Category Archives: HOT NEWS

VINNATUR: PRODUCERS ELIMINATE PESTICIDES

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Analysis on 80 samples of VinNatur wines confirm the complete absence of pesticides. In the meantime, pilot projects on biodiversity continue.

A great result has been recently reached by VinNatur. None of the 80 samples analysed in order to check wine quality contained traces of pesticides, thus confirming that VinNatur offers consumers real guarantees and not simply declarations. First, research was carried out to identify 188 different pesticides and none of these were found, thereby guaranteeing the wines’ authenticity and coherence with VinNatur’s principles.

VinNatur represents 187 producers from 9 countries and has made this guarantee a point of honour for wine lovers. Angiolino Maule, President of VinNatur, explains: “We wanted to go beyond a simple self-certification. It is important that VinNatur wine consumers will drink wines which have been officially certified by external laboratories”.

All the producers who have joined VinNatur association in the last 5 years have been checked. Sulphur analysis reveal that 35 samples were below 50 mg/l ‒ as stated by the Guideline Procedure ‒ and 45 samples contained even less less than 10 mg/l (the limit for organic wines in Europe is 150 mg/l for white wines and 100 mg/l for red wines).

“It is the first time all samples analysed reveal negative test results. In 2016 on 150 samples analysed, 4 (3 Italian and 1 French) contained pesticides. For us it is a very important outcome. It confirms that we are moving in the right direction. It is not our final goal but it is certainly an important stage in the growth process we are doing as VinNatur association. We are focusing on how to replace copper and sulphur with vegetable extracts that help the vine building up resistance. But our most major project is on biodiversity”.

The biodiversity project ‒ supervised by agronomist Stefano Zaninotti from Vitenova – Vine Wellness in collaboration with biologist Irene Franco Fernandez, botanist Cristiano Francescato and entomologist Costanza Uboni, has involved 17 wineries for this year. Data deriving from surveys on soil, flora and fauna will allow to develop an appropriate scientific model enabling wineries to understand which are the most suitable plants that can be used for preserving soil microbiological fertility and helping vines develop properly. This will lead to a higher resistance of the vine itself, further reducing human intervention and getting closer to VinNatur aim: a healthy viticulture as naturally-driven as possible.

Association of Natural Wine Producers – VinNatur
VinNatur was established in 2006 in order to reunite small producers of natural wines, both Italian and European, and provide them with a proper tool for promotion and growth. The Association aims at promoting natural wines from a commercial point of view and at the same time developing specific knowledge of natural viticulture and natural wine making amongst both producers themselves and consumers.
“Natural wine” is the name given to a product derived from a healthy agriculture which rejects the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical soil and foliar fertilizers. Great attention is given to soil and soil natural balance. VinNatur is carrying out researches in order to get rid of copper and sulphur, traditionally used for treating vines diseases, and replace them with natural extracts which help the vine building up resistance. Natural approach is not limited to the vineyard, but extends also to the cellar. Selected yeasts are not allowed, neither are additives (of any kind) or invasive techniques which do not respect the raw material. The aim is that of reducing and, if possible, eliminating the use of sulphur dioxide, whose side effects on human health are well known worldwide. This is possible thanks to a constant improvement of spontaneous fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, which are already available in nature and which give a distinctive value to wine as far as personality and uniqueness. Over the years, VinNatur has steeply increased the number of associates, from 65 wineries up to present-day 187 members belonging to nine different countries: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

CLAYVER, THE INTELLIGENT WINE POT LANDS IN US

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Suitable for both vinification and ageing, Clayver has surprised more than a few.
With a 2017 growth rate of +78%, the porcelain stoneware pot is ready to conquer US wine producers

Created in 2014, Clayver has made a big hit in the market. After having conquered producers such as Veuve-Clicquot and Tarlant with impressive results during comparative ageing trials, Clayver lands in US where it will be used for wine and even cosmetic products.

