Month: March 2020

Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) launches updated (free) online course

Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB has updated several e-learning modules to help both wine lovers and trade to become ‘experts in 90 minutes’

Burgundy’s regional wine board, the BIVB, states that its 90-minute online course was updated last week with new content and information on appellation rule changes. The online course was originally launched a decade ago and was mainly aimed at professionals, it is free for anyone to complete.

Each of the four modules takes around 20 minutes to complete, and there is a quiz at the end and the course is available in French, English, Chinese, and Japanese. Modules range from ‘Discovering Bourgogne’, which runs through the key grape varieties, appellations and terroirs of Burgundy, to food pairing advice and tasting wine.

It can take many years to learn about the intricacies of Burgundy wine, from its appellations and stylistic nuances to the precise location of its patchwork quilt of climats along the Côte d’Or, south of Dijon.

However, the BIVB states that the online modules are a fun way for both wine lovers and professionals to understand more about the region, and “90 minutes is all it takes to become an expert in Bourgogne wines.”

The course is available via the e-learning section of the BIVB website

http://href=”https://www.bourgogne-wines.com”></a>

10 DISTILLERIES AND BREWERIES MAKING HAND SANITIZER

With coronavirus infecting over 100,000 people worldwide to date, health authorities have suggested using hand sanitizer as one of the easiest ways to prevent this disease from spreading.

This has led to panic buying the anti-bacterial gel and, now, supermarkets and chemists are starting to run low on hand sanitizer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a recipe for making hand sanitizer at home, but its guidelines recommend using a white spirit that contains a minimum of 60% ABV for it to be effective. Given that most spirits in the UK and Europe are sold at around 40% ABV, this kind of potency is hard to find for everyday shoppers.

As a result, dozens of spirits manufacturers have answered the call and started to make hand sanitizers or high-strength spirits of their own. Some are selling these to local supermarkets, some are asking for donations from their local communities to support charitable initiatives, and some are giving them away to those most in need.

Brewdog, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Brewdog is one of the latest drinks groups to pivot to personal hygiene. The brewer’s spirits arm, Brewdog Distilling Co., is now making hand sanitizer at its distillery in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Mock-ups of the gel bottles were posted on Twitter March 17 and resemblance the company’s new branding, which was unveiled last month.

Brewdog co-founder James Watt said the company is not selling it for profit but is instead “giving it away to those who need it.

Pernod Ricard, France

In France, spirits giant Pernod Ricard said it would donate 70,000 litres of pure alcohol to produce hand sanitizer. The company is working with Laboratoire Cooper, which supplies hand sanitizer to French pharmacies, according to an announcement from the group on Wednesday.

Pernod Ricard’s announcement came as French health officials warned the country could face a shortage of basic resources as it goes into lockdown, including hand sanitizer.

The decision could help pharmacies across the country produce the equivalent of 1.8 million individual 50ml vials of hydroalcoholic gel.

Sébastien Lucot, Managing Director of Laboratoire Cooper, added: “We are very pleased with this partnership with Ricard SAS. Since January we have been steadily increasing our production capacity. It has already increased five-fold in one month, with the demand of pharmacists and consumers being a top priority for us.”

Elsewhere, in Spain and Ireland, Pernod Ricard Spain and Irish Distillers will also put their technical, human and production facilities at the service of the authorities to produce hand sanitizer.

Absolut Vodka, Sweden

Meanwhile, Pernod Ricards subsidiaries have also turned their production to hand sanitizer.
Absolut Vodka has said it will distribute high alcohol neutral spirit in Sweden for use in hand sanitizers.

Paula Eriksson, communications manager for The Absolut Company, has said the vodka producer is “happy to help”.

“We can deliver the neutral alcohol by itself if the receiving authorities can help with the rest,” she tweeted.

She also mentioned on social media that the company had made contact with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the Swedish Department of Health.

Rabbit Hole, USA

And in the US, Pernod Ricard’s Arkansas manufacturing plant and distilleries, which are dedicated to producing its whiskey labels Rabbit Hole (Kentucky), Smooth Ambler (West Virginia) and TX Whiskey (Texas) are producing hand sanitizer for the American market.

