October 2019

Artcurial Fine Wine & Spirits Auction October 30th and 31st – Paris

Do you have a passion for both art and wine?

If so, attend Artcurial Fine Wine & Spirits auction October 30^th and 31^st – Paris, which will feature 800 lots, including Mouton Rothschild.

Did you know that Mouton Rothschild is famous for its labels? Each year Mouton Rothschild has a label designed by a famous artist (Dalí, Bacon, Picasso, through to contemporary artists such as Rufino Tamayo in 1998, Robert Wilson in 2001 and Gu Gan in 1996.

Château Mouton Rothschild 1998, 1er GC Pauillac

Estimate: 1,160 – 1,200 € / 1,276 – 1,320 $

Château Mouton Rothschild 2001, 1er GC Pauillac

Estimate: 840 – 870 € / 920 – 957 $

Château Mouton Rothschild 1996, 1er GC Pauillac

Estimate: 330 – 340 € / 363 – 374 $

Other wines available: Bordeaux wines: Pétrus, Château Margaux and important references of red Burgundy including wine from the prestigious domains of Montrachet or La Tâche, great wines of the Domaine de la Romanée Conti.

The auction will also showcase various spirits, vintage champagnes, armagnac, cognac, and whisky.

Wednesday 30th October, 2pm (lot 1 à 440)
Thursday 31st October 2pm (lot 441 à 792)

7, Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées
75008 Paris

Catalog:

https://www.artcurial.com/en/sale-3989-fine-wine-spirits

Prosecco harvest down 3-5%

The harvest in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore has just come to an end with yields down between 3% to 5% from last year.

“This month we have just spent on the Rive vineyards has been one of intense work,” said Consorzio president, Innocente Nardi.

Nardi said that this has been an exceptional year for the territory, “starting off with the accolade from UNESCO, but also including the fiftieth anniversary of the denomination and our ban on glyphosate, which has made us the largest wine zone in Europe to forbid the use of this well-known herbicide.”

According to a statement from the Consorzio, harvesting took place in ideal conditions. “We registered an average pH of 3.30 and acidity of 6.55, values that are ideal for the production of elegant sparkling wines,” said the statement.

After a cold winter, spring was cooler and rainier than usual, which caused a delay in bud break. This was followed by a hot summer, and the weather was fine during the harvest. The harvest began in the most easterly zone and one slopes with the most exposure to sunlight, such as the vineyards at San Pietro di Feletto.

The region’s steep slopes are difficult to harvest with machinery, and “600 to 700 hours of manual work are necessary per hectare each year”.

The wines from 2019 will be the first to take advantage of the new production regulations passed in August of this year, which allow for sui lieviti (“on the yeasts”) sparkling wines that have been refermented in the bottle, and extra brut, with residual sugar between 0 and 6g per Litre.

https://www.prosecco.it/en/prosecco-superiore-docg/

The 20th Canberra International Riesling Challenge starts today

One of the biggest international promotions of Riesling starts today at the Albert Hall in Canberra, Australia.

The Riesling challenge has attracted 502 entries from 228 wineries from across nine Riesling-producing countries.

Judges from China, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia will rate the wines by region, country, and the world over three days, with results announced this Friday evening at an awards ceremony at the Hotel Realm.

The week will conclude with one of the biggest consumer tastings of Riesling in the world.

A feature of this year’s entries is what may be the first-ever entry from China to an Australian wine show.

“… one remembers the early days when Riesling was regarded as a cheap low-quality wine. Riesling’s profile is now that of the greatest white wine in the world” states CIRC chair James Service

Riesling Week Events

Judging: 14-17 October 2019: Albert Hall, Yarralumla – Media only
Riedel Riesling Master Class: Thursday 17 October 2019, 6.00pm – 9.00pm at the Hotel Realm
Awards Presentation: Friday 18 October 2019, 5.30pm – 7.00pm at the Hotel Realm
Hotel Realm Riesling Dinner: Friday 19 October, 7:30pm, Buvette Restaurant, Hotel Realm
ActewAGL Trade and Consumer Tasting: Saturday 19 October 2019, 11.00am-3.00pm Albert Hall, Yarralumla

rieslingchallenge.com

Organic wine production in Spain has grown 10%

The number of organic wine producers in Spain has jumped 10% in 2018 to 1,033 – from 939 in 2017. The regions of Catalonia, Valencia, and Andalucia accounted for the largest growth in organic wine for 2018.

Statistics show that Spain is the EU Country with the largest organic vineyard area, with production growth from 11,841ha in 2001 to over 113,000ha in 2018.

Organic vineyards in Spain represent less than 12% of the country’s total vineyard area, which is a similar percentage share to that of France and Italy.

In a bid to drive-up exports, Spain will be focusing on organic and biodynamic wines.

Spanish Organic Wines (SOW), an association created in 2014 which facilitates wines exports for 38 producers, said the majority of Spain’s organic wines are now exported with domestic consumption of these wines lagging behind international demand.

Barcelona Wine Week will be held February 3rd to 6th 2020 and will be dedicating space to organic and biodynamic wines.

https://www.barcelonawineweek.com/

Spain has been looking to increase export prices, but the country’s wines continue to provide value compared to France and Italy.

Reyka ‘Icelandic’ vodka is opening a bar on a glacier

Cocktails at Reyka’s five-day pop-up are free, if you can get there.

As part of an ambitious new promotion, fans of the Icelandic vodka brand Reyka are being encouraged to try it at the source. No, not at the distillery, but at the source of their water, the Langjokull Glacier. For five days Reyka will be opening a pop-up bar on top of the massive ice sheet—billed as “the world’s first bar on a glacier.”

If you missed your chance to drink gin at a pop-up bar at the North Pole earlier this year, you now have a chance to participate in this unique pop-up.

There are two ways to attend:

The easy way is to enter to win a trip on Reyka’s website – “those selected will be whisked off to the land of fire and ice by air before being taken on an off-road adventure to reach the source of Reyka Vodka and the home of the world’s first bar on a glacier.”

reyka.com

Secondly, the more free-spirited types are being encouraged to simply invite themselves: Reyka has posted the coordinates on their website—64.565653°N-20.024822°W—and are essentially saying that if you think you can make your way there, by all means, stop by. (Just please don’t try to make the arduous journey while consuming alcohol, they add. That’s for after you arrive.) Meanwhile, if finding random global coordinates isn’t your specialty, for one day only October 20, you can also book a paid tour through Activity Iceland who will be making a special stop at the bar.

The five-day Arctic Circle pop-up—which will last from October 16 to 20 has been ten months in the making, including teaming with local craftsmen to build the structure before moving it to the site for the opening. The menu will consist of free samples of cocktails made with Reyka Vodka, including the brand’s signature drink, the Puffin Collins. Once the pop-up has ended, the plan is to remove it “without trace” so as not to disturb the beauty of the glacier.

“We’re puffin-chuffed to bring the charmingly offbeat spirit of Reyka Vodka to the world with this one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drink our vodka in the world’s first bar on a glacier,” Rekya Vodka Brand Ambassador Fabiano Latham said in the announcement. “Reyka Vodka is not just made in Iceland, it’s made of Iceland—so where better to host our Reyka Bar than at the very source—Langjokull Glacier!” Technically, I think that depends on your personal definition of the word “better”—but a pop-up bar on a glacier is definitely “cool.”