When one brings up the concept of terroir—a French wine term used to describe a wine’s “sense of place”—you realize the importance that extraordinary vineyard soils have on producing truly exceptional wines. This text is an
Superlatives, thirst wines, and ad masquerades If wine adverts (all too often masquerading as “journalism”) are to be believed all wines are fantastic, perfectly balanced and go with everything, from tapas to tandoori chicken. I
Terroir wine, industrial wine, natural wine, or technical wine? Terroir wines are often said to be the opposite of industrial wines (or volume wines). In short, terroir wines are wines where you recognize the origin
A gloomy spring… Wild or cultured? This month we give you quite a bit of reading and also a lot of videos. We have published several interesting (?) articles that you can read about in
The answer is probably yes. Many sweet wines are struggling on the market today. (Excepting of course those table wines that are sold as “dry” but which contain a substantial amount of sugar, sometimes well
Packaging or contents? We all know the importance of the label on the wine bottle. How it influences us to buy or not to buy. Most consumers are not so knowledgeable about wine, and even
White is (not?) as good as red Several times over the years I have been asked a question that has made me confused. “Can you have a wine tasting of white wines in the same
Is it time to scrap “New World Wine”? Not the wines of course but the generalising description of a group of wines using those words. “This feels like a New World wine” is something we
Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol monopoly, has published its financial statements. It had a turnover in 2016 of 28.5 billion SEK (3 bn euro), an increase of 3%. The profit (operating profit) amounted to SEK 217
Streamlined or personal? What is it that makes a wine feel personal, as if it has a special character? It really has nothing to do with the price. Sometimes I get the impression that some
Sparkling trends It is popular to talk about upcoming trends at this time of year. An ongoing trend that certainly will continue in 2017 is the world’s unquenchable thirst for bubbles. In 2016 Prosecco and
Parisian café or Japanese sushi? How is the traditional Parisian café doing? Everywhere you look in the French capital, you see a sushi restaurant or a sushi takeaway where there used to be a café.
High or low alcohol Are you one of those consumers who think that the alcohol level in wines is getting higher and higher? Actually, this is an undisputed fact. Wine has more alcohol now than
Aromatized wine? Flavoured yeast? Luxury wines without oak? On our trip to the southern Rhone Valley last week we tasted the unfermented grape juice from freshly harvested Grenache. It was delicious and sweet. But it
Terroir, desirable or despicable? It is interesting to see how a word can be reassessed. Take the word terroir. A word that every wine lover uses about ten times a day. And always in a
True or not true? You can find tons of information about wine on the Internet. Who look things up in books nowadays? (Actually, as we write wine books, we hope that many do!) It is
The respect for a fine wine Wine drinking has been democratized in the last 50 years. There are today wines in all price ranges, for all budgets, for all kinds of consumers. Screwcaps and bag
Some who have just recently entered the world of wine, new wine lovers, recent wine enthusiasts, sometimes says that it is so “difficult” to taste wine. On the contrary! It is the easiest thing in
A lot happens in April. Some things that are supposed to happen, like the tasting of young Bordeaux wines from vintage 2015. Other things that shouldn’t happen but do happen nevertheless, like devastating frost nights.
White, red or rosé? Colour is not just about that! What is the importance of the colour of the? Quite a lot actually. Many people like dark, dense wines, they promise body, power and lots
Wine consumers love Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Sauvignon Blanc. Or don’t they? There is a lot of talk nowadays about grapes that are forgotten, local, unusual, indigenous, you name it. Suddenly wine geeks are
Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly, launched some years back a special project for “ethical” assessment of their products. It is a question that concerns many producers and buyers around the world. Systembolaget has also begun a
This is number 150 of the BKWine Brief! Who would have thought that when we started one hundred and fifty issues ago!? Revolution in the New World? We have just come back from a wonderful
Wine descriptions… How should a wine writer describe a wine so that everyone understands what he/she means? “Excellent” is of course a good word in this context which cannot easily be misunderstood. Possibly it is
With Christmas holiday preparations to take care of maybe you don’t have time to read BKWine Brief. Or, maybe this is the time when you do have time! Whatever the case, this month’s Brief has
“When making organic wine you use no additives and you don’t spray toxins in the vineyard”. Just a little bit exaggerated (but only slightly) this is what one can both hear said and read sometimes.
