It’s all happening in Bordeaux over this week with the start of the 2007 en primeur tastings. Release pricing will be interesting given that the 2007 vintage is not a top year. That said there will still be some good wines around. It is doubtful that the 1st growths will descend from their stratospheric pricing [...]
Perrier-Jouet have apparently released the worlds most expensive Champagne at a whopping 50,000 Euros a case. Production is limited to 100 of these cases of 12 bottles. I’ve blogged about this before, but I had none of the details at the time, only the “shock and awe” pricing. And what does 50,000 euro’s buy you? [...]
While I’m in Piedmont, I will be compiling a guide for consumers and importers that will be down loadable. It should be useful to those looking for interesting or good value for money wines. The first week I will be in La Morra and will be looking at the local producers and a fair bit [...]
About a year ago I wrote a series of posts on fining. Surprisingly the comments still continue. The only explanation for this that I can think of is that there is a lack of information on the subject. I have been surprised by the amount of comment and emails I have had regarding allergic reactions. [...]
I’m off to Italy in May for a look at the growing and wine making practises of the wine growers in Piedmont, Valtallina, Alto Adige and Trentino. It’s going to be a great deal of fun and I’m really looking forward to discovering more about the viticultural techniques used in the north of Italy. I’m [...]
If you are a wine producer from either Bordeaux or Burgundy and are looking for an export opportunity to China, please contact me. There may be a few market opportunities developing that I can assist you with.
I was some what staggered to read yesterday in the March Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker an article on carbon emissions of screw tops and cork. The staggering part was the significant difference between the two; Natural cork at 2.490 kilograms per tonne and screw top at 10.633 kilograms per tonne. While I [...]
Recently New Zealand’s Alcohol Advisory Council lodged an application with Food Standards Australia & New Zealand (FSANZ) to require warnings about consuming alcohol while pregnant. Readers in The US will already familiar with such warnings. While we already have the standard drinks labelling Australia and New Zealand do not have any warnings about potential harm [...]
I was contacted by the inventor of the VH Mulcher, a few days ago. He was wondering if there is a potential use for his machine in the preparation of difficult hillside vineyard sites. Having had a look on the video from there website I can see potential for some difficult sites with very compacted [...]
A few months back I wrote a little about a 1994 Stoneleigh Marlborough Riesling. Tonight I tried the 2006 version. A little bit floral on the nose and a touch waxy. It was quite similar to the 1994 but with less punch. Residual sugar was quite noticeable and a rough rest revealed it was around [...]
The Rain in the Hawkes Bay ended up only being around 40mm total. Conditions in the Bay are nice and warm with pleasant breeze at present. It’s doubtful the rain had any negative impact at all.
Vineyards are laid out in fairly similar styles usually. You know the thing, rows of vines vertically trained. Sometimes you see bush vines, but how about training the vines out of the vertical plane. Behold the U trellis. The photo was taken a few weeks ago at one of Kumeu Rivers Vineyards in wait for [...]
For various reasons I’ve been looking at quite a few winery web sites of late. There a re number of things I feel compelled to share. Primarily if you want to build a website for winery/vineyard you should first ask yourself the question. “How often will I check and update it†If you can’t commit [...]
Unfortunately Gisborne and the Hakes bay are catching a little bit of ran at present. The rain in Gisborne is more significant but a few places in the bay have caught in excess of 40mm. After such a great summer for viticulture, it may not be too significant. Fingers crossed for no outbreaks of rot! [...]
Questions on the subject of SO2 or Sulphur Dioxide or preservative 220 often seem to bring people to here. Often the questions involve preservative free wines. It is worth noting that while it is possible to produce wines without the addition of this product, it does not necessarily follow that it will be 100% free [...]