Ten years ago, in 2003, Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia decided to join the European Union. John Maxwell Coetzee won the literature prize in the Nobel awards. Talking on a handheld mobile phone in a car was outlawed in the UK. The Concorde made its last flight.
And also: in May 2003 the very first issue of the BKWine Brief was published. [divider]
10 year anniversary issue!
You can read more further down on how it was then.
Now when we are practically already in June one can start wondering how this year will be for the wine. Spring (spring?) has been exceptionally cold and rainy in most of France as well as in some other European wine countries. Most likely the harvest will be late since the growing season has a very slow start. There is also a risk of problems with flowering. Too much rain can disturb it. Which in turn can lead to small harvest volumes.
Read more below on that.
But it is probably too early to start getting worried. The vine is a hardy plant and wine growers and wine makers today have knowledge and technology to manage to make good wines even in “difficult” years. The wine will of course be different in a cold year than in a hot year, but the end result, the wine, can still be very enjoyable.
Yesterday I read that some meteorologist predicts that we will have a warm and sunny autumn. As compensation for the spring? One can always hope! Late summer and autumn are perhaps the most important period for the vine so we would be wise to wait a bit with making any pronouncements on the quality of the vintage.
But I am sure that it will be a beautiful autumn. At least I hope so. And then it will be perfect to go on a wine tour. We have some very interesting tours on the schedule for the autumn. See more below. And we would be glad to talk about custom wine tours with you too. But don’t wait with signing up for a wine tour. “Book before” is approaching rapidly.
And don’t miss the two “long haul” wine tours we have scheduled for February and March: A magnificent wine tour to Chile and Argentina in South America, and an equally fantastic wine tour to South Africa, with a possible safari extension. Book now!
Both of us will be there so hope to see you!
Britt & Per
PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief!
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[box type=”note” style=”rounded” border=”full”]This is just the introduction to the latest issue of the Brief. Subscribe to the BKWine Brief and you will get the whole edition in your mailbox next month.[/box]
