Category: Wine

Women in Wine Talks with Chile and Argentina [October 20, 2020] Another Successful Sold Out Event!

I would like to thank our Women of Wine Talks panel members today who hail from Chile and Argentina. Each discussed their wineries, terroir, and other conditions that make their wines unique. During the last 15 minutes of the talk, there was a Q and A discussion period on sustainability, vineyards 1,000 meters above sea level, the wide variety of climates and valleys, in particular a cold climate valley in Chile, and the wine varieties that are emerging.

 Panel Members:

CHILE

Viviana Navarrete – Chief Winemaker of Viña Leyda

Viña Leyda was a pioneer in the development of cold climate coastal vineyards in Chile. Located just 4km from the sea, the marine influence sustains temperatures around 13°C. This allows the grapes to ripen very slowly, enhancing and improving its flavors, aromas and natural acidity, whilst providing a saline character to the wines. As such, Viña Leyda requested the creation of a new ” Leyda Valley” Appellation of Origin, which became official in 2002 giving rise to a new style of wine.  The Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs by Viña Leyda enjoy great international prestige.

ARGENTINA

Susana Balbo – Owner & Chief Winemaker of Susana Balbo Winery

After more than 30 years offering her talent to the service of national and international wineries, in 1999 Susana Balbo decided to make her dream come true, to have her own winery. It was at this point in time that she started the construction of Susana Balbo Wines, which is in the heart of Lujan de Cuyo in Mendoza.

Also, after over 10 years of sustained growth in the international wine trade, another dream of Susana´s came true: her children, José, a winemaker from UC Davis University (California) and Ana, Business Administration major from San Andrés University, joined the Susana Balbo Wines team.

Susana and her team comply with the highest international quality standards in all their processes, including Sustainability and Corporate Social responsibility platforms. Their philosophy is to produce terroir-driven wines to express the unique characteristics of each varietal. Susana Balbo Wines are amongst the most recognized and awarded wines in Argentina.

Andrea Ferreyra, Chief Winemaker Finca La Celia

A Pioneer is someone that leaves behind a unique legacy. Eugenio Bustos was one of them. When he arrived to Uco Valley, Argentina, more than 100 years ago, he sold his best horses to purchase land and planted a varietal grape from France, giving birth to Finca La Celia, named after his daughter. La Celia is the oldest winery in the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina. This vineyard was the first one to plant Malbec in the region, which currently is the most iconic varietal from Argentina. La Celia has 400 hectares planted and ever since its first production, Finca La Celia has never stopped innovating. Their committed team of professionals, pursue their dream of producing excellent wines recognized worldwide, pushing the envelope always a little bit further, constantly innovating.

This group of formidable women leaders have been and are committed to the development of wine in their countries and internationally.

They have demonstrated through their life and work, and their leadership in their fields, that women make a difference. They have become incredible role models for their countrywomen and women internationally — and serve as an inspiration across countries, regions, and generations.

Thank you!

Twelve Wine Consumer Trends in the Covid-19 Era

The Wine Intelligence report entitled “Wine Consumer Trends in the Covid-19 Era” was published last week and highlights a mini-boom for wine since the pandemic struck, yet it also warns of dark economic clouds on the horizon.

While key consumption markets have been turning more often to wine in the past six months, spurred by new ‘lockdown’ occasions and more drinking outside of mealtimes, there are concerns about the sustainability of this growth, given the deteriorating economic environment and possible pressure on household finances in the coming months, according to Wine Intelligence.

As part of the report, which collected data from wine drinkers in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Sweden, the UK and the US, the research agency has identified 12 key consumer trends in the Covid-19 era, which we have reproduced below.

  1. Growth in wine consumption frequency with the shift to at-home occasions more than compensating for the loss of on-premise occasions.
  2. Heartland wine drinkers driving growth with growth in wine coming from women, Gen X and those already connected with wine.
  3. Non-food occasions driving wine growth bringing opportunity for wine to migrate to occasions where other beverages have been more dominant in the past.
  4. Slow recovery in average bottle spend on wine in the off-premise but remains below pre-pandemic levels in most markets.
  5. E-commerce for wine comes of age and it is rapidly becoming a new and habitual way of shopping for wine.
  6. Shift to wines seen as a safe choice and ‘localism’ with mainstream and local wine brands winning.
  7. Consumers increasingly cautious in their lifestyles with confident ‘Hedonist’ segment shrinking as 2020 progresses, and an increasing proportion of ‘Halters and Reducers’.
  8. Large scale events off the agenda with consumers seeking to avoid crowds, even when restrictions are lifted and the current dangers of the pandemic have passed.
  9. Travel plans remain on hold with overseas and international travel not on the agenda for wine drinkers, even when travel restrictions are lifted.
  10. Consumers becoming more distant from the on-premise, shifting socializing patterns.
  11. Treat-seeking behavior losing momentum as consumer spending becoming more conservative.
  12. US wine market returns to growth as wine consumption frequency grew strongly in the US, driven by Millennials.

