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Many more grape varieties are coming to a vineyard near you
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A long time ago, when I started doing wine tastings for groups, I noticed some strange perceptions among the participants about certain things. One was that white wines are not as serious as red, so it is no use organising wine tastings with white wines. I soon managed to get rid of that one. But other things were more long-lived. For example, single-grape wines are more high-quality than wines where several different grapes have been blended.
Where did this come from? Bordeaux must somehow have been forgotten in the context or counted as the exception that proved the rule. Was it because the wines of southern France, such as Languedoc-Roussillon and the Southern Rhône Valley, use many different grape varieties?
Bordeaux can use six red varieties in their wines, but they can also, if they want, use just one. It is allowed. But in many French appellations, you are not allowed to make single-grape wines; you must blend. No grape variety is considered good enough to go it alone, although many wines prove the opposite. Today anyway. Maybe it was different in the old days.
It is logical in many ways to have several different grape varieties in your vineyard. It can counteract the whims of nature and maybe save part of the harvest. If one variety suffers from problems one year, you have others that may have done better.
Different grape varieties give different characteristics to the wine. Ask a Médoc producer if 2% of petit verdot can make a difference, and the answer will be yes, petit verdot contributes a bit of spiciness, acidity, and colour. Another grape variety can add something else the wine producer thinks is essential.
Acidity is vital for all wines and even more so for some. I just returned from our wine tour in Sancerre (and the rest of the Loire), where we tasted vintages 2021 and 2022. 2021 was a cool year with the typical sauvignon blanc acidity, and 2022, on the other hand, was hot and dry with a very different style and noticeably lower acidity.
One of the producers we visited said they might need to start looking for alternative grapes for sauvignon blanc. Or do as some growers do, blend early-harvested and barely ripe grapes with well-ripened grapes harvested later to get a better balance in the wine.
The wine world does not use more than a tiny part of the many different grape varieties that exist in the world. But voices are being raised for more diversity in the vineyard, also in terms of grapes. We will surely see more and more different grapes in the vineyards. Be prepared; there will be many new names to learn. Sometimes as one element in a blend but, in the longer run, perhaps even as single-variety wines.
I actually drank my first French souvignier gris in Chinon this week. It is an excellent fungus-resistant hybrid that reduces the need for spraying. It is allowed in the IGP Val de Loire, although not in the AOP Chinon.
Nobody today believes that blended wines are inferior to single-grape wines. The quality of the wine does not depend on whether it is made from one or more grapes but on the quality of the grapes and the winemaker’s talent. Be it red or white.
Another common misconception that we actually still encounter is that grapes that are used to make wine are not good to eat. It must have been in some old book a long time ago and seems to still live on. Join us on a wine tour during harvest time, and you will discover that grapes used to make wine are both sweeter and tastier than table grapes. But more on that myth another time.
And now, on to our wine tours:
Wine travel in harvest time
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
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 2024
- South Africa in February 2024
- New Zealand in March 2024
These are tours with unique and magnificent experiences.
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.
Travel in wine regions with someone you trust.
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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- Champagne, September 27 – October 1
- Bordeaux and Champagne, Sept 27 – Oct 5
- Bordeaux, October 1-5
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- Chile-Argentina, 15-28 January 2024
- South Africa, 8-18 February 2024
- New Zealand, 12-27 March 2024
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.
German wines are getting drier and drier
German wine producers are adapting to the evolving tastes of consumers. This is the conclusion of the German Wine Institute after last year’s mandatory tasting of all German quality wines. Exactly half of all Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein were in a dry style.
This corresponds to an increase of two percentage points compared to the previous year and confirms a trend over several years. 20 years ago, only 35 % of German quality wines were dry. The proportion of semi-dry wines, on the other hand, has hardly changed in the last 20 years. However, the production of sweet wines has decreased. In 2022, they accounted for only 29% of all quality-tested wines, as opposed to 45% in 2002. Rosé wines account for 13%, white wines for 66% and red wines for 21%. The grapes that have increased the most in surface are pinot gris (grauburgunder), chardonnay and pinot blanc (weissburgunder). Germany is now the world’s largest producer of pinot blanc. Riesling is stable, with about a quarter of the German vineyard area.
