Month: April 2023

French company Zephalto is offering luxury wine tasting in space

French company Zephalto is offering passengers the chance to travel to the stratosphere in a balloon, starting at €120,000 /$132,000 per person in 2025.

Beyond organizing a panoramic viewing experience, Zephalto is also bringing in French luxury and the ‘art de vivre’ with a pre-flight gourmet meal prepared by famous French chefs, followed by a unique wine-tasting experience.

The wine tasting will take place in the Celeste, a metallic-like “spaceship” made from composite fibres to ensure its lightweight and exceptional strength. Its luxurious interior is said to be designed by Parisian interior designer Joseph Dirand.

Zephalto plans to launch the balloon from France on a six-hour experience that will include three hours at its highest altitude — above 98 percent of the atmosphere and twice as high as the average commercial jet. According to The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the boundary of space is at 62 miles altitude, over four times higher than Celeste’s final ascent.

The ship will sit beneath a vast helium balloon “the size of the Sacré Coeur in Paris”, which will push the ship into the stratosphere. The experience will last six hours and will hold two pilots and just six guests.

Because the Celeste will not reach this space boundary, it will not leave the Earth’s atmosphere, meaning passengers will not experience weightlessness. This will make the experience open to anyone without specialist training.

Passengers will be presented with a pre-flight gourmet meal, which the company claims will be provided by a team of famous French chefs, and will then receive a unique guided wine tasting, featuring carefully selected French vintages.

Zephalto representative states: “From regions to grape varieties, discover France from sky and land.”

Pre-reservations for their first year of operation are open with 60 flights planned.

Reserve your seat for this unique experience: https://book.zephalto.com/

 

 

French Rosé Rebounds in the U.S.

After three years of annual declines of rosé wine shipments from Provence, 2022 exports to the United States rose 4% to 1.9 million 9-liter cases, according to Impact Databank. Import volume is still below pre-pandemic levels, but Provence rosé’s shipment value is higher than in 2019, up to a new all-time high of €143.4 million ($151.1 million). French rosé remains one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sluggish U.S. wine market.

While rosé’s continued popularity can be credited primarily to Provence, brands from elsewhere are making inroads; some are doing so by emulating their Provençal counterparts, while others are capitalizing on varietals and styles different from those traditionally championed by the French. Aside from Provence, other areas which registered rosé wine growth in 2022 include Beaujolais (doubling its import value last year), Rosé of Cabernet d’Anjou from the Loire Valley (+5%) and French rosé not from a specific appellation or from a specific grape (+35%).

The top five French rosé brands combined for solid 5% growth in 2022, according to Impact Databank. Aside from the largest labels, impressive gains were also achieved by Diving into Hampton Water—made in partnership with Gérard Bertrand—which grew over 50% last year, and 90+ Cellars (+11.5%) from Latitude Beverages. Other double-digit gainers in French rosé last year included Maison No. 9 from E.&J. Gallo (+10%) and The Pale by Sacha Lichine from Shaw-Ross International (+13%).

Some rosé labels from outside France are also making headway in the U.S. market: Chile’s Natura Rosé (+18%) from Banfi Vintners, and from California, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Rosé (+15%) from Constellation Brands, and up-and-coming brand Angels & Cowboys (+51%) from Share a Splash Wine Co.

Top Five French Rosé Brands in the U.S.
(thousands of 9-liter case depletions)
RankBrandCompany20212022Percent
Change1
1Whispering AngelMoët Hennessy USA5655711.1%
2La Vieille Ferme2Vineyard Brands3974144.3%
3Gérard BertrandGérard Bertrand USA34539013.0%
4MiravalVineyard Brands1581643.8%
5The Beach
by Whispering Angel		Moët Hennessy USA1501628.0%
Total Top Five31,6161,7015.3%

Source: Impact Databank

Champagne Releases 2022 US Market Update and Outlook

Comité Champagne (Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC) recently released their 2022 US market update and outlook. Global champagne sales boasted the highest in 15 years – 325.5 M bottles shipped, worth over $6.6 billion.