Psychompomp Microdistillery & Circumstance Distillery, Bristol, UK

While it is perhaps a simpler process for large drinks companies to lend their services to governments as impromptu sanitizer factories, smaller, independent distillers and breweries around the world have also been doing their part for the local community.

In Bristol, UK, Psychompomp Microdistillery & Circumstance Distillery set about making hand sanitizers with 65% ethanol (it is recommended that hand sanitizer contain an ABV of at least 60% to be effective). The gel is also made with gin botanicals already on-hand at the distillery, and aloe vera gel.

The distiller took action earlier this month after finding their local shops had run out due to panic buying in the local area.

Liam Hirt, co-founder of Psychopomp & Circumstance Distillery, said: “The team wanted some hand sanitizer and everywhere was sold out so we decided to make some.”

Rather than selling the rare commodity on for profit, the distillery offered to add a small bottle of sanitizer to every gin order and placed a donation box at the still house.
Customers are being encouraged to bring their own refillable bottles to top up on hand sanitizer, and the donation box at the facility allows health-conscious locals to pay what they like.

Donations will be handed to Bristol children’s hospital charity, The Grand Appeal.

Annex Ale Project, Alberta, Canada

In Canada, local brewer Annex Ale Project has said it will make around 7,000 cans of hand sanitizer each week for the foreseeable future to supply a grocery store in Calgary, Alberta.
“There are these shortages of hand sanitizer all over the city and the World Health Organisation (WHO) put together basically a recipe for anyone that needs to make it, so I figured if I make alcohol most of the time anyway, why not just pivot a little bit,” owner Andrew Bullied told the Calgary Herald.

Annex will produce hand sanitizer based on the WHO recipe, which uses hydrogen peroxide, glycerol and 80 percent ethanol. It will be made from the wash (the final stage of brewing before distillation), with the ethanol being removed and used in the end product.
In a post on Instagram yesterday (18 March), Annex said it hopes to roll out the product by the end of the week.

“We are in a unique position to do this as a brewery because we have a license to acquire and warehouse distilled spirits and a packaging line to be able to put these products into cans,” Annex said.

The product will be sold as sanitizer refills, so those who buy it will need to pour it into a sealable container after opening, such as a soap dispenser or shampoo bottle.

The brewer is working with Raft Beer Labs, a Calgary-based company that does quality assurance for breweries, to create a production package that “we hope to share with other Canadian distillers and brewers that are legally able to blend spirit.”

Corby Spirit and Wine Limited and Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery, Windsor, Ontario

Elsewhere in Canada, Corby Spirit and Wine Limited and its Walkerville Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery in Windsor, Ont. are proud to announce today that they are producing hand sanitizer.

J.P.Wiser’s Canadian whisky, the historic distillery, has been in operation for over 160 years on the banks of the Detroit River, distilling 180,000 litres of alcohol daily, and today will be adding hand sanitizer to its production line.

“Corby is proud to support the efforts of the Canadian and Ontario governments and communities across the country in fighting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Patrick O’Driscoll, Chief Executive Officer of Corby. “In coordination with local and senior levels of government, we are utilizing our production capacity and Windsor distillery to help provide hand sanitizer to areas where it is in need.”

The sanitizer will be donated where needed in Windsor, and to the TTC in Toronto.

New York Distilling Company, New York, USA

A number of distillers are also making their own contribution in the USA. Williamsburg-based New York Distilling Company is using its undiluted Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin to create bulk hand sanitizer.

The recipe is based on CDC recommendations, using two parts uncut gin (about 85% ABV) and aloe vera gel.

As it is based on their Perry’s Tot Gin, it also contains botanicals, providing a scent of juniper berries, citrus peels, and spices, according to the company.

The hand sanitizer isn’t available for sale, but will be offered to people from selected businesses that have existing relationships with New York Distilling, “as a way of offering solidarity, support, and friendship for the local hospitality industry.”

Yahara Bay Distillers, Madison, Wisconsin

Elsewhere in the states, Yahara Bay Distillers is making its own contribution to the hand sanitizer crisis.