Fungus-resistant grapes (piwi) are increasing, above all the whites, mainly souvignier gris, solaris and cabernet blanc. Among the red fungus-resistant varieties, regent accounts for 90% with a surface of 1,794 hectares. However, the grape has declined over several years. Varieties such as cabernet cortis and pinotin are planted in its place. Read more: GermanWines
What wines do the French drink?
Wine consumption in France is decreasing year after year, but not evenly for all colours or appellations. The French now prefer white wines (190,000 more buyers between 2019 and 2022) to red wines (629,000 fewer buyers) and rosé wines (293,000 fewer buyers), according to a NielsenIQ study published in early April 2023. Have the immensely popular rosé wines of recent years started to lose their lustre? The five designations of origin (AOP and IGP) that have attracted the most new buyers are IGP Côtes de Gascogne in the South West which produces light and fresh white wines, AOP Côtes de Provence, which is 90% rosé wine, AOP Beaujolais, IGP Méditerranée (wines from the southern Rhône Valley), and Terres du Midi, an IGP in Languedoc.
Among those who have lost in popularity are IGP Pays d’Oc, which, however, is still a bestseller and AOP Bordeaux. The generic Bordeaux wines have suffered major sales problems in recent years. AOP Corbières, AOP Côtes du Rhône, AOP Bergerac and AOP Muscadet have also lost customers. Read more: LaRVF
“Sustainable choice”, the Swedish monopoly Systembolaget’s new product labelling, scrapped after one year?
“Sustainable choice” was launched with a lot of advertising by Systembolaget last year, but according to information in DN (a Swedish daily paper), it is already time to scrap it. Sustainable choice has been widely criticized, both because of the excessively simplified model Systembolaget uses for the sustainability label and because the label is only available for Systembolaget’s own range. The wine importers’ assortment, the so-called “on-order range” (which is distributed via Systembolaget) has been excluded from the labelling. With all the advertising that Systembolaget is doing for its new label, demand will be strongly steered towards “sustainable choice” (just like what happened to “organic” when that shelf-labelling was introduced in the monopoly shops) and the on-order range will therefore be greatly disadvantaged, some believe.
“Sustainable choice” is also a private and unique Swedish label, created by Systembolaget, unlike “organic”, which is an EU label. It has also been criticized for the sometimes dubious and not always logical requirements made to obtain it. For example, the environmental impact of transport is not taken into account. Another effect of the new labelling that has been brought forward in the debate is that it further drives consumption towards the low-price segment and towards industrially produced wines.
So, from 1 June, “sustainable choice” will disappear. But it will be replaced by the text “our most sustainable drinks”, and maintaining the same criteria, says press secretary Marie Elfstrand to DN. A missed opportunity to do something better instead? Read more: DN
Read: Read more about sustainability and wine in BKWine’s book “The wine for the future”, which will be published in October.
Champagne Telmont launches a lighter champagne bottle to reduce the carbon footprint
Since 2010, a champagne bottle weighs 835 grams. It is down from 900 grams which was previously the standard weight. In other words, it is almost twice as much as a lightweight bottle for still wines. But a champagne bottle must withstand a pressure of 6 kilos by a good margin. Both the manufacturing and the transport of these heavy bottles increase the carbon footprint of champagne producers, and research is underway to reduce the glass weight. Champagne Telmont, a small house in the Vallée de la Marne, has conducted its own research with the bottle manufacturer Verallia and is now launching a bottle that is 35 grams lighter, i.e. 800 grams. They first tested 3,000 bottles and are now expanding production to 30,000 bottles. Telmont will put its organic cuvée “Réserve de la Terre” in the 800-gram bottles, and after three years of ageing, it will be sold starting in 2026. Read more: Champagne-Telmont
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Champagne with BKWine.
The wine industry in 2022; a year marked by inflation, energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, declining consumption and production, growing exports
OIV, the International Organization of Vine and Wine, recently presented its figures for the wine industry in 2022, a year influenced by high inflation, the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and disruptions in the global transport network. Because of this, many markets experienced increased wine prices, leading to a slight decrease in wine consumption worldwide. However, the total value of global wine exports is the highest ever recorded.
