When the Douro Boys group was created, the aim behind the idea was not to work together commercially but rather to put the Douro on the wine map. That required a lot of travel both from Portugal and the Douro valley where the wineries are but also into the region. Today, 17 years later and as the group approaches its 20 years since its existence with a pandemic in between, the five wineries which have put the Douro on the wine spotlight are reflecting as to what the future holds. The Douro Boys was set up by the owners of five wineries, Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta Vale D. Maria, Quinta do Vale Meão and the port wine house Niepoort to raise awareness for the Douro region worldwide. Over the past weeks, I sat down (albeit via Zoom) to speak with a representative of each of the wineries to discuss the impact that the Douro Boys have had on Portuguese wine in particular but more importantly what changes they are considering particularly given the COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more...]
Two natural winemaker associations in Italy join forces
Two natural winemaker associations VinNatur and Vi.Te - Vignaioli have joined forces in a year that is proving to be one of the most uncertain years in our living history. A rapprochement of two of the most important natural winemakers in Italy took place in August 2020. The presidents of the two associations Angiolino Maule and Gabriele Da Prato met to lay the foundations for a shared path. "It was a meeting that had been in the pipeline and wanted for a very long time and has finally materialised," they said. Among others, they discussed what are natural wines, when can a winemaker be truly an artisan when very often it is a trend or commercial project? The need to clarify the movement and to join forces in order to succeed was evident to the two associations. Collaboration is the best way forward to give greater authority to the natural wine sector and to its message, and for this reason we have already started to consider the criteria needed for a winery to be … [Read more...]
Time to learn, play and grow your wine knowledge with Somm360
Are you in a country that is already in lockdown or heading towards another lockdown? Do you have some time on your hands? Maybe because you cannot visit your local bar, gym or restaurant? Then Somm360 has the answer for you. If you want to improve your wine knowledge, Somm360 have designed a free-to-play educational platform for mobile, tablet and desktop microlearning that not only educates you but rolls out a barrel of wine fun for all those who participate. Somm360 has teamed up with top sommeliers and wine experts from around the globe to constantly create rich daily content and quizzes on a myriad of topics with different difficulty levels. Somm360 is inviting the world to challenge each daily quiz creator as it opens up its 90-day inaugural season on its website. “In this difficult time for our industry, it was important for us to create an accessible platform, free of charge, where everyone can join, anytime, anywhere, everywhere, from their mobile to their desktop. … [Read more...]
Tedeschi’s harvest begins in the name of sustainability
VERONA: “Today being a sustainable entity has become a moral obligation, and we are convinced that the entire production process can only benefit if we can achieve our goals to be sustainabile. We have chosen the right path as is evidenced by Italy’s work towards the development of a national certification that will be recognized at the local level,” said Sabrina Tedeschi from the Tedeschi winery in Verona. With Italy in harvest mode, the winery has begun to pick the grapes for the 2020 vintage. Tedeschi is among the first wineries in Verona to be certified by Equalitas, a sustainability project focused on wine production. Equalitas has started procedures to address social, environmental and economic issues. In 2018 Tedeschi decided to start the process to obtain voluntary certification of sustainable practice. Such a process involves examining all aspects of the business with particular attention to ethical issues imposed by certain markets, including the continuation of … [Read more...]
Fritz Miesbauer, winemaker for the city of Krems is winegrower of the year
KREMS: Stift Göttweig, a Benedictine abbey stands proudly across from Krems on the south bank of the Danube. Monks have been cultivating wine on the abbey’s 26 hectares of vineyards for almost 900 years. The winegrowing estate was outsourced in the early 1980s, and in 2006 a consortium of wine enthusiasts assumed responsibility for cultivation. It's fortunes had been waning, just like those of the wine in the Austrian city of Krems. Then, they decided to put Fritz Miesbauer at the helm, taking the reins not just of the city's wines but also the Stift Göttweig. Today, 14 years later that decision has been rewarded. The winemaker has become the toast of Austria as falfstaff magazine has named him Winegrower of the Year. The changes were not just cosmetic. While the winemaker upgraded the label to the unforgettable label motif: the world-famous ceiling frescos from Paul Troger from 1739, the wines inside also began a steep ascent. They emerged as emerging as classically … [Read more...]
