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Sustainable, yes. But what kind of sustainability?
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Sustainability is important. But sustainability is a vague concept. And what is considered sustainable or not can quickly change. This became apparent to wine producers that are certified HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) when the rules recently changed and became stricter on several points. HVE is the French Ministry of Agriculture’s sustainability label for wine producers and other farmers and the leader among sustainability labels in France. Due to the stricter regulations, some believe fewer winegrowers will become certified.
Rules sometimes change, also for organic farming. The maximum limit for copper spraying, for instance, was lowered in 2021 from 6 kilos of copper per hectare and year to 4 kilos. And some worried that it would be difficult to manage during rainy years.
Is it good or bad that rules for environmental labels are tightened? Is it more important to get more and more people certified as sustainable (and organic) than that the labels are as strict as possible?
One of the biggest problems is deciding what should be considered sustainable or organic. There is no ready definition to use.
The basic idea is simple. Organics is, above all, to avoid chemicals that are too dangerous, things that can be too harmful to plants and animals (including humans). Sustainable is about being careful about resources, counteracting global warming and promoting nature’s diversity.
But from here on, it becomes more complex when you have to agree on what these nice words actually mean and what the rules should be.
Initially, organic is relatively straightforward: all synthetic products for spraying, fertilizing and weeding are banned (“synthetic” being the crucial keyword, it’s not about banning all sprays, which would not be a good idea). On the other hand, when the EU was about to introduce rules for the vinification of organically grown grapes in 2012 to be able to introduce the term “organic wine”, nothing was straightforward or obvious. During the discussions, there were as many opinions as EU countries. They almost didn’t arrive at a solution because they could not agree on the acceptable sulphite levels. They found a compromise in the end. An outcome which we are probably all happy with.
Sustainability is much more complicated. Diversity and resources are difficult to define, and the goals are not entirely obvious. It generates less carbon dioxide emissions if you transport wine by boat from Australia than if you drive it by truck from Italy. Favouring the new resource-efficient packaging (bag-in-box, pouch, can, etc.) drives consumption towards large industrial wine producers, which can knock out many small family producers. Maybe not so “sustainable” socially and financially?
To be able to make good decisions it is critical to measure and put numbers on what one thinks is important (e.g. carbon footprint of transports), not just use grand words.
There are always compromises, whether it’s organic or sustainable, about the vineyard or the work in the cellar. How strict can the rules be for the producers to be still able to make good wines with decent yields? A “perfect” certification which only a few can obtain is not interesting. The only way to minimise the impact and maximise the “sustainability” is to make no wine at all.
The new HVE regulation places a greater focus on microbiological biodiversity, bans the most dangerous synthetic pesticides and requires a reduction in nitrogen fertilization. This probably sounds like good sustainability for most wine consumers.
These are all complicated issues which are not black and white. If you think organics and sustainability are essential, you probably have to shoulder the responsibility and familiarise yourself with the issues, at least a little. And make your own decisions.
It can never be reduced to a simple yes or no.
Travel in winter (but summer)
Some of our most exceptional wine tours are during the winter. They are filled with very special experiences. In summer weather in the southern hemisphere!
You have three fantastic long-distance tours to choose from:
- Chile-Argentina in January – very few places left
- South Africa in February – book now!
These are tours with unique and magnificent experiences.
Travel in harvest time
And you can already start planning for wine tours next harvest season:
- Champagne, September 27 – October 1
- Champagne and Bordeaux, September 27 – October 5
- Bordeaux, October 1-5
More info on our wine tours here. “World’s Top Wine Tours”. Tours with the people who know wine and who have an unrivalled experience of wine and tours.
Enjoy the Brief!
Britt & Per
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What’s on at BKWine Tours
BKWine is also one of the world’s leading wine tour operators. Here’s what we currently have on our scheduled wine tour program:
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- Chile-Argentina, January 16-29 – BOOK NOW
- South Africa, February 8-18 – BOOK NOW
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- Champagne, September 27 – October 1
- Bordeaux and Champagne, Sept 27 – Oct 5
- Bordeaux, October 1-5
We also make custom designed wine tours.
We’re different than most other wine tour operators. We are people who know wine inside out, who travel constantly in wine regions, who write award winning books about wine. Who do this out of passion.
Our wine tours are different from others.
A typical year we organise more than 30 wine tours to destinations across the world. In Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and more. World-wide: South Africa, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand. Thanks to our Scandinavian background we have a separate offer for the Scandinavian market. These are sometimes offered in English and also available as custom made tours. For example, these destinations:
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Read our books
We have written eleven wine books. They have won awards from the Gourmand Awards, The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and others.