The grape area in the world is stable (7.3 million ha), and also in the EU (3.3 million hectares). The countries that reduced their grape surface are Moldova, Turkey (mostly table grapes), Spain (which, however, still ranks first with 955,000 ha), Argentina (due to drought and water shortages) and the United States (California has long had a surplus of grapes).
Wine production in 2022 is at 258 million hl, a decrease of almost 3 Mhl (-1%) compared to 2021. The drop was less than feared, thanks to a higher-than-expected harvest volume in Europe and the US despite drought and heat waves during the spring and summer. The southern hemisphere maintained a normal level of production. Read more: OIV
How much do you spend on an everyday wine?
That was the question the prominent Swedish wine association “Munskänkarna” asked its members in a survey to find out how much they are willing to pay for a wine to be drunk on a weekday. There were given different options, from under 100 kronor (9 euro) to over 251 kronor (22 euro). Almost 50% of those who answered thought that 101-150 kronor (9 to 13 euro) were adequate, and nearly a third went up a little in price to 151-200 kronor (13 to 17.50 euro). 11 % thought spending up to 100 kronor (9 euro) was enough for a weekday wine and only 4 % said they are prepared to pay more than 251 kronor (22 euro). The Munskänkarna Association has over 25 000 members all over Sweden. As a point of reference, the most inexpensive wine at the Systembolaget (the state monopoly shops) is 55 kronor (4,85 euro). (The cheapest wine in a French grocery shop is at 1.97 euro.) Read more Munskankarna
New colour and new grape varieties for Médoc wines?
We already wrote last year (2022) that it might soon be possible to make white appellation wine in the Médoc, which is currently not allowed. The white wine made on the Médoc peninsula today can only be called AOP Bordeaux. The appellations Médoc, Haut-Médoc and Listrac-Médoc have now agreed on a proposal for the integration of white wines in the three appellations, and this will be presented to INAO, l’Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, which will take the final decision.
One additional interesting detail is the grape varieties that the Médoc producers want to complement the grapes that are already allowed in Bordeaux. They want to add chardonnay, chenin blanc, gros manseng and viognier. It might work, but it’s not certain. The regions that have these grapes as their flagships (such as Vouvray for chenin, Jurançon for gros manseng) may object. (That’s unfortunately a common protectionist reaction in the wine sector, not only in France.) Will Burgundy accept chardonnay in Bordeaux? Perhaps. The Burgundians are used to seeing their chardonnay everywhere, and the grape is as much associated with Champagne. In any case, it is certain that in France, you do not take someone else’s grape variety with impunity without kindly asking permission. Read more: Vitisphere
In a similar vein, the traditionally white appellation Entre-deux-Mers can now also make red wine, as we recently noted on BKWine Magazine.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine.
Spring frost, is the danger over? These factors increase the risk for the vine
A wine grower always keeps an eye on the weather report. As we now enter the month of May, you would think that the risk of spring frost is over for the winegrowers in France. But the fact is that there is a slight risk of frost right into May. And that frost can be devastating because now the buds have started to grow. Specialists in climate and weather in Champagne have made a list of factors that increase the risk of being affected by spring frost. Here are some of them.
Vineyard location and topography: at the bottom of slopes, by hedges, walls, etc., air circulation may be limited, which increases the risk of frost.
Grape variety: some grape varieties are more sensitive than others. Chardonnay, for example, which buds earlier, is more sensitive than pinot noir.
Pruning date: the earlier you prune, the earlier the vine buds and the higher the risk of frost. So ideally, winter pruning should be done as late as possible.
High cover grass: In the absence of wind, the cold air can stagnate at the height of the grass. This can result in a couple of degrees colder air and more humidity, significantly increasing the risk of frost.
The height of the vine: Experiments in Champagne with more sparsely planted and thus higher vines show a lower risk of frost than more densely planted (and therefore lower) vines.
