The dawn of a new era for European wine
Friday 31 July
It’s the big day tomorrow. After years of negotiations and planning the European Union wine reform finally kicks in.
According to the EU it will “phase out wasteful and expensive market intervention measures and allow the budget to be used for more positive, proactive measures which will boost the competitiveness of European wines.”
The reform will see a massive restructuring of the wine sector. It includes a voluntary, three-year grubbing-up scheme to provide an alternative for uncompetitive producers and to remove surplus wine from the market.
Subsidies for crisis distillation will be phased out and the money, allocated in national envelopes, can be used for measures like wine promotion on third country markets, restructuring and investment in modernisation of vineyards and cellars. However you may remember earlier this month in an article I have written for decanter.com, Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said the uptake had been disappointing.
Today, Fischer Boel reiterated her views on the reform. “Member States and producers have a great opportunity to make the best use of the new wine regime to build on Europe’s international reputation for excellence. I truly believe this marks a turning point in our wine sector’s history. But I must urge Member States to show urgency in using the new funds, which are available. Money from the national envelopes must be used by 15th October, or else it will be lost.”
The reform will also simplify labelling rules.
The restrictive planting rights system will also be abolished at EU level from 1 January 2016 onwards, with the possibility for Member States to keep it until December 2018 if they wish.
Argos and its role in Bordeaux tourism
Wednesday 29 July
The word Argos conjures up images of a retail chain with an enormous catalogue and a strange ordering system involving small slips of paper and even smaller pens. However, I ended up on the back of a horse called Argos today in Bordeaux, and it was a million miles from the high street homeware store.
Argos and I ventured through the vineyard of Ch. Rieussec, owned by the Rothschild family, before trotting through LVMH-owned Ch. d’Yquem’s vines and then over the road to Suduiraut. Unfortunately Argos liked to eat constantly so the vines’ canopies are a bit patchy in places now. The horse also had a bit of a wind problem no doubt due to the non-stop munching. Greed and flatulence aside, horse riding through Sauternes turns out to be a great way to see the vineyards and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Check out Ferme Equestre
Not only did I have problems with the horse; the canoeing excursion in Sauternes was equally eventful. I paired up TV chef Dean Simpole-Clarke to paddle down the Cirons – the tributary that meets the Garonne river and is responsible for the famous fog that causes the noble rot essential to make Sauternes. Unfortunately, the canoe had a leak and we ended up sinking slowly. The other boats seemed sturdier and can be hired from the village of Bommes in the heart of the Sauternes region at www.bommes-nautique.new.fr
Bordeaux beyond the châteaux
Wednesday 29 July
I’m on a research trip to Bordeaux this week but there are no barrel room tours involved. Instead of writing about the intricacies of claret I’m researching what the region has to offer tourists beyond the wineries.
It turns out the region is a golfing hub. I’ve always thought golf spoiled a good walk but I’m slowly coming round to the idea it might be enjoyable. I had my first-ever golf lesson yesterday and while I probably won’t be taking up the sport after my abysmal performance on the driving range (my putting was a little more respectable), the Golf du Médoc complex has plenty to offer the wine lover who needs time out from all the eating and drinking. It’s got 72 holes of golf action, each named after a Médoc chateau. Apparently the par 3 on the 5th, otherwise known as Château Pontet Canet sorts out the men from the boys. As I struggled to hit the ball, I’m unlikely to make it past the first hole let alone make it to the fifth.
Plastic penguins and pit bulls
Bordeaux has been seen as a region that is impenetrable to tourists without an appointment or a contact in the wine trade. Two years ago, France’s equivalent of Tony Laithwaite, Philippe Raoux, opened a free visitor centre and wine shop to make the region more people-friendly complete with plastic red penguins at the entrance. La Winery may not be imaginatively named and the huge complex may look like a cross between a greenhouse and a warehouse but it’s a great place for those who know little about wine to start with an introductory video and a 4x4 Land Rover vineyard tour. There’s a sculpture park to walk around with four-foot high blue plastic pitbull terriers, which is a bit off-putting, but you can’t fault their originality!
All hail
Ok, so you can’t come to Bordeaux without talking a little bit about wine. Gavin Quinney is an Englishman who owns Château Bauduc in Entre-deux-Mers. Unfortunately his tenth year at the property has proved to be difficult with severe hailstorms wiping out 80% of his crop in May. He’s even kept some of the hailstones in his freezer and they’re the size of golf balls. No wonder the grapes didn’t survive. Individual properties from St Emilion to Graves experienced similar devastation, which must be a major blow in such difficult economic times.
Pieropan drops Classico status for screwcap
Wednesday 22 July
One of Soave’s best-known producers, Pieropan, is following in the footsteps of Venetian neighbour Allegrini, bottling its Classico level wine under screwcap and forsaking its ‘Classico’ status.
Under Italian law both Valpolicella producer Allegrini and Soave’s Pieropan were forbidden from bottling their Classico wines under screwcap.
However, the Pieropan family have decided to drop Classico so they can move to stelvin with the 2008 vintage.
“The UK, the US and Australia will take their entire allocation of 2008 under screwcap,” said Andrea Pieropan. “We’ve taken this step to improve the quality of the wine drunk by the final consumer. Our wine is unoaked, and its charm lies in its perfume and elegance, so we need a closure that captures these characters in the bottle.”
Liberty Wines imports both producers’ wines and managing director David Gleave MW has been a vocal proponent of bottling Italian wines under screwcap for some time. I’m sure his close relationship with these two Veneto producers and his views on dragging Italian wine law into the 21st century will have played a part in their decision.
He said: “In our opinion, Italy’s tardiness in adapting this new technology is having an adverse effect on the competitiveness of their wines in the U.K. market. Over the past 30 years the image of Italian wine has been transformed, largely due to the willingness of many producers to embrace new technology and techniques in response to market trends. Yet these same producers, who see the benefits of adopting screwcaps for their wines, are now being held back by the law.”
While these two renowned producers are likely to suffer from the loss of their Classico status, lesser-known Italian producers are unlikely to be abandon their Classico status readily. Classico and cork still mean quality in Italy. Consumers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand now readily accept screwcaps but other markets, including the US, still see screwcaps as fit only for lower quality wines. While the switch by these top producers and others including Laroche in Chablis will improve its image, it still has a long way to go.
English wine gets boost from AXA head
Saturday 18 July
Christian Seely, managing director of AXA Millesimés, which owns properties like Quinta do Noval and Tokaji’s Disznoko, is setting up an English sparkling wine project. In less than an hour from the pandemonium of Waterloo station, I was in his new tranquil vineyard to find out more.
Seely has set up the venture independently of AXA (apparently AXA weren’t interested in English vineyards) with an old friend who used to work in banking, Nicholas Coates.
The Hampshire vineyard has 5 hectares of 15 year-old Pinot Noir and German vines. The German varieties will be grafted over with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay later this year. This spring, Seely brought over his Douro vineyard workers to plant a further 7ha of the Champagne varieties on a south-east facing chalk slope (apparently the Bordelais soil analyst told the pair “vous avez le sol Champenois”).
A farm building on the property is being converted to a winery in time for the harvest and Seely’s winemaking wife will be making the base wines (I may be lending a hand this autumn!). Consultants from Champagne will be brought in to oversee the sparkling wine process.
The first wine should be released in time for Christmas 2011. Seely says he plans to have both a rosé and a white sparkling wine; vintage and non-vintage cuvées.
There are hopes for a cellar door and a website is promised. Seely’s even planning a blog to keep us updated but he’s drawing the line at twitter!
For more information, see my article on decanter.com.