Month: July 2020

Wine Review: Franck Millet Sancerre Blanc

Tasting Notes:

This nervy wine comes from Bué, one of the top villages of Sancerre, which is grown in limestone-clay soil and reflects the unique terroir of the region.

Powerful nose with lots of aromatic qualities developing over a period of time. Tangy with mineral texture, and offering lime flavors, displaying a surprising suppleness and roundness. Very long on the palate.

This wine makes an excellent aperitif and pairs beautifully with oily seafood dishes and cheeses.

Points 89

APPELLATION
Sancerre, Loire Valley, France

WINERY
Domaine Franck Millet

ALCOHOL
12.5%

BOTTLE SIZE
750 ml

CATEGORY
White

Awards

Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2017: 1 Star

Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2014: 2 Stars

Concours General Agricole Paris, 2014: Gold

This stunning Sancerre is available at Galleon who recently launched their Ontario online collection of fine wines.

Discover this new e-commerce platform @ https://on.galleonwines.ca/collections/liz-palmer

“They are driven by their passion; their mission is to promote the best wines in the world and I believe it!”

Enjoy a discount of 10% off  with PROMO CODE: WELCOME

 

Women in Wine Talks — Fall Schedule

Les Dames d’Escoffier Ontario (Canada) is proud to host  “Women in Wine Talks™” as an online platform to raise awareness of women in the wine industry to impact positive change. We shine the spotlight on global women business leaders, winemakers, authors and industry experts.

The Concept
Women in Wine Talks™ are inspiring conversations, virtual wine-tastings and panel discussions with wine industry experts.

“Memorable and Elevated Virtual Experiences”

Women in Wine Talks™ is designed for every wine lover, at all levels; with international participation.

Past speakers included:

Elizabeth Gabay, MW
One of the world’s foremost authorities on rosé wines, is the author of ‘Rosé: Understanding the Pink Wine Revolution’, and President of the Jury at International Rosé Challenge – Rose Tasting and Talk.

Maggie Henriquez, Ph.D., CEO Krug
Leadership in Challenging Times with Maggie Henriquez CEO of Krug Champagne – Leadership Talk

Janet Dorozynski, PhD
Trade Commissioner Canadian Wine, Beer and Spirits
Q and A with Moderator: Shari Mogk-Edwards

Watch this space for our upcoming talks commencing September 2020, which will include:

Beatrice Cointreau
She was born into a long line of vine-growers and distillers.  Beatrice has her Master of  Law, in business, an MBA, studied at the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology, and at the ISIPCA European School of perfumery. She is also the great-granddaughter of the Cointreau liquor founder and granddaughter of the founder of Rémy Martin.

Reva Singh
Founder & Editor-in-Chief of India’s first wine magazine Sommelier India

Ariane Khaida
Executive Director of the Chateau Wines Division Barons de Rothschild

Lorraine Immelman
CEO, Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards (South Africa)

Father and Daughter team of Michel Drappier and Charline Drappier of Champagne Drappier

Ann Sperling
A leading force in the Canadian movement towards organic and biodynamic fine winemaking 9BC Winery and winery in Argentina)

Alysha Harker
Canadian Director for Riedel

…and many more exciting speakers in the world of wine and spirits!

Recent Testimonials:

What a successful inaugural virtual event! It was very interesting to learn there are over 400 appellations for Rosé wines, and how the various regions are grouped together. Elizabeth Gabay is exceptionally knowledgeable, and very generous sharing her passion, about Rosé wines. As she spoke to us from her home in the south of France, it was entertaining tasting wines virtually and comparing comments with each of the participants. There are a few I plan to try as a result! I am looking forward to the next virtual wine event!  Shari Mogk-Edwards

Janet Doroznyski’s presentation
Very informative and helpful presentation.  Thank you!
Jessica DiFruscia

I was honoured to be included in the LDEO Women in Wine Talks. Leadership in Challenging Times with Maggie Henriquez was inspirational and poignant.  Ms. Henriquez shared her life work and experiences while sharing optimism for the future.  Thank you Liz for setting this up.
Doris Bradley, Professor, George Brown College

I was really pleased to participate to Women in Wine Talks’ on-line conference on last June 23rd: Leadership in Challenging Times with Maggie Henriquez, President and CEO of Krug Champagne. Maggie is a very high-level personality with a great and riche experience. During one hour, Maggie shared honestly her experiences in top-level wine and/or spirits global groups. Her words were really inspiring. We can define her as a self-made woman who had different leadership and crisis management experiences – as top-level group leader – in global groups in Southern America, Northern America, Europe.  She gave concrete examples of crisis management and solutions development through her own experience.  She also clearly told to participants her point of views and clues about trends after current covid-19 crisis: crisis is always a hard step full of challenges but generating new business opportunities.

The on-line conference organization was also very high-level. First of all, to share debates with Maggie and also at a technical level. We were over 25 people connected at the same time from different countries.

