Southern French Wine Regions Announce €34M Recovery Plan

At a press conference May 29, members of the southern French wine industry agreed on a comprehensive plan which will aid the sector following the coronavirus disruption.

The “unprecedented” scheme aims to safeguard jobs, boost sales and help the region and its wine producers regain market share over the next 18 months.

Furthermore, it intends to help companies develop multi-year trading partnerships, increase the rate of premiumization in the wines, and safeguard the production of the region’s distinctive dessert wines (vins doux naturels).

The scheme has the backing of the regional council, regional business and marketing boards, wine industry trade unions, the regional Chamber of Agriculture and wine trade bodies including Inter Oc (Interprofessional Council of wines from the Pays d’Oc), IVSO (Interprofessional Council of Wines from the South West of France), CIVL (Interprofessional Council of  Languedoc Wines), CIVR (Interprofessional Council of Roussillon Wines) and the Gardoise, part of Inter Rhône.

A total of €14 (€7m each) will be coming from the Regional Council of Occitanie and business and marketing boards.

Support will be given to companies to assist them with their marketing expenses, including participating in trade fairs, while €0.5m will also be allocated towards a campaign promoting the region’s wines. 80% of the budget (the €14m) will take the form of direct aid for businesses.

A further €20m will come from wine trade bodies. Inter Oc is contributing €14m, while the CIVL, CIVR and IVSO are each giving €2m to the cause.

The recovery plan will be presented to the vote of regional elected representatives in July.

Languedoc winemaker, Gérard Bertrand, said: “The region and all the players in the Occitanie wine sector have come together and mobilized to collectively build a stimulus plan of unprecedented scale in France with regards to the resources that have been contributed.

“With direct aid for wine companies, in particular for marketing, collective actions and promotion, we are ready to act on all fronts: to secure jobs, promote local development of activities and stimulate the reconquest of markets in France and internationally.”

In addition to national government schemes, the region has been supported by a number of measures during the Covid-19 crisis. Wine firms have been able to take advantage of the Fonds de Solidarité Régional (Regional Solidary Funds) which gives aid to businesses who have not had access to a state-guaranteed loan (PGE). Companies have also been given extensions, postponements or exemptions from loan repayments. In addition, the Solidarité Alimentation Occitanie, launched in March, has helped promote local deliveries in order to for the economic activity in the region to be maintained.

Occitanie is the administrative region formed in 2016 from the merger of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions

It comprises over 270,000ha, producing 14m hectolitres of wine, and boasts 93 appellations including 59 PDOs. It is viticulturally diverse, with some 150 native and international grape varieties grown. Around 22,600 wine-related companies operate in the region – employing 100,000 people – with a turnover of €1.3 billion. Wine grapes represent 20% of agricultural production in the region (in 2017) and wine worth €925m was exported in 2018.

Sources:  Drinks Business and the Regional Council of Occitanie

 

Happy National Wine Day !  Netflix Canada  & Ontario Wine…the perfect pairing!

 

 

Netflix Canada  & Ontario Wine…the perfect pairing!

Here are my three recommended pairings (movie/series and wine):

“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” PAIRED with Marynissen Estates Bottoms Up Red 2017

This lush ruby-red Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend is berry-driven and the ideal match for this flustery tale of first love.

Tasting Notes:  Seduces you immediately;  rich and expressive aromas of cherry, plum and raspberry that also carry through to the palate with a smooth long finish

“Virgin River” PAIRED with Nyarai Cellars, Field Blender’s White 2017

Nothing complements a fresh start at romance quite like wonderful aromatics and orange blossoms

Tasting Notes:  An elegant style that features rich complex and exciting aromatics; effortlessly displaying notes of apricots, honeydew melon, and orange blossoms;  edgy minerality runs throughout with crisp acidity onto a long citrus finish

“Self Made” PAIRED with 13Th Street June’s Vineyard Riesling 2018

Aromas of lime and wildflowers pairs beautifully with the inspiring confidence and drive of M.C. Walker

Tasting Notes:  Delicate whiffs of honey, beeswax lend depth to crisp ripe peach, apricot flavors with some stony mineral tones; this spry yet penetrating Riesling finishes with juicy concentrate stone fruit flair.

#nationalwineday #winecountry #vqaallday #vqa #vqawinesofontario #ontariocraftwine #winenow #winesofcanada #ontariowineroute #niagarawine #drinklocal #VQAathome #winelovers

#netflix #series #netflixandchill #movie #netflixseries  #movies  #film #netflixcanada #edit #tv #cinema #65inchtv #netflixmovies #seriesnetflix #netflixoriginal  #netflixshows

California bars and restaurants can now offer outdoor seating

California’s bars and restaurants can reopen for table service as long as they can provide outdoor seating, according to new measures announced this week.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) in California has proposed regulations for bars and restaurants that will allow them to seat diners on the property that is “adjacent to the licensed premises”, such as pavements or car parks.

The ABC has previously ruled that on-trade outlets can offer take-out and home delivery to patrons so they could stay in business while the state’s lockdown measures are in place.

Pre-made cocktails and other alcoholic drinks are only to be sold as a take-out option if they are served with a meal.

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a directive to close all bars, wineries, nightclubs and brewpubs in the state on March 15 and called for all seniors age 65 years or older to stay in self-isolation, in an effort to stop Covid-19 from spreading and putting a strain on local hospitals.

The temporary authorization only allows bars and restaurants to sell alcohol “during times in which bona fide meals are being served,” and allows them to use outdoor spaces that comply with public safety and welfare requirements.

Meanwhile, venues should still “encourage takeout and delivery service whenever possible,” according to California’s latest guidance for bars and restaurants issued last week.

The ABC updated its guidelines on May 19, and also ruled that licensees that do not have their kitchen facilities and do not prepare bona fide meals on the licensed premises to partner with businesses that do offer meals ( a “meal provider”) to “sell bona fide meals in conjunction with to-go containers of alcoholic beverages.”

The regulations have been amended to provide relief to the alcohol industry while it is unable to operate in full during lockdown.

Some US states are already coming out of their own lockdowns, with restaurants now able to take bookings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance for bars preparing to reopen earlier this month as coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased.

Donnafugata releases Dolce & Gabbana Rosé 2019

With rosé sales surging during lockdown, Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has joined the party, and teamed up with Donnafugata by designing a label for a new Sicilian rosé – Dolce & Gabbana Rosé 2019.

Donnafugata Dolce & Gabbana Rosa 2019 is a Provençal-style pale pink made from a blend of native Sicilian grapes Nerello Mascalese and Nocera grown on the northern slopes of Mount Etna and on the hills of Contessa Entellina, near Palermo.

Tasting notes include notes of jasmine, wild strawberry, peach and bergamot, with the Nerello Mascalese adding a mineral component and the Nocera bringing red and stone fruit to the blend.

The bottle’s geometrically patterned blue, red, white and pink label, designed by Dolce & Gabbana, is inspired by the ornate detailing of traditional carts native to Sicily.

“We are Italian, we love to eat and drink a good wine, like Rosa, born from our collaboration with Donnafugata. For us it is like tasting the smells of our land, seeing it’s colours and feeling its atmosphere,” the fashion design duo said.

The wine goes on sale via the Dolce & Gabbana website June – just in time for summer.

This isn’t the first time Dolce & Gabbana have moved their brand beyond clothing. They have put their hands to everything from pasta tins for Pastificio di Martino to juicers, toasters and kettles in a lucrative collaboration with Smeg.

Website:  https://www.donnafugata.it/en/

 

 

Millennials are vital to Champagne’s future  

“Millennials are vital to Champagne’s future… because they are willing to look beyond the ‘just for celebrations’ mantra,” states Françoise Peretti, Director of the UK’s Champagne Information Bureau.

Millennials are deemed to be more digitally connected and open-minded than baby boomers.

Peretti further stressed the need to attract a younger generation of drinkers, and the potential demand among “open-minded” millennials.

“Unlike the Baby Boomers, they are open-minded consumers, willing to look beyond the ‘just for celebrations’ mantra,” she said of the age group, which covers those people from their early 20s to late 30s.

“This is their most important attribute: a desire to embrace the idea that Champagne can be a drink for the weekend, not simply New Year.”

Mentzendorff’s Andrew Hawes, who is the current chairman of the Champagne Agents Association believes that grower Champagnes are the key to unlocking the millennial market.

Hawes states “A quiet revolution has been building in the independent sector over the past few years.”  He further adds, “Independents are selling more and more grower Champagne to millennials – they are naturally drawn to the ‘craft’ credentials of smaller brands.”

In the US, Chicago-based sommelier Zach Jones recorded a similar development, and he goes on to say,  “Grower Champagne has had a huge surge in popularity with younger drinkers in the US, because there is a great story to tell and it gives younger consumers the sense that they are supporting a small family winery, not a massive machine.”

Sources:
Drinks Ontario
Champagne Information Bureau – UK