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🧾 Wine labeling is about to change

🧾 Wine labeling is about to change

In this weeks DECORKED digest, you will read all about Australia’s struggles, the Swedish wine monopoly, new methods, the best vineyards, and much much more.

July 30, 2023

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Happy Sunday! Hope you’ve had a wonderful week! In this week’s DECORKED digest, you will read all about Australia’s struggles, the Swedish wine monopoly, new methods, the best vineyards, and much much more. Keep reading!

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INTERESTING THIS WEEK

🩺 A glass of wine a day could help keep frailty away as we age READ HERE

📉 Party is over for Champagne as sales drop after two years READ HERE

📈 How to build a premium by-the-glass program that sells? READ HERE

🇺🇸 America’s next big wine region is not where you’d expect READ HERE

🍷 How Zalto became the wine enthusiast’s glass of choice READ HERE

🖍 Are Napa cabernets losing their color? READ HERE

📝 Cork taint seems to be decreasing READ HERE

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We curate, filter, and select only the most exciting and important news for you.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE TRICKY WORLD OF WINE ALLOCATIONS

Securing wine allocations isn't a matter of employing clever tactics or strategies; rather, it hinges on consistently supporting and maintaining respectful relationships with suppliers. Building a mutually beneficial connection through regular sales throughout the year can create opportunities to acquire more elusive and sought-after wines. These highly allocated bottles, where demand surpasses supply, are like the unicorns of the wine world. While having rare and hard-to-find bottles in a restaurant or retail shop can generate excitement, obtaining them involves sacrifices and logistical considerations.

To improve the chances of obtaining allocations, demonstrating loyalty to favored brands can make a difference. This includes reaching out directly to producers, subscribing to newsletters, following them on social media, and attending local tastings. Such actions keep your establishment in mind when allocation opportunities arise, as an unspoken expectation is that buyers will accept their allocated share each year.

SWEDEN'S WINE MARKET: HOW FAR WILL LIBERALISATION GO?

The Swedish Supreme Court has made a ruling allowing online marketing and sales of wine from foreign sources as private imports, even if a Swedish parent company is involved in managing the business. This decision came after a legal dispute between Winefinder ApS, a Danish retailer with a Swedish parent company, and the Swedish alcohol monopoly Systembolaget. Winefinder had been delivering wine to customers in Sweden for 16 years, and after a lengthy court battle, Systembolaget's attempt to stop the online sales was unsuccessful.

According to the Supreme Court, the Alcohol Act and its preparatory works clearly permit such distance selling as a form of private import. However, the delay in resolving the case may have been influenced by the relatively low significance of online sales in the overall alcohol market in Sweden, as e-commerce constitutes a small portion of total alcohol sales.

HOW CANNED WINE IS ATTRACTING NEW DRINKERS

Not too long ago, the notion of putting wine in a can would have outraged traditionalists who preferred the elegance of wine served in a glass bottle. However, a new generation of drinkers entering the market has challenged old perceptions of wine packaging. This shift in consumer preferences has led to the rise of canned wines. Jack Green, from Vinca, believes that the most significant potential for canned wines lies in converting existing wine drinkers and expanding their presence in on-trade establishments. Initially, canned wines were considered a trend, but they have now become a permanent fixture in the global wine industry, with major players also getting involved. The increasing popularity of canned wine is driving this growth, and businesses are attracted to the added benefit of sustainability when transitioning from glass or plastic packaging to cans.

2023 WORLD'S BEST VINEYARDS REVEALED

The World’s Best Vineyards organization has revealed the top wine destinations for 2023 at an event held online and in Rioja, Spain, the country’s finest wine region. This year’s voting academy consisted of over 500 leading wine experts, sommeliers and travel experts to select the best wineries in the world. The 2023 list also includes new entrants from Canada, Hungary, Japan, Slovenia, and China. The World’s Best Vineyards annual list highlights the top vineyards to visit globally and aims to promote wine tourism around the world. Each year the list showcases unique vineyards with unrivaled visitor experiences, from modern architectural wonders, UNESCO-protected ancient cellars, and Michelin-starred restaurants to family-run wineries with intimate tours.