Special thanks to really great job done by Liz Palmer, Founder UPsocial Wine + Spirits and her associate, Virginia Hutton – Loïc OROFINO, France

Wonderful webinar with Maggie Henriquez, CEO of Maison Krug. Inspiring to hear her talk about the various times throughout her business career when the world, and wine world, was in the midst of a global crisis and how she navigated through – with the key message being to support and retain your staff against all odds. The only thing that would have made it better was to have a glass of Krug in hand.
Janet Dorozynski, Ph.D. Dip WSET, WSET® Certified Educator
Trade Commissioner, Canadian Wine, Beer and Spirits and TourismTrade Sectors Bureau (BBI)/Bureau de secteurs commerciaux (BBI)
Global Affairs Canada/Affaires mondiales Canada

Galleon launched its new online (wine) boutique in Ontario

Starting this week consumers can explore a selection of over 150 exclusive wines and spirits from Galleon’s online catalog, including a large selection of 90+ rated wines, from estates amongst the most beautiful in the world; large formats, older vintages, and everyday wines including direct delivery to your home, office or boat.

The Website

The website is lots of fun to navigate. You will find curated sections like “90+ points wines”, “new arrivals”, “large formats” for summer gatherings – there are lots to choose from.  You won’t find these wines in any stores, but you might find some of them on some restaurant or hotel wine lists in Ontario or other parts of Canada.

After you place an order

Delivery is free in the GTA — there is a nominal delivery fee for customers living in other parts of Ontario. And to get you started, first-time customers will receive a 10% off their first order using the code GALLEONLAUNCH.

Online-store:  ON.GALLEONWINES.CA

Wines are constantly being added to the Galleon website, sometimes they are in very limited quantities, so like me, you’ll want to subscribe to their newsletter, and here you will receive up-to-the-minute alerts. Subscribers will also receive invitations to events, dinners with visiting winemakers, along with other special offers.

I’m so excited to be part of Galleon’s new direction for online shopping and delivery of fine wines in Ontario.  I will be reviewing some of my favorites, in the next few weeks, so watch for the reviews at www.liz-palmer.com and on all my social channels.

 

Canadian Wine Imports Accelerate During the Pandemic

Canadian wine imports grew by 11% in May relative to the same month a year ago based on data collected by the Canada Border Services Agency. This follows a double-digit volume gain in April and a slight contraction in March. For the three-month period beginning in March, the month when the COVID-19 outbreak was officially declared a pandemic, wine imports increased by 6% to 13.3 million cases. This represents an acceleration in demand as imports had slipped a bit during the 12 months leading up to the pandemic.

Spirits also gained ground over the last three months with a 7% increase in volume, but beer imports plunged 16%.

Canada is the 8th largest global wine importer and imported wines, including bulk wines destined for International Canadian Blends (ICBs), represent around 85% of Canadian wine sales by volume. Among the largest provincial markets, growth has been strongest in British Columbia and Ontario. Quebec, the country’s leading wine importer, has experienced only a slight increase in volume since the pandemic began while Alberta has recorded a double-digit decline.

The value of imported wines has increased at a slower pace than volume – suggesting that consumers have traded down during the pandemic. Indeed, gains over the last three months were driven largely by surging bulk wine shipments (specifically from California), which are typically blended with domestic wine and marketed as value-priced ICBs. Bulk wine imports grew by 10% relative to the same period last year.

Packaged wine imports increased at about half that rate with wines in large format containers of two liters or more (think boxed wine) outpacing those arriving in smaller bottles. Italian wines led the pack in the packaged wine category with a 13% year-over-year increase in volume. Demand for bubbles also appears to have accelerated during the pandemic as sparkling wine imports popped by 13%.

The import data suggests that wine demand in Canada remains healthy, but the Canadian wine industry has not fared as well in terms of exports, though they are not a major source of income. For the three months ending in May, packaged wine exports declined by 54% in value and 66% in volume. By comparison, Canadian beer exports were down by nearly 25% in both value and volume while spirits bucked the trend with only a slight decline in volume and a solid gain in value.

Source:  Vintage Economics

Cameron Diaz Launches a “Clean” Wine Brand with close friend Katherine Power

Cameron Diaz is stepping into the organic wine business. The American actress launched “Avaline” a new wine brand on Thursday with her close friend, entrepreneur Katherine Power. Avaline features two wines, white and rosé, which are organic, vegan, and free of additives.

Made with organic grapes grown in Penedès in northern Spain, the white is a blend of Macabeo, Malvasia and Xarel·lo, which are best known for being used in the production of Cava. Crisp, dry and delicate, it is said to offer refreshing aromas of citrus and stone fruit.

Avaline Rosé meanwhile, is a Vin de France made in Provence from organically farmed Cinsault, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Caladoc. Light and refreshing, it boasts notes of melon, raspberries and citrus zest.

“I enjoyed wine for many-a-year and never questioned it. Not once. I actually figured it was the most responsible alcohol choice because it was made with fermented grapes,” Diaz shared in a press release. “But I had no idea of the process. One of the first conversations Katherine and I had about making a cleaner wine was ‘what are we going to add to it?’ We soon learned it wasn’t what you added, it’s what you didn’t add.”

“We learned most wine is not made with organic grapes and that it can be manipulated with over 70 additives. This completely changed the way we thought about it,” Power explained. “When we started asking for clean or organic wines in grocery stores, hotels and restaurants, all we got were eye-rolls.”

The pair was first inspired to pursue winemaking in April 2018, and just over two years later they perfected their two offerings. Avaline white is a dry, crisp wine from Spain that “pairs perfectly with fresh-cut flowers and your favorite meal.” Avaline rosé comes from France and features notes of melon and citrus zest.

With the launch of the brand Diaz and Power are seeking to bring more transparency to the wine industry by being open about what goes into their wines.

Both wines have an RRP of US $24 and are available to purchase at Wine.com and select retailers in 43 US states.