BKWine Blog
In 2022, France saw the creation of 1,444 new wine estates, an increase of 3% compared to 2021. The winegrowers represent 10% of the 14,132 new agricultural estates started in 2022. These winegrowers operate an
Fires in wine regions cause damage to vineyards in different ways. The ripe grapes in vineyards near the fire can be damaged by smoke, which can affect the taste of the wine and, in the
The French company Sun’Agri, a pioneer in ”agrivoltaism”, has just come out with an exciting report. Agrivoltaism involves installing solar panels on top of agricultural crops. It has proven to be interesting also for vineyards.
After three peculiar years, sales of champagne are now returning to the level they had before the pandemic. Sales in 2023 amounted to 299 million bottles, a decrease of 8.2% compared to 2022. Champagne sales
The UK had a bumper year in 2023, producing between 20 and 22 million bottles of wine, 50% more than the previous record. The harvest yield was high (almost 10,000 kg/ha, approx. 65hl/ha), the bunches
It’s been a while since I drank non-alcoholic wine. Still, given that I’ve heard positive things about them recently, I was surprised when I looked through the range at Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly wine stores,
Vintage 2023 (harvested in Feb-Apr 2023) produced wines of excellent quality in South Africa. But the volume was less than in 2022, so it is perhaps not so surprising that South African wine exports in
The grape varieties that wine producers use today have naturally mutated over time. Researchers have selected the best mutations (clones) based on several criteria, e.g. plant vigour or resistance to certain diseases. In the future,
When the New World began to compete with France in some export markets around 30 years ago, there was a lot of talk about the reluctance of the French to put the grape name on
Champagne Bollinger’s flagship Vieilles Vignes Françaises (VVF) is made in ever smaller quantities. The grapes come from vines planted franc de pied, a French expression for planted on its own roots. Thus, these vines are
There is a lot of talk about fungal diseases, which are a real problem for winegrowers (powdery mildew/oidium, downy mildew/mildiou and others). But other diseases in the vineyard are also serious. One is flavescence dorée
Langlois-Château, a wine estate close to Saumur in the Loire Valley, makes Crémant de Loire, a sparkling wine hugely popular. The house has now changed its name and is called only Langlois. The word Chateau
The new EU law concerning the list of ingredients for wine entered into force on 8 December this year. But do not look for it on the bottles just yet. The law applies to wines
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
The UGCB, Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, is an exclusive association for the classified châteaux of Bordeaux (the 1855 classification in Médoc and Sauternes and the classifications in Graves and Saint Emilion), as well
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
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.
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
Last year, Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand became the twelfth member of the Great Wine Capitals of the World. Great Wine Capitals is a global network consisting of 12 of the world’s great wine regions.
It is hard to believe that it is true. And maybe it is not. But Decanter is our source and it is a serious wine magazine so it is probably true. According to them, Champagne
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
A new report provides an interesting insight into the world of French wine cooperatives. The cooperatives do not get big headlines in newspapers, but they are very important for the wine industry. The cooperatives produce
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
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
On our Austria tour in September, we visited Birgit Braunstein in Burgenland, a biodynamic producer and tasted some of her delicious wines. Her focus is on sustainability, and her entire range is bottled in bottles
Many European countries (including Sweden) drink and appreciate South African wines. It has been that way ever since Sweden and other countries started importing the wines again after the fall of the apartheid regime in
Oak ageing is closely associated with quality wines, and the French barrel makers are masters at producing the oak barrels wanted by the entire wine world. After several difficult years affected by fires in California
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
We have tasted some rare grape varieties recently when we were on a wine tasting tour around the country. We want to share this experience with you and recommend a few wines. Maybe you will
Once, a while back, I was harvesting grapes in the middle of the night. It was in Cachapoal in Chile. We had headlamps to see what we were doing and to avoid as much as
In 2022, France saw the creation of 1,444 new wine estates, an increase of 3% compared to 2021. The winegrowers represent 10% of the 14,132
Fires in wine regions cause damage to vineyards in different ways. The ripe grapes in vineyards near the fire can be damaged by smoke, which
The French company Sun’Agri, a pioneer in ”agrivoltaism”, has just come out with an exciting report. Agrivoltaism involves installing solar panels on top of agricultural
After three peculiar years, sales of champagne are now returning to the level they had before the pandemic. Sales in 2023 amounted to 299 million
The UK had a bumper year in 2023, producing between 20 and 22 million bottles of wine, 50% more than the previous record. The harvest
It’s been a while since I drank non-alcoholic wine. Still, given that I’ve heard positive things about them recently, I was surprised when I looked
Vintage 2023 (harvested in Feb-Apr 2023) produced wines of excellent quality in South Africa. But the volume was less than in 2022, so it is
The grape varieties that wine producers use today have naturally mutated over time. Researchers have selected the best mutations (clones) based on several criteria, e.g.
When the New World began to compete with France in some export markets around 30 years ago, there was a lot of talk about the
Champagne Bollinger’s flagship Vieilles Vignes Françaises (VVF) is made in ever smaller quantities. The grapes come from vines planted franc de pied, a French expression
There is a lot of talk about fungal diseases, which are a real problem for winegrowers (powdery mildew/oidium, downy mildew/mildiou and others). But other diseases
Langlois-Château, a wine estate close to Saumur in the Loire Valley, makes Crémant de Loire, a sparkling wine hugely popular. The house has now changed
The new EU law concerning the list of ingredients for wine entered into force on 8 December this year. But do not look for it
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
The UGCB, Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, is an exclusive association for the classified châteaux of Bordeaux (the 1855 classification in Médoc and Sauternes
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
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
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
Last year, Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand became the twelfth member of the Great Wine Capitals of the World. Great Wine Capitals is a global
It is hard to believe that it is true. And maybe it is not. But Decanter is our source and it is a serious wine
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
A new report provides an interesting insight into the world of French wine cooperatives. The cooperatives do not get big headlines in newspapers, but they
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
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
On our Austria tour in September, we visited Birgit Braunstein in Burgenland, a biodynamic producer and tasted some of her delicious wines. Her focus is
Many European countries (including Sweden) drink and appreciate South African wines. It has been that way ever since Sweden and other countries started importing the
Oak ageing is closely associated with quality wines, and the French barrel makers are masters at producing the oak barrels wanted by the entire wine
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
We have tasted some rare grape varieties recently when we were on a wine tasting tour around the country. We want to share this experience
Once, a while back, I was harvesting grapes in the middle of the night. It was in Cachapoal in Chile. We had headlamps to see
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