The 2nd Old Vine Conference Takes Place Online June 30-July 1, 2021

The second Old Vine Conference is set to take place online June 30 to July 1, 2021, with a special focus on genetics and heritage.

The event is free to attend and includes global speakers from the world of wine, including Bolivia, Australia, Argentina and France.

The Old Vine Conference is a non-profit organization seeking to highlight the work of old vine pioneers, advocate the scientific and oenological case for old vines, help build old vine wines into a recognized category and slow the loss of important old-vine vineyards worldwide.

Speakers at this second event include Dr Dylan Grigg, old vine researcher and founder at Meristem Viticulture from Australia; Dr Laura Catena, Catena Zapata from Argentina; Brigitte Chevalier, owner and winemaker at Domaine de Cébène in France; Nayan Gowda, winemaker and consultant to Jardin Oculto in Bolivia; Jean-Philippe Roby from the Bordeaux Sciences Agro and Institute of Vine and Wine Scientific Institute of Bordeaux and Katie Jones from Domaine Jones.

The event will be hosted and moderated by Jane Anson, Sarah Abbott MW, and Tim Atkin MW and will focus on the work that producers and viticulturalists are doing to safeguard old vines around the world.

“We are delighted to have such an exciting lineup of speakers for our second virtual conference,” said Sarah Abbott MW.

“Since our first event in March, we have been contacted by passionate winemakers and old vines experts from around the world who want to engage with our initiative. This shows that there is a real need to harness this passion and turn it into real actions that can help secure the future of old vines around the world.

Registration: https://www.oldvines.org/

#wine #vin #vino #instawine #onlineevent #vines #oldvines #vineyard #winelovers #tradeevent #winejournalists #winenews

Wine-Based Cocktails Drive Interest, As Wine Looks To Expand Its Audience

As the summer-selling season began in earnest and the demand for pre-packaged drinks continues to trend up, leading wine marketers have been busy maneuvering amidst a tricky economic landscape—trying to bridge the gap between the general market and craft cocktail enthusiasts. Buoyed by last year’s off-premise surge, a slew of wine-based ready-to-drink cocktails have thrived, even though they’re still dwarfed by much bigger malt-based counterparts—especially in the hard seltzer and iced tea arenas. Spirits-based RTDs have also had a big headstart and offer stiff competition for shelf space. Most wine industry players haven’t yet fully participated in the wine-based cocktail category, but that could soon change.

The biggest label in the category is Patco Brands’ Rancho La Gloria, a line of wine-based RTD Margaritas at 13.9% abv. Launched in 2011, it skyrocketed to 1.3 million 9-liter cases last year—up more than 200% from 2019—according to Impact Databank. Gluten-free and made with 100% Blue Weber agave wine, Rancho La Gloria is also sold in canned and popsicle packaging formats, aside from the traditional 750-ml. bottle. Southern Champion’s Buzzballz Chillers is a wine-based offshoot from its larger spirits-based cousin, BuzzBallz. Featuring a lineup of flavors such as Horchata, Lotta Colada, and Hazelnut Latte, Buzzballz Chillers debuted in 2019 and depleted 375,000 cases last year.

The biggest industry player investing in the wine-based cocktail arena is E.&J. Gallo, with its launch of Barefoot Hard Seltzer—which depleted over half-a-million cases in 2020, according to Impact Databank. The line includes Pineapple & Passion Fruit, Cherry & Cranberry, Peach & Nectarine, and Strawberry & Guava flavors that are at 4% abv and retail at $8 a 4-pack and $20 for a variety 12-pack. Aside from seltzer, Gallo also previously introduced Barefoot Spritzer in the canned RTD category—retailing at $3 a 250-ml. can or $9 a four-pack, the spritzer range has an abv of 5.5% and comes in Moscato, Rosé, Summer Red, Crisp White, Red Sangria and Pinot Grigio expressions.

Wine-based cocktails more than doubled in size last year to over 5 million cases overall—according to Impact Databank—and in a space of less than 10 years have already begun to outsell the entire dessert/fortified wine and vermouth/aperitif segments combined. Wine RTDs continue to do well in 2021 as off-premise volumes surged 72% in the half-year ending May 22 in Nielsen channels.

Retail dollars grew even faster, soaring 86% to $161.3 million the past 26 weeks, as higher-priced cocktails profited from drinkers trading up from flavored malt beverages. And although wine-based RTDs have undoubtedly benefited from the off-premise boom during the pandemic, further investment from other major players is expected to keep the category on the rise even after the economy fully recovers.

Leading Wine-Based RTDs In The U.S.
(thousands of 9-liter case depletions)
BrandCompany20192020Percent
Change
1
Rancho La GloriaPatco Brands4271,300204.5%
Barefoot SeltzerE.&J. Gallo Winery525+
BuzzBallz ChillersSouthern Champion23341477.3%
BeatboxFuture Proof Brands10019898.5%
UptownSouthern Champion8142+
FlybirdDon Sebastiani & Sons1107+
Total Top Five27692,685249.2%
1 Based on unrounded data.
Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2021

Sources:
Shanken News
Impact DataBank

#wine #winenews #wineeconomics #instawine #winebasedcocktails #winebased #winecocktail #cocktails #summer #summervibes #summer2021 #summercocktails#winetrends #rtd #cocktailgram #winegram

Les Dames d’Escoffier Ontario “Uncorked” Wine and Gift Basket Auction

Les Dames d’Escoffier Ontario sends a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone that participated in our recent “Uncorked” online auction.  The response exceeded our expectations, and we could not be more pleased and humbled by your thoughtfulness.

The event was a success in part due to our wonderful partner Crafting for a Cure, our generous sponsors, thoughtful donors and the bidding wars that took place at our online auction!

Stay tuned for our press release which will have a complete list of our sponsors, volunteers, and top bids.

Liz Palmer
President, Les Dames d’Escoffier Ontario

#corkedwineauction  #fundraiser #lesdames #lesdamesdescoffier #ldei #wineforacause #uncorked #womensupportingwomen #craftingforacure #womeninwine #wine #instawine #womeninhospitality #womeninwinebusiness #torontoevents  #wineauction #wineauctionToronto  #LesdamesON #Charityevent  #wine #onlinewineauction #winelovers #cfc #charity #philanthropy #torontoonlinewineauction #onlineshopping #torontowineauction #thankful #grateful 

Great Italian Wines Masterclass – Understanding Indigenous Grape Varieties – Fiano and Primitivo

I attended another amazing Masterclass last night. The seminar was led again by the knowledgeable Sandra Colosimo, a member of the Associazione Italiana Sommeliers.

Sandra explored, in-depth, the Fiano and Primitivo varieties. The seminar not only gave me a deeper appreciation of two of the most important varietals of southern Italy, it also gave me a sense of the history and geography of Campania and Puglia (which I love).

Here are details on the two wines tasted:

  1. 2018 Fiano di Avellino DOCG

Varietal: 100% Fiano (organic)
Vinification/Aging: The wine remains on the fine lees for 12 months in stainless steel; further aging 12 months in the bottle
Alcohol: 13.5%

Tasting Notes:
Straw-yellow in colour, expresses scents of pear, peach, hazelnuts and aromatic herbal notes on the nose; a fine bouquet opens up to a palate of some smokey and spicy flavours with refreshing minerality; good body and excellent balance.  What a wonderful surprise!

  1. 2017 Carvinea Primitivo (Organic) IGTAging/Vinification: 20-day maceration with skins, aged in French oak 9 months,
    with 6 additional months in the bottle.
    Alcohol: 14.5%

Tasting Notes:
Deep ruby in colour; on the nose are pronounced aromas of mulberry, black plum, black cherry, with slight notes of smoke and vanilla; It’s packed with black cherry, mulberry, spices, vanilla, tobacco and dark chocolate flavours, leading to a long finish; It is a well-balanced wine; tannins are present, but are elegant and soft. Beautiful wine

The two wines were beautifully paired with Terroni Mezzo e Mezzo antipasto plate with specialty meats and cheeses: Prosciutto Crudo di Parma DOP, Soppressata Piccante Grana Padano DOP, Fior di Latte Olive verdi di Cerignola Focaccia Barese.

Wonderful Virtual Experience!  #lovepuglia

#italianwine #toronto #Italianwinelover #wineeducation #wine #instawine #winelover #winelovers #sommlife #sommelier  #terroni
#vino #winestagram #wineoclock #winetasting #wineagency  #trueitaliantaste #masterclass #friday #italianfood #italianstyle #italianwinery #italianwinetasting #redwine #whitewine #extraordinaryitaliantaste #Salento #Puglia #iffoodcouldtalk

@italchambers @trueitaliantaste @cavinonawine

 

New Chianti Classico subzones or ‘UGAs’ have been approved

Last week at the June 2021 assembly of Chianti Classico’s governing Consorzio, a “very large majority” of Consorzio members approved changes to the disciplinare that have the potential to put some separation between the Riserva and the Gran Selezione levels. Here are two key aspects to the proposal:

  • Focus on Sangiovese and native grape varieties

The current rules for all Chianti Classico wines require a minimum of 80% Sangiovese, but the new GS level will strengthen the connection with that variety (and push the wines a little closer to those of Brunello di Montalcino) by raising the requirement to 90%. Additionally, the remaining 0–10% of the wine will be restricted to native Italian grape varieties (e.g., Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, etc.). International varieties will not be permitted in Gran Selezione bottlings; and

  • Zonation

The Consorzio has come to an agreement on a first order of non-overlapping subzones that will allow producers to highlight and promote local variations within the 20-mile-long Chianti Classico denomination. These will be officially known as UGAs (unità geografiche aggiuntive, “additional geographical units”). It does not appear that there will be a requirement for a GS wine to be from a single UGA, but those that are will be able to carry the subzone name on the label.

Chianti Classico DOCG includes all or part of nine communes, and the new UGAs will follow commune boundaries to a large extent (see accompanying map). The communes of Castellina, Gaiole, Radda, and San Casciano will remain intact as subzones, while the three partial communes of Barberino Val d’Elsa, Poggibonsi, and Tavarnelle in Val di Pesa will be combined as the San Donato in Poggio UGA. The commune of Greve will become four UGAs: Greve, the highly regarded frazioni of Panzano and Lamole, and the lesser known frazione Montefioralle. Finally, the southern commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga will be broken into two UGAs: Castelnuovo Berardenga and Vagliagli (which is destined to be added to the list of most mispronounced wine locations).

Apparently, there is already talk about extending the use of these UGAs to the basic and Riserva levels as well as GS.

This proposal will have several hoops to jump through before it becomes official, then the wines will be required at least 2½ years of aging before release.