WORLD WINE NEWS 2018

December 2018

• Yealands Estate fined NZ$400,000 for breaching wine rules 
  (Decanter) Major New Zealand producer Yealands Estate and its ex-owner have been fined after pleading guilty to previously breaking the rules on wine destined for the EU between 2012 and 2015.

November 2018

• Wine to be ‘overstocked’ in the UK ahead of Brexit 
  (Decanter) UK wine retailer Majestic said that it would bring in between £5m and £8m of additional stock in its current financial year, to the end of March. Merchant Bibendum PLB is also looking at bringing forward some stocks of wine.
• Mildew ravages Beaucastel Grenache crop in 2018 
  (Decanter) A rare mildew attacked both flowering and leaves at the end of May, and that is likely to result in a yield of just 12 hectolitres per hectare at Château de Beaucastel in 2018, according to co-owner César Perrin.
• Global wine production estimated at 12% up on 2017 
  (Drinks Retailing News) The Organisation Internationale de la Vigne & du Vin (OIV) estimated this year’s global production at 282 million hl, an increase of 12.3% on "the dismal"2017 and the highest since 2000.

October 2018

• Sauternes 2018: No Guiraud and a nerve-shredding harvest 
  (Decanter) Château Guiraud has confirmed that it will not make a 'first wine' from the Sauternes 2018 vintage due to hail destroying 95% of its crop, while other estates in the area have reported a nervous waiting game in recent weeks as noble rot left it late to make its mark in the vineyards.
• UK winemakers face storage challenge for 2018 harvest 
  (Decanter) Yields have doubled in some cases – and winemakers are struggling to find the space for it all. Both quality and quantity are expected to be high for English wine in 2018, following the heatwave over the summer.
• Concern on Santorini as Assyrtiko grape prices rocket 
  (Decanter) Prices for Santorini Assyrtiko grapes haven risen to €5 per kilo this year, up from €3.4 per kilo last year and having once been as low as 80 cents, according to growers. There is now concern that the market might say ‘enough is enough’.
• Who Leaked the Somms' Wine List? 
  (Wine Searcher) This year's Master Sommelier Diploma Examination taste test has been controversially struck down amid suspicions of cheating by one of the Master Sommeliers overseeing the examination.
  The Court of Master Sommeliers put out a press release yesterday, saying that its board had unanimously voted to invalidate the results of the tasting after evidence emerged that one of the Masters involved in the procedure had leaked information of which wines were to be included in the tasting flight. See also Somm Scandal: A Question of Integrity.

September 2018

• Champagne Hails Harvest of the Century 
  (Wine Searcher) The 2018 harvest has come and gone in Champagne, with some growers describing it as a "once in a lifetime" harvest. The Comité Interprofessionel des Vins de Champagne (CIVC) called it the "harvest of the century" before picking even truly began in the third week of August.

August 2018

• Wine's Health Benefits Questioned 
  (Wine Searcher) According to a new study published in The Lancet "no level of alcohol consumption improves health", something picked up on by mainstream media. However, "the study was flawed" according to some critics, and did not distinguish between beer, wine, and spirits.
• Historic ‘German’ Riesling from 1811 uncorked 
  (Wine Searcher) .

July 2018

• English winemakers praise ‘near perfect’ conditions in heatwave 
  (Decanter) The lack of rain may be a problem for most agriculture, but for English vines it doesn't seem to be a problem.
• France greenlights anti-hail nets 
  (Wine Searcher) The INAO have approved the use of anti-hail nets in French vineyards, although the cost means many growers will not be able to afford their use.

June 2018

• Storing Wine on its side is nonesense says scientist 
  (The Drinks Business) Amorim's director of R&D says “The idea that storing a wine on its side to stop the cork drying out is bullsh!t”.
• Thomas Jefferson bottles "discoverer" Hardy Rodenstock dies 
  (The Drinks Business) German collector and suspected fraudster dies at 76.
• Mosel bridge – a progress report 
  (Jancis Robinson dotcom) Update on the still uncompleted Mosel Bridge near Ürzig.
• Planting begins at first UK Pinotage vineyard 
  (Decanter) The first commercial Pinotage vines in the UK have been planted at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, in Horsham, Sussex, with a view to producing a still red wine. The 0.75ha vineyard is planted with Pinotage vines from a Swiss nursery.

