“I have found a producer of organic Noir de Bourgogne [blackcurrants],” he said. “It’s very unusual. The farmer is in his third year of organic production, so will get his certification in time for the ISC in 2012. He uses incense oils for some of his field treatments.” The new product, from the multiple award-winning cassis producer, is likely to be expensive but, says Chaussee,…
The long, cold winter of 2010/11 has ended in dramatic style in Cognac, with conditions in the region resembling summer this week – temperatures climbed as high as 30ºC on Weds and Thurs (6-7 April 2011). “I don’t remember it being so hot so early,” said Isabelle Couprie, cellar master at Cognac Gautier in Aigre. Budbreak is as much as 15 days…
With the number of exhibitors taking stands at Prowein 2011 exceeding 3600 – up by about 200 on the 2010 show – Messe Düsseldorf also reported a healthy increase in trade and media visitors More than 38,000 visitors from “all major European markets as well as North America and Asia” represented a 5% increase on the 2010 figure. Messe Düsseldorf officials noted a “significant rise…
Since the former Cru Bourgeois system – dogged by suggestions of conflicts of interest – ended in 2007, some 290 producers have put themselves forward for the new classification. This represents the original 247 member producers plus more that were not previously accepted. Under the old system, a jury of 18 people from the Médoc area judged all submissions for the Cru Bourgeois tastings. The…
Positioned in between the existing 10 and 15 Year Old Glencadam bottlings are a new 12 Year Old “Rather Refined” Portwood Finísh and 14 Year Old “Rather Enriched” Oloroso Sherry Cask Finísh. And bolstering the top end of the range comes “The exceptional” 21 Year Old edition. Brand development director Duncan Baldwin said: “We are fortunate enough to be able to produce…
Following the early-2009 opening of its new winery and purchase of 12ha of vineyards from its former neighbour Mount Rosier Estate, the Stellenbosch producer has increased production from 6,000 to 11,000 9-litre cases. In 2009 Journey’s End exported 60% of its production to two markets, UK and Denmark, but the company expects exports to rise to 80% in 2010, with recent new…
Following Moët Hennessy’s release in March this year of the Oenothèque Collection 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé, Geoffroy described it as an “alignment of the planets”, adding: “2010 will always remain an extraordinary year for Dom Pérignon. “A release such as this has never happened in the history of Dom Pérignon,” he said. Near perfect growing conditions during 2002 resulted in a harvest of highly concentrated…
On June 9 the French appellation contrôlée regulator INAO elevated Rasteau’s dry red wines from Côtes du Rhône Villages status to full AOC in its own right, following an initial request from the local winegrowers’ syndicate and its chairman Daniel Ferran in 2002. “This decision is a natural acknowledgement of the quality of the Rasteau terroir, a point that had to be…
The move follows the name change earlier in June 2010 – designed to reflect the group’s focus on the Lanson champagne brand in international markets – of Lanson’s parent company, from Boizel Chanoine Champagne to Lanson-BCC. Lanson International UK will now reshape its UK strategy to offer the non-malolactic Champagne Lanson as the “perfect aperitif”; the Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines…
“It was a great surprise and we are very happy,” Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB)managing director Willi Klinger told drinks International, at the biennial VieVinum wine show in Vienna. Hit by the global economic difficulties, Austria’s national exports across all industry sectors fell dramatically by 20%, according to Statistik Austria. And although the large 2008 wine harvest led to a disproportionately high…
