Category: News

BKWine Blog

Discount on the new wine magazine Fine Expressions

In the last Brief we mentioned that Fine Expressions, a magazine on wine and rinks, has been launched in the UK. You can get a discounted subscription on Tom Cannavan’s Wine Pages. (Tom also happens

French Minister of Agriculture calls for changes

At the opening of Vinexpo the French minister of agriculture said ‘The French offer does not always win over new consumers, who sometimes prefer products that are easier to buy and consume, not to mention

Louis Roederer gives prizes to wine writers

Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards 2005 have been given in four different categories: * Wine Writer of the Year 2005: John Stimpfig, articles in the FT ‘How to Spend It’ * International Wine Book

Also Australia has its wine crisis

In a survey by Deloitte almost half of the wineries were found to have made losses in 2004. As in France, the government has stepped in with financial support. Read more in Beveragedaily.com.

New AOC: Beaume de Venise

INAO has approved Beaume de Venise as a new AOC. The wine was previously part of Côtes du Rhône Villages. Permitted grape varieties are Grenache (minimum 50%) and Syrah (min 25%), with the rest being

Tattinger up for sale?

Rumours (and press reports) are saying that the Taittinger champagne house is being put up for sale. It is owned by the Taittinger family that also owns numerous other luxury firms, e.g. Baccarat Crystal and

Champagne Lanson for sale

44% of Lanson is owned by the bank Caisse d’Epargne. They have said that they are interested in selling their stake in the champagne house. Caisse d’Epargne bought it only last July from the Mora

Michelin launches new wine guide

Michelin, famous for its red guides on gastronomy and green tourist guides, has launched a new green guide called “The Wine Regions of France”. It is a practical, pocket size guide (provided you have big

New Scandinavian Wine Fair on 11 February 2006

BKWine organises a new Scandinavian Wine Fair in Paris on February 11 in collaboration with Le Cercle Suédois. The date has just been set so we you will get more details later, but book the

Recommended Producer: Chateau Thieuley

Chateau Thieuley has long been a favourite of ours among the not-so-expensive Bordeaux wines – both the red and the white wines. The chateau is close to La Sauve Majeure, in the centre of Entre-deux-Mers.

Recommended Producer: Chateau de Haux

Flemming and Peter Jørgensen bought Chateau de Haux in 1985. The vineyard was in poor shape and the chateau itself was in ruins. They were in for plenty of work to put things in order.

A wine site worth having a look at

Jennifer Rosen – an American wine writer (called Chotzi…?). Many articles on her site: www.vinchotzi.com (be aware: the site doesn’t work properly if you use the web browser Mozilla Firefox)

RVF revises the 1855 classification of Bordeaux

La Revue du Vin de France likes making classifications. We have talked about their suggested classification of Graves here before. Now they have taken on the ultimate in classifications: the 1855 classification of Bordeaux (Médoc,

Foster finalises take-over of Southcorp

The wine world has grown smaller again. Fosters has now finalised the deal worth AUS$ 3.17bn taking over Southcorp. Both were already Australian drinks giants. The deal means e.g. that Foster will now control famous

Rosé wine make progress

The consumption of rosé wines should progress by 8.5% between 2004 and 2009 according to a report published by Europmonitor. Statistics have already shown that in France the sales of rosé is good and several

Prize winning wines from organic growers

Signature BIO is a wine competition for organic wines (biologique). This year the first prize went to, Medaille d’Or Mention Spéciale: Domaine de la Grande Pallière (M. Guibergia) AOC Côtes de Provence Rosé 2004 11

Bernard Magrez buys Château Latrezotte

Bernard magrez, one of the most active names in Bordeaux, continues buying wine chateaux. He has just acquired Chateau Latrezotte in Barsac (Sauternes) with an 8 hectare vineyard primarily planted with semillon.

