Wine – Page 2 – Keep It Overproof!

What is Burgundy? Part four: The Burgundian Inheritance

In the last instalment of our look at Burgundy’s shape-shifting borders, Duke Charles was on the verge of a war that would bring his house and duchy to ruin, while successors will shred rip and tear the great Burgundian Inheritance to shreds over the following centuries. The States of Valois Burgundy at their height in the 1470s. Charles the Rash’s attempt to seize Lorraine and join the two halves was just one of the catalysts of the Burgundian Wars that would lead to the States’ collapse. The parts in purple would be claimed by France and those in orange by the Habsburgs....

Aldi to boost core wine range by 50%

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

UK retailer Aldi is looking to boost its core wine range by 50% with the trials of around 35 new core lines, as it considers retiring its Lot Series range of one-offs wine parcels. Aldi buying director Josh Heley said the discounter is trialling the wines this month, with a view to adding them to the 70-strong core range, and would be watching how they performed. “There is an opportunity of things we think could come into the core line, such as the Estevez Chilean Viognier (£5.49), the Maison Rouge French Boujolais or different varietals,” Heley explained “It’s...

Austrian wine exports surpass €180m

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Austrian wine exports surpassed €180 million for the first time in 2019, while volumes also rose and the number of markets increased too. In total, Austrian wine exports rose 9% in value in 2019 to €185.4m, while volumes rose 20.5% to 63.6m litres (driven by a large 2018 vintage) and the number of total markets is now 102 – in 2009 it was just 64. The 2018 vintage was very large in Austria, 15% higher than the 15 year average at 2.7m hectolitres, which had the slightly unfortunate effect of lowering the average price per litre on entry level wines in “price sensitive”...

Budget live: Chancellor freezes alcohol duties and abolishes business rates for small retailers

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer has frozen alcohol duties for spirit, wine and beer, and abolished business rates for the year for hundreds of thousands of small retailers and businesses in the hospitality sector. Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who only took on the role last month, has cut a planned increase in duty across spirits, wine and beer, noting it was only the second time in 20 years that all alcohol duties had been frozen and reiterated the upcoming review of UK alcohol taxation that was unveiled during the Queen’s speech. He also singled out the value of Scotch to the...

Vinexpo NY overcomes travel concerns with high levels of engagement

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The third annual edition of Vinexpo New York closed last week with somewhat reduced numbers, as a result of Covid-19 travel precautions, but with a show of enthusiasm on the part of exhibitors and attendees. “It’s been a great conference for our winery and for Georgian wines in general,” said Vladimer Kublashvili, chief winemaker for Winery Khareba, on the final day of the show. At a time when most trade fairs typically begin to lose steam, booth traffic remained heavy at the Georgian pavilion and throughout the conference exhibit hall. “It’s our first year...

Designer of Jancis glassware crowdfunding to grow business

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Richard Brendon, the designer behind the Jancis Robinson wine glass collection, is crowdfunding to raise investment for his business, which aims to support heritage craft industries. Richard Brendon with Jancis Robinson OBE MW The designer, who started his own business in 2013, and collaborated with Jancis Robinson OBE MW on a glassware collection in 2018, is crowdfunding through the Crowdcube platform, which you can view here. Brendon is looking to raise £250,000 for his business to fund new product development and ramp up marketing efforts. Aside from the glassware, he works with...

Bordeaux profile: Beychevelle

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Terroir, history and context There are many truisms spoken about the wines of the Médoc. And, to be honest, not all of them are true. But it is difficult to argue with the observation that if one is in the Médoc, one’s feet are dry, one is standing in a vineyard, and one can see the Gironde, then one is likely to be surrounded by excellent terroir – and the greater the expanse of the river one can see the greater the quality of that terroir. The proposition works well: Latour, Margaux, Léoville Las Cases, Montrose … and, of course, Beychevelle. Indeed,...

The 10 most powerful wine brands in the world 2020

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Market analyst Wine Intelligence has released a report detailing the most influential wine brands in the world. The Global Wine Power Index 2020 looks at the performance of dozens of brands in 20 key markets, such as the UK, US, Japan, Australia, China and the Netherlands, posing survey questions to a little over 22,000 people worldwide The survey explored a number of factors to estimate a brand’s influence with consumers, such as their awareness of the brand, how often it was purchased, how much ‘affinity’ consumers felt they had with the wine (i.e., whether it felt “right...

How coronavirus is disrupting drinks sector’s trade shows

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

As tastings and trade shows worldwide have been scrapped or pushed back to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, we’re keeping tabs on the latest news from the drinks industry. UPDATE: On Thursday (5 March), Messe Düsseldorf, the organiser of trade show ProWein, has revealed that the show will not take place this year. The group plan to host ProWein as scheduled in 2021. On Tuesday (3 March), London’s wine trade had its first casualty. The RAW Wine Show, which was due to take place this weekend, has been postponed. Founder Isabelle Legeron MW said: “With so many producers...

International Women’s Day: How the drinks industry is supporting women in 2020

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

With International Women’s Day right around the corner, brands are racing to launch initiatives that empower women in the workplace. In recent years, the day, which has been celebrated for well over a century, became an excuse for businesses to offer promotions and boost their sales, while winning over consumers. Brewdog faced heavy backlash after launching an ironic “Punk for Girls” IPA in 2018 and offering discounts at its on-trade sites, despite also donating proceeds of the sales to support women in STEM research. It’s no longer enough to offer women a discount...

Tag: Wine