BKWine Blog
The luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns Champagne Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug and many other champagne and wine houses, strengthens its influence in Provence. LVMH recently bought Château Minuty outside Saint-Tropez. The LVMH people
South Africa is in the middle of the harvest (now towards the end), a harvest that this year is unusually early for many producers. Oldenburg in the beautiful Banghoek Valley in Stellenbosch started harvesting three
The organic wine producers spray with copper to combat the fungal disease downy mildew, mildiou. (Many conventional—not organic—also spray with copper, but they may also use synthetic pesticides.) But, of course, they want to use
We missed an important anniversary by a few months. In 2022, it was 200 years ago that Louis Pasteur was born. Pasteur is a person that every wine lover must honour. His importance to the
Champagne has quickly recovered from the pandemic. 2021 was already a successful year for Champagne and in 2022 sales increased by 1.6% to 326 million bottles. The value of this was 6 billion euros. The
Argentina in January offers fantastic summer weather. But there can be violent hail storms so many producers are careful to make sure the hail nets are well secured. But some, like winemaker Hubert Weber at
Many wine lovers, us included, are fond of glass bottles. But at the same time, we know that the production of glass bottles is hugely energy intensive. But what if this energy was non-fossil? English
This is a short Brief. There’s a reason for that. This very day, we also have a deadline for the manuscript for our new book, so we have been a little bit busy. Our twelfth
There is a lot of talk about becoming carbon neutral these days. The EU has the ambition to become the first continent with zero emissions by 2050. But wine regions also have similar ambitions (I
The Rhône Valley has presented a plan for how the region will develop over the next 10-12 years. Two things stand out: more investment must be made in producing white wines and expanding exports. During
France’s vine nurseries had their annual congress recently and announced that in 2022 they grafted and sold a total of 235 million vines, which is 15 million more than in 2021. (A quick calculation: say
Today, many wineries want to show that they work sustainably. Maybe they measure their carbon footprint and are amazed at how much of this comes from driving the tractor back and forth in the vineyard.
Europe had a few freezing weeks in December, including Germany. This chilly weather has enabled some growers to make Eiswein (ice wine) finally again. It has been a long time. On December 11, 12 and
Kullaberg’s Winey (Kullabergs Vingård) in Scania, the southernmost region of Sweden, inaugurated its new winery, probably the biggest in Sweden, at the end of October. The work has been going on for two years, resulting
In 2016, the Pessac-Léognan appellation in northern Graves in Bordeaux changed its rules to allow irrigation during severe drought. Irrigation is a much-discussed topic in France today, and as the hot and dry summers continue,
Interest in local, half-forgotten grape varieties is increasing. Thierry Navarre, a skilled wine grower in Saint Chinian, Languedoc, has discovered that the ribeyrenc, morastell, terret and œillade grapes have a lot to offer, not least
To harvest with machine or by hand? Some really don’t have a choice, e.g., producers who have vineyards on very steep slopes where no harvesting machine dares to tread. But that is starting to change.
Admittedly, they had to fight spring frosts and very high temperatures, but winegrowers across California are happy to announce an excellent quality vintage for 2022. The harvest period was long and varied regarding when the
VinNatur is an Italian organization for natural wine producers founded and run by Angiolino Maule, a wine producer in Gambellara in Veneto. With over 200 members, it is also the most significant in the world
Beaujolais Nouveau is still celebrated in France (and elsewhere). Restaurants in Paris were packed on Thursday, 17 November, and many offered special menus featuring local Bourgogne/Beaujolais specialities. 2022 is a magnificent year for Beaujolais, and
Organic farming is spreading like wildfire among the great châteaux of Bordeaux. Château Pédesclaux, a classified château in Pauillac, has recently received its certification. The whole process actually started back in 2009 when the Lorenzetti
There is a lot of talk about which grape varieties will best adapt to climate change. However, less is said about the (“American”) rootstocks, although they do all the work in the soil. Whenever a
On a recent wine tour, one of the travellers told me that she has difficulty finding good organic wines. I was a bit surprised. There are so many organic wines around these days that it
When we travel through wine regions these days, we often see grass/weeds growing in the vineyard. And if you look at the statistics, the use of herbicides, i.e. chemical weed control, has decreased. But wine
Bernard Duseigneur of Domaine Duseigneur is the new and happy owner of Château Maucoil, a beautiful estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape of 70 hectares, of which 40 hectares are vineyards with different types of soil, one of
Old grape varieties, more or less forgotten, are now being honoured again. A variety called lignage was grown before the phylloxera around the city of Blois in the Loire Valley and produced wines with high
New appellations don’t often appear in France. But sometimes, it happens. (Modifying existing ones happens more often.) On October 14, Vézelay in northern Burgundy became an Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP). From the beginning, Vézelay was
On October 30, 2022, Ukraine again became a member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, OIV. The country was previously a member between 1997 and 2008. With Ukraine’s re-entry, the number of members
In September, after two years of work, the updated list of Saint Emilion’s classification was announced. After the turbulence of the previous update (2006, but approved only in 2012, click the link to read more),
Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 from Mendoza in Argentina was launched in Sweden on October 21. That’s a good excuse to say a few words about this unusual wine producer. “This 2012 Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon is
The luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns Champagne Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug and many other champagne and wine houses, strengthens its influence in Provence.