Clayver is an innovative stoneware round egg conceived for fermentation, vinification and wine ageing. Inspired by clay amphoras, Clayver inventors wanted to go beyond as far as mechanical resistance and impermeability. What makes a difference with traditional amphoras is shape and material.

Along with being aesthetically enjoyable, the round shape allows to keep the grape cap moist during fermentation, helping colour extraction. Convective movements contribute in reshuffling fine lees, thus improving wine structure and ageing potential. Wall thickness guarantees thermal inertia and a uniform, three-dimensional oxygen exchange concerning the smallest possible surface area. Stoneware is a resistant, isolating and easy to sterilize material, in addition to being safe when handling food – Clayver is certified for use in foodstuffs.

Maison Veuve-Clicquot and Tarlant – who is using it for ageing its Chardonnay, Château Les Carmes Haut–Brion and Château de Beaucastel, Guido Berlucchi, Livio Felluga, Le Macchiole are but a few names of producers who have been pleasantly surprised by results reached during comparative ageing trials and are now using Clayver.

Clayver has now 150 customers all over the world, with a +37% growth rate in the numbers of customers and a +78% in the amount of pieces ordered from 2016. It is now available in 2 different sizes: 250 and 400 litres.

If wine is Clayver intended use, it is not the only one. Cosmetics companies too have become interested in Clayver for the production of natural body and face lotions. Clayver in particular will be used for the maceration process being an inert material and therefore preventing any loss of matter from the container.

The Essence of Ornellaia 2014

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The desire to nurture the Estate’s exceptional qualities has shaped Ornellaia’s philosophy since the beginning. Ornellaia is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot and the faithful expression of unique terroir developed in harmony with nature.

 

For Axel Heinz, Ornellaia’s Estate Director and Winemaker, the 2014 vintage exhibits the character of ‘L’Essenza,’ or the Essence. “When one is confronted with a challenging growing season, to make a great wine, one has to focus on simply extracting that year’s very essence. And, in fact, the 2014 year unexpectedly turned into a pleasant surprise, since the heavy rains and low temperatures during the ripening stages were followed by a September and October which brought us exemplary weather conditions; the result was a somewhat later harvest, which delivered optimally vibrant fruit with crisp acidities. We complemented that result with meticulous hand-picking, whose objective was to select only the most sound, healthy clusters. What one notices immediately about the 2014 vintage is the high quality of the tannins: elegant and silk-smooth, with no rough edges at all.

2014 will be remembered in Tuscany for the summer that never was and as one of the most unusual. A warm and rainy winter was followed by a mild and dry spring, a distinctively average July and a cold and rainy August. All of this created difficult conditions for the ripening of the grapes. September and October, however, brought perfect conditions, with mostly sunny and dry weather, offering excellent conditions for ripening, particularly for Merlot. While we had an incredible amount of extra work to do in the vineyard, the combination of the Estate’s varied subsoils, the varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and our own detailed knowledge of the terroir all played distinctively in our favour. Ornellaia underlines the fundamental difference in terroir between the coast and the central Tuscan vineyards.”

In technical words, about the climate of 2014, in our area we had a warm and wet winter was followed by a mild and dry spring which allowed a normal vegetative growth with a punctual and regular flowering. The weather in July was perfect, August however was rainy and cold, creating very difficult conditions for ripening, and greatly increasing the risk of diseases. The meticulous work in the vineyard, with leaf stripping and treatments during the entire month of August enabled us to maintain the good health of our vines, allowing them to develop free of disease during September and October. These two months conditions, with mostly sunny and dry weather, gave us excellent conditions for ripening. During the harvest, it was crucial to select the grape bunches carefully, both in the vineyard – where in some plots we did up to three harvest passages – and on the selection table, so to fill the tanks only with perfectly healthy and fully ripe grapes. 2014 was one of the longest and most delayed harvests at Ornellaia, with the first Merlot harvested the 6th of September, and a large part of the historical vineyards – including some Merlot – harvested in October. The 2014 harvest, that ended on the 22nd of October, was the latest ever.