Unfortunately, only one of them has been translated to English; the others are (so far) only available in Swedish. This is the one that is available in English:
Here’s the full list of our books:
- The Wonderful World of Wine
- Languedoc-Roussillon, the Wines of Southern France
- Champagne, the Wine and the Growers
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News from the World of Wine
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Short briefs on what’s been happening in the world of wine recently and other interesting things.
Chateau Pédesclaux the latest of many classified châteaux in Bordeaux to bet on organic farming
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 family bought the chateau. In 2016, 7.5 hectares were grown organically, and for every year, the acreage increased. In 2019, the official conversion began. The chateau participates in some interesting comparative experiments, i.a., to see the difference between conventional, organic and biodynamic farming. We look forward to seeing the results. Between 2020 and 2021, Pédesclaux participated in a study on how the soil is affected by copper spraying. One part of the Pédesclaux’ efforts to be sustainable is to plant a well-selected cover crop in the vineyard, which consists of, among other things, cereals, clover and legumes. The cover crop increases biodiversity, keeps the soil porous and also provides biomass that captures carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the air. Read more: Decanter
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine. (Chateau Pedesclaux was on the program of our latest tour there.)
Great success for VinNatur’s wine fair in Venice
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 for this type of wine. VinNatur aim is to make natural wines without defects, which is not always easy. But for VinNatur, it is essential to enlist the help of scientific expertise, both for the work in the vineyard and the cellar. In the vineyard, of course, the members work without synthetic products but strive to also manage with minimal (or even no) copper. In the cellar, a small addition of sulphur dioxide is allowed (but many of the members work entirely without sulphur) and a rough filtration.
VinNatur’s wine fair in Venice on 13–14 November attracted a large crowd of natural wine enthusiasts. 60 VinNatur members presented their wines. We discovered several favourites (more on this in future articles), not least Angiolino Maule’s own wines from the garganega grape he makes with his son Alessandro.
Read: more on organic and natural wine in BKWine’s book Organic, Biodynamic and Natural winemaking.
Beaujolais Nouveau – still going strong
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 the producers were proud to present their nouveau wines. Admittedly, Beaujolais Nouveau isn’t as hyped as it was in the 1990s, and production has declined, but the wine still has its admirers. The USA is the biggest market for these young wines. Today, they are also of much better quality than in the 90s.
We tasted a Beaujolais Nouveau with delicious and refreshing fruit from Domaine Dominique Piron, who makes excellent wines in Morgon, Brouilly, Chénas, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, Fleurie and Beaujolais-Villages. Read more: Vitisphere
Irrigation is permitted in Bordeaux, but only if really needed
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, more appellations will surely relax their rules. Irrigation is not about increasing the yield, Pessac-Léognan emphasizes, but about preventing the vines from dying. This summer, 80 hectares of Pessac-Léognan’s total of 1,850 hectares were requested by producers for irrigation permits.
In 2021 it became possible to request irrigation in Pomerol, and already in 2017, Saint Emilion changed its rules. For all three, permission is only granted “in case of persistent drought and when it interferes with the good physiological development of the vines and the good ripening of the grapes.” Read more: Vitisphere
Note: it is a hard-to-kill myth that irrigation is banned in Europe. Irrigation is permitted in Europe’s vineyards, but local appellation rules may prohibit it. There are also usually strict rules about how and when it can be done.
2022, a year of high quality wines in California
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 harvest started and finished. Napa Valley began picking up to a month earlier than usual. North Coast growers harvested red grapes as early as mid-August. The heat at the end of August, with record temperatures, accelerated the ripening of the grapes, and a hectic and intense period in the cellars followed. Those who had not yet harvested before the rains in mid-September had to sort the grapes carefully. But, on the whole, the rain did not affect the excellent quality. Depending on when harvested, the grapes showed different levels of ripeness, with some grapes greatly affected by extreme temperatures up to 43 degrees C. The final blending will be important for the producers to get good balance.
California produces around 80% of the country’s wines, and the state is thus the world’s fourth largest producer of wine after the three European giants Italy, France and Spain. Read more WineInstitute
New harvesting tractor for really steep slopes
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. A German company, CH Engineering, offers a machine that can handle slopes of up to 75% (37 degrees).
