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World Bulk Wine Exhibition, 24-25 November

Previous figures: 250 exhibitors from more than 60 countries are expected, representing 70%–80% of global bulk wine production. At the time of writing, previous figures are yet to be released as the 2024 show has only recently ended. Find out more

 

“This has gone hand-in-hand with the gastronomic scene, with fantastic restaurants highlighting local cuisine and locally sourced products, along with a number of rural hotels to support this shift in demand. Through our business, we know this is seen as an increasingly important attraction of the island, and has been an important strategy both for Turismo Lanzarote and the gastronomy promotion board, Saborea Lanzarote.” Horton also reveals that, in recent years, there has been something of a demographic shift in terms of who is visiting the island, reporting: “I would say that since the pandemic there has been a clear trend towards a lower average age on the tours.” Although there have been recent reports of hostility from residents of the island towards the influx of visitors, with protestors brandishing ‘Go Home Tourists!’ signs, Horton says that “this isn’t the case at all”, adding: “At no point has Lanzarote urged UK tourists to stay away. If this has been stated somewhere in the UK Press, it is a complete fabrication of the truth.” For those not planning to pay a visit to the Canaries, their first point of contact with the islands’ oenological output may be via a restaurant wine list. One high-profile London eatery to feature a wine from the archipelago in its selection is the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant Sabor in Mayfair, which is part of the JKS Restaurants group. The wine in question is Táganan, a Listán Negro blend from Tenerife’s Envínate, with a 75cl bottle costing £98 at the restaurant. JKS group wine buyer Emily Jago describes it as “one of the benchmark wines from Tenerife”. “That reductive style of wine typical of Tenerife has become increasingly popular, and I think consumers have a better understanding of it when paired with a ‘volcanic soil’ origin story,” says Jago. “Táganan has a smokiness and crunchy red fruit character that’s great with chargrilled peppers, or Sabor’s classic suckling pig.”

Expressing a desire to list more Canary Islands wines on Sabor ’s list in the future, Jago suggests that the region’s wines in fact aren’t “under-appreciated or represented in restaurants with a serious wine programme”, and notes that producers such as Envínate “appear on a lot of restaurant lists, particularly those with a Spanish menu”. “I also think that the trend towards drinking indigenous, lesser-known varieties has helped the popularity of island wines with guests,” she adds.

Football focus

There is one individual who may help to put the wines of this archipelago on the map for a wider UK consumer base. Born in Gran Canaria, ex-professional footballer David Silva cut his teeth in the Spanish league before transferring from Valencia to Manchester City in 2010. Over the next decade spent at the English club, he went on to win numerous accolades, including four Premier League titles and two FA Cups. Although he retired from the beautiful game in 2023, Silva has not just been admiring his trophy collection, but rather he has been focusing on his own winery, located on his home island, Gran Canaria.

It was in 2019, while still playing for Manchester City, that Silva messaged experienced winemaker Jonatan García to congratulate him on one of the wines he had produced for Tenerife’s Suertes del Marqués. The two went on to strike up a friendship, and Silva then acquired Bodegas Tamerán on Gran Canaria. Planted with local grape varieties including Verdello, Marmajuelo, Baboso Blanco, Vijariego Blanco, Malvasía Aromática, Malvasía Volcánica and Vijariego Negro, the six-hectare vineyard now produces more than half a dozen wines, as García explains. “Our wine range has seven different wines, five whites and two reds,” he says. “All the wines that I make have the goal of ageing, but this is a young cellar and our first vintage was in 2020. I feel that the wines are ready to drink sooner than those from other regions of the Canaries, but I’m expecting them to age well.” Silva is, according to García, very hands-on with the winery’s operations. “He stays in the cellar during the whole harvest. He works in all the steps of the process – harvesting, winemaking and bottling. He knows everything that is happening in the cellar.” However, while Silva’s star power might certainly help to persuade Brits – or at least Manchester City fans – to buy a bottle of Bodegas Tamerán, García expresses reluctance for the winery to become overly reliant on the former footballer ’s brand. “We want the wines to be sold in the UK due to their quality, not because David is involved,” he explains, noting that Tamerán wines are also available in other parts of Europe, as well as the United States and Canada. “Obviously [his fame] has an impact, but he doesn’t want to be used as a commercial claim,” García stresses. “In a market like the UK it is important to sell wine based on its quality – if you sell it based on a celebrity, it will end after just a few years.” Although wine was the archipelago’s main export from the 16th to the 19th centuries, consumption became increasingly localised after this point.