“This is a proof of dynamism of the Champagne market in both volume and value,” said Gaëlle Egoroff, Comité Champagne Director of Protection and Promotion. “We can see the unique place that it holds in the hearts and the minds of consumers.”

Notably, the US remains Champagne’s number one export market outside of France. In 2022, US volumes reached 33.7 million bottles shipped, with a total value of nearly $1 billion. This marks a 1.1 percent decline from 2021 figures, which is a record. The marginal decline stemmed from an overwhelming global demand for Champagne in 2022, coupled with difficulties delivering those demands to the United States.

US Trends

The Comité Champagne credits the uptick in Champagne consumption in the US to emerging trends. These include by-the-glass pours, coupled with a growing thirst for rosé, low-dosage, and prestige cuvée Champagnes.

Remarkably, the US ranks 1st among other countries for rosé Champagne. Prestige cuvées represent the second US largest segment by value. More surprisingly, US imports of low-dosage Champagne exceeded 1 million bottles in 2022, an increase of over 50% from the previous year.

“American people have learned to appreciate Champagne,” said Egoroff. “The more they appreciate Champagne, the more they want to discover the diversity of Champagne.”

It’s also Interesting to note that American consumers lag behind in their EU counterparts in understanding Champagne’s origins, a problem that Comité Champagne plans to tackle with future trade and consumer education.

Source:  Comité Champagne

Anteprima della Vernaccia di San Gimignano, discovering a truly unique wine in Tuscany “The White Queen in a Land of Red Kings” – Filippo Magnani

A few weeks ago, experts, wine enthusiasts and the press gathered in the charming town of San Gimignano on February 16th to taste not only the new vintages of Vernaccia di San Gimignano, but also the reserve wines not yet released on the market. 41 wineries and 96 wines were presented to the Italian and international press at the De Grada Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in the historical centre of San Gimignano.

The following two weekends the wines were also presented to 200 wine trade and wine enthusiasts at the Rocca di Montestaffoli, home of the Vernaccia Wine Experience. Here we had the extraordinary opportunity to meet the “unique, noble and rebellious” White Queen Vernaccia di San Gimignano! This is the only DOCG white wine to be produced in Tuscany where illustrious reds such as Brunello, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti Classico usually take centre stage. United by a great passion for this grape and territory, the Consortium celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. It continues to support those who are the custodians and greatest interpreters of an age-old white wine tradition.

During this year’s event, Master of Wine Gabriele Gorelli conducted a Masterclass called “Timeless Vernaccia” with a vertical tasting of vintages going back as far as 1997, which was a wonderful chance to experience the results achieved with this grape over time and appreciate the longevity of the wines. The President of the Consortium described the latest vintage as a record year due to the continuing drought and high temperatures: “These did not, however, prevent Vernaccia di San Gimignano from reacting masterfully, once again, to the year’s climatic challenges, proving that this ancient, native grape variety has evolved in perfect harmony with its terroir.”

The Ancient Hills

As the cradle of white wine production in Tuscany, San Gimigano’s territory is situated completely on hills with variable exposures and altitudes of between 200 and 400m above sea level. Its ancient soils have high concentrations of fossils, shells, calcareous sediments, and clay. This composition is ideal for producing vigorous and mineral-driven white wines, and the unique combinations of all these factors, even in such a small area, make the wines produced in this denomination extremely fascinating and complex. Vernaccia is an ancient grape that, although grown throughout Italy, thrives particularly well here in San Gimignano which has become its spiritual home.  Vernaccia di San Gimignano was the first Italian wine to be granted DOC status in 1966. It was elevated to DOCG status in 1993, confirming its role as the leading white wine in Tuscany.

San Gigmignano, An Alluring Wine Destination

Almost half of San Gimignano is dedicated to farm production (vineyards, olive groves, fruit orchards and grains). It is a place where man and nature have lived together for centuries in a mutual relationship of respect. Tucked away in the Tuscan countryside, San Gimignano warmly welcomes wine enthusiasts from all over the world. It is located almost halfway between Florence and Siena (about 60 and 45 km) and is easily reachable by car or by bus. Historically the town was a place loved by important nobles and political figures of the past who left a trace of their passage, enriching this unique place with culture and art. It is known as the “Town of Towers” because in the first centuries after 1000 AD it was embellished with seventy towers and numerous palaces, built by the many wealthy families to display their wealth and power. Today 14 towers remain to create an unmistakable silhouette overlooking the surrounding Tuscan hills.

Smart Technology Helps Wine Tourism Grow in South Africa

Vinpro, together with the Cape Winelands District Municipality is funding a new wine tourism research pilot program to generate tourism intelligence and help South African wineries grow their Direct-to-Consumer business.

Launched in March of this year with sixteen wineries, this new pilot program is a continuation of one of Vinpro and the SA Wine Routes Forum (SAWRF)’s strategic objectives to conduct research focused on industry needs and knowledge gaps. Vinpro, and Vintelligence collaborated last year to release the SA Wine Tourism Visitor Research Report 2022 and this year the goal is smarter use of technology.

“We are extremely excited to have kicked off this amazing pilot program and we want cellars to get involved now,” says Marisah Nieuwoudt, wine tourism manager at Vinpro. “The new pilot program was launched together with Flow Networks, specialists in location analytics, proximity marketing and Guest Wi-Fi. This year we want to use the technology to our advantage to count our visitors and note where they come from, to understand the size and make-up of the total market. We want to help our wineries stay connected to wine tourists between visits, making consumer engagement in the DTC wine space possible.”

A tasting room is both the heart of the DTC sales strategy and the conversion zone for future online sales. The more data you can collect and record about customers, the better your can tailor offers and personalize communication. Flow Networks will work with the cellars involved on their marketing strategy to assist on cross-channel sales, manage their online reputation, build a loyalty and rewards program, or send offers via e-mail. Flow Networks is a reputable service provider, licensed to use Purple, and used by some of the largest brands in the world.

Presence Analytics is a software module that counts the number of mobile devices in range of a producer or cellar’s Wi-Fi router using a built-in location sensor. Visitors do not need to be connected to the farm’s Wi-Fi to be counted. It also measures the time spent in the venue and the frequency of visits.

Wi-Fi Analytics records visitors’ information that connect to a guest Wi-Fi service. A CRM record is created for each guest when they connect and is updated every time they return. This is done by linking up one or more of the farm’s existing Wi-Fi routers to the Purple Wi-Fi platform. Purple is installed on top of the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, and setup takes less than an hour. The system can be managed via an online portal accessible to wineries. Purple instantly starts building a database via its user-friendly, custom-branded Wi-Fi landing pages once the winery goes live.

“As a region, we believe that wine tourism is not only about enjoying exquisite wines and breath-taking landscapes but also about harnessing the power of data and intelligence to support the growth of wineries and enhance our visitors’ experiences,” says Melody Botha, CEO Breedekloof Wine Valley. “That’s why we are proud to take part in the wine tourism research pilot program. By participating in this program, we aim to unlock valuable insights that can inform strategic decision-making for our wineries, enabling them to optimize their DTC business operations, improve customer engagement, and create memorable experiences for visitors. We recognize the potential of data-driven approaches to drive innovation and foster sustainable growth in the wine tourism industry.”

“We see this pilot program as an opportunity to pool our collective knowledge and expertise, so we can elevate our wine tourism offerings and position our region as a premier wine destination. We envision a future where wineries in our region can thrive in the DTC market, and where visitors can have truly exceptional wine tourism experiences,” Botha concluded.

“The tourism sector is one of the largest economic contributors in the Cape Winelands District. Between our mandated function of generating opportunities through local economic development and our role as Regional Tourism Office, this exciting and technologically advanced project ticks all the right boxes for the Cape Winelands District Municipality,” says Dr Elna von Schlicht, executive mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality.