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 more reading that usual.
Christmas is also a time to say thank you.
We are very happy that we have so many readers of the BKWine Brief and on BKWine Magazine. That so many people seem to appreciate what we do. Thank you all!
BKWine Magazine (the site bkwine.com) is, it seems, the most read independent editorial web site in Sweden and it is, as you know, also very widely read all over the world. (“It seems”, since few if any publish any reliable and trustworthy statistics.)
If you think what we write is interesting or entertaining then please “like” BKWine Magazine on Facebook and “share” what we write on Facebook and Twitter! That means a lot to us. And tell your friends about our free subscription to the Brief.
We also say a big thank you to all our wine tour clients. We have organised many hundreds of wine tours over the years and bought thousands of wine lovers, novices as well as professionals, to meet with passionate wine makers in wine regions all over the world. And shared our own passion for good wine, food and travel. This has made BKWine into one of the leading wine tour companies in the world. And as far as we know the only one who has won several prestigious prizes and awards for wine books. We organise more than 30 wine tours each year.
If we are also the best is for you to decide. We hope to meet you on one of our wine tours some time soon. If you are interested in out wine tours don’t forget to like BKWine Tours on Facebook.
Also a big thank you to all our contributors on BKWine Magazine who contribute a tremendous amount to spreading knowledge and enthusiasm about wine.
If you need a last second Christmas gift tip (if you read this before Christmas!) we can recommend one of our wine tours. We can get a gift card to you in time for Christmas (provided you have a printer). Or give a tour as a gift to yourself. Spring season features Bordeaux and the autumn will have Champagne, Douro and Bordeaux. In addition to custom designed tours. More info below.
This time of the year people talk about the new trends of the coming wine year. Trends are difficult to guess as they are unpredictable. We do believe however that organic wines will continue to gain ground. Wine producers talk a lot about the environment and organic viticulture. We see more and more certified producers in Europe and also in South America and South Africa. Some say they work organically without wanting to get certified. It costs money, they say, and it is even more paperwork to handle. It really doesn’t cost that much to be certified but we can understand that some want to avoid the hassle with more paperwork. (If you want to know more you can read our book on organic wines.)
But we have a New Year’s wish. We would so much like not to hear and read statements like this one, coming from a well-known and very knowledgeable wine writer (but he is not alone in making such statements!): “The winery X is planning to be completely organic in their vineyards in 2016. However, they don’t wish to be certified, since they don’t want to close the door entirely to synthetic products, in case of bad weather conditions.”
If you want this door to be open, then you are not organic. An organic grower does not use synthetic chemicals. Never. He makes do with other products that are allowed for organic farming. If you want this door to be open then your vineyards are “sustainable”. That is also a good thing. But do not call it organic. (If you want to know more about what is permitted and forbidden in organic wine growing read our just-published article.)
Biodynamic viticulture is also increasing. Our guess is that biodynamic farming will be interpreted more and more freely in the future (there is no official definition of biodynamics in the same way as there is for organic farming, even if there are private organisations that do certifications). We think that winegrowers will embrace the parts of the biodynamic philosophy that suits them. Which is not a bad thing.
Anyone can read the founder Rudolf Steiner’s books and interpret them in their own way. Demeter is an international association that certifies biodynamic farmers and they have made their interpretation. Which they of course consider to be the only true one. Which of course it not necessarily is. (See also in The Brief about the upcoming Demeter wine fair.)
The basis for all wine growers who thinks about getting into biodynamics, however, must be organic viticulture. No synthetic chemical products. Ever.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Britt & Per
PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief !
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What’s on at BKWine Tours
- Chile and Argentina in South America, February 6-21, 2016
- South Africa, February 26 – March 7, 2016
- Bordeaux, April 20-24, 2016
For more information please contact us on email or on phone (we’re on French time), or go to our wine travel site on www.bkwinetours.com!
We also make custom designed wine tours – on-demand tours for you and a group of friends, for your company (maybe to scout new winegrowers?), for a special event… We can combine winery visits and wine touring with other activities: gastronomic workshops, visit to an oyster farm, truffles hunting, cheese making, and more. More info on the custom designed and bespoke BKWine wine tours and travel here!
Wine tours in Finnish: We also do wine tours in Finnish. And in German, Norwegian, Spanish… Do you want the latest news and updates on our wine travel activity? Subscribe here! (Second alternative BKWineTours.com)
Do you want the latest news and updates on our wine travel activity? Subscribe here! (Second alternative BKWineTours.com)
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[box type=”note” size=”large” 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]