Perhaps the real predicament that the Canary Islands’ wine industry faces when it comes to breaking into the UK market is sufficiency of supply.

Low production

Indigo Wine handles Bodegas Tamerán in the UK and has just started working with two projects from young winemaker Carmelo Santana: Bien de Altura in Gran Canaria and Jable de Tao in Lanzarote. Indigo founder Ben Henshaw says that “relatively low” yields and production volumes from Canarian wine regions create limitations, pointing out: “The general focus is on high-quality wines, and with that comes higher pricing. Also, stylistically, the best wines can have a lot of complexity and character, which can make them challenging for some palates.” Data from the Canary Islands Wine Growers and Wineries Association (AVIBO) suggests that annual production across the archipelago’s seven wineproducing islands is in the region of 7m litres. By contrast, Rioja produces around 40 times that amount, at between 280m and 300m litres per year. Horton of Wine Tours Lanzarote notes: “It is true that we are seeing increasing demand and interest in Lanzarote wine from a variety of buyers. However, with such low production and with 90% of wines consumed within the Canaries, the need and resources for promotion outside of Spain has historically been somewhat limited.” However, perhaps it is precisely that exclusivity that will ultimately make UKbased wine enthusiasts, rather than the average consumer, eager to get hold of Canary Island wines. JKS Restaurants’ Jago seems to think so, suggesting: “People understand that for the top island wines, these are coming from extreme viticultural conditions, tough soils and old vines with lower yields, and that scarcity helps build demand.”

Feature findings

• Only about 10% of Canary Islands wine is exported and, of that, only 1% comes to the UK – but rising tourist numbers could change that. • Lanzarote alone attracted 3.2m visitors last year, and the island’s food and wine scene is booming, with the number of DO wineries increasing from 14 to more than 30. • London restaurants are showing more interest in the islands’ wines, especially venues with serious wine programmes and Spanish menus. • Canary Islands-born ex-footballer David Silva hit the headlines when he acquired Gran Canaria winery Bodegas Tamerán. • One issue is supply: annual wine production in the islands is only about 7m litres, limiting the scope for international expansion.

Canarian wine in numbers

• The islands have 6,750ha under vine, 14% of the total area devoted to agriculture. • Tenerife is the largest wine producer of the Canaries, with 3,193ha of vineyards, followed by Lanzarote with 2,055ha. Together they make up almost 80% of the total vineyard area in the Canary Islands. • Plantings range from five metres above sea level to 1,689m. • The most widely-planted variety is Listán Blanco, also known as Palomino Fino. • There are 8,000 winegrowers and 320 wineries. • The islands have 11 DOs: five in Tenerife, and separate ones for Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, Gran Canaria and El Hierro. There is also an Islas Canarias PDO which covers all of the islands. • According to data, taking the average production from 2016 to 2020, 3.974 million litres of white wine and 3.492 m litres of red wine are made annually.

Sober celebration: no/low sparkling producers are also taking the lifestyle route

Blooming market

French Bloom is not the only brand trying to offer a sparkling wine product aimed at those who either don’t drink at all, or are looking to cut down. One new arrival on the market is Society De La Rassi, which has just launched a de-alcoholised single-varietal sparkling Chardonnay, made from Spanish-grown grapes. Founder Steve Jackson explains that, after he went sober, he “missed that experience of popping open a bottle to enjoy with friends”, but realised that “it wasn’t the experience of alcohol that I was drawn to; rather it was the sense of connection”. The wine’s suggested retail price of US$70 (around £54) might seem ambitious for a wine which has had its alcohol removed, but Jackson argues that the value of a bottle goes far beyond the cost of the grapes inside, explaining: “It’s the value that we place on a guest, on our friends, on the people we care about. I used to cherish the opportunity to give a friend a special bottle of wine for their most important life moments. And I don’t think this should be any different for people who are drinking mindfully or going sober. “The value of wine is more than the alcohol content,” adds Jackson. “It’s the meaning behind it, the craftsmanship, the experience.” Asked to react to news of Moët Hennessy’s minority investment in French Bloom, Society De La Rassi marketing director Wesley Davis reveals that the business harbours a similar ambition. “Aligning with a major player that understands the intersection of wine and lifestyle has been a part of our roadmap since day one,” Davis says.