New English drinks magazine: Fine Expressions

One more new English drinks magazine has just been borne. It’s about wine but also about spirits and fine beers, with a distinct “lifestyle” flavour, judging from the first issue. More info here: www.fineexpressions.co.uk

Store your wine in Paris

We’ve found one more place to store your wines in Paris, in case you do not have wine cellar space of your own: Cave Lovin’ on 40, rue Saint Honoré. There’s just one catch: you

Corbières-Boutenac – New Appellation

Another decision by the INAO on May 28: Wine with the AOC Corbières-Boutenac can be produced in the Aude ‘departement’ (Languedoc) in Boutenac and other communes around it. Permitted grape varieties are Carignan (30-50%), Grenache

Bordeaux Frist Growths release 2004 prices

Mouton-Rothschild, Margaux and Haut-Brion have announced the prices for the 2004 primeurs. The price (the same for all three) is 80 euro, down 33% from last year but still substantially higher than the 60 euro

Armagnac modifies its AOC

No big changes, but the decision by the INAO on May 28 means that the following AOC are defined “Armagnac”, “Bas Armagnac”, “Armagnac-Ténarèze”, “Haut Armagnac” and now also ”Blanche Armagnac”. Permitted grape varieties for Armagnac

Facts on Entre-deux-Mers

Appellation Contrôlée (AC) Entre-deux-Mers makes exclusively white wine, between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne in Bordeaux. 194 producers share 1592 hectares. 41% is exported. Belgium, Germany and the UK are the biggest markets. To improve

More news about the reclassification of Graves

As we have mentioned previously, the process has been started to revise the classification in Graves. We recently had the occasion to talk to the presidents of the “syndicates” (growers’ associations) of Graves and of

Graves Facts

Graves, just south of the city of Bordeaux, has three appellations: AC Graves, AC Graves Supérieures and AC Pessac-Léognan. Pessac-Léognan was part of AC Graves until 1987 when it became a separate AC. The surface

Restaurant Recommendation: Le Gourmandin, Beaune, Bourgogne

Just a stone’s throw from Beaune’s biggest tourist site, the magnificent Hotel Dieu, you find Le Gourmandin on the main square, Place Carnot. Classic French food with regional specialities. Quite elegant and ambitious, without being

Also Australia has its wine crisis

In a survey by Deloitte almost half of the wineries were found to have made losses in 2004. As in France, the government has stepped

New AOC: Beaume de Venise

INAO has approved Beaume de Venise as a new AOC. The wine was previously part of Côtes du Rhône Villages. Permitted grape varieties are Grenache

Tattinger up for sale?

Rumours (and press reports) are saying that the Taittinger champagne house is being put up for sale. It is owned by the Taittinger family that

Champagne Lanson for sale

44% of Lanson is owned by the bank Caisse d’Epargne. They have said that they are interested in selling their stake in the champagne house.

Michelin launches new wine guide

Michelin, famous for its red guides on gastronomy and green tourist guides, has launched a new green guide called “The Wine Regions of France”. It

A wine site worth having a look at

Jennifer Rosen – an American wine writer (called Chotzi…?). Many articles on her site: www.vinchotzi.com (be aware: the site doesn’t work properly if you use

Foster finalises take-over of Southcorp

The wine world has grown smaller again. Fosters has now finalised the deal worth AUS$ 3.17bn taking over Southcorp. Both were already Australian drinks giants.

Rosé wine make progress

The consumption of rosé wines should progress by 8.5% between 2004 and 2009 according to a report published by Europmonitor. Statistics have already shown that

Prize winning wines from organic growers

Signature BIO is a wine competition for organic wines (biologique). This year the first prize went to, Medaille d’Or Mention Spéciale: Domaine de la Grande

Bernard Magrez buys Château Latrezotte

Bernard magrez, one of the most active names in Bordeaux, continues buying wine chateaux. He has just acquired Chateau Latrezotte in Barsac (Sauternes) with an

Store your wine in Paris

We’ve found one more place to store your wines in Paris, in case you do not have wine cellar space of your own: Cave Lovin’

Corbières-Boutenac – New Appellation

Another decision by the INAO on May 28: Wine with the AOC Corbières-Boutenac can be produced in the Aude ‘departement’ (Languedoc) in Boutenac and other

Armagnac modifies its AOC

No big changes, but the decision by the INAO on May 28 means that the following AOC are defined “Armagnac”, “Bas Armagnac”, “Armagnac-Ténarèze”, “Haut Armagnac”

Facts on Entre-deux-Mers

Appellation Contrôlée (AC) Entre-deux-Mers makes exclusively white wine, between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne in Bordeaux. 194 producers share 1592 hectares. 41% is exported. Belgium,

Graves Facts

Graves, just south of the city of Bordeaux, has three appellations: AC Graves, AC Graves Supérieures and AC Pessac-Léognan. Pessac-Léognan was part of AC Graves

Month-by-month archive

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?