TRADITIONAL METHOD WINES FROM UNTRADITIONAL REGIONS

With the increasing global demand for traditional method sparkling wines, consumers are exploring new regions. We look at the sparkling wine offerings from Temecula and Santa Barbara. Temecula Valley, in Southern California, attracts around 2.3 million visitors annually and has a climate suitable for a variety of grape varieties, including sparkling wines. The wines here are carefully made and aged for three to five-plus years. Prices range from US$39 to US$75 (£34 to £65). Santa Barbara County, located northwest of Los Angeles, has a unique topography that creates an ideal environment for producing sparkling wines.

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AUSTRALIAN WINE PRODUCERS REPORT THE SMALLEST VINTAGE SINCE 2000

Persistent rainfall, unusually cool weather, and flooding in 2023 have resulted in Australian producers facing their smallest vintage in decades. Trade group Wine Australia estimated a total vintage of 1.32 million tonnes, which is 26% below the 10-year average.

This year's vintage marks the lowest recorded since 2000, and producers from all over the country reported that the conditions were the most challenging they had experienced in at least 20 years. Australia was impacted by a third consecutive La Niña event, leading to the wettest year since 2011 and the coolest year since 2012. The continuous rainfall during the winter and spring made it challenging for growers to access vineyards. As a result, several regions experienced lower yields, delayed ripening, and difficulties managing diseases.

WINE'S NEXT CHALLENGE: YEAST LABELING

Richard Ramos, a French center-right politician of the Mouvement Démocrate party, has proposed a bill requiring wine labels to prominently state whether commercial yeast was used during production. According to Ramos, most consumers are unaware of the use of these exogenous yeasts, which can influence a wine's taste and aroma profile. The proposed regulation has confused many industry professionals who point out that other sectors, like bread, yogurt, and beer, also commonly use cultured yeasts. Some, such as the president of the French Union of Oenologists, have criticized the proposal as unnecessary because commercial yeasts are not considered additives and are not present in the final product. However, supporters of natural wines have praised the move, saying that it provides valuable information for consumers to make informed decisions.

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WINE REGION OF THE WEEK: TOKAJ, HUNGARY

Tokaj is Hungary's most famous wine region, known for its sweet Tokaji dessert wines. It is located in the northeast near Slovakia, with about 30 towns and villages spanning 40 kilometers. The region has a warm climate and is protected by a crescent-shaped mountain range. The soils vary, with volcanic clays in higher areas and loess and sedimentary soils in lower areas. The main grape varieties used are Furmint, Harslevelu, and Sárga Muskotály, with Furmint being the most important. It has high acidity, sugar levels, and a spicy aroma, making it age well and has a unique flavor.

GRAPE OF THE WEEK: FURMINT

Furmint is the key grape variety associated with Hungary's famous Tokaji wine. It has high acidity and can produce complex and long-lasting wines when blended with Harslevelu and Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains. Furmint is the dominant grape in the Tokaj region, occupying two-thirds of the vineyard area. Its origins are unclear, but it is also grown in the Somlo region for dry, single-variety wines. These wines have aromas of lime, pear, and orange. As it ages, Furmint wine develops copper and amber colors and nutty, spicy flavors. Sweeter styles have apricot, marzipan, and black-tea flavors with aromas of brown spices and sugar. Furmint vines bud early and ripen late, contributing to its concentration and complexity.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

🇵🇹 Portugal's Douro Valley is the world's oldest demarcated wine region, known for producing port wine.

🍷 Cork has been the traditional closure for wine bottles for centuries, but in recent times, screw caps and synthetic corks have become more popular due to their ease of use and consistency in preserving the wine.

🗺 The "Judgment of Paris" in 1976 was a historic wine-tasting event where California wines outperformed French wines in a blind tasting, putting Napa Valley on the global wine map.

🇺🇾 Uruguay is a smaller wine-producing country with a growing reputation for Tannat wines, characterized by rich flavors and tannins.

🐞 The Phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century devastated vineyards worldwide, leading to the grafting of European grapevines onto American rootstocks, which were resistant to the pest.

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