By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Thursday 25 June. It’s the end of the last day of Vinexpo 2009, the world’s largest wine show.  It’s supposed to finish at 4pm, but everyone starts winding down at lunchtime.  Business is slow, and people are tired after 5 days of sipping and selling.

I should have caught a train back to Paris in the afternoon, but I’d bought a ticket for the following day, God knows why. With a handful of other journos, I work in the press centre as the stands are dismantled outside. The road less travelled is also being out of synch. My work done, it’s a fin de siècle feeling to walk the kilometre-long hall, with bottles and rubbish everywhere, the partitions collapsed in piles, the veneer of glamour gone, and the straw blondes with plunging necklines replaced by sweaty workers.

When I get off the bus at Bordeaux centre, I take the tram along the river to see the old buildings in the sunset. Rather than return by tram, I stroll back along the docks, past renovated warehouses now dedicated to an appalling series of shops for airheads called the Quai de Marques.

A couple of teenage girls drink sweet white wine out of a bottle.  A fellow on the phone sits by their side.  The girls catch my eye. I ask them if it is good. “It’s all we can afford,” they answer. We take facebook photos of each other. I take a swig of the Bordeaux moelleux, even more putrid than I’d feared.

As late as it is, there is still a good hour left in the sun, deep and bright light bouncing off the water.  Restaurants are cool and clone, drum and bass, trance and chill à la London/Detroit/St Germain/Berlin. The food looks gruesome.

But what’s this? A group of neat young things sitting in a circle on the grass with a large carton of bottles in the middle.  All of the bottles are open.  Some have corks, others have rubber vacuum stoppers.
—  “Vinexpo?” I ask.
—  “Yep. We’ve been on a stand.  St-Émilion Grand Cru.  Here, La Gaffelière 2008.  Been open all day, though. Sorry about the plastic cup.”
I join their circle and we talk about wine. Who wouldn’t?
It turns out they are all students, some doing wine law, others marketing.
They fire questions at me, wanting to know everything about my Solex trip, my take on the world of wine, image problems, the environment, World Heritage listings, and so on.

Smart, modern, travelled, English-speaking. With folk like this, we can all be a bit more optimistic about the future of French wine.  I’m swept away by their energy, the wine and the simple charcuterie and cheese they bring out.
—  “We have food for fifteen.  Join us,” they say.
It would have been illegal in the US and Australia.

Linc

L’Harmonia Axyridis ou « coccinelle asiatique », espèce hautement invasive qui déloge ses cousines occidentales, est surveillée par l’INRA depuis plusieurs années. Or l’invasion s’étend — voir sa progression en France depuis 2004 sur les cartes du site de l’Observatoire Permanent pour le suivi de la coccinelle asiatique.
On s’inquiétait peu tant que n’étaient pas menacées les coccinelles indigènes, ni les pucerons dont les deux espèces cousines se nourrissent.

Mais en Suisse l’invasion s’étend dangereusement.
Des chercheurs de l’Agroscope de Changins-Wändeswil ont mesuré son impact sur les qualités organoleptiques du vin : au moment de la vendange, les coccinelles asiatiques invasives peuvent entrer dans la cuve avec les baies. Et dès 5 coccinelles par kg de baies, ou 0,3 coccinelle par grappe pour le chasselas et 0,2 pour le pinot noir, cette « vinification » produit un arôme d’huile rance rédhibitoire pour le consommateur. Haro sur la bête à Bouddha !

D’après Vitisphère 10/06/09 — Sources : Viteff, La Vigne, Observatoire permanent de la coccinelle asiatique

ALEXANDRE COLIN

Il y a deux mois, nous lancions ensemble « Les Vignerons d’Alex » sur une péniche. Vous êtes nombreux à être venus ou à avoir manifesté votre intérêt pour notre concept d’abonnement et de livraison franco chez des cavistes parisiens.
Les 29 et 30 juin et le 1er juillet prochains, je monte à Paris livrer les meilleurs crus de nos vignerons indépendants partenaires représentant les régions viticoles françaises.

Si vous souhaitez commander sur http://www.lesvigneronsdalex.com, c’est donc le moment,
Abonnement au « Panier Découverte », trois vins différents par mois pour 19,90 € ttc et possibilité d’acheter ensuite le vin qui vous a plu, par 6 sans frais de port.
Sans abonnement, bénéficiez du prix abonné à partir de 24 bouteilles (panachage possible).
L’ensemble des vins proposés est sur le site http://www.lesvigneronsdalex.com/pages/index.php?p=3
Dans les paniers des mois d’avril et de mai, nous avons fait découvrir :
Nom du vin                                                       Couleur    Carton 6 abonné € ttc    carton 6 non abonné € ttc
— Fronsac Château Hauchat  2004                        R                     46,20                                   49,20
— Côtes de Gascogne Soleil d’Octobre 2006          B                     30,60                                   35,70
— Anjou Terrebrune 2007                                     R                     27,00                                   33,00
— Clairet Grand Bireau 2008                                Rosé                 27,00                                  30,00
— Chinon Bel Air Fosses aux loups  2007               R                      43,20                                  49,20
— Côtes de Thongue Zanzibar 2008                      R                      28,80                                  34,20

Vos commandes sont à adresser par mail à alex@lesvigneronsdalex.com
Pour la livraison, je serai lundi 29 au Manneken Piss métro Opéra, mardi 30 au Bidibulle métro Commerce et à Boulogne; et le 1er au Pré Saint-Gervais.

Alex

By TED LELEKAS

The entire Greek wine sector is celebrating, after the recent U-turn by the European Union Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, who finally decided not to allow the blending of red and white wine in order to produce rosé.  Despite the fact that rosé is perfectly suited for the Greek climate, cuisine and general way of life, it is only recently that Greek oenophiles have started taking rosé seriously, overcoming negative stereotypes of the past.
This process has been significantly facilitated by a large number of established wine producers who made the commitment to create good quality rosé wines, and at the same time to take steps to educate the market on the merits of rosé wine.

The majority of Greek wine producers were outraged by the Commissioner’s initial move to consider lifting the ban on blending, as they feared that this would seriously undermine their efforts at the same time as rapidly diminishing the level of quality of rosé wines available in the market. Shortly after the announcement that the EU has finally bowed to the pressure of the massive outcry (and lobbying) of winemakers and their associations, especially across Southern Europe, a group of leading Greek winemakers, who are also renowned champions of the rosé cause, come forward to share their views on what (almost) happened:

Apostolos Mountrichas of Avantis Estate in Evia, commented, « Lifting the blending ban would have been a totally wrong move, both from the qualitative and from the commercial point of view. The key in the vinification of a quality rosé wine lies in balancing a multitude of factors, such as the phenolic ripeness of red grapes, the maximisation of acidity, and, of course the maceration of the grapes that can last up to 20 hours – in the case of rich rosé wines. To equalise all the above with the simple blending of unwanted stock in favour of large wine industries across Europe would have been simply despicable. » Read More »

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Very interesting week in the picturesque Beaujolais region.

Wine here comes as simple Beaujolais and as Beaujolais villages, it can also come from one of the 10 crus in the Beaujolais. It can have the parcel or « climat » on the label, or a « cuvée » of old vines etc.  Nothing simple in France!

I am hopping on Solex and heading south, deep south.  If all goes well, I’ll be in Ampuis tonight, just south of Lyon where the cult Condrieu white wine is made — fruity, aromatic and ultra dry.  The Côte Rôtie appellation (Roasted Slope) is also there.

After a trot later in the week at Saint-Joseph, it will be Tain L’Hermitage, the ever-popular Châteauneuf du Pape, then across to “our” valley nestled under the limestone cliffs of the Dentelles de Montmirail.   I will be arriving in Sablet on June the 20th, to a drinks reception (what else?) being organised by the Mayor.

Linc

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Hi Folks!

Too busy tasting at the moment to post up.

I have some wonderful photos. Here’s one from Vergisson — Pouilly Fuissé !

All my best,

Linc

By DEAN TUDOR

The Time and Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009  1 PM to 6 PM
The Event: Vins du Jura trade tasting.
The Venue: Park Hyatt Hotel, 4 Avenue Road, Toronto, 416- 925 1234
The Target Audience: wine trade and wine press.
The Availability/Catalogue: about none of these wines currently available; suppliers looking for representation.
The Quote/Background: 19 producers were in the show, which also visited Montreal.
— Anne Popoff led a seminar on the various wine styles from the Jura.
— In general, the pinots noirs were coarse.
— The Macvin du Jura is similar to the Pineau des Charentes.
— Vin Jaune and Château Chalon (below) are acquired styles, possibly for fino sherry lovers.
— Vin de Paille make an interesting dessert wine.
The Wines: prices hard to determine, especially since the French do not seem to want to reveal them to the press. The Living Vine repped Domaine André et Mireille Tissot as a biodynamic wine. Domaine Labet brave in only showing some pretty good chardonnays, five of them at differing price levels. Read More »