May 2018

• Hailstorms Damage Thousands of Acres of Vineyards in Bordeaux, Imperiling 2018 Vintage 
  (Wine Spectator) Blaye, Bourg and parts of the Haut Médoc badly hit with hail hitting vines yet to flower.
• Chemical engineer develops hangover pill that could prevent alcohol poisoning 
  (The Drinks Business) Yunfeng Lu, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, has used 3 natural liver enzymes to reduce blood alcohol and keep toxic by-products low.
• Negociants (UK) to close as Yalumba joins Fells 
  (The Drinks Business) Australia's Hill-Smith family join Torres and Symington families in ownership of the UK improter/distributor.
• Port Makers Herald the 2016 Vintage 
  (Wine Enthusiast) .
• Australian Winemakers Are Thrilled with the 2018 Harvest 
  (Wine Spectator) An "uneventful vintage" with yields slightly down but quality high.
• Contrasting Fortunes for Fortified Wine 
  (Wine Searcher) Sherry sales are falling (although premium brands are in growth) whilst Port is "the UK's fastest-growing fortified wine style".
• 2018 New Zealand vintage report 
  (The Real Review - Bob Campbell MW) "Challenging", "unusual", wet and, in some cases, "off the charts hot" describe some of the regions for the 2018 vintage.
• Scotland becomes first country to enforce a minimum alcohol price 
  (CNN) The new legislation sets a 50 pence minimum price per unit of alcohol and "will mostly affect cheap white ciders and value spirits that are high in alcohol" (a 175ml glass of 14% wine comes in at 2.4 units, working out to £5.14 a bottle). Some experts suggest the plan is "unmerited" and "unlikely to work".

April 2018

• Conviviality, the fall of an empire. 
  (The Drinks Retailing News) "Arithmetic error" with its finances, a £30m tax bill and a collapsing share price were the end result of a business that, only a year ago, seemed to be "riding the crest of a wave!.
• Bargain Booze and Wine Rack sold to Bestway 
  (The Drinks Business) Continuing the sell-off of Conviviality (after the earlier sale of Matthew Clark and Bibendum - Decanter) following March's profit warning. Jobs may be saved, but creditors will lose out.

March 2018

• Massive scale of Rhône fraud exposed 
  (The Drinks Business) Table wine equivalent of up to 15% of the Côtes-du-Rhône production passed off as more prestigious AOC between 2013 and 2016, with little doubt that the company responsible is Raphaël Michel, a major bulk bottler in the Vaucluse, with the U.K. as a major customer.

February 2018

• Which countries export the most wine to the UK? 
  (Decanter) Australia, in case you were wondering, with USA, France and Italy vying for 2nd place.
• Charles Back survives brutal crowbar attack 
  (The Drinks Business) Back, of Fairview estate, survived the attack from "common gangsters" at his Paarl farm, where he suffered a number of broken bones. After leaving hospital he stopped by work the next day to demonstrate what “real work commitment looks like”.
• Grapevine trunk disease – the ‘next phylloxera’ 
  (Decanter) aka esca or dieback (Dead-arm etc.) are affecting 10-15% of European vneyards and cost bilions per year in production, but it's a global problem with possibly 20% of the world's vines affected (see also North East Wino blog post from 2012).
• They're Less Adventurous, But Gen Xers Top Millennial And Boomer Wine Spending 
  (Forbes) Generation X (1965-1980) overtake Baby Boomers (1940s - 1964) as the "fine-wine consuming demographic", but it's the Millenials (1980s - 1999) who spend most as a bloc.

January 2018

• Thieves steal 1,000 Brunello wines from Col D’Orcia 
  (Decanter) Thieves steal 100,000 Euros of Brunello including library vintages back to 1964.
• Trickery revealed 
  (Drinks retailing news) Campaigner Chris Snowdon exposed Public Health England for massaging evidence to push through a reduction in UK alcohol guidelines, and believes PHEs relationship with the anti-drink lobby (including holding its Alcohol Leadership Board meetings at the offices of a temperance group) is worryingly cosy for a state agency.
• Spain's 2017 harvest down 20% 
  (The Drinks Business) Revising earlier 15% estimates, spring frosts, heatwaves and drought  result in a 35.6 Million Hectolitre harvest, down 19.6% on 2016 and 17.6% on a 6-year average.
• Barolo and Barbaresco legend Bruno Giacosa dies 
  (Decanter) Legendary Piemonte winemaker dies at 88.
• Plans begin to rebuild Signorello 
  (Decanter) The iconic Napa winery destroyed by wildfires in September is to be rebuilt.
• Pape Clement owner Bernard Magrez attacked at home 
  (Decanter) Several men break into the Bordeaux house, tie up the 81 year old and steal luxury watches, cash and a car.

 For 2017's wine news click here