. Champagne has a high planting density, 8000 vines
Emiliana in Chile, one of the world’s largest organic and biodynamic wine producers, is expanding. A completely new vineyard of almost 300 hectares, previously uncultivated land, will be planted in the Maule region. The grapes
Wine enthusiasts tend to like unusual grape varieties. What is unusual and common however, varies with time. The grape varieties that are the most grown today are not the same as 20 years ago. Since
No, your Bordeaux wine will not soon be made from other grape varieties, as some headlines have implied. Last year, producers in Bordeaux approved a proposal to experiment with grape varieties that have never been
If you cannot buy a vineyard, maybe adoption of a vine can be a (slightly cheaper) alternative? The Mayard family has 43 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape that are organically certified. You can now adopt some of
Many a bottle of port will be opened over Christmas. We recommend some of our favourites. Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port 2008 (~30 euro). Fonseca is one of the larger houses and is part of the
Washington’s wine producers have summed up the 2020 vintage. The volume was slightly smaller than in 2019, but they are delighted with the quality. In
For as long as we can remember, the lucky winner of the Formula 1 races has celebrated with bottles of champagne. But not anymore. Ferrari
Researchers continue to search for suitable yeasts that produce lower alcohol. Such yeast has already been identified, but a side effect is higher levels of
Philippe Bernard at Clos Saint Louis in Fixin in the Côte de Nuits has sent a greeting and some information about how the vine is
The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) was founded in 2019 by the Torres family in Spain, long-time environmentalists, and the Jackson Family Wines in
The best springtime primeur is the white asparagus. Two weeks ago, in mid-March, asparagus from Les Landes, just south of Bordeaux, arrived at our food
Some people call them international varieties, but they are, in fact, French. These have increased in the world’s vineyards, from 29% of the global vineyard
South Africa’s acreage of chenin blanc is no longer declining as fast as before. There is hope that they will keep what is left of
This is good news, among the bad, for the champagne industry. It turned out that people, after all, needed festive bubbles in the challenging year
In 2020, the demand for wines in bag-in-box increased in several European countries. A survey conducted by Smurfit Kappa, a BiB manufacturer, and Wine Intelligence
Water is vital for the vine. It should come in reasonable quantities. Whether it then comes naturally from above in the form of rain or
Penfolds makes wine all over Australia. Now they are expanding their horizons overseas. For a few years now, they have been collaborating with Champagne Thiénot.
In 2017, China imported 751 million litres of wine, a record figure for the country. In 2020, the volume was down to just over 430
Are there pesticide residues in wine? That’s become a hot topic in some media recently. We spoke with Matthieu Dubernet from Laboratoires Dubernet in Languedoc,
Despite major challenges (sales ban, export ban) for the South African wine industry in 2020, exports ended up at a phenomenal 319.2 million litres (3.2
It is interesting to look at the statistics showing how big a portion of the different wine regions in France is organically certified. The differences
The world’s largest wine producer, the American company Gallo, has become even larger. Recently, Gallo acquired US$ 810 million worth of wine brands from Constellation,
BKWine, or more precisely Britt and Per, have been appointed subject-matter experts or, if you like, subject-matter managers for all that relates to wine at
Vines are also affected by viruses. The most difficult one in France since several decades back is court-noué, which is also found in other countries.
In South Africa, MCC, Méthode Cap Classic, is the fastest growing wine category, says Pieter Ferreira during a zoom conference. Pieter is South Africa’s guru
Amorim in Portugal is the world’s largest producer of wine cork stoppers. They sell 5.4 billion cork stoppers a year, both “natural” corks, which are
The huge South African producer Distell, with wine brands such as Pongracz, Two Oceans, Fleur du Cap and Neethlingshof, has sold one of its star
Designers have a little more leeway to be creative when working with Bag-in-Box compared to bottles. In November, the best-designed Bag-in-Box was voted for in
Relations between China and Australia have been strained for some time. At the end of November, China imposed import taxes on Australian wines of up
The wine industry is very aware that it needs to adapt to cope with climate change. Champagne has been experimenting with lower planting density for
Emiliana in Chile, one of the world’s largest organic and biodynamic wine producers, is expanding. A completely new vineyard of almost 300 hectares, previously uncultivated
Wine enthusiasts tend to like unusual grape varieties. What is unusual and common however, varies with time. The grape varieties that are the most grown
No, your Bordeaux wine will not soon be made from other grape varieties, as some headlines have implied. Last year, producers in Bordeaux approved a
If you cannot buy a vineyard, maybe adoption of a vine can be a (slightly cheaper) alternative? The Mayard family has 43 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Many a bottle of port will be opened over Christmas. We recommend some of our favourites. Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port 2008 (~30 euro). Fonseca is
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