Enviable position

The question is whether interest from “major players” might come from a place of fear. “I suppose that, if the consumer only has £12 to spend on a bottle of fizz, we would be considered as a rival, but we are also making our own way in an expanding sector of the market,” says Will Willis, commercial director of alcohol-free wine brand Zeno. “We would like to think that Zeno is offering a credible alternative to any sparkling wines around £10–£12, should the consumer be wanting to manage their consumption of alcohol. Decaffeinated coffee vs caffeinated coffee; low-fat vs full-fat foods. The consumer should have a choice,” argues Willis.

Aiming high: Society de la Rassi would like to align with a major drinks player Zeno founder David Hodgson suggests that non-alcoholic alternatives are complementary to the sparkling wine category. “Rather than be of concern to other sparkling producers, we are more interested in collaborating with them as we encourage ‘zebra’ or ‘flexi’ drinking, the exciting emerging consumer category,” he says. Paul Beavis, CEO of Wild Idol, which produces alcohol-free sparkling white and rosé wines (now also in magnum formats), echoes this positive sentiment, suggesting that the brand is not a threat, but is instead “complementary to the sparkling category and very much a positive addition”. He claims: “Our approach benefits event operators too, enabling better margins on non-alcoholic offerings while also maintaining existing partnerships with alcoholic brands.”

Wave of invesmnet

It might be assumed that a notable decrease in the number of regular drinkers would give the drinks industry as a whole cause for concern, but it appears that there is no opportunity quite like an impending crisis. Moët Hennessy is just the latest of the big wine players to take a gamble on non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Henkell Freixenet, the titan of the sparkling wine world, is no stranger to the world of low and no, having launched its own 0.0% ABV Mionetto Aperitivo to complement its portfolio of sekt, crémant, Cava and Prosecco. “As global market leader for sparkling wine, Henkell Freixenet does not perceive the trend of noand low-alcohol as a threat, but sees the opportunities this rising category offers,” argues CEO Dr Andreas Brokemper. “Recognising the trend of sparkling wines and spirits in the alcohol-free segment, the focus is not on the alcohol, but on the occasion. No- and low-alcohol products are not just consumed as alternatives to traditional alcohol beverages; they create entirely new consumption occasions and expand the range of drinking experiences, whether for special occasions, such as the increasingly popular ‘Dry January’, or all year round for personal lifestyle reasons. “Globally, no-alcohol sparkling wine consumption volume increased by 7.1% year-on-year, still on a small scale, but growing. As of year to date September, our non-alcoholic products increased in volume by 25%, with Mionetto Alcohol Free being a strong growth driver (already more than double the previous year’s sales), and Freixenet is the number one internationally-distributed no-alcohol sparkling wine brand worldwide,” he adds. “Alongside Germany, the Eastern European countries are the most dynamic markets in the non-alcoholic sector.” It isn’t just non-alcoholic brands that Henkell Freixenet has invested in, but the technology that makes these drinks possible too. “Our alcohol-free sparkling wines are de-alcoholised using our gentle vacuum process. We have our own state-of-the-art de-alcoholisation plant for this purpose. The flavour and fine bouquet come very close to the alcoholic original,” Dr Brokemper explains. As to whether he thinks that alcoholic sparkling wine stands to lose out more than still wines to the rise of non-alcoholic alternatives, Dr Brokemper is defiant.

Zero threat: Wild Idol’s Paul Beavis insists no/low is a positive addition to the market “We see non-alcoholic sparkling clearly as a complement to classic sparkling wines,” he says. “And what a great possibility to be able to offer both experiences.” Dr Brokemper also points to sparkling wine being more “associated with occasions and celebrations” than still wines, the kind of occasions which involve larger gatherings. Still wines tend to be more for “in-home” consumption. According to IWSR data, as of this year, 30% of the UK adult population consumes sparkling wine at least once a month – an increase from 25% in 2019, suggesting that a small but notable shift towards sparkling wine becoming a more ‘everyday’ drink may be occurring. Some producers suggest that it is precisely this distinction between when people drink still wine versus sparkling that means they are not unduly worried. Elena Branda, marketing manager at Perlino, which produces Moscato d’Asti, Prosecco and other spumante wines, says: “I do not think we have to worry too much. The sparkling wine category continues to be appreciated, especially in convivial occasions, like aperitivo hour, dinners and celebrations. Of course, we are seeing an increase in the demand for lowand no-alcohol, but we remain firm on the point that sparkling wine cannot be replaced.”

