Wine Review: Fleur Du Cap 2016 Bergkelder Selection Chardonnay

Varietal: Chardonnay (100%)
Region: Western Cape, South Africa
Producer: Bergkelder Ltd.
Alcohol: 13.6%

This lush offering is medium-bodied, brilliantly clear with light straw hues; boasts fresh citrus notes on the nose followed by hints of tropical fruit, revealing hints of oak and spice, which unveils right through on the taste; a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity that leads to long lingering finish.

Suggested Food Pairing
This wine works wonders with seafood especially shellfish, mussels and oysters. It is also a good choice for creamy curies, rich chicken dishes and medium cheeses. Serve chilled, but not ice cold.

liz-palmer.com – June 13, 2017
Rating: 90 points

Notes:
Fleur du Cap has been ranked amongst the world’s finest Chardonnays as one of only two South African wines to receive a gold medal at the 2015 Chardonnay du Monde competition in Burgundy, France.

http://www.fleurducap.co.za/
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https://twitter.com/FleurduCapWines?lang=en

Champagne Announces 2016 Harvest Dates

 

The Champagne region has announced the start dates for the 2016 harvest.  Commencing today (September 12) through to September 26h there will be over 120,000 pickers, porters, loaders and press operators descend on the vineyards of Champagne for the harvest – the moment every winegrower has been waiting for.

Each harvest is different in terms of grape ripeness, potential alcohol levels and natural acidity – so picking the right moment to harvest is essential.

A ripening observation network for the accurate timing of harvests.

Twice a week, just as the grapes start to change colour (véraison), samples are taken from some 450 control plots spread throughout the Champagne area. The selected clusters are then checked for rate of colour change; average weight; estimated sugar and total acidity content; also for any incidence of grey rot.

The results are transmitted the same day via internet, so allowing the Comité Champagne to establish reference values for each parcel of vines, together with mean average values (potential alcohol levels and natural acidity) for each department and grape variety.

A data summary is then notified to the technical officers concerned, starting with the regional heads of the AVC (Association Viticole Champenoise). This enables them to attend the pre-harvest meeting with a very clear idea of when picking should start in their respective communes.

It is the pulp that contains the organoleptic compounds and elements required for effervescence (sugar, acidity, etc); and only pulp alone can deliver the desired clear, pale juice, bearing in mind that 3/4 of Champagne wines are made from black grapes. Pulp extraction is specifically designed to avoid colouring or staining the musts when pressing black-skinned grapes.

Hence the need for manual picking, selecting whole, undamaged clusters that must remain that way right up to the point of pressing itself. The clusters are transported to the press house in purpose-made bins with drainage holes that allow any juice to escape, so preventing the berries from macerating in their own juice.

Manual picking remains the tradition in Champagne – the requirement for whole, undamaged grapes is the same today as it was in the 18th Century.

Pickers have roughly a three-week window in which to work – beyond that point the grapes will be past their best. Just to complicate matters, all Champagne grapes reach their peak of ripeness at about the same time.

Some 120,000 pickers work in teams (‘hordons’ in French) of four per hectare, of which nearly 100,000 are given bed and board by the Winegrowers and Champagne Houses.

Harvesting employs:

  • Pickers
  • Porters (of grape bins)
  • Loaders (of bins)
  • Loaders of bins onto trailers
  • Loading bay handlers
  • Drivers
  • Forklift truck operators
  • Press operators
  • Fermenting room operators
  • And Cooks

Maximum yield per hectare

Yield regulation

  • The harvest base yield fixed by the INAO is 10,400 kg/ha, revisable upwards or downwards depending on the quality and quantity of the yield but capped at 15,500 kg/ha for AOC production.
  • The rationale for capping yields lies in the high-density planting system in Champagne, with vines planted very close together (8,000 per hectare) to improve ripening and therefore quality. Limited juice extraction – just 102 litres of must per 160 kg of grapes – is a key part of this policy and brings the final yield to 66 hectolitres per hectare.

The full list of dates can be viewed here www.champagne.fr

1st UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism:September 2016 Kakheti, Georgia

1200x630_272696_kakheti-georgia-s-cradle-of-wineThe World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in collaboration with the Georgian National Tourism Administration recently announced at the World Travel Market in London the 1st UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism – the wine tourism conference will be held in the Kakheti wine region of Georgia September 7-9, 2016.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, who led the presentation with the Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration, George Chogovadze and the Georgian Ambassador to Spain, Zurab Pololikashvili, explained: “Wine tourism represents a growing segment with immense opportunities to diversify demand. In the case of Georgia, this potential is well-known and we are very pleased to be holding the first UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism in the country”.

“Georgia’s unique wine-making traditions date back 8,000 years and are part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage, creating the ideal base to host the Wine Tourism Conference. Herewith, the country’s recent success in attracting a growing number of tourists, its development in terms of tourism products, branding and marketing present an excellent platform to share best practices, experience and knowledge” said Dimitry Kumsishvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

Gastronomy and wine have become key components for experiencing the culture and lifestyle of any destination and a growing travel motivation. To foster the development of this segment UNWTO launched in September, the UNWTO Gastronomy Network.

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For more information about the Conference, click here: 

http://affiliatemembers.unwto.org/event/1st-unwto-global-conference-wine-tourism