Wine consumers often have great respect, not to say reverence, for fine wine. Old vintages, famous producers, famous vineyards. It affects us all at some point. An awe that comes when you realize you have
An insider’s tip to the wine enthusiast: do not pay much attention to vintage tables and ratings. This year’s harvest is a prime example of why you should not bother too much about what you
It is sometimes strange to see how different trends and how media seem to affect our taste in wine. When they aired a popular TV series about Italian food Italian wines and travel to Italy
Cheap wines are sometimes criticised for being “blended.” Strangely enough, this is seen as something negative. But in fact most wines, almost all, are blended. More expensive wines are also blended. In Champagne they blend
When one brings up the concept of terroir—a French wine term used to describe a wine’s “sense of place”—you realize the importance that extraordinary vineyard soils
Superlatives, thirst wines, and ad masquerades If wine adverts (all too often masquerading as “journalism”) are to be believed all wines are fantastic, perfectly balanced
Terroir wine, industrial wine, natural wine, or technical wine? Terroir wines are often said to be the opposite of industrial wines (or volume wines). In
A gloomy spring… Wild or cultured? This month we give you quite a bit of reading and also a lot of videos. We have published
The answer is probably yes. Many sweet wines are struggling on the market today. (Excepting of course those table wines that are sold as “dry”
Packaging or contents? We all know the importance of the label on the wine bottle. How it influences us to buy or not to buy.
White is (not?) as good as red Several times over the years I have been asked a question that has made me confused. “Can you
Is it time to scrap “New World Wine”? Not the wines of course but the generalising description of a group of wines using those words.
Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol monopoly, has published its financial statements. It had a turnover in 2016 of 28.5 billion SEK (3 bn euro), an increase
Streamlined or personal? What is it that makes a wine feel personal, as if it has a special character? It really has nothing to do
Sparkling trends It is popular to talk about upcoming trends at this time of year. An ongoing trend that certainly will continue in 2017 is
Parisian café or Japanese sushi? How is the traditional Parisian café doing? Everywhere you look in the French capital, you see a sushi restaurant or
High or low alcohol Are you one of those consumers who think that the alcohol level in wines is getting higher and higher? Actually, this
Aromatized wine? Flavoured yeast? Luxury wines without oak? On our trip to the southern Rhone Valley last week we tasted the unfermented grape juice from
Terroir, desirable or despicable? It is interesting to see how a word can be reassessed. Take the word terroir. A word that every wine lover
True or not true? You can find tons of information about wine on the Internet. Who look things up in books nowadays? (Actually, as we
The respect for a fine wine Wine drinking has been democratized in the last 50 years. There are today wines in all price ranges, for
Some who have just recently entered the world of wine, new wine lovers, recent wine enthusiasts, sometimes says that it is so “difficult” to taste
A lot happens in April. Some things that are supposed to happen, like the tasting of young Bordeaux wines from vintage 2015. Other things that
White, red or rosé? Colour is not just about that! What is the importance of the colour of the? Quite a lot actually. Many people
Wine consumers love Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Sauvignon Blanc. Or don’t they? There is a lot of talk nowadays about grapes that are forgotten,
Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly, launched some years back a special project for “ethical” assessment of their products. It is a question that concerns many producers
This is number 150 of the BKWine Brief! Who would have thought that when we started one hundred and fifty issues ago!? Revolution in the
Wine descriptions… How should a wine writer describe a wine so that everyone understands what he/she means? “Excellent” is of course a good word in
With Christmas holiday preparations to take care of maybe you don’t have time to read BKWine Brief. Or, maybe this is the time when you
“When making organic wine you use no additives and you don’t spray toxins in the vineyard”. Just a little bit exaggerated (but only slightly) this
Wine consumers often have great respect, not to say reverence, for fine wine. Old vintages, famous producers, famous vineyards. It affects us all at some
An insider’s tip to the wine enthusiast: do not pay much attention to vintage tables and ratings. This year’s harvest is a prime example of
It is sometimes strange to see how different trends and how media seem to affect our taste in wine. When they aired a popular TV
Cheap wines are sometimes criticised for being “blended.” Strangely enough, this is seen as something negative. But in fact most wines, almost all, are blended.
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