Read more: Mon-Viti
Systembolaget increases turnover in the first quarter of ‘23 but makes a loss, consumption decreases marginally
Systembolaget increased its turnover in the first quarter of 2023 and reached SEK 7,868 million / 689 M eur (7,756 million / 679 M eur for Q1 2022). This amounts to SEK 973 / 85 eur per Swede over the age of twenty (the age limit for buying alcohol), which is thus the average of what a Swede bought at “Systemet” in Q1. SEK 75 per week, or 6.60 euro. Despite its monopoly position, the company made a loss of -11 MSEK / 1 M eur, an improvement of 55 MSEK / 4.8 M eur compared to previous years. In contrast to the increased turnover, the volume decreased and reached 114.5 million litres (115.7 Ml). That’s 14.2 litres per Swede 20+ in Q1, or 1.1 litres per week (all drinks included). E-commerce decreased by 2.8%, which is mainly due to a reduced demand for home deliveries (you can buy online for delivery in a shop too). It would be interesting to compare that figure with the activity of the independent online wine retailers (permitted thanks to the EU). “Now, customers choose (…) cheaper and fewer goods when they buy”, says CEO Ann Carlsson Meyer, which sounds slightly contradictory when turnover has increased but volume has decreased. When interpreting these figures one should, however, keep in mind that the monopoly only accounts for around 70% of the alcohol consumption. Read more: OmSystembolaget
Acacia, chestnut or oak, does it make a difference for the taste of the wine? An experiment in Condrieu
Oak is almost always used for barrels when you store wine in “wood”. But we see more and more often when we visit the wine cellars on our wine tours a few barrels made of a different type of wood. It is often experiments on a small scale for the winemaker to learn more about how the wine reacts. Rarely do we as consumers have an opportunity to experience it. But last winter, Domaine Christophe Pichon in Condrieu in the Rhône valley launched three wines aged in different barrels: acacia, chestnut and oak. It is the young son at the domaine, Corentin, who is making experiments. We had the opportunity to taste the wines and there is certainly a difference. The traditional oak gave a rounder and slightly fuller impression with good acidity. The Acacia cask gave a wine with more floral character and more freshness. The chestnut gave more herbal notes with an elegant and softer style. The wines are sold only in a pack of three with one bottle of each (50 cl) at the estate for 128 euros. But condrieu is a rare wines and is never cheap and this is a unique experience. From a small vineyard with viognier on half a hectare. Read more: Domaine-Pichon
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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.
Against All Odds – Wines and Wineries in Ecuador
If ever there were an obstacle to overcome, producing wine in Ecuador has to be one of those. Ecuador is outside “the wine belt”. In South America, the belt is between the 30th and 40th latitude, and Ecuador lies between the 1st and 2nd latitude. This cannot be an optimal placement for growing vines which produce grapes. BKWine Magazine guest contributor Warren R. Johnson tells the story of this unusual wine country.
Read more in Warren R. Johnson’s article on BKWine Magazine: Against All Odds – Wines and Wineries in Ecuador.
Ornellaia launches the new vintage 2020, and names it Proportion
“I always wonder how it feels for the people behind a famous wine like Ornellaia every year just before launching a new vintage. Do they manage to sleep? Do they have a mantra? Do they enjoy it, or are they already thinking about the next vintage? Well, the pressure is on, and expectations are high when it is time to release the new vintage of such a famous wine as Ornellaia. This Bolgheri Rosso DOC is one of the world’s most sought-after wines. Ornellaia is about to launch the 2020 vintage.”
Read more in Åsa Johansson’s article on BKWine Magazine: Ornellaia launches the new vintage 2020, and names it Proportion.
Discovering Yamaguchi Sake | Book Review
Jim Rion is a certified kikisake-shi (sommelier of sake) and has lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture (Japan) since 2004. He started writing about sake during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. He decided to document the 23 breweries that are part of Yamaguchi Prefecture (*). Read on and see what BKWine Magazine’s guest writer Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre says about Jim Rion’s new book “Discovering Yamaguchi Sake: A Taster’s Guide to Breweries, Culture, and Terrain”.
Read more in Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre’s article on BKWine Magazine: Discovering Yamaguchi Sake | Book Review.
Is it better with “natural yeast” than with added yeast?
There are different philosophies. Some say that to use the “natural” yeast, i.e. the one found “naturally” on the grapes and in the wine cellar, is the only way to bring out the genuine character of the wine’s origin. Others (e.g. some modern research) say that the uniqueness of “natural yeast” is in fact a myth. Whatever the case, most wine producers choose to add yeast in order to (they say) be sure that the wine ferments properly and becomes dry. Does it matter? We did a deep dive into that question in an article we published quite a while ago. But we’ve now updated it so it might be worth mentioning here again.
Read more in Britt’s article on BKWine Magazine, originally published on Forbes: No wine without yeast, but which type of yeast is the best? | Britt on Forbes.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to one of the world’s wine regions with BKWine and ask the winemakers their opinion.
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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!
A royal drink on the wine tour in Champagne
Champagne is the wine region that is closest to Paris. It starts just some 50 kilometres east of the city. That has no doubt helped in brining it to world fame. Going east from Paris the region first follows the river Marne. It is the coolest region so here they have planted much pinot meunier, that can take the cool springs better. Very fragrant champagne mostly. You then arrive to the Montagne de Reims, where pinot noir is king. Talking of kings, the Cathedrale de Reims (a must-visit!) was host to almost all of the coronations of the French kings, starting with Louis the Pious, the son of Charlemagne, on 5 October 816. Pinot noir champagne is more full-bodied. The region then turns right and extends southwards into the Côte des Blancs, and indeed, here it is almost only white grapes. Chardonnay. More elegant, higher acidity, tension. But most champagne is a blend of the three grapes. You will get plenty of illustrations of the different styles on this wine tour. And you will also discover what an excellent choice champagne can be to a meal. We will enjoy several champagne-only lunches.
Come on a wine tour to Champagne with us. Book now!
- Champagne, September 27 – October 1, 2023
And also: We have written an internationally award-winning book on Champagne, so you can hardly get a better guide to the region.
The great French wine duet | wine tour to Champagne and Bordeaux
Champagne and Bordeaux are almost diametrically opposed geographically in France. Champagne in the north-east, not far from Belgium, Bordeaux in the south-west an hour and a half’s drive from Spain. The are just as different wine it comes to wine. White bubbly wine with plenty of tension and acidity, and dense reds with a lot of fruit, aged in barrel for a few years in many cases. But they are a happy couple. (Maybe just because of the distance?) When you visit a chateau in Bordeaux and are invited for lunch, you almost always get a glass of champagne as aperitif. If you’ll insist on a red for the main or the cheese in Champagne, there’s a good chance you’ll get a bordeaux. In fact, the two regions are quite similar in some ways. The are the world’s two most famous and prestigious wine regions that many others take inspiration from, and sometimes try and imitate. They are also the perfect couple to combine into a wine tour of the great French wines, starting in Champagne and then travelling down to Bordeaux. Which is exactly what we do on our combined Great Duo wine tour of Champagne and Bordeaux.
Come and discover Champagne and Bordeaux with us. Book now!
- Champagne and Bordeaux, September 27 – October 5, 2023
PS: We have written an internationally award-winning book about Champagne, and also one on Bordeaux. And nine other wine books. Can you think of any other wine tour operator with that in the baggage?
Dare to discover the different (real) Bordeaux | wine tour
Quite recently there was the “primeur” season in Bordeaux. That’s when the worlds wine merchants and wine journalists (well a quite few of them, at least) descend on the region to taste the last vintage, taste the wines that will be ready for the market in two years’ time. A bit early one might think. The Bordeaux wine scene is curious in many other ways too. There are almost 7000 wine producers in Bordeaux but it is only a handful, between fifty and a hundred, that receive the attention of the press. That’s not necessarily because they are undisputedly the best (yes, they are good), but because of history, tradition, clever marketing and in general the inability of the markets to remember more than a few brands (how many car brands can you remember?). We will take you to some of these on our Bordeaux tour, but we will also show you what you could call “the real Bordeaux”. Family-owned chateaux. Wineries where you might really meet the winemaker or the owners. Wineries that will explain to you what they do and why. And that make just as excellent wines, just less famous. The personal intimate side of Bordeaux. Combine that with some of the most extraordinary French gastronomy and you have our Bordeaux tour in a nutshell.
Come and discover Bordeaux with us. Book now!
- Bordeaux, October 1-5, 2023
PS: We have written a book about Bordeaux, and have been travelling there since 1986. Can you find a better guide and tour operator?
