• 1976 JUDGEMENT OF PARIS WINES ENTER US HALL OF FAME

    par | Nov 21, 2013

    By CHRIS MERCER — DECANTER Newsletter — Thursday 21 November 2013

    The Napa wines that famously beat France’s best in the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting have been chosen from among millions of artefacts as one of the 101 items that ‘made America’.

    Smithsonian magazine, representing the 167-year-old, US-based Smithsonian Institution, one of the largest museum and research complexes in the world, picked out the handful of 1973 vintage Napa wines from 137m possible events and symbols. They now sit alongside Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit, and the American flag — the star spangled banner — in terms of their contribution to US history.

    Judgement of Paris – wine-tasting event of 1976 © Gary Myatt 2012, 6×3 m. Oil on canvas, at the Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury UK (suite…)

  • CLICK AND CLINK: AMAZON SELLING WINE IN CHINA

    par | Oct 30, 2013

    By YU WEI — China Daily USA in San Francisco — 2013-10-30 07:21

    After launching its first shipment of directly imported US wines into China, Amazon China, Amazon.com’s branch there, said the wines have received a very good response in the country, especially in Shanghai. “The direct-sales model gives our wines quality assurance and more cost-effectiveness,” said Niu Yinghua, vice-president of Amazon China. “Consumers can easily have fine wines from thousands of miles away by just clicking Amazon.cn.”

    According to Amazon China, sales of its wines in Shanghai account for nearly half of its total sales, making Shanghai the hottest selling city in China.

    Barbara Insel, president of Stonebridge Research Group, a leading research firm for the wine industry, said the news from Amazon China is good news for all California wines, as it shows that there is interest in and demand for fine wines from California’s family producers. (suite…)

  • FRENCH WINEMAKERS SEEK ELUSIVE CHINESE BLENDS

    par | Oct 25, 2013

    AFP-JIJI — PENGLAI, CHINA — Oct 20, 2013

    The world’s fine winemakers have exacting standards for soil, climate and cultivation to produce the perfect grape. And they are looking to re-create that unlikely blend in China, which is better known for cheap mass production. The potential harvest will be more drinkers in the world’s most populous country, where wine consumption more than doubled in the four years to 2011 and is set to rise another 40% by 2016 (*).

    France’s Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), maker of the renowned Château Lafite red wines, is planting roots in China with an initial 15 hectares in Penglai.

    The estate is situated on a hilly green peninsula dotted with vineyards on the east coast of Shandong province with a century-long history of winemaking.

    DBR is associated with CITIC, the first Chinese State Investment Bank.

    (suite…)

  • IS THE BOOM OVER FOR BORDEAUX IN CHINA?

    par | Oct 12, 2013

    From JEANNIE CHO LEE — THE WINE SEARCHER Newsletter. Posted Monday, 06-May-2013

    The figures for French wine in China certainly look impressive: 53% of the market by value and 48% by volume in 2012. Last year, the entire market was subdued, but even so there was little sign of French imports slowing down.
    Next most popular wine sources, Australia, Chile, Italy and Spain, are distant runners-up, posing little threat to French dominance     — which in China means Bordeaux reds…

     

    Jeannie Cho Lee, casts a skeptical eye over the market for French wine in the People’s Republic and sees that building the consumer base is only beginning.

    It’s been a glorious ride to the top. In the decade to 2009, French wines enjoyed a 40–45 % share of the Chinese market. Then sales really took off, shooting past the 50 % mark as revenue rocketed from $182 million in 2009 to $714 million in 2011. The majority of this gain was achieved from sales of Bordeaux wines. If consumption follows wine-import trends, roughly one out of every four bottles of imported wine consumed in China should be a red from Bordeaux. However, the figures and the reality are two different stories. (suite…)

  • 8 200 VINS LE MATIN

    par | Mai 20, 2013

    D’après communiqué du CMB

    Les résultats du Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2013 viennent d’être dévoilés.
    Au total, ce sont 8 200 vins qui se sont affrontés à Bratislava (Slovaquie) les 10, 11 et 12 mai devant une sélection des meilleurs dégustateurs du monde, sommeliers, acheteurs, importateurs, journalistes, …
    Caractéristique de cette compétition érigée en véritable championnat du monde de la dégustation : la diversité des provenances des vins (50 pays) et des profils des dégustateurs (350 de 40 nationalités).

    La mission première que s’est fixée le CMB est d’aider les consommateurs dans leurs choix au niveau mondial.

    2 408 médailles ont été attribuées et un premier classement indique que la France maintient sa position de leader avec 709 médailles sur 2 489 échantillons présentés, suivie de l’Espagne avec 524 médailles sur 1 664 échantillons, du Portugal (288 sur 803), de l’Italie (276 sur 1052), du Chili (109 sur 363), de l’Australie (47), de la Suisse (45) et de l’Afrique du Sud (40). La Slovaquie, pays hôte du CMB, a fait fait une percée remarquée avec 60 médaillés sur 214 vins en lice.

    Moins de 1% des 8 200 vins en compétition ont été récompensés par une Grande Médaille d’Or. Le pays leader dans cette catégorie prestigieuse demeure l’Espagne qui remporte 24 de ces précieuses médailles, suivie de la France avec 18 médailles et du Portugal avec 9. Parmi les échantillons primés par la plus haute distinction, cinq obtiennent le ‘Best Wine Trophy’, synonyme de meilleur score absolu dans leur catégorie :
    Meilleur Effervescent : Champagne RC Lemaire Cuvée Sélect Réserve Brut (Champagne – France)
    Meilleur Blanc : Circe Verdejo, 2012 (Rueda – Espagne)
    Meilleur Rosé : Château la Gordonne – La Chapelle Gordonne, 2012 (Provence – France)
    Meilleur Rouge : Duvalley Reserva, 2010 (Douro – Portugal)
    Meilleur Moelleux : Peller Estates Riesling Icewine, 2008 (Ontario – Canada)

    Pour fêter ses 20 ans, le CMB effectuera son retour au pays en tenant sa prochaine édition à Bruxelles (-celles) les 9, 10 et 11 mai 2014.