Manachain Monaghan wins the “Flor de Caña Sustainable Cocktail” Challenge

Manachain Monaghan from the UK has been crowned the global champion of Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge with his ‘Steamship’ cocktail!

Monaghan, owner of Below Stairs Bar, beat 30 other international bartenders and mixologists in a virtual edition of the competition which challenged entrants to make the most ‘spectacular’ sustainable cocktail.

About The Steamship Cocktail
Steamship is a zero-water waste cocktail made with home-made cacao and lime bitters, coffee liqueur made from re-used Nicaraguan coffee beans and Fair-Trade certified sugar, saline solution and Flor de Caña 12, served over ice on a coaster made from dehydrated pear.

“I wanted to create a beautiful cocktail that captured the essence of Nicaragua and proved that sustainability can be embraced behind the bar to improve the flavour and experience of our cocktails,” said Monaghan.

As the Global Champion of Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge, Monaghan was awarded US $10,000 and his cocktail creation will be promoted globally by the brand.

About the Competition
The judges were: Salvatore Calabrese, Julio Cabrera, Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne. Each drink was evaluated based on four criteria: sustainability, flavour and appearance, creativity and inspiration.

Carlos Sierra from Colombia and Joe Ngui Wee Kwong from Malaysia earned the second and third spots in the competition, winning a prize of US $5,000 and US $2,500 respectively.

Flor de Caña
In addition to being the world’s only Carbon Neutral and Fair-Trade certified spirit, its rum is distilled using 100% renewable energy and all CO2 emissions during fermentation are captured and recycled.

#cocktails #cocktail #cocktailcompetition #spirit #rum #flordecana #sustainablecocktail #bartender #mixologist #drink #bar #bartenderlife #cocktailsofinstagram #cocktailtime #drinksinstagram #cheers

Vignobles Bonfils announces new luxury wine tourism complex in Languedoc “Château Capitoul”

Vignobles Bonfils has just announced the opening of Château Capitoul, a luxury wine tourism complex at the heart of AOP La Clape in Languedoc.

The family-owned group is one of the largest vineyard owners in France, with 1,600 hectares under vine. Vignobles Bonfils also maintains 17 châteaux and estates in Occitania and 4 wine tourism sites.

Since 2011, through its alliance with Domaine & Demeure, Bonfils has jointly brought 3 of Languedoc’s flagship estates back to life: Les Carasses, Saint-Pierre de Serjac and, in 2021, Capitoul. In Roussillon, they have achieved the same with the inspirational Château l’Esparrou.

Laurent Bonfils, company CEO, said of the complex: “Being a wine tourism practitioner implies creating an emotional bond and becoming a region’s ambassador.”

The estate was purchased in 2011 and after a three-year renovation, the showpiece of 19th-century winery architecture has been restored and transformed.

The 93-hectare estate encompasses garrigue, olive groves, grounds and 62 hectares of unbroken vines while being nestled amidst the unspoilt countryside in Languedoc’s largest national park and Natura 2000.

Eco-Friendly and sustainable practices have been employed to protect the natural surroundings, especially the site’s water resources. Around the edges of the vineyards, a dry-stone wall habitat has been built for ocellated lizards.

The 62 hectares of Grenache noir and blanc, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Cinsault vines surround this iconic property in AOP La Clape, Languedoc’s first appellation to be granted village-designated status, for reds and whites. The re-opening of Château Capitoul coincides with a complete overhaul and redesign of the range. Under the La Clape appellation, it boasts 6 reds and 5 whites along with 3 Languedoc rosés.

#ChâteauCapitoul #madeinfrance #frenchwine #Languedoc #Roussillon #france #winelovers

#vin #Cinsault #winetourism #winetourismfrance #vineyards #redwine #whitewine #instawine #Syrah #winenews #winetrends

Languedoc Appoints its first General Director, Stéphanie Daumas

On October 1, Stéphanie Daumas became the first person to hold the role of General Director for the regional body of AOP Languedoc since the post was created in 2007.

The 41-year-old oenologist and lawyer previously managed the Vaucluse IGP, the Vieille Julienne estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Victor Contis cooperative in the Southern Rhône. Between 2014-2018, Stéphanie also had a leading position for the Dolia negociant business subsidiary of Raphaël Michel France’s largest bulk wine supplier.

 

#womeninwine #womenwinemakers #womenleaders #wine #frenchwine #instawine #languedoc #vinsdulanguedoc #vin #igersfrance #occitanie #vins #languedocwines #languedocwinelovers #madeinfrance #aoclanguedoc

2021 Vinitaly “Special Edition” Closes This Week

This “Special Edition” was a strategic event for consolidating growth in the sector, and profiled incoming buyers from 35 countries.

With attendance of over 12,000 operators, and 2,500 buyers (about 22% of total) from 60 countries: the special and extraordinary edition of Vinitaly closed this week, in Verona, as the third and last Italian stage in the run up to 54th edition scheduled 10-13 April 2022.

“This result goes far beyond our expectations,” said the President of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese. “Companies, consortia, agricultural and supply chain associations and operators rewarded this business initiative project with a high rate of contacts and sales, as well as a unanimous index of satisfaction. The third event attended in person with Vinitaly today,” Danese concluded, “is part of a scenario of impressive acceleration of Made in Italy exports and Italian wine on all the main target markets, including the domestic market thanks to collaboration activated with Fipe and Vinarius. We are experiencing a strong recovery in which Veronafiere plays a fundamental driving role for the internationalization of SMEs and Italian wine, with a commitment towards increasing the value of sales.”

The map of countries taking part in Vinitaly Special Edition sees Europe (with Northern countries, Germany and Franca in front), Russia, the United States and Canada lead demand for Italian wine at the trade fair, followed by Eastern Europe (Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic), the United Kingdom and China, returning to Verona again. “This geography,” commented Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, “is perfectly aligned with the growth figures seen on international markets which, in the first 7 months of this year, posted an overall leap ahead of 15% compared to the same period last year. We upheld our declared commitment to organise a highly qualified Special Edition thanks also to the support of ICE Trade Agency,” Mantovani went on, “with international operators arriving precisely from the areas where Italian wine is growing significantly. “Now,” Mantovani concluded, “we are aiming to achieve a great 54th Vinitaly in 2022.”

Areas of interest among operators and buyers saw those dedicated to organic wines achieve a surge in attendance. Over the three days, 42 exhibitors in this segment saw their agendas crammed with b2b appointments, especially with buyers from Northern Europe and Germany. And in relation to new trends, the Mixology Masterclass calendar was sold out.

#ICETradeAgency #Italianwine #Italy #winetourism #vinitaly #2021Vinitaly #instawine #winelovers #wine #wineevent #winebusiness #winetrade #mixology #cocktails #winemarketing #verona #redwine #whitewine #winenews

 

Beaujolais Nouveau Prices Increased by 50%

The Beaujolais Nouveau sales campaign got off to a flying start this week, taking negociants by surprise! The trade expects prices to be capped at 250 euros/hectolitre for Beaujolais Nouveau and €270 /hl for Beaujolais Villages Nouveau, one operation launched this year’s ‘blitzkrieg’ with prices of €300 /hl for Villages primeurs.

As co-operative wineries began selling their wines, the campaign remained firmly on track at these launch prices. Initial market price lists issued by the Beaujolais wine marketing board show that the prices of Primeurs are in excess of €280 /hl for Beaujolais Nouveau and €300 /hl for Villages, an increase of 50 % compared to the ceiling price of €190 /hl which led to winegrower demonstrations last year. After the frost and mildew, “the crop is small and there is nothing to panic about”, said David Ratignier, chairman of the producers’ organisation, in a bid to put the hikes into perspective. He claims that “prices are not skyrocketing but increasing due to a small crop (barely 35 hl/ha for Beaujolais and 30 hl/ha for Villages). Constrained yields are compounded by lack of inventory and record sales”.

Compared to last year’s downward pressure on pricing, Olivier Richard, secretary of the Greater Burgundy wine brokers’ organization, claims “we’re going from one extreme to the other. I’ve never seen anything like it – a quota system for Primeurs. There are so few wines and so few unspoken-for volumes that even if the trade is reluctant to pay the prices, the ball is in the court of the winegrowers”.

 

#BeaujolaisNouveau #BeaujolaisNouveau2021 #Beaujolais #redwine #Frenchwine #madeinfrance #burgundy #winebusiness #winenews #BeaujolaisVillages #wineeconomics #instawine #winelovers #wine #gamay #vin #winetasting #winestagram #rhonealpes #destinationbeaujolais #rhone #vino