Our travel season is in full swing! We are so happy to see our travellers, the wine producers and the vineyards again. Many of the wine producers we visit are almost embracing us with joy,
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has presented preliminary figures for the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. In the April Brief, we wrote about Argentina, estimated to produce 10.1 million hectolitres, decreasing
The OIV, International Organization of Vine and Wine, recently presented the first impressions of the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. Argentina made a total of 10.1 million hl (preliminary figure, as the harvest has
On October 27, OIV Secretary-General Pau Roca presented the first estimates of the world wine production in 2020. Volumes in the EU were lower than the average as several regions deliberately reduced their harvest despite
One of our very few autumn wine tours went to the Douro Valley in late October. All the winemakers we met agreed on one thing: the 2020 harvest was a challenge, and it was not
In some places, the harvest started earlier than ever this year. Overall, the quality of the grapes has been exceptional. In Champagne, they started picking already on August 17. The quality of the grapes was
In New Zealand, wine producers were in the middle of the harvest when the message came on March 25 about a total lock-down of the country. The relief was great when they were told that
All producers we met on our wine tour in mid-February were, so far, happy with the quality and most of them also with the quantity. After the drought the quantities are now again back to
Burgundy winemakers have been fighting the elements this year. Spring frosts, hail, millerandage during flowering and – perhaps most damaging – lack of water. But when the harvest started on August 31 for the crémant
We came to New Zealand in March earlier this year, just when the 2019 harvest was about to begin. We saw lots of fine grape bunches and we had the feeling that it would be
The first week in April, the primeur tastings take place in Bordeaux. This means that buyers, importers, wine merchants and journalists come to Bordeaux to taste the latest vintage. We also had the opportunity to
Many wine producers in France are happy with the vintage 2018, a record harvest, not least in Champagne, where many now have started the bottling. Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy at Champagne Geoffroy in Aÿ says that it
France in general did a good harvest in 2018, both in volume and in quality. The Ministry of Agriculture has just published figures for the different regions. Total production was 46.6 million hectolitres, which is
When some people think about machine harvesting, they often imagine big monsters that brutalize the vineyard. It is true that harvesting machines are often big machines, but they can be quite gentle to both grapes
It has been a hot summer in France, but the growing conditions have not been easy everywhere. Alban Rabasa, assistant winemaker at Château Vaudieu in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, says that 2018 is une année du vigneron, which
During our visit to South Africa at the beginning of March, the harvest was in full swing. The very difficult, and prolonged, drought in the wine regions of the Western Cape affects the grapes of
There is a severe water shortage at the moment in South Africa’s wine regions. The harvest 2018 will probably be the smallest in ten years. The South Africans begin picking their grapes in February. The
“2017 will go down in history as a very complicated vintage for more or less all French wine regions,” says Graham Nutter in Minervois. He contacted us to tell us a little bit about what
We have received a harvest report from California that says that 2017 will be a very good vintage. The fires in October have not affected the quality of the wines. Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino
Where do all the harvest workers come from? This is a question we are often asked on our wine tours. Even though harvesting machines are being used more and more, still perhaps 40% of all
It is much debated (albeit less and less) whether global warming is a real phenomenon or not. I saw an interesting illustration of how the harvest dates have evolved in different wine regions in France
There is a lot of talk about the very small harvest volume that we will get this year, even here at BKWine Magazine, Record-breaking small wine harvest in France. But in Burgundy they expect to
It is perhaps excessive to call it disaster, but also the Italian harvest (like the French harvest) is expected to be extremely small this year. The Italian oenologist association predicts that Italy will harvest 41
Already today it is quite clear how big the wine harvest will be this year, with quite a lot of certainty. It will be small. The harvest is also very early. In some places it
The harvest is in full swing, at the time of writing, in the southern Rhone Valley – it will be over by the time you read this – and the growers are very happy. “I
Facts and myths about hand and machine picking Let’s start with clearing up one of the basic misconceptions. It is not true that manual harvest is better than mechanical harvest. However, manual harvest can sometimes
Overall it has been a very good year in France. We have seen many happy faces in the vineyards. But nothing is perfect and some regions have had problems. Burgundy: Very high quality. Early flowering,
2015 has so far been a good year for the Chilean wines. The harvest was a record-high 12.86 million hectolitres. It’s a good recovery from last year’s very low figure. It is even a bit
The summer has been nice and warm in France, not least in the wine regions. So the harvest is early this year. In Languedoc they picked the first grapes already on the 7th of August.
The harvest in South Africa began early this year. The growing season was dry and the producers had very little problems with diseases and rot. They could harvest beautiful and healthy grapes. Most of them
Our travel season is in full swing! We are so happy to see our travellers, the wine producers and the vineyards again. Many of the
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has presented preliminary figures for the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. In the April Brief, we
The OIV, International Organization of Vine and Wine, recently presented the first impressions of the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. Argentina made a total
On October 27, OIV Secretary-General Pau Roca presented the first estimates of the world wine production in 2020. Volumes in the EU were lower than
One of our very few autumn wine tours went to the Douro Valley in late October. All the winemakers we met agreed on one thing:
In some places, the harvest started earlier than ever this year. Overall, the quality of the grapes has been exceptional. In Champagne, they started picking
In New Zealand, wine producers were in the middle of the harvest when the message came on March 25 about a total lock-down of the
All producers we met on our wine tour in mid-February were, so far, happy with the quality and most of them also with the quantity.
Burgundy winemakers have been fighting the elements this year. Spring frosts, hail, millerandage during flowering and – perhaps most damaging – lack of water. But
We came to New Zealand in March earlier this year, just when the 2019 harvest was about to begin. We saw lots of fine grape
The first week in April, the primeur tastings take place in Bordeaux. This means that buyers, importers, wine merchants and journalists come to Bordeaux to
Many wine producers in France are happy with the vintage 2018, a record harvest, not least in Champagne, where many now have started the bottling.
France in general did a good harvest in 2018, both in volume and in quality. The Ministry of Agriculture has just published figures for the
When some people think about machine harvesting, they often imagine big monsters that brutalize the vineyard. It is true that harvesting machines are often big
It has been a hot summer in France, but the growing conditions have not been easy everywhere. Alban Rabasa, assistant winemaker at Château Vaudieu in
During our visit to South Africa at the beginning of March, the harvest was in full swing. The very difficult, and prolonged, drought in the
There is a severe water shortage at the moment in South Africa’s wine regions. The harvest 2018 will probably be the smallest in ten years.
“2017 will go down in history as a very complicated vintage for more or less all French wine regions,” says Graham Nutter in Minervois. He
We have received a harvest report from California that says that 2017 will be a very good vintage. The fires in October have not affected
Where do all the harvest workers come from? This is a question we are often asked on our wine tours. Even though harvesting machines are
It is much debated (albeit less and less) whether global warming is a real phenomenon or not. I saw an interesting illustration of how the
There is a lot of talk about the very small harvest volume that we will get this year, even here at BKWine Magazine, Record-breaking small
It is perhaps excessive to call it disaster, but also the Italian harvest (like the French harvest) is expected to be extremely small this year.
Already today it is quite clear how big the wine harvest will be this year, with quite a lot of certainty. It will be small.
The harvest is in full swing, at the time of writing, in the southern Rhone Valley – it will be over by the time you
Facts and myths about hand and machine picking Let’s start with clearing up one of the basic misconceptions. It is not true that manual harvest
Overall it has been a very good year in France. We have seen many happy faces in the vineyards. But nothing is perfect and some
2015 has so far been a good year for the Chilean wines. The harvest was a record-high 12.86 million hectolitres. It’s a good recovery from
The summer has been nice and warm in France, not least in the wine regions. So the harvest is early this year. In Languedoc they
The harvest in South Africa began early this year. The growing season was dry and the producers had very little problems with diseases and rot.
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