I’ve been researching lower alcohol wines lately and it just so happens, Wine Intelligence has too.
The UK wine trade is really trying to look responsible at the moment and a raft of new ‘lower alcohol’ wines were launched at the recent London International Wine Fair.
But it’s not clear whether the consumer actually wants lower alcohol wines. So, we might have some more white elephant wines gathering dust on the shelves. Alternatively, if the products are available, it may create demand. Let’s face it, before iphones were launched, we didn’t have a burning need for them either.
Happily for those wineries launching a lower alcohol wine this month, it seems that consumer acceptance of wines under 11% is on the rise, according to Wine Intelligence research in partnership with the WSTA.
The percentage of consumers who say they ‘may buy’ wine below 9% (on a scale of 1 to 5,‘may buy’ was 3) has increased from 47% to 54% since the survey was last conducted in April 2007. No massive change there then,
Younger drinkers also increased their acceptance of lower alcohol wines with 66% claiming they may buy wine below 9%, compared with just 51% in 2007.
‘May buy’ and ‘Would definitely buy’ are quite different, however.
Surprise, surprise, wines between 11 and 14% abv remain the preferred wines with regular UK wine drinkers. Well, strike me down. I’m worried that we are blowing this low alcohol thing out of proportion.
I’ll very happily drink a 9% Mosel wine or 5.5% Moscato d’Asti (particularly Vigna Vecchia’s Ca’ da Gal Moscato at Terroir in London) any day of the week but I’m struggling to find a decent wine that has had its alcohol level reduced by human intervention ( i.e. reverse osmosis/spinning cone). Thus far, the early harvest attempts aren’t much better either. There’s a reason why people don’t pick early and we should remember that.
The Elqui valley: home to llamas and Chilean Amarone
Friday 27 November
If you get to the Elqui valley and keep driving for another couple of hours, you’ll hit the fringes of the Atacama desert. It’s hot and arid, cacti pepper the stark mountainsides that tower above the road and without irrigation nothing would grow here. The sun shines 340 days a year so my chances of catching some rays, after our Baltic picnic with Ventisquero the day before, were pretty good.
The Elqui valley is a true valley unlike others like the Maipo valley, which is actually a region. The UV light is incredible and companies are legally obliged to provide sun tan cream and protective clothing for their workers. So, as you can imagine the grapes need a bit of protection too. Winds whistling down the valley from the sea also mean many vines (mainly table grapes) on the valley floor are protected with netting.
It’s mostly table grapes and Pisco production, and wine is fairly new to the scene. Falernia is the major player in the region but other major companies Concha y Toro, San Pedro, Santa Rita are seeing the potential of the region and buying grapes from growers based here.
While most of the vines are on the valley floor near the small town of Vicuna; there is certainly ambition here and they’re planting a new vineyard up at 2000 metres in the Huanta valley. It’s a 45-minute drive from Vicuna up a precarious goldmining road and into the Andes. While it was hot on the valley floor, a cardi was called for up at Huanta. The poor old llamas in one of the fields are going to be homeless when the vines are planted.
Reds will be mainly planted up here – particularly Carmenere and Syrah. That’s not because Cabernet wouldn’t do well here. The company’s Italian winemaker Giorgio Flessati said, “Carmenere and Syrah are our focus because there are too many Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots in the market.”
The winery makes a dry white PX for Marks & Sparks, which is a quirky idea but a forgettable wine. However, its top Syrah and its Carmenere made in an Amarone style are the stars of the show. Amarone fans should get hold of a bottle and a bar of dark chocolate and enjoy: £10.95, Great Western Wines.
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.
Prosecco grape to be renamed Glera outside heartland
Friday 10 July
Any producers making Prosecco outside of the DOC and new DOCG region in Veneto will be forced to use the new grape name Glera on their labels instead of Prosecco. Apparently, Glera is an ancestor of the Prosecco grape but I think it sounds as naff as ‘Topaque’ - the new name for Aussie Tokay.
In a press release, Franco Adami, president of the Consorzio per la Tutela del Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene explained: “In 1969, when we obtained the DOC, the grape variety was grown exclusively in the 15 communes lying between the small towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. However in the last few decades, due to the quality of the wine and the winemaking skill of the producers its cultivation has gradually spread. Given this situation, we had to take action to protect the name Prosecco and to preserve the value created by this area and implement clear regulations that could guarantee a minimum level of quality.”
From the 2009 vintage the name of the new DOCG will be Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and the sparkling wines will be labeled DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore.
Adami added: “The term Superiore helps the consumer to understand right away that this is an example of the original and best quality Prosecco from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG.”
The DOCG will not change the production rules and the production per hectare will remain the same. Director of the Consorzio, Giancarlo Vettorello said: “I would like to reassure both producers and UK importers that as production rules in our region will not be affected by the new DOCG status, the total number of bottles produced will not be reduced and consequently prices will not increase.”
Right that’s enough from me, two posts in a day makes me need a cuppa. Ah well, the weekend is upon us.
Think of Piedmont and you automatically say Barolo and Barbaresco. You might even say Gavi di Gavi if you’re a bit leftfield but Roero and Langhe? Their wines don’t immediately spring to mind, do they?
However, one of Italy’s most successful white producers, Ceretto, is based in the Langhe. While it makes classic reds, it also produces Blange – a wine made from the white Arneis grape. The Ceretto family first made the wine in 1984, producing less than 3000 bottles from its 1ha of Arneis vines. Today it has 62ha planted – around one-fifth of all Arneis in Piedmont, according to Federico Ceretto and produces more than 600,000 bottles of the stuff.
Roero’s promotion
They’ve had to extend plantings from the Roero denominazione into Langhe but this has had its drawbacks. In 2006, Roero was awarded DOCG status – the top of the tree in Italian wine law. Federico says: ‘We had to plant 12ha over the river in the Langhe so we had to become Langhe DOC instead of Roero. I would like to be part of Roero as it became a DOCG last year but I have to cut my production by 100,000 bottles if I did. And I’m not going to do that.’
When they did that, they elevated Roero Spumante to DOCG status as well. Now I don’t know about you but I’ve never tasted Roero Spumante and am unlikely to come across it any time soon. Federico isn’t impressed by the promotion: ‘It is a DOCG with about three producers. Hardly anybody makes it and there is no history to it.’ It’s just another sign of the Italian authorities being in touch with the consumer. You may remember top producer Allegrini had to declassify its Valpolicella Classico because it bottled its wine with a screwcap and Italy’s crazy rules restrict what type of closure you can put on a wine.
Winemaking
The Blange is fermented at 4-6°C. At these sorts of temperatures, yeasts struggle to convert the grape sugars to alcohol and it takes an epic three months to complete the ferment. However, they say it requires only one-fifth of the sulphur dioxide to prevent against spoilage or oxidation.
Tasting notes
2007 Ceretto Langhe Arneis Blange: ‘As weighty as Vanessa Feltz in the mouth. Clean and fresh with a bit of spritz on entry. Aromas reminiscent of bruised apple and moderate acidity on the finish. Pretty decent but £16.49? Ouch.’ 15.5/20. Fresh & Wild, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, Bibendum
2007 Ceretto Barbera d’Alba
‘Vibrant raspberry colour. Lots of fresh red berry fruit. It is silky with lovely concentration. Soft tannins and mouthwatering acidity on the finish. I could drink a whole bottle of this’ 18/20. £16.49, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, MW Wines, Bibendum