Stylistic reasons

Branda also suggests that those seeking a lower-alcohol sparkling wine do not need to resort to one which has had its alcohol removed, but rather wines which are made that way for stylistic reasons, such as Asti DOCG, which has an ABV of around 7%. Bisol 1542, part of Gruppo Lunelli, unveiled its I Gondolieri Prosecco Superiore di Valdobbiadene 2023 at this year ’s Vinitaly. At 10.5% ABV, it is far from being designated as lowalcohol, but it marks an intriguing stylistic shift. Company president Gianluca Bisol claims that it was not produced to appeal to those wishing to cut down on alcohol, saying: “Reaching 10.5% was not our first target. Our first was to produce a Prosecco without added sugar.”

Classified as brut, it is at the bottom limit for permitted alcohol content in the DOCG. Despite its relative dryness, at 11g/litre residual sugar, and its low alcohol, Bisol 1542 sought “maximum sugar in the grapes” and a “line of acidity”. One factor that made this possible was the cartizze (sandstone and moraine) content of the soils, rather than the use of advanced technology.

Bold move: Moët Hennessy invested in French Bloom three years after its launch “You can pick the grapes 10-12 days later when they are grown on cartizze without them losing acidity,” Bisol explains. “Cartizze is for Glera what Montrachet is for Chardonnay.” At present, I Gondolieri is, according to Bisol 1542, the brut with the lowest alcohol in the appellation, but it might not be long before other Prosecco players follow suit. Bisol notes that “people look for healthier wines” and, given that 1g of alcohol is roughly equivalent to 7kcal, a reduction in ABV may well be something that consumers are after. There are some Prosecco brands which have taken the plunge and developed fully non-alcoholic alternatives, although they cannot be designated as Prosecco. Della Vite, founded by actor Cara Delevingne and her sisters Chloe and Poppy, launched Della Vite Zero, a nonalcoholic sparkling rosé, in the UK this summer. The product might be described as stylistically similar to Della Vite’s Prosecco, although it is made from southern French Grenache which has been vinified and then de-alcoholised. The £14.99 price tag is moderate, particularly given that it retails at luxury department store Selfridges, but when it is compared to one of the UK’s bestselling non-alcoholic wines, Nozeco (£3.50 per bottle at Sainsbury’s), it starts to seem punchier.

No alcohol duty

Perhaps, at the lower end of the price scale, non-alcoholic sparkling will make a dent in sales, particularly when one considers that removing alcohol also means not having to pay alcohol duty, putting these wines at a price point which can undercut those with higher ABVs. However, at the more premium end of the market, it seems to be a different story. Julien Lonneux, CEO of Vranken Pommery UK, reveals that, although the Champagne house has invested in English vineyards through its Pinglestone Estate project in Hampshire, something which might have seemed inconceivable two decades ago, it has no plans to produce a nonalcoholic sparkling wine. “It is not our speciality,” explains Lonneux. “We are traditional method sparkling wine specialists and we will continue to seek opportunities within this category.” Asked whether he feels that Champagne Pommery and its fellow producers should be worried, Lonneux suggests that it might be the opposite. “I don’t think sparkling wine producers should be afraid, but I don’t think it’s a short-term trend either,” he says. “There’s a real trend for better eating and living, which obviously will continue to push the non-alcoholic or low-alcohol categories. However, for the Champagne category and other premium sparkling wines, it is also a blessing as it means consumers are hopefully more likely to enjoy more qualitative wines with a philosophy to ‘drink less, but better ’.” The previously mentioned Drinkaware data concerning the decline in weekly drinking might be considered as supportive of this – after all, most people don’t pop open a bottle of Champagne every week. For now, at least, the rise of premium non-alcoholic sparkling wine brands is on the industry’s radar, but it is not considered hostile...yet. Moët Hennessy clearly sees French Bloom as a product that can and should sit side-by-side with the rest of its portfolio and, as previously mentioned, it suggests that there is potential for further growth. However, the French wine and spirits giant has not expressed any intent to invest in the brand at the expense of the rest of its portfolio. At the less expensive end, even more affordable non-alcoholic brands still have a long way to go before the trend becomes worrisome. The industry should absolutely expect to see the appearance of more non-alcoholic sparkling wine brands at both ends of the pricing spectrum, but they are in addition to the alcoholic ones which already exist, not instead of them. Sometimes consumers do just want alcohol, just as sometimes even the most agnostic of us may pray.