Source: Wine Intelligence Wine Consumer Trends in the Covid-19 Era, published October 2020

 

What we can do to help California Wine Country?

Since the beginning of 2020, there have been over 8,100 wildfires in California, alone.   August 15 when fire activity increased extensively, there have been over 26 fatalities and 7,000 homes and businesses destroyed. This week, the California wine country was affected by the “Glass Fire”, which burned parts of Sonoma and Napa. The images are disturbing and the wine industry, as a whole, is with heavy-heart!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Donate to charitable organizations – see list below;
2. Book a trip in advance: support the wine country by visiting them;
3. Shop California wines: search for local shops, DTC winery shipments, order California wines in restaurants and bars; and
4. Show your support by using #WineCountryStrong on social media.

American Red Cross
California Community Foundation’s Wildlife Relief Fund
California Fire Foundation
Google (Scroll down and click “Yes, Donate”)
Humane Society of Ventura County
Salvation Army
United Way of Greater Los Angeles

Stay safe and show your support!

Liz Palmer

Pouilly-Fuissé gets 22 premier cru vineyards

The French National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) has officially recognized 22 premier cru ‘climats’ within the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation.

The AOP Pouilly-Fuissé will become the first appellation within Burgundy’s Mâconnais sub-region to benefit from premier cru vineyards.

The 22 new premier crus account for a total of 194ha of land planted to vine, corresponding to circa 24% of Pouilly-Fuissé’s total vineyard area (800ha), spread over the four communes of the appellation: Chaintré, Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly and Vergisson.

A proposal for the recognition of these climats as premier crus was first submitted to the INAO 10 years ago. Since then, the INAO has been working in partnership with the Organization for the Defense and Management (ODG) of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation to assess the worthiness of these ‘terroirs’.

The 22 new premier crus, commune by commune

Chaintré:

  • Le Clos de Monsieur Noly
  • Les Chevrières
  • Aux Quarts
  • Le Clos Reyssier

Fuissé:

  • Le Clos
  • Les Brulés
  • Les Ménétrières
  • Les Reisses
  • Les Vignes Blanches
  • Les Perrières
  • Vers Cras

Solutré-Pouilly:

  • La Frérie
  • Le Clos de Solutré
  • Au Vignerais
  • En Servy
  • Aux Bouthières
  • Aux Chailloux
  • Pouilly
  • Vers Cras

Vergisson:

  • Les Crays
  • La Maréchaude
  • Sur la Roche
  • En France

#wine #bourgogne #burgundy #pouillyfuisse #Mâconnais

US Wine Market Adapts to “New Normal” According to Nielsen Report

US off-trade consumers are settling into new normal following the incredible sales spikes seen at the height of the pandemic, the latest data from Nielsen has shown, but US wine appears to be losing out to imports from New Zealand, Italy and France in the most recent weeks.

According to data for the week ending 22 August, wine in the US off-trade grew 17.4%, marginally lower than the previous week, and well below the 25.2% of the whole Covid period to date. Spirits meanwhile led the charge at with growth of 26.2% (down from 27.2% last week, or 33.5% over the whole Covid-period to date) led by the whiskey (24.2%), which accounts for a third of the spirits category, tequila (+59.1%), ready-to-drink cocktails (+101%) and cognac (+53.2%).

Hard seltzers also saw triple-digit gains, up 113% this week, compared to the same period last year. Although this growth has slowed slightly, it still accounts for 10.2% of sales in the latest week.  Craft and super-premium beer also showed strong sales within the core beer category, which rose 9.8% overall.

Drilling into wine sales, sparkling wine grew well ahead of table wine, rising 35.5%, compared to table wine’s 13.3% growth.  However, the data showed sales of American table wine are losing out to wines imported from New Zealand (23.6%), Italy (23.3%) and France (18.7%) at a faster rate than pre-pandemic, with the market share of domestic table wine falling 3 percentage points, on the back of a 2.5 percentage point decline in Californian wine.

US Consumers are settling into a new normal, according to Nielsen’s vice president of beverage alcohol Danella Kosmal, with year on year trends up 18.5%

However, Kosmal stressed that although off-premise growth rates for alcohol continue to outpace growth rates of total consumer goods, the off-premise growth was not enough to make up for the total losses in on-premise channels. “There has been a significant shift in volume from on-premise channels, which has exaggerated growth rates for off-premise alcohol,” she said.

The latest data showed that the US Wine Market Adapts to “New Normal” According to Nielsen Report premise saw steady growth, showing the seventh consecutive week without decline, with the average rate of sale per average establishment up 3% compared to last week. This metric varied in different states across the US, with New York rising 4% in the last week, and Illinois seeing the strongest growth, at 11%, making it only a third (36%) below the ‘normal’ level of the same week last year.

However, the average rate of sale in outlets that are currently open is still down 22% compared to the same period last year.