The harvester is mounted as a module on a crawler-tractor (chenillard). You can actually use different units and, besides harvesting, also do initial pruning or manage the canopy, depending on the need. Forty tractors for really steep slopes are currently used in Europe, mainly in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria, and now the first one has been put into service in California. Read more: winebusiness
Note: It is (also) a myth that manual harvesting is obviously better than harvesting with a harvesting machine. Machine harvesting can be better or worse than manual harvesting depending on the circumstances. Read more about benefits and drawbacks of machine and manual harvesting here.
Local, forgotten grapes are put into use again in Languedoc
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 a lower alcohol than is otherwise customary in the Languedoc. The region has changed a lot in the last 40 years. Many local grape varieties were not included in the regulations when the new Languedoc appellations were created. Syrah was introduced as a so-called improvement grape and is now the most widely grown grape in Languedoc. But nowadays, Thierry often harvests grenache, the frontrunner grape of the region, with 15% alcohol, and syrah cannot manage without irrigation. No wonder he is trying something different.
He started, several years ago, with ribeyrenc, which ripens late and which he harvests at the end of September. It gives only 12.5% alcohol content, even in really hot years. Read more: Mon-viti
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Features of the Month
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Articles and features published on BKWine Magazine and on our wine travel blog and (occasionally) photography blog in the last month.
A true super-tuscan: Ornellaia from Bolgheri
Advertisers tend to believe (want to make us believe) that any simple wine from Tuscany with a dash of cabernet (or anything else outside the appellation) is a “super-tuscan”. But a “genuine” super-tuscan has far greater ambitions than that.
“The very first sniff reveals a cool herbal elegance that bodes well for the evening’s continued development. If you think of super-Tuscans as fruit-steeped powerhouses, you quickly have second thoughts when Ornellaia 2019 lands on your tongue. BKWine Magazine’s Göran van den Brink has done a deep dive into a series of wines from Bolgheri.”
Read more in Göran van den Brink’s article on BKWine Magazine: Ornellaia 2019, the definition of elegance?
How Ntsiki Biyela’s delicious Aslina wines came about and South Africa’s future as a wine country
“If they can do it, perhaps I can too,” she thought at an African Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference in 2014. That was the spark that made Ntsiki Biyela decide to launch her own winery, called Aslina Wines. Ntsiki was already famous as the first black woman winemaker in South Africa, making excellent wines for the Stellekaya Winery. Why would she jump out into the unknown in a challenging market and create her own winery? Read this fascinating story about someone in the new generation of ambitious winemakers in South Africa, and you’ll find out. And you’ll find out who “they” were and why she chose the name “Aslina”. As a bonus, you’ll get some insight into what the South African wine industry needs to do next to succeed going forward.
Read more in Per’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: Aslina Wines, Ntsiki Biyela’s new venture, and the future of South African wine | Per on Forbes.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to South Africa with BKWine.
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Wine Tours
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Details on our current and future wine tours. Book a wine tour with the “World’s Top Wine Tour Operator” today (or when you feel like travelling to wine country).
Treat yourself to an unforgettable experience in the beautiful wine-lands together with some of the most knowledgeable wine people around. Book now!
Not just malbec, carmenère, asado and empanadas | the wine tour to Chile and Argentina
Argentina is known for its wines made from malbec and Chile for its carmenère (which was once thought to be merlot). Both countries are also known for their food specialties, asado (grilled meat) and empanadas (a type of small pie). But it is a mistake to think that it is only about that. Argentina has an almost unique white grape called torrontés, aromatic and elegant. There are all the classic “international” grapes and there is plenty of experimentation. Chile has some of the world’s oldest vines and the very old grape family criolla is starting to become super trendy (eg país). Same thing for the food. Chile has an almost endless coastline and thus fish and shellfish in abundance. Argentina has many influences from the “Old World”, above all from Italy, which you can also see in the food. Both in terms of wine and food, there is plenty to discover, delicious, surprising, traditional, innovative. A whole world (almost) to explore.
Only a few places left. Book now!
Wine tour to Chile-Argentina, January 16-29, 2023
From cool coastal climate to almost desert in a few hours | the wine tour to South Africa
It is not more than some 150 kilometres between Hermanus and Riebeck Kasteel, but it is almost like the difference between Sweden and Spain. Hermanus is on South Africa’s south coast, verdant, cool with Antarctica’s cold ocean currents. Here they make elegant pinot noir and stringent chardonnay. And you have a breath-taking ocean view. A couple of hours drive north and you are in the Swartland, at Riebeck Kasteel. Here, it is not quite but almost a desert climate. Hot and dry. Spanish and southern French grapes thrive here. Grenache, syrah, mourvèdre… For a few years it’s been perhaps the country’s trendiest wine district, with many young experimenting winemakers. In between are the more classic and well-known Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The whole of South Africa is today a cauldron of talented winemakers. (For example, see our article on Ntsiki Biyela.) Something every wine lover owes to themselves to discover.
South Africa – a great wine experience.
Book now!
Wine tour to South Africa, February 8-18, 2023
The wine country that has skyrocketed in a few decades | the wine tour in New Zealand
What a journey it has been for New Zealand. In the 80s, it was an unknown wine country. They didn’t make much wine and what was available wasn’t fun. Then they discovered the potential for sauvignon blanc in Marlborough. All of a sudden, New Zealand became a trending country. Today it is one of the world’s highest-ranked wine countries if you look at the prices the wines get for export. And that is well deserved. We have moved far away from “only bloated sauvignon blanc”. Today, they are elegant, but above all, they make a lot of other things too. Pinot noir, of course, but also lovely fragrant syrah, rosé on pinot gris, full-bodied fiano, classic cabernet in Auckland Bay and more. It’s also a fantastic and very different country to discover, old-fashioned at times, super-modern at times, European but also Maori… And if you’re lucky, you might meet a Hobbit.
Wine tour to New Zealand, March 15-30, 2023
The world’s most famous sparkling wine has amazing diversity | wine tour Champagne
Yes, champagne is sparkling, it comes from a region two hours’ drive east of Paris, and it is (mostly) white. But within those boundaries, there’s an amazing diversity. There’s no red champagne (although there is something called “Coteaux champenios” that can be red), but there’s more and more rosé that ranges from pale pink to dark red cherry colour. You have steely and elegant “blanc de blanc” that is made exclusively from chardonnay and there’s the “blanc de noir” that is made from only red grapes (pinot noir or meunier) and much more full-bodied and aromatic. They make super-dry brut zéro, mineral and crisp up to the smooth, slightly sweet and very unusual dry/sec (yes, “dry” but quite sweet – we’ll tell you the story behind that). A great diversity. All of this you will discover, taste and learn all about on our Champagne wine tour. Including some incredible champagne meals.
Come with us on the extraordinary wine tour to Champagne.
Book now!
Wine tour to Champagne, September 27 – October 1, 2023
PS: We have written a ground-breaking book about Champagne so we have a bit of a clue of what we’re talking about.
Is this the best of France in one fabulous wine tour to Champagne and Bordeaux?
What is “best” is very personal. Wine, as all things that have to do with taste, is a question of personal preferences. Not everyone likes foie gras or oysters. But what is certain is that on this extraordinary wine tour you will taste some of France’s most highly appreciated wines. You will visit some amazingly impressive wine cellars, but also family wineries where you will meet the owner or the winemaker in person. We have made a very careful selection of wineries to show you. It will not necessarily be the most famous ones (wine is 90% marketing, someone said) but it will be winery visits that will give you unforgettable experiences. But not only that, you will enjoy some of France’s most delicious gastronomy, sometimes as guest at the winery’s or at the chateau’s private dining room. Whether it is the “best” you will have to decide for yourself when you’ve been there.
Book now!
Wine tour to Champagne and Bordeaux, September 27 – October 5, 2023
PS: We have written a ground-breaking book about Champagne, and also one on Bordeaux, so we have a bit of a clue of what we’re talking about.
Meet the blueprint for the world’s most imitated wine on the wine tour to Bordeaux
There is no wine that has so many imitators that Bordeaux. But imitator is really not a fair word to use. There is a reason why many wine producers around the world make “Bordeaux blends”. One should perhaps see it as a tribute the one of the most exciting wine regions in France (and the world). Here you can find everything from exceptionally expensive luxury wines costing several thousand dollars or euros but also everyday wines for just a handful of coins. On this Bordeaux wine tour we will show you both the famed and elegant chateaux as well as many of the smaller, lesser-known family wineries that are really the core of the wine region. Do you want to visit only the most famous classed growths? Well, you don’t need an experienced tour operator to do that, just pick up any wine guide and you can plan that kind of “bucket list” yourself. What you can’t do, but that we will show you, is the behind-the-scenes, where you learn about the wines and meet the people involved in making them. A very different kind of experience.
Come with us on the fabulous wine tour to Bordeaux.
Book now!
Wine tour to Bordeaux, October 1–5, 2023
PS: We have written a book about Bordeaux, and have been travelling there since 1986, so we have a bit of a clue of what we’re talking about.