Though it is not specifically making hand sanitizer, the distillery, based in Madison, Wisconsin, is working to bottle a super-strength version of its “Just Vodka,” which comes in at 70% ABV, in the hopes it could be used to kill bacteria.

Nels Forde, the general manager, said in a statement that the distillery doesn’t yet have an approved formula and label to make hand sanitizer, something that could take months to gain approval from the American Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Instead, it is selling the high-strength vodka without added aloe or another moisturizing element, and the first 75 customers who purchase it will get a free spray bottle or a roll of toilet paper.

The company hopes to start selling the new vodka today March 19.

LVMH / Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy

Luxury goods group LVMH has instructed its perfume and cosmetics division to prepare its facilities to produce “substantial quantities” of hydroalcoholic gel for the French authorities.

Its brands including Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy will start producing the product from today (16 March) in order to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
The gel will then be delivered free of charge to health authorities. LVMH said it will continue to honor this arrangement for “as long as it is necessary”.

Sources:
Drinks Business and Corby Spirit

Zorzettig Releases a Limited-Edition Bottle to Sustain Local Hospital Amid Covid-19 Emergency in Italy

Zorzettig a winery in Friuli, is not new to challenges, having survived World War II before becoming an ambassador of regional viticulture, in Italy and abroad. Now, the winery has taken another important step in sustaining the local community and its well-being. The Zorzettig family has organized a fund-raising project aimed at economically supporting the intensive care unit of Ospedale Universitario Santa Maria della Misericordia in Udine which is fighting at the forefront of Covid-19 emergency.

The winery will be selling a limited edition of Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, a native red variety, on Tannico.it. The proceeds will be used for buying necessary equipment. The limited-edition will display on the label the sentence Andrà tutto bene (everything will be alright) in eight different languages. Eight is a lucky number in China, where the emergency has started, and which is now experiencing the first positive signals. The disposition of the sentences aims at representing a hug, a familiar gesture we cannot share right now. The bottles will be on sale, on their website at info@zorzettigvini.it and on Tannico in the next few days for €35 per bottle.

Zorzettig has produced 720 bottles of red wine made with the grape variety Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy, which has been one of the regions of Italy most affected by the outbreak.

“Andrà tutto bene is a good wish for the future that needed to be translated in a practical action right now” explains Annalisa Zorzettig, who runs the family business. “We love our land and our community and we asked ourselves how we could help. This is how we came up with the idea of a limited edition with a good wish aimed at going beyond space and time. We love the idea that families will buy this bottle to share it with beloved ones seated around the same table. In the future, this will be a reminder of a challenging time we were able to overcome and of a moment which has taught us, once more, how precious are little joys and beloved ones”.

info@zorzettigvini.it
https://www.tannico.com/

Global Wine Experts Describe Impact of Turbulence Ahead

Wine Intelligence’s global expert network on the impact of Coronavirus: ‘Christmas trading’ in Italian supermarkets amid a gloomy outlook, calm in Brazil and South Africa, fewer Chinese tourists in Australia, silver linings in South Korea, growing concern in the UK and US

How are consumers behaving in your market?

AUSTRALIA: The most noticeable element is that we have seen declining cellar door sales as the normal influx of Chinese tourists during Spring Festival failed to appear. So far the on-premise sales in Australia seem to be holding up.

BRAZIL: Compared to Europe, Brazilians seem to be less scared. Carnival was 2 weeks ago and there hasn’t been much of an impact. Regular people don’t seem to be changing habits, apart from a few people wearing masks on the streets. Some companies are taking measures to isolate employees – McKinsey, for instance, have shut down their offices in São Paulo, because their neighboring office had one suspected case.

ITALY: The first and most striking event was the assault on supermarkets by people filling their trolleys with pasta, sauces, mineral water, and other goods for fear of being out of stock. The director of an important Italian wine & spirits group, who had recently spoken to the manager of a retail chain, confirmed to me how in recent weeks the points of sale of large retailers have made a turnover close to that of Christmas. For the tourism industry, the crisis period started two weeks ago, with an average of 80% of cancellations (especially of foreign tourists), which has led many hotels to close temporarily. More generally, the on-trade channel is now beginning to suffer, both due to the reduction of customers and as a result of government measures to discourage too close socialization opportunities (in quarantined areas the on-trade premises must close the shutters at 6 pm).