Unforgettable memories from Chile & Argentina’s wine regions and cities | wine tour
Fourteen days may seem like a lot, but how many times will one travel to South America? And in fact, fourteen days is not much, considering all the experiences that we will have time for. What are the greatest experiences on the trip in Chile and Argentina? It’s personal, of course, and it also varies from year to year because no two trips are the same. But – even though it’s a wine tour – travelling across the Andes is one of them, something you never forget. Coming here and not taking the road past Aconcagua’s 6,000-meter peak would be, well, irresponsible. (Including lunch at 3000 m altitude.) But there’s plenty more. The wine tasting under the avocado trees together with the owner of the vineyard? The visit to the man who refuses to make malbec in Mendoza and who has the oldest tree in the region? The wine cellar with endless rows of next to each other antique wine barrels followed by a lunch with a closing magnum of an old vintage? The wonderful cabernet franc? The seafood and fish on the west coast of Chile? Tango night in Buenos Aires (the Paris of South America?)? There’s a lot. Much that you will never forget. A spectacular journey in many ways.
Come with us and discover the wine countries of Chile and Argentina. Book now!
More inspiration: You can get an even better feeling for what you will experience on this tour if you visit the latest tour’s own Facebook group. Lots of pictures and videos from the tour (join the group and you’ll get an update when we post new contents): The wine tour to Chile and Argentina 2023.
Great variety among the high-quality wines in South Africa | wine tour
South Africa is a handy wine country in a way. You can get to almost every wine district in not much more than an hour and a half or two from Cape Town. Much like Bordeaux, where the distances are greater than you think. South Africa and Bordeaux also have roughly the same vineyard area. But it is a deceptive “smallness”. South Africa has an astonishing variety in climate, nature and of course wine, within this rather limited area. To experience all this, we take you around to (almost) all the wine regions on the trip. You will experience the cool coastal climate of Walker Bay which produces perhaps South Africa’s best pinot noir and chardonnay. Farthest north you come to the Swartland, not quite a desert but in any case very hot and dry, where we stay in a hotel that takes you back to the English colonial era in style. Mandatory gin & tonic. In between we have the two most famous wine districts, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Franschhoek is a very small town which, in addition to the wine, is famous for its many restaurants. Stellenbosch, on the other hand, is large, with more than 100,000 inhabitants and a large university, and many exciting wineries to visit. Wines are thus made today in many different styles, and many of them are world class.
Discover South Africa, the fantastic wine country, with us. Book now!
More inspiration: You can get an even better feeling for what you will experience on this tour if you visit the latest tour’s own Facebook group. Lots of pictures and videos from the tour (join the group and you’ll get an update when we post new contents): The wine tour to South Africa 2023.
The unexpected wine country from north to south, the New Zealand wine tour.
In many ways, New Zealand is a big surprise. Before you get there, you have of course formed an idea of what it is like, but it is different. It’s a bit English in style (fish & chips), yes, but still not. There is a lot of sauvignon, but what you will taste and drink most are other wines. It is magnificent nature, and you will see a lot of it, it will be a bit of a “road trip” from the start in Auckland to the end in Queenstown. It is one of the most successful countries for wine exports, rightfully so. But making quality wine is a fairly recent invention. It actually started in the 80s with sauvignon blanc in Marlborough. But today it is very diverse. Pinot noir from Central Otago has also a world-reputation today. By the way, did you know that it is a gold mining district? And that this was where the very first “bungee jump” was done? We visit the bridge where they threw themselves off, still in use for jumping, so if you want to go for it… But there will also be a lot more. Glacial lake, sulphur-emitting geysers, boat across the Cook Strait with a (slight) chance of dolphin, lobster lunch at a small hole-in-the-wall harbour restaurant, brilliant syrah wines, maybe the odd fiano, Maori dinner, and much more. Sixteen days filled with experiences.
Join us for a great wine, nature and culture experience on the New Zealand wine tour. Book now!
More inspiration: You can get an even better feeling for what you will experience on this tour if you visit the latest tour’s own Facebook group. Lots of pictures and videos from the tour (join the group and you’ll get an update when we post new contents): The wine tour to New Zealand 2020.