South Africa is in the middle of the harvest (now towards the end), a harvest that this year is unusually early for many producers. Oldenburg
The organic wine producers spray with copper to combat the fungal disease downy mildew, mildiou. (Many conventional—not organic—also spray with copper, but they may also
We missed an important anniversary by a few months. In 2022, it was 200 years ago that Louis Pasteur was born. Pasteur is a person
Champagne has quickly recovered from the pandemic. 2021 was already a successful year for Champagne and in 2022 sales increased by 1.6% to 326 million
Argentina in January offers fantastic summer weather. But there can be violent hail storms so many producers are careful to make sure the hail nets
Many wine lovers, us included, are fond of glass bottles. But at the same time, we know that the production of glass bottles is hugely
This is a short Brief. There’s a reason for that. This very day, we also have a deadline for the manuscript for our new book,
There is a lot of talk about becoming carbon neutral these days. The EU has the ambition to become the first continent with zero emissions
The Rhône Valley has presented a plan for how the region will develop over the next 10-12 years. Two things stand out: more investment must
France’s vine nurseries had their annual congress recently and announced that in 2022 they grafted and sold a total of 235 million vines, which is
Today, many wineries want to show that they work sustainably. Maybe they measure their carbon footprint and are amazed at how much of this comes
Europe had a few freezing weeks in December, including Germany. This chilly weather has enabled some growers to make Eiswein (ice wine) finally again. It
Kullaberg’s Winey (Kullabergs Vingård) in Scania, the southernmost region of Sweden, inaugurated its new winery, probably the biggest in Sweden, at the end of October.
In 2016, the Pessac-Léognan appellation in northern Graves in Bordeaux changed its rules to allow irrigation during severe drought. Irrigation is a much-discussed topic in
Interest in local, half-forgotten grape varieties is increasing. Thierry Navarre, a skilled wine grower in Saint Chinian, Languedoc, has discovered that the ribeyrenc, morastell, terret
To harvest with machine or by hand? Some really don’t have a choice, e.g., producers who have vineyards on very steep slopes where no harvesting
Admittedly, they had to fight spring frosts and very high temperatures, but winegrowers across California are happy to announce an excellent quality vintage for 2022.
VinNatur is an Italian organization for natural wine producers founded and run by Angiolino Maule, a wine producer in Gambellara in Veneto. With over 200
Beaujolais Nouveau is still celebrated in France (and elsewhere). Restaurants in Paris were packed on Thursday, 17 November, and many offered special menus featuring local
Organic farming is spreading like wildfire among the great châteaux of Bordeaux. Château Pédesclaux, a classified château in Pauillac, has recently received its certification. The
There is a lot of talk about which grape varieties will best adapt to climate change. However, less is said about the (“American”) rootstocks, although
On a recent wine tour, one of the travellers told me that she has difficulty finding good organic wines. I was a bit surprised. There
When we travel through wine regions these days, we often see grass/weeds growing in the vineyard. And if you look at the statistics, the use
Bernard Duseigneur of Domaine Duseigneur is the new and happy owner of Château Maucoil, a beautiful estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape of 70 hectares, of which 40
Old grape varieties, more or less forgotten, are now being honoured again. A variety called lignage was grown before the phylloxera around the city of
New appellations don’t often appear in France. But sometimes, it happens. (Modifying existing ones happens more often.) On October 14, Vézelay in northern Burgundy became
On October 30, 2022, Ukraine again became a member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, OIV. The country was previously a member between
In September, after two years of work, the updated list of Saint Emilion’s classification was announced. After the turbulence of the previous update (2006, but
Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 from Mendoza in Argentina was launched in Sweden on October 21. That’s a good excuse to say a few words about
Newsletter:
Get our free monthly newsletter, the BKWine Brief and join 25,000 other wine and travel enthusiasts.
Text and images may not be used without our permission. More info on copyright.
25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?