Kylie helps 0% grow

• Kylie Minogue’s best-selling wine range has expanded to include an alcohol-free sparkling rosé.
• Alex Lynch, senior brand manager for Benchmark Drinks, which handles Kylie Minogue’s wines, says: “The alcohol-free wine market is currently valued at £200 million globally. The UK, the largest global market, accounts for £61.4m. However, this represents just 0.8% of the UK's overall £7.9 billion wine market, highlighting significant growth potential.”
• “While the low and no-alcohol beer sector has a 5% market share, the low and no alcohol wine segment lags behind,” the spokesperson continues. “Even the most developed markets for alcohol-free wine are only at 1/5 of their potential size.”
• “Zero-alcohol sparkling wine is the fastest-growing category in the wine sector, with a 17% year-on-year growth, which Kylie 0% sparkling rosé has single-handedly contributed to half of the entire category’s growth,” they claim.

Why Bottega created a non-alcoholic fizz

• Sandro Bottega, managing director of Prosecco giant Bottega SpA, says: “In 2020 we launched Bottega Zero, a must-based drink available in a white and rosé version. The aim was to meet the needs of those who, for health or religious reasons, do not consume alcoholic beverages. They also appeal to those who appreciate wine, but take a cautious approach to alcohol consumption.
• “After careful selection of the bunches of grapes, harvested in suitable areas when analyses show a good balance between sugars and acidity, the grapes are destemmed and gently pressed,” he continues. “This produces a must that is stored in refrigerated tanks to prevent alcoholic fermentation from starting. After the addition of carbon dioxide, the product is filtered and bottled.
• “The main challenge with this kind of product is to maintain the freshness and aroma of the grapes of origin with no alcohol content,” Bottega suggests. “We can also consider the difficulty in conveying value to the consumer as a great non-alcoholic alternative to wine. Although they offer the same consumption ritual as [alcoholic] sparkling wines, we are trying to broaden the consumption occasions: eg. at breakfast as an alternative to fruit juice.”
• Classified as brut, it is at the bottom limit for permitted alcohol content in the DOCG. Despite its relative dryness, at 11g/litre residual sugar, and its low alcohol, Bisol 1542 sought “maximum sugar in the grapes” and a “line of acidity”. One factor that made this possible was the cartizze (sandstone and moraine) content of the soils, rather than the use of advanced technology.

Cava producer remains confident

Marta Vidal, CEO of Vallformosa, says: "Our vision is to help people unite and inspire them to gather around with friends and family so they can enjoy themselves more. How? With amazing options for their daily life. We live in an ultra-connected world that sometimes makes us feel that we are in contact with everyone we love and want to, but at the same time it happens to be the opposite. Go outside, meet people, have fun in an improvised dinner, lunch, aperitif. We are not concerned but excited about it. We are tirelessly working to make our dream happen. What we’ve learned is that over the years, more and more people are including no and low alternatives to their social life. It doesn’t mean that they do not want to drink alcohol. It’ just that they switch from no to low and to a regular sparkling wine depending on the moment. They even combine them." "And what we’ve done is to adapt our brands and portfolio and messages to this trend. Another key is the quality of the liquid, because they can try you once, but to make them try you twice it’s a matter of having a prior nice experience. We can assure you that our products are on top of the best options," she continues. "So, to conclude. We are facing big opportunities in the rise of the no-and-low sparkling wines, and we are not embracing but already offering the world a lot of options, more than 10 products with different brands."

Garda DOC looks to native varieties

Carlo Alberto Panont, director of the Consorzio Garda DOC, says: "We are talking about slightly sparkling wines, or rather 'vivaci' in Italian, therefore with a pressure around 1 atmosphere. This is a complex regulatory issue since this classification category is halfway between the still wine category with less than 1 atm of overpressure and the sparkling wine category from 1 to max 2.5 atm of overpressure. From the point of view of low effervescence, it is therefore more of a corporate direction choice, and we are observing the market with interest, without prejudice. As a denomination, we are working on varietal typologies with low alcohol content both in terms of norm and organoleptic quality. We believe that our native vines have a good expressive capacity also in this direction."