Villa Maria winery releases documentary: Vintage, the untold story
World-renowned New Zealand winery, Villa Maria has teamed up with American filmmaker, Colin West, to create a feature length documentary that tells a story of winemaking that has never been told before. The documentary-style film, named Vintage, follows Chief Winemaker Nick Picone, Marlborough Viticulturist Stu Dudley, Chief Viticulturist Ollie Powrie and Viticulture Cadet Jess Marston through Villa Maria’s 2019 harvest, capturing the process through their own unique lens. Set in the windswept coastal vineyards of Marlborough and the sun-soaked landscape of Hawkes Bay, Vintage shows how they cope with unforeseen challenges, vastly varying climates, frost-filled early mornings and 24-hour days. “For the first time ever in New Zealand, a winery is capturing the entire vintage process - it’s a peek behind the curtain of the all-consuming harvest period that we, as winemakers, live and breathe,” says Villa Maria’s Chief Winemaker, Nick Picone. “Vintage is fast paced and chaotic - … [Read more...]
The new Carnuntum
For more than fifteen years, Austria’s oenographic nomenclature has been undergoing substantial restructuring. In 2003, the first DAC regulations and classifications were introduced. While grape varieties were the main focus of attention at the time, today stylistic concerns are coming steadily to the fore, and the grape variety now is part of a bigger picture. And that is exactly how Carnuntum, the latest entrant to the DAC system, has defined its DAC regulations. It has taken time, 16 years in total, but the winegrowing region of Carnuntum, needed this time to present a well-designed a comprehensive new structure for the region. The concept »Districtus Austriae Controllatus« (Controlled Austrian Denomination of Origin) was introduced in 2003. The viticultural region Weinviertel was the first to use DAC. Since then, the Kremstal, Kamptal, Traisental, Eisenberg, Wien/Vienna, Leithaberg, Mittelburgenland, Neusiedlersee, Rosalia and finally the Steiermark – with Vulkanland, … [Read more...]
Strong demand and record price for sparkling wine at Nahe Wine Auction
The Kupfergrube is a great vineyard site. This steep terraced slope with a wall-like appearance standing behind the estate house of Gut Hermannsberg is majestically framed by a handful of other great vineyards in the Middle Nahe Valley. Even a superficial glance is enough to make clear that remarkable wines with charismatic personalities must grow there. This is the reason why Gut Hermannsberg only releases its Rieslings from the Kupfergrube when they reach five years of age. “These wines need far more time than all our others,” explained winemaker Karsten Peter, “to drink them earlier than this would be a mistake.” The decision to move to this “Very Late Release” strategy was taken by the Reidel family last year. “The 2017 Kupfergrube has such a complex structure it was clear that it’s full potential wouldn’t be reached after just two years of maturation,” explained estate co-director Jasper Reidel. It was therefore decided to shift from releasing the estate’s dry Kupfergrube GG … [Read more...]
Gut Hermannsberg celebrates 10 years of terroir and Riesling
Together with guests from around the world Jens Reidel and Dr. Christine Dinse celebrated the dramatic return to form of their famous wine estate on the Nahe. In 2009 they purchased the former “Königlich-Preussische Weindomäne” – Royal Prussian Wine Domaine – in Niederhausen, later the Nahe State Domaine and renamed it Gut Hermannsberg. Since then they pushed the quality winery back to the very top. Today Gut Hermannsberg is one of Germany’s leading wine producers. Breathtakingly beautiful “It’s the most beautiful place in the world,” Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm said in his speech at the 10th anniversary celebration at Gut Hermannsberg on Friday, 30th August, “and we are all happy, that this wonderful place shines again.” Gut Hermannsberg stands on a hilltop in the Nahe Valley with breathtaking views over the estate’s steep vineyards that all produce GGs (Große Gewächs / “Grand Crus”), volcanic cliffs and the river. The estate gets its name from the … [Read more...]
Austrian wine: Good quality and average volume reported for 2019 vintage
AUSTRIA: ‘Austrian winegrowers are looking forward to a good vintage with fully ripe grapes this year. Compared to the big harvest in 2018, an average volume of approximately 2.4 million hectolitres is expected. And after the record-breaking early harvest last year, picking will begin around Lake Neusiedl at the beginning of September. In other regions, the primary harvest will begin in mid-September’, explained Johannes Schmuckenschlager, president of the Austrian Winegrowers’ Association, with regard to 2019. No late frost damage this yearAfter a normal budding, late frost damage was avoided once more this year, despite a few anxious nights. In contrast to the previous year, flowering took place about two weeks later – at the normal time. The great heat in June 2019 with record temperatures over 30°C then led to rapid progress of the vegetation. The dry and hot weather conditions also provided the reason why very healthy grape material is available throughout Austria this year, as … [Read more...]