As always, the grapes were hand-picked into 15-kg boxes and then selected by hand on a double sorting table, before and after destemming, and finally softly crushed. Each grape variety and single vineyard block was vinified separately. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at temperatures between 26-30°C for two week, followed by 10-15 days of maceration on the skins. The malolactic fermentation took place mainly in oak barrels, 70% new and 30% once-used. The wine then remained in barriques, in Ornellaia’s temperature-controlled cellars for about 18 months. After the first 12 months of maturation, the wine was assembled and then returned to the barriques for an additional 6 months. After bottling, the wine aged a further 12 months prior to release.

 

South African wine wins platinum at World Wine Awards

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At the recent Decanter World Wine Awards 2017 (DWWA). Klein Constantia estate with Vin de Constance 2013  won a platinum medal.

Vin de Constance is a recreation of a world famous wine of the 18th and 19th centuries; this is a unique and naturally sweet wine.

Due to a prolonged winter and cool spring, the growing season was late in 2013 and delayed budburst by up to 2 weeks. Ideal conditions prevailed with moderate daytime and cool nighttime temperatures. This together with a dry season ensured for perfect ripening and raisining of the Muscat de Frontignan.

After the wine blind taste by wine experts the gold medal winners went on to compete for platinum status.

Vin de Constance 2013 achieved one of the top scores with 96 points.

This is a bright and gold in appearance. It has strong aromas of citrus and frangipani on the nose. In the mouth  appear full-bodied and complex with a balanced acidity and sugar fruit. The wine concludes with a long, spicy and grippy finish.

The wine was aged in a combination of 60 % new French oak, Hungarian oak and French Acacia.  It was left for a period of 3 years in barrel on the gross lees before racking out and blending. It spent a further 6 months in tank before bottling.

SA wine grape harvest excels despite drought

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The South African wine grape harvest is slightly larger than last year following a dryseason and consumers can look forward to exceptional wines from the 2017 vintage. The wine industry body VinPro says the 2017 harvest, that is at 1 425 283 tonnes 1.4% larger than in 2016, was initially expected to be smaller. “A decrease was expected due to the second consecutive very dry, hot season.

However, cooler nights throughout the growing season and the absence of significant heatwaves during harvest time buffered the effect of the drought to some extent,” says Francois Viljoen, manager of VinPro’s viticulture consultation service.

The Swartland and Paarl regions obtained much larger crops following sharp declines in 2016. Robertson’s production was close to the record harvest in 2016, while Olifants River and Breedekloof increased somewhat following small crops last year. Slightly smaller yields were noted in the Northern Cape, Stellenbosch and Worcester and a much smaller harvest in the Klein Karoo.

Although higher rainfall brought some relief in certain regions, it was still very much below average and the warmer weather conditions required producers to manage water usage ver y closely.

On the plus side, the dry conditions resulted in very healthy vineyards and smaller berries with good colour and flavour concentration. These conditions, along with the ideal cool weather during harvest time formed the perfect combination for an exceptional quality wine grape harvest, according to Viljoen.

Wines of South Africa CEO, Siobhan Thompson is positive, “Having spoken to many of our producers, general sentiment is that the harvest was one of the best seen in many years, specifically in terms of quality. The cooler than normal weather experienced in February saw to more even ripening periods and winemakers from various regions have commented positively on the outcome, despite the challenging weather conditions we’veexperienced. We are looking forward to seeing what this somewhat exceptional vintage does for South African wines as a whole in international markets.”

“We are grateful that the weather played along during the 2017 harvest, but looking towards the 2018 winegrape season that is around the corner, we are really hoping for rain during the upcoming post-harvest andwinter period,” says Viljoen. South Africa is the 8th biggest wine producer world-wide and produces about 4.1% of the world’s wine. Total crop size:The 2017 wine grape crop is estimated at 1 425 283 tonnes according to the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (Sawis) at the end of April 2017. This is 1.4% higher than in 2016.

The 2017 wine harvest–juice and concentrate for non-alcoholic purposes, wine for brandy and distilling wine included–is expected to amount to 1 106.3 million litres, calculated at an average recovery of 776 litres per ton of grapes.

The post-harvest period (April and May) was very hot and dry, which led to early leaf-fall in some areas, and the accumulation of reserves was moderate.

Winter arrived late in most regions, but was cold enough to break dormancy. Although rainfall was higher than the previous season in some areas and could carry the harvest through, it was still below average and the dam and soil water levels remained under pressure. Producers therefore had to irrigate meticulously. Spring arrived on time and warm weather in August contributed to somewhat earlier than normal, but even budburst. However, cooler weather in September resulted in some instances of later and more uneven budburst. October and November was characterised by cool nights and warm days, that was beneficial to flowering and berry set. Some producers in the Breedekloof and Worcester regions experienced black frost in October, which resulted in limited crop losses.

The growing season and especially harvest time will be remembered for cooler nights and warmer, drier days. Harvest time kicked off on time in most regions, with the exception of the Northern Cape that started two weeks late due to frequent rainfall. Big showers at the beginning of the Stellenbosch region’s harvest resulted in bottle-necks in the harvesting of some cultivars.

The generally dry season resulted in very healthy vineyards with limited occurrence of pests, diseases or rot.

ExpoVinis Brasil 21st edition

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Luis Gutiérrez, of The Wine Advocate magazine – of the critic Robert Parker – comes to the country exclusively to give lecture at Forum ExpoVinis.

Between June 6 and 8, 2017, São Paulo (SP) will host the 21st edition of ExpoVinis Brasil, considered the main meeting of wines in Latin America, with more than 400 exhibiting brands. They are red, white, rosé and sparkling, with three days of intense programming for professionals and drinkers. In addition to tastings, the fair promotes business roundtables, lectures and special events, conducted by professionals who are a reference in the market.

Brazil, Chile, Portugal and Argentina are some of the countries that have already confirmed their presence at ExpoVinis, where they will present their trends in consumption and production. Important associations, such as the Brazilian Wine Institute (Ibravin) and Wines of Chile, will organize the participation of wineries representing their terroirs. The visitor will be able to make a true return to the world of wine through their glasses, as well as close deals with some of the main players in the segment.

Forum ExpoVinis

The first two days of ExpoVinis Brasil will be dedicated to the discussion of current events in wine production and marketing. To do so, it will bring renowned international critic Luis Gutiérrez (photo), who is part of the group of tasters of the magazine The Wine Advocate, signed by Robert Parker, maximum reference in the world of wine.

On June 6, Tuesday, Luis Gutiérrez speaks on the theme ‘The Rumors of the World Wine Industry in the Post-Robert Parker Era – How will the scoring scales and their influence on the wine market in Brazil be reconfigured’. Also will be discussed by market experts ‘Organic Wines and Biodynamic Production’, the ‘Trends and Perspectives of Chilean Wine’ and ‘The Diversity of Brazilian Wine Regions’.

On Wednesday, June 7, the Fórum ExpoVinis will be dedicated to importers, restaurants and retailers. Ari Gorenstein, CEO of the online store Evino, will address ‘E-Commerce in the Wine Sector and Loyalty Programs’. With focus on restaurants, ‘Innovation in Wine Chart Composition – How Great Sommeliers Compose Their Letters’ is the theme of the sommeliers John Pichetti’s lecture, restaurant D.O.M., and Thiago Locatelli, Varanda Grill.

Jorge Lucki, consultant at ExpoVinis Brazil and one of the most renowned wine columnists in the country, will talk about ‘Harmonizations of classic and daring wines’. Then, the sommelier Gabriela Bigarelli presents the theme ‘Improving the Relationship with Importers – Price and Tax Management’. ‘Trends in Wine Bar Allied to Good Food’ is the talk of Rafael Ilan, a member of the Bardega Wine Bar.

The Fórum ExpoVinis will conclude with the discussions on wine retail: how to work wine in a scenario of economic instability, portfolio diversification, how to increase retail profitability through direct import and the price ratio of imported and national wines.

The complete grid with the schedules and all themes will be announced shortly in www.expovinis.com.br.

New Wine of Origin Cape Town Flies Flag for South African Wine Industry

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The profile of South African wine is set to attract greater international attention now that a new Wine of Origin District named after Cape Town, one of the world’s foremost tourism brands, has been approved by the South African Wine and Spirit Board.
This ground-breaking move aimed at elevating the profile of South African wine through a direct association to Cape Town will unite the wine wards of Constantia, Durbanville, Philadelphia and Hout Bay under the inclusive name Wine of Origin Cape Town.
A total of 30 wineries, including some of South Africa’s leading brands such as Groot Constantia, Durbanville Hills, Diemersdal, Klein Constantia, Nitida, Meerendal, Buitenverwachting and Cape Point Vineyards will join forces under Wine of Origin Cape Town, capitalising on the global recognition Cape Town has achieved as an international tourist destination and sought-after lifestyle brand.
According to Rico Basson, CEO of South African wine producers’ organisation Vinpro, an official Cape Town wine district automatically links the local wine industry to one of the leading place names in international tourism, lifestyle and business. “The collaboration between the various wards and wineries in coming together to form the new wine district is a huge step forward for the South African wine industry,” he says.
“It is an example of innovative co-operation in harnessing producers to market their respective regions under one name, the name Cape Town being much-needed for South African wine to present itself as a global player. As a wine region, Cape Town now encapsulates a wonderful set of dynamics in terms of heritage, culture and modern wine styles. South Africa is already well-known for our wine tourism offering and this new development will add to integrating our strategy of innovative marketing.”
Basson said the wards involved are incorporated in a unique area of the Cape Winelands that includes wards surrounded by the effect of the Atlantic Ocean and representing a similar geography. “South Africa’s Wine of Origin legislation is highly acknowledged and respected as one of the best implemented and regulated in the world, so besides the tremendous marketing opportunities Wine of Origin Cape Town holds, the region represents a wine-making and grape-growing entity with vast similarities.”
Duimpie Bayly, chairman of the Wine and Spirit Board’s Demarcation Committee, says that from a wine production side, the wards of Constantia, Durbanville, Philadelphia and Hout Bay are meant to be together. “We considered the various wards in the new proposed district and found great similarity in terroir as well as clear boundaries in a district that at its furthest point is 36km from the Cape Town City Centre,” he says.

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The Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance in Russia is gaining more and more members across the country. At the June 10–11 event organized by the Tipografia restaurant in Gorno-Altaisk, the first Siberian chef will join the Slow Food international project, committing to cooking and promoting products from the Slow Food Ark of Taste and communities of local producers.

The Altai republic is a mountainous region located on the fringes of Central Asia, at the intersection of Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China. It is characterized by a variety of landscapes once populated mainly by nomadic peoples like Chelkans, Kumandins and Tubalars.

The Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance project already has hundreds of members in eighteen countries (Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Mexico, the Netherlands, Uganda, United Kingdom and Russia). In Russia 18 chefs have already joined the Alliance.

On June 10, starting from 4pm, Yulia Fominykh, a Chefs’ Alliance member from the Tipografia restaurant, will prepare a special menu recalling Siberian traditional cuisine, including dishes of horse meat cooked on an open fire.

Yulia Fominykh says: “Being at the intersection of geographic and cultural regions has influenced the gastronomic heritage of Altai. We want to study its history from ancient times to the present, in order to understand the essence of the dishes, the seasonality of the ingredients and the opportunity to interpret and adapt it to modern tastes. It is interesting that at the heart of our ancestral cuisine there was a no-waste concept.

The main idea of the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance is close to me, since I am worried about the quality of food being produced in our Republic of Altai. The legislative system does not always help us in using local ingredients, and we are forced to buy products from big companies at the expense of quality. So, why not try to change the rules of the game through this international project?

The Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance shows that there are people worldwide united by one idea – the revival of cultural heritage via the preservation of traditional gastronomy and agrobiodiversity. On this occasion we will gather together and talk about the Slow Food philosophy. The purpose is to show to ourselves, our guests and a wider public that our traditional dishes are accessible and that our rich culture needs to be preserved.”

As of today, there are 63 products from Russia on the Ark of Taste. The chefs who have signed up in Russia so far are:

Alexey Kondratiev, Krepostnoi Val, Azov

Anton Abrezov, Gras x Madbaren, Saint Petersburg

Anton Kovalkov, B.E.R.E.G. District, Moscow

Dmitry Novokreshchenov, Gnezdo Pekarya, Suzdal

Dmitry Savkin, LavkaLavka cafe, Moscow

Elena Savchuk, LavkaLavka restaurant, Moscow

Igor Grishechkin, CoCoCo, Saint Petersburg

Maksim Rybakov, Pushkarskaya Sloboda, Suzdal

Mark Statsenko, Spices, Moscow

Mikhail Lukashonok, Mark i Lev – Privolye, Moscow region

Pavel Klepikov, Mark i Lev – Rublevka, Moscow region

Sergey & Ivan Berezutskiy, TWINS and Wine&Crab, Moscow

Stanislav Pesotskiy, Bjorn, Moscow

Tatyana Myakotina, Ptichiy Dvor, Suzdal

Vera Kalashnikova, Suzdalyskaya Trapeza, Suzdal

Yulia Fominikh, Tipografia, Gorno-Altaisk

Yury Kovalchuk, Ogurets, Suzdal

 

Macron as ‘Ambassador’ of Bacchus

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The newly elected President of France Emmanuel Macron reportedly is a connoisseur of French wines, which is a splendid news for wine lovers in the  5th Republic, and around the world. Decanter, the UK reputable wine journal, claimed Macron appears to be not only a wine lover but a skilled enthusiast with serious blind-tasting skills.

Macron’s appreciaton of oenology is a crucial factor for the status of wines because previously French presidents were not overwhelmingly supportive of the viticultre. Nicholas Sarkozy was actively antagonistic to France’s world-leading wine industry, notorious for his  abstinence, while another,  Jacques Chirac, openly preferred Mexican beer ‘Corona’ to wines. The last president who actively supported French wine as an export industry was François Mitterrand in last millenium (!).

In the run-up to the election, French magazine Terre de Vins filmed a series of videos with Macron flaunting his blind tasting skills, concluding the show with a autoproclamation as a  ‘wine is an ambassador’ for the country.

Macron correctly identified two of three unidentified samples: a Bordeaux Blanc and a Côteaux d’Aix en Provence rosé. His only miss came in identifying a Château Pape-Clément 2005 as being from Pauillac, not Pessac-Léognan.

Luca Melilli – a stylist of Trumps Taormina galas

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“When I received the email I read it over a few times, because it almost didn’t seem real to me”, – said Luca Melilli (39), a Sicilian wedding planner, or ‘scenographist of events’, who reportedly dressed gala dinners for Donald & Melania Trump in picturesque city of Taormina for G7 Summit. Luca Melilli (pictured) has already been named among the world’s top 50 wedding planners by Brides Magazine, when he received the US President commission. (Photo: illustration)

Rosees
Previously Melilli has organised  exquisite events for his Panta Rhei agency for a decade, styling events for Bill Gates in the Valley of the Temples and gala dinners for the Taormina Film Festival featuring the world’s Seventh Art celebrities.
The stylist confessed he could hardly believe his eyes when he got the request to dress two galas for the US President and First Lady.
The secrecy imposed by security rules, did not allow Melilli to reveal a lot of his creative ideas: there are two evenings on 26 and 27 of May, one of a Sicilian theme which makes G7 guests feel the warmth of the island, said the stylist, opting for the mise-en-scene  highlighting Sicilian folklore, Mediterranean colours, with the typical flowers and scents. The second evening as “full-blown” gala will be overwhelmed by opulence of Mediterranean  fresh flowers.

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