SOUTH AFRICA: Probably too early to tell, but so far it doesn’t seem as if there is a major change. I am hearing that wine tourism is suffering a bit, which will obviously impact on cellar door wine sales. We are a bit behind the curve and possibly the fact that it’s summer has also helped.

SOUTH KOREA: We know the damage to consumer confidence is big. But it is not easy to say how much right now. People are avoiding seeing each other face to face, so socializing is not really happening. Similarly, face to face business meetings are not happening – salespeople are not so welcome at their clients’ bars, restaurants or shops. There are not many people on the streets – not many cars either.

SPAIN: So far, everything seems the same. Masks were bought long ago but people haven´t gone in for the “toilet paper craze” as in other places.

USA: Restaurants and bars are already feeling the impact as people are going out less. On the whole, the on-premise will take a much bigger hit. People are already eating out and going out to bars less. On the other hand, I could see this helping online ordering services like Drizly and Minibar and in food, Grubhub and Delivery.com, as people stay in more and order in more. I saw a post on Facebook recently that someone had shared about Postmates advertising a “no-touch” service or something to that degree to further allay any concerns.

We’re yet to see event cancellations, but that could be just a matter of time. The big issue in a market like Las Vegas is that in addition to both domestic and international tourists, we rely heavily on delegates who attend the many large-scale conferences here – Linda Crisman, Regional Manager Western USA, Jackson Family Wines

UK: On the surface, it feels like there isn’t much dramatic change. London’s Tube is still packed at rush hour, and hardly anyone seems to be wearing masks. We’re hearing from on-premise that bookings are down on normal for the time of year, and events businesses are getting particularly nervous as clients are deferring decisions until the last minute. The news seems to move so fast; it feels a lot easier to defer rather than decide.

What are your predictions for the wine category for the remainder of 2020?

AUSTRALIA: The effects will last long after the virus has peaked – consumers will be spending more cautiously both domestically and in key export markets. The tourism business is still dealing with the after-effects of the fires, so it will be a while before we see a return to normal. From the export point of view we are hoping that some of the excess supply in China will be sold through towards the Mid-Autumn Festival period. Vintage forecasts from ABARES (national commodity forecaster) is predicting a below-average vintage size which will help offset the fall in demand.

ITALY: It will be the most difficult period since the methanol scandal in 1985. Our inbound tourism industry has done so well in the past few years that it has reversed the long term trend of consumption decline in the domestic market – we will have to wait a while for international tourist numbers to recover. I am sure that once the emergency is resolved, perhaps with the summer season, the domestic Italian consumer will resume their love story with the aperitifs and the various socialization occasions. Until then, I foresee some difficulties for wine businesses, especially small ones, which have focused on an important part of their sales on the cellar door and have grown reliant on international tourists.

SPAIN: We´ve still to see the worst effects but the summer will approach fast and here it will help reduce conditions that favor contagion. The big question will be whether the tourists show up in their normal numbers.

SOUTH AFRICA: I think the major global grocery retail businesses will be extremely cautious in their ordering pattern against the current scenario. In the local market, we may see some sales lost from people not attending large gatherings/restaurants etc as much, and we expect the conference industry to take a hit. Wine tourism will take a while to recover because leisure trips to South Africa are often planned a long way in advance, and we may not see the full extent of the effect for a year or more.

SOUTH KOREA: Companies in the sector are planning on 20-30% declines in their sales vs their original plan for the year. People are not going to the shops – they prefer on-line shopping. In Korea, we cannot sell wine online yet, but we understand that the government will allow online sales of wine temporarily, maybe as soon as April – it will only be click-and-collect, not full delivery, at least not yet. But it is a good start. I expect that, sooner or later, maybe within the next couple of years, the online wine market will be opened up.

