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🍇 The Next Growth Area for Fine Wines

🍇 The Next Growth Area for Fine Wines

In this week’s DECORKED digest you will read all about wine industry's sustainable innovations, career options for sommeliers, Brad Pitt’s Champagne, wine labelled with silk, and much more. Keep reading!

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Happy Sunday! We hope you had a great week. In this week’s DECORKED digest, you will read all about wine industry's sustainable innovations, career options for sommeliers, Brad Pitt’s Champagne, wine labelled with silk, and much more. Keep reading!

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Collection of partnerships and collaborations.

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📌 SIP APP - Experience the future of wine collection management with Sip! This revolutionary app, designed by an indie developer and a passionate wine connoisseur, digitizes your wine cellar, allowing you to catalog, search, and manage your prized collection with unparalleled ease. DOWNLOAD NOW for FREE (available in the Apple Appstore)

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

SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMING THE WINE SUPPLY CHAIN

The wine industry faces a critical moment, recognizing the urgent need for environmentally friendly practices throughout the supply chain. Sustainability is not merely a passing trend but a committed effort by forward-thinking companies to minimize their ecological footprint. This commitment is evident at ProWein 2024, where industry leaders converge to explore innovative solutions for reducing the wine industry's climate impact. From vineyard practices embracing organic and biodynamic methods to the use of sustainable materials in storage facilities, the industry is striving to lessen its environmental impact. Efficient logistical processes, optimized transport routes, and exploring alternatives like lightweighting glass bottles and embracing a circular economy mindset further contribute to sustainability efforts. Collaboration and commitment from all stakeholders are essential in advancing towards a sustainable wine supply chain.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER OPTIONS AFTER LIFE AS A SOMMELIER?

Sommeliers acquire numerous versatile skills while working on the floor, such as wine expertise and customer service, along with opportunities to enhance their business proficiency in areas like accounting, inventory management, organization, and negotiation. However, many sommeliers eventually find themselves considering a transition to a different role in another industry, whether due to burnout, the need for flexible scheduling, or a desire for a change. Leveraging your network and staying in touch with industry leaders in publishing, distribution, importing, or supplying can be invaluable. Sommeliers with connections to collectors may find a good fit in retail roles, while those skilled in marketing, logistics, and portfolio development might thrive in distribution or importing. Sommeliers possess a diverse skill set that translates well into various opportunities beyond restaurant settings; it's a matter of repurposing these skills effectively.

IS THE ARABIAN PENINSULA THE NEXT GROWTH AREA FOR FINE WINE?

According to Amayès Aouli, Bonham's new global head of wine and spirits, the Arabian Peninsula holds promise for the cultivation of fine wine, as he directs attention towards emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia. Aouli highlights a growing interest in fine wine across the Arabic Peninsula, particularly in Dubai, where reduced tariffs on fine wine imports have sparked increased interest. He also identifies Qatar as having the potential for growth in the wine scene, given its foundation in culinary and oenological aspects. Despite recent relaxations in alcohol regulations in Dubai, such developments, including plans by 67 Pall Mall to extend membership offerings to the city, indicate growing interest in the market. Aouli further observes a diversification in the Asian wine market away from previous heavy reliance on China and Japan, with South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam showing potential for growth.

Sip - Collect and Enjoy wine

TO SAVE THE WINE INDUSTRY, WE’LL NEED HUMAN INTERVENTION

The term "terroir" encompasses various natural elements and human interventions, which collectively contribute to the unique taste and flavor of wine. While often used, terroir is frequently misunderstood and has a precise definition. Natural factors such as soil, climate, sunlight, and topography play a significant role, but human actions, including grape cultivation, harvesting, and winemaking techniques, also influence the final product. Climate change pressures prompt reconsideration of vineyard and cellar interventions. Advanced techniques like soil pit projects and innovative pruning methods are employed to enhance vineyard resilience. Extreme weather events, such as hail storms, pose challenges to vineyards, emphasizing the need for adaptation. In the cellar, technology aids in grape selection. While nature's role in shaping wine is romanticized, human intervention is crucial in refining terroir's qualities.

A WINE LABELLED WITH SILK

In the northern Var region, the Saint-André co-operative winery in Seillons-Source-d’Argens benefits from a unique cool, high-altitude location compared to other areas in Provence. Shielded by the Sainte-Baume mountains and Cuers ridge from the warm coastline, the winery's 380 hectares of vineyards, tended by 40 members, yield wines noted for their finesse and freshness. Alban Lacroux, the cellar master at Saint-André, explains that they specifically selected blocks of Syrah and Grenache, aged over 30 years and facing north, to showcase the characteristics of their cool vineyard sites. This meticulous approach results in around 1,000 bottles of hand-crafted, single-vineyard wines, featuring a silk label produced by Sericyne, located near Alès. Sericyne, a company pioneering the resurgence of sericulture, is now a leading producer of silk and various silk-based products, including the labels for the 'Soie' wines by the Saint-André co-operative.

FRENCH STUDY REVEALS THE VULNERABILITY OF GRAPE VARIETIES TO DROUGHT

A recent study by INRAE and the University of Bordeaux ranks 30 grape varieties based on their drought tolerance. Traditional varieties like Ugni Blanc and Chardonnay are found to be vulnerable, while Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon show more resilience. The study's method involves simulating drought conditions using a mega-cavitron. While regions like Bordeaux may not need to change grape varieties urgently, those with vulnerable varieties are at risk. This research discourages the adoption of mildew-resistant varieties, as some hybrids appear less resistant to water stress.

BRAD PITT’S CHAMPAGNE TO BE POURED AT THE OSCARS

For the third consecutive year, Brad Pitt's Fleur de Miraval Champagne will be served at the Academy Awards ceremony, where acclaimed actors, directors, and producers will have the opportunity to enjoy it. Though not up for any awards, Pitt will play a significant role at the ceremony by ensuring guests stay refreshed with his Champagne. Pitt's venture into winemaking began in 2011 with the purchase of Château Miraval in Provence, where he collaborated with the Perrin and Péters families to create the Fleur de Miraval Champagne House, exclusively dedicated to rosé. This year marks the third consecutive appearance of Fleur de Miraval Rosé Champagne at the Oscars, replacing the previous partnership with Piper-Heidsieck in 2022. Over the years, they have released limited-edition Champagnes like Exclusivement Rosé in 2020 and ER2 in the following year, followed by ER3 and a new cuvée named Petite Fleur in 2023.

WINE REGION OF THE WEEK: PROVENCE, FRANCE

Provence is a wine region in the far southeastern corner of France, best known for the quality (and quantity) of its rosé wines and for its warm, mild climate.The modernization that is occurring in so many southern French, traditional winegrowing regions has not taken such a firm grip in Provence, but there are definite signs of change.Traditional varieties such as Carignan, Barbaroux (Sardinia's Barbarossa) and Calitor being replaced by more commercially viable grapes like Grenache, Syrah and even Cabernet Sauvignon.The vineyards of Provence cover an area of France's south-eastern coastline that measures roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) from east to west. In this definitively Mediterranean climate – no Provencal vineyard is more than 55km (25 miles) from the Mediterranean – the vines enjoy around 3000 sunshine hours per year, along with an annual average temperature of 58°F (14.5°C). The long, dry summers provide ideal harvest conditions in most years, leaving the majority of the region's grape-growers free from worry about unwanted rot and vine disease. While the archetypal Provence wine is a Côtes de Provence rosé, it is the smaller, more peripheral appellations that really make the region interesting to wine enthusiasts. In the far east of Provence, the perfumed wines of the tiny Bellet appellation are made in the tightly ridged hills above Nice.

GRAPE OF THE WEEK: CALITOR

Calitor is a red wine grape variety on the verge of extinction. Despite the variety's high yields, the light-colored red wines it produces have nearly disappeared from its home in Provence, and the variety is only grown on handful of sites in the southeast of France. In the southern Rhone, Calitor is blended with other regional varieties to produce wines that may be considered a lighter version of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape blend. In the vineyard, Calitor requires attentive pruning in the winter, as well as green harvesting throughout the growing season to keep yields modest and phenolic ripeness obtainable. The variety is susceptible to mildew diseases, especially botrytis bunch rot. In Catalonia, Calitor is known as Garriag and is occasionally used in red wine blends. As a varietal, Calitor tends to lack acidity, creating a wine that is simplistic and relatively dull.

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