Another Kiwi vineyard bites the dust
Thursday 19 August
Can we really say we’re surprised that another New Zealand vineyard has gone under owing a whopping $24 million (£10.8m)?
No.
There’s been a slow trickle of grape-growing and wine producing companies that have gone into administration in the past year but I believe Awatere Vineyard Holdings’ demise could push the flood gates open.
Vineyard plantings have tripled since 2000, with grape prices falling as much as 50% following two consecutive bumper harvests, in 2007 and 2008. There have been a host of new entrants to the industry with romantic dreams of making their own wine or investors wanting to jump on the bandwagon and make a quick buck. If only they had done their research before making the plunge, they would have found that the soil wasn’t flecked with gold.
Central Otago producers Anthem Hodings and William Hill winery, and Marlborough’s Cape Campbell have already fallen victim to the oversupply and economic downturn and others will follow.
It’s a sad situation for those affected but the imbalances that have been created in the last three years need to be redressed. We’re likely to see the bigger companies getting bigger as they swallow up vineyard land; vineyards will be pulled out and replaced with other crops, and life will go on. Hopefully, the industry will have learned its lesson too.
Boring boring Arsenal and Pinot Grigio
Wednesday 15 July
The neutral nothingness of Pinot Grigio has crept onto every wine list in the country, and has pipped Sauvignon Blanc to the number two spot in the contest for the nation’s favourite white grape variety.
A survey commissioned by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association shows 54% of regular UK wine drinkers have consumed the Gridge in the past six months. It has spread faster than margarine and the shelves are full of it. But it’s as boring as Arsenal used to be.
Chardonnay is still maintaining its number one spot in the battle of the grapes but its popularity has decreased in the past two years, according to the report. Nevertheless Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc have still some way to catch it.
In the red department, our love affair with fairly unexciting grape varieties continues. Merlot remains the most consumed red variety despite the film Sideways giving it a dressing down (some five years ago now – where has the time gone?). When most respondents said they drunk Merlot in the past six months, I’m fairly sure they weren’t referring to Pomerol or St Emilion wines. However, Syrah is on the up and is threatening Cabernet Sauvignon’s second position on the red rostrum. As a Syrah fan, that’s encouraging.
Fortified blues
I’d love to write fortified sales are on the up but it’s difficult to argue with data saying the opposite. The survey shows consumption of sherry, port and dessert wine in the past six months is at its lowest ebb since the study started in June 2006. While consumption inevitably peaked around the Christmas period, the latest figures show just 11% of regular wine drinkers have had a glass of sweet wine in the first half of the year while 17% have had a glass of sherry and 23% port.
For more details on this research, see my article on decanter.com