UK: So far the government is resisting imposing restrictions on the public, but this will change soon. We understand the medical experts are expecting the peak of infections in the UK in about 6-8 weeks’ time, at which point restrictions may start to be lifted. Supermarkets will do just fine, but it’s the on-premise, hotels and events companies which will have a hole in their revenues – somewhere around 15% of their annual sales – which won’t be made up in this calendar year.

We haven’t seen anything change yet from a retail sales perspective as yet, but we have already seen a drop off in Travel Retail (ferries, airports). Supply has been rather lumpy as shipping lines have had to adapt their schedules to China and Singapore port closures. Looking ahead I’d say that the [UK] On Trade is in for a tough time, clearly festival volumes are up in the air and in retail, I’d expect local small stores to do well – Simon Lawson, General Manager, Casella Family Brands (Europe) Ltd, UK.

USA: The big unanswered question for Americans is how bit the outbreak will get. We are losing faith in the government response – it seems very slow and complacent, and who knows how many confirmed cases we will have when the virus testing gets to a sensible number [estimated at <3,000 tests completed as of 9 March]. When events like Indian Wells [major tennis tournament in California] are canceled, it feels like we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Source:  Wine Intelligence

26th Grand International Wine Awards Mundus Vini Spring Tasting 2020

The Mundus Vini wine awards are held in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, in the heart of the Palatinate region in the Pfalz, south of Frankfurt every spring.  268 wine experts from 54 countries gathered at the 6-day tasting in February to blind taste and assess around 7500 wines from 45 countries. Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright, Cape Wine Master, was invited to be a judge for another year in a row and this time as Canada’s first-panel chair.

Over the days of tasting, Ratcliffe-Wright chaired a panel with judges from Germany, Australia, Russia, Ukraine and Portugal who tasted wines from 11 countries.  Garnacha based red blends from Germany and Spain showed solid quality with very few faulty bottles or winemaking faults. A flight of Sauvignon Blanc from Trentino and Veneto in Italy and white blends from various regions in Italy showed good varietal character, while the blends highlighted the great quality of white wines coming out of Italy recently, being super easy to every day drinkers to enjoy.

The Pinot Noir flight from Chile and New Zealand was outstanding with judges awarding many medals.  Merlot from various Spanish regions ranging from La Mancha to Catalonia was solid without too many surprises.

The sparkling wine and Prosecco flight from Italy and Germany showed wines that were whistle clean and market-ready.  Rioja from Spain was interesting in that there were many different styles from the region, but in general, the quality was very high.

The Shiraz and Shiraz blends from South Australia showed beautiful balance and fruit.  There was a Pinot Gris flight from Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Serbia and North Macedonia, while being from a wide range of countries, the grape showed its character and it was obvious why this varietal is so popular worldwide.

Chenin Blanc from various regions in South Africa from Swartland to Walker Bay was promising with a wild card of a Chenin Blanc from Armenia included in the lineup and that had been blended with Aligoté and Kangun.

Valpolicella Ripasso from Northern Italy was an interesting flight with many excellent wines.

Each judge is measured daily on a tasting and scoring graph against their peers to ensure precision of tasting without too much deviation and to ensure consistency.

Christian Wolf, tasting director for Mundus Vini said: “We can see purely by the figures and the feedback from our tasters that the level of quality has risen considerably this year.”

Australia emerged from the competition as number one in the overseas category with a total of 72 medals with Kilikanoon Wines being named, once again, the best Australian winery with 19 medals. South Africa came in 2nd of the wines from overseas with 55 medals and Argentina 3rd with 49. The best Argentinian winery was Gruppo Peñaflor who received a total of 11 medals

Some of the top-rated wines of the show were:

2016 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz (Best of show, Australia red)

2018 Jaraman Chardonnay (best of show Australia white)

2016 DeWetshof Estate The Site Chardonnay (best of show South Africa white)

2016 Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz (Best of Show, South Africa red)

2015 Felipe Staiti Honor (Best of show Argentina)

For the European wines, Italy scored the most medal with 658 with Spain a close second with 631 and France with 325.

“It was an exciting tasting this year to see high quality from so many regions and a privilege to judge with so many accomplished international palates.” Says Jenny.  “I look forward to judging in the competition again next year.”

Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright