Articles Archives

The 5th International Rose Symposium – Marseille, France January 22, 2019

I’m very excited to be invited to the 5th International Rosé Symposium / Rencontres Internationales du Rosé.

The Symposium is hosted by the Provence Wine Council (CIVP), and the Rosé Research and Experimentation Centre, which takes place in the magnificent setting of the Mucem in Marseille on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The Symposium, this year, is focusing specifically on research and insights related to rosé wine.

The international speakers are members of the scientific, technical and wine-growing community, and will share their research and studies related to rosé wine.

The 2019 themes will focus on the future of rosé wines, revolving around three major challenges for the industry:

• Adapting to climate change
• Ecological transition
• Changing consumer patterns

The morning will be held as a plenary session, which will include the three major challenges. The lunch cocktail lunch designed by Gérald Passedat.

The afternoon sessions include technical or think-tank workshops, and the presentation of several innovations from fundamental or applied research.

Watch for my followup report.

Website: https://www.rencontres-internationales-rose.com/home.html

Canadian Rapper Drake launches Champagne range called “Mod Sélection”

Canadian rapper Drake has expanded his drinks empire, once again teaming up with American drinks entrepreneur Brent Hocking to launch a Champagne range called Mod Sélection.

Described as “the purest expression of balance and terroir produced in champagne today,” the House of Mod Sélection dates back to 1892 and has produced Champagne for over five generations in the Vallée de la Marne.

According to Mod Sélection: “The house practices minimal interventional throughout harvest, press, and production, ensuring the purest display of balance and terroir in every cuvée. Only grapes demonstrating optimal levels of sugar, acidity, and maturity are selected for press.

“The most delicate extraction and juice selection, meticulous settling, natural clarification, and rigorous control of fermentations are carried out with exacting precision to preserve the balance, purity and finesse unique to Mod Sélection house style and production.”

In the bottles in Mod Sélection range include Mod Réserve Champagne (US$300) and a Mod Rosé Champagne (US$400) that are available to pre-order now in 750ml bottles, with magnums and jeroboams in the works. The metallic brown bottle is adorned with handcrafted delicate flowers, and each individual bottle is unique in its design details.

In a promotional video to announce the launch, Drake said: “The product is great, the presentation is great, and hopefully the representation is great as well. We’ll enjoy this run. It should be a long one and a strong one. I think the full package is there.”

Drake and Hocking first worked together back in 2016 when they launched Virginia Black Whiskey. Last year, they offered an IPO for the whiskey, hoping to raise $30 million to fund domestic and international expansion, sales and marketing, and working capital.

Website:

Social
#BLESSTHISHOUSE
@MODSELECTIONCHAMPAGNE

Source: Drinks Business

Chateau Margaux Palmer 2001 Bordeaux Review

Medium-garnet colour. The nose is youthful with notes of cassis, black cherries, cloves, some cedar with a touch of mint. Deep, sweet, and rich with a length and breadth that is captivating. I kept coming back to the glass for another sip – this Palmer is a classic Margaux!

93 points
Liz Palmer
December 25, 2018

Awards
International Wine Challenge, 2011: Gold
Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2005: 2 Stars
San Francisco International Wine Competition, 2003: Bronze

Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Extremely pretty, with flowers, berries, chocolate and spices. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and ripe, silky tannins; long and caressing. Beautiful. Palmer shows wonderful refinement. Best after 2009. –JS

Wine Advocate: 93 Points
“Fairly deep color. Another lovely, elegant Palmer nose. It offers richness, but stays pure and delicate. (There’s almost as much Merlot (44%) in the blend as Cabernet Sauvignon (51%), one reason it’s less powerful than other vintages.) The 2001 offers scents of red fruit, blackberry, sandalwood, spice, and mocha. Follows through in a similar fashion on the palate; same delicacy and precision. It’s subtle yet graceful, nicely balanced, still needing a few more years to reach peak, although it’s most of the way there. Overall, a very strong showing.”

Wine Enthusiast: 93 Points
As with so many other wines from the 2001 vintage, this Palmer is classic Margaux. It has delicacy and elegance, but it also packs power, concentration and dark, dry flavors. Intense and concentrated, the richness of the high proportion of Merlot in Palmer?s blend shows through, while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives a fresh lift at the end.

Stephen Tanzer: 90 Points
“Dark red. Expressive aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, dark plum, tobacco, graphite, minerals and flowers. Very suave and smooth on entry, then a bit closed in the middle palate. But this very young, firm Palmer boasts harmonious acidity, very good cut and excellent balance. Finishes with rather tight tannins that will need six or seven years to soften.”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS…..

Happy Holidays from Liz Palmer and the UPSocial Wine & Spirits Team!!

#happyholidays #happyholidays2018 #happyholidays🎄 #merrychristmas #christmas #christmastime🎄 #christmasiscoming #christmasforwinelovers #wine #winelover #winelovers🍷 #spiritlovers #wineforchristmas #champagne #champagnelovers #cognaclovers #toronto #newyork #chicago #london #paris #reims #cognac

Liz Palmer

WINE IS THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS GIFT, BUT ONE-THIRD WILL REGIFT

Wine remains the most popular alcoholic beverage to take to a Christmas/holiday party, with 59% citing it as their 1st choice, but 1/3rd that receive a bottle admit to “regifting” it to another, a survey by BIVB has found.

The average person receives four bottles of wine throughout the Christmas or holiday period and gives away an average of three bottles, yet more than three in ten of us (31%) often ‘re-gift’ a bottle wine that we receive.

But over a quarter (26%) admit to not knowing a lot about wine when purchasing wines, with price the deciding factor in most instances, with just over a fifth (21%) saying they buy whatever’s on special offer.

26% of respondents said it was the price that they looked at first, followed by style or grape variety (17%) and country or region (11%).

However, we are more likely to trade up at this time of year. According to a WSTA market report, outside of Christmas.

There is definitely something for every budget and occasion – I suggest you have a price range in mind before you go wine shopping – do your research.

Bordeaux Wines commissioned the research, which was carried out online by Opinion Matters in November and resulted in responses from 2,046 people aged over 18 in the UK.

Sources: Drinks Business and BIVB, WSAT