Looking at price points, it was, as you would expect, hard for wines in the under-£10 category to score extremely highly (that lovely Romanian wine excepted), but the vast majority of wines in this bracket did gain medals, for which the whole team behind them should be commended. It was interesting that the wines that did not earn medals most often fell into the £10–£15 category, where at times what felt like carelessness or greed had diluted the power and pleasure of what can be a wonderful grape variety. Sauvignon Blanc has a reputation – sometimes deserved – of being onedimensional, and it was thus gratifying to read through the tasting notes, not just of my judging group, but of the other two groups as well, and see just how often the words “layered” or “complex” appeared. The wines in this tasting did not all take home Gold medals, but the vast majority were wines with presence, often elegance, and almost always with real interest and allure. The textured Austrian examples in particular are wines deserving of further contemplation and consideration.

White Unoaked 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Cramele Recas	Sanziana	Recas	Romania	2023	Gold
Booster Wine Group	Kaiora Bay	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Kressmann	Kressmann Monopole Blanc	Bordeaux	France	2023	Silver
Cramele Recas	Between Bridges	Recas	Romania	2023	Silver
Viña Concha y Toro	Frontera	Central Valley	Chile	2023	Silver
Domaine Jean-François Merieau	Les Hexagonales	Loire	France	2022	Silver
Viña Luis Felipe Edwards	La Corriente	Colchagua Costa	Chile	2024	Silver
Viña Casablanca	Sauvignon Blanc	Casablanca	Chile	2024	Silver
Viña Cono Sur	Bicicleta	Chile	Chile	2024	Bronze
Cavit	Mastri Vernacoli Trentino DOC	Trentino-Alto Adige	Italy	2023	Bronze
Viña Tarapacá	Varietal Riverscape Collection	Central Valley	Chile	2023	Bronze
Félix Solís Avantis	Southern Ocean South Africa	Western Cape	South Africa	2023	Bronze
Uni Wines	Gary Barlow	Western Cape	South Africa	2023	Bronze
Viña Luis Felipe Edwards	Estevez Specially Selected	Central Valley	Chile	2024	Bronze
Darling Cellars	Surfers Choice	Western Cape	South Africa	NV	Bronze
Cramele Recas	Wildflower	Recas	Romania	2023	Bronze
Concha y Toro	Casillero del Diablo	Chile	Chile	2023	Bronze
Viña Luis Felipe Edwards	Gran Reserva	Colchagua	Chile	2024	Bronze
Cramele Recas	Paparuda	Recas	Romania	2023	Bronze
Invivo	Graham Norton	New Zealand	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
Invivo	Invivo	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
£10-£15
Mount Riley Wines	Limited Release	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Gold
Booster Wine Group	Kaiora Bay Reserve	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Gold
Santa Carolina	Carolina Reserva Sauvignon Blanc	Maule	Chile	2024	Silver
Cogné	Sauvignon Blanc	Loire Valley	France	2023	Silver
Schneeberger	Kitzeck-Sausal	Südsteiermark	Austria	2023	Silver
Matahiwi Estate	ME By Matahiwi Estate	Wairarapa	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Crowded House	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Marisco Vineyards	The Ned Skyscraper	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Viña Luis Felipe Edwards	Costa Fresca	Leyda	Chile	2024	Silver
Dourthe	N°1 de Dourthe	Bordeaux	France	2023	Silver
Viña Las Niñas	Ella Sauvignon Blanc Reserva	Leyda	Chile	2024	Silver
Viña del Nuevo Mundo	Finca Punta Alta	Leyda	Chile	2024	Silver
Cape Point Vineyards	Sauvignon Blanc	Cape Town	South Africa	2023	Silver
MontGras	Amaral	San Antonio Valley	Chile	2024	Silver
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Estate	Adelaide Hills/ Margaret River	Australia	2024	Silver
Triplebank	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Kraft	Ried Ruster Geyer	Burgenland	Austria	2023	Silver
Dourthe	La Grande Cuvée de Dourthe	Bordeaux	France	2023	Bronze
Marisco Vineyards	Emma Marris	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
Flagstone Winery	The Surge	Darling	South Africa	2023	Bronze
Kavaklidere Saraplari	Egeo	Aegean	Turkey	2023	Bronze
Concha y Toro	Casillero del Diablo Reserva Especial	Colchagua Valley	Chile	2023	Bronze
Cavit	Bottega Vinai Trentino DOC	Trentino-Alto Adige	Italy	2023	Bronze
Mount Riley Wines	Marlborough	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
Villa Maria	Private Bin Marlborough	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Villa Maria	EarthGarden Marlborough	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Achala Wines	Achala Clos de la Roca Brava	Pampa de Achala	Argentina	2023	Bronze
Viña del Nuevo Mundo	Alto Huapi	Leyda	Chile	2024	Bronze
Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative	Heartland	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
te Pa Family Vineyards	Pa Road	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
Stoneleigh	Wild Valley	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative	Heartland	Marlborough	New Zealand	2022	Bronze
Stoneleigh	Latitude	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
Heinzl-Gettinger	Ried Deinzendorfer Junge Bergen	Niederösterreich	Austria	2023	Bronze
Viña Tarapacá	Gran Reserva	Aconcagua	Chile	2023	Bronze
Félix Solís Avantis	Southern Ocean New Zealand	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze

White Unoaked 100% Sauvignon Blanc (continued)

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
£15-£20
Catalina Sounds	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Gold
te Pa Family Vineyards	Reserve Collection Hillside	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Gold
Montes	Outer Limits	Zapallar	Chile	2023	Gold
Wakefield/Taylors Wines	Jaraman	Margaret River/ Adelaide Hills	Australia	2024	Gold
Brancott Estate	Letter Series B	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Gold
Colle Manora	Mimosa Monferrato Bianco DOC	Piemonte	Italy	2023	Silver
Concha y Toro	Terrunyo	Casablanca Valley	Chile	2023	Silver
Marisco Vineyards	The Kings Series	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
Ehn Ludwig	Sauvignon Blanc	Niederösterreich	Austria	2023	Silver
San Pedro	Castillo de Molina	Elqui Valley	Chile	2023	Silver
Durbanville Hills	Collectors Reserve The Cape Mist	Durbanville	South Africa	2023	Silver
Stellenrust Wine Estate	Sauvignon Blanc	Stellenbosch	South Africa	2024	Silver
Palliser Estate	Pencarrow	Martinborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
Villa Maria	Single Vineyard Taylors Pass	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
te Pa Family Vineyards	Reserve Collection Seaside	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
Viña Luis Felipe Edwards	Marea Sauvignon Blanc	Leyda Valley	Chile	2024	Silver
Cape Point Vineyards	Noordhoek	Cape Town	South Africa	2023	Bronze
Weingut Hannes Sabathi	Sauvignon Blanc Gamlitz	Südsteiermark	Austria	2022	Bronze
te Pa Family Vineyards	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Bronze
The Marlborist	Alpine Rift	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Stoneleigh	Rapaura Series	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Kavaklidere Saraplari	Côtes d'Avanos	Cappadocia	Turkey	2023	Bronze
Palliser Estate	Sauvignon Blanc	Martinborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Cramele Recas	Sole Sauvignon Blanc	Banat	Romania	2023	Bronze
Devil's Corner	Sauvignon Blanc	Tasmania	Australia	2023	Bronze
£20-£30
Lake Chalice	The Raptor Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
Tokara	Reserve Collection Elgin Sauvignon Blanc	Stellenbosch	South Africa	2023	Silver
Les Vins Alphonse Mellot	La Moussière Blanc Biodynamic Organic	Loire	France	2023	Silver
Morandé	Selección de Viñedos Gran Reserva	Casablanca	Chile	2023	Bronze
Alpha Estate	Sauvignon Blanc	Amyndeon	Greece	2023	Bronze
Saint Clair Family Estate	Wairau Reserve	Marlborough	New Zealand	2022	Bronze
Tement	Rieg Grassnitzberg Riff 1STK	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Bronze
£30-£50
Cadgal	Piemonte DOC	Piedmont	Italy	2023	Gold
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery	Estate Sauvignon Blanc	Napa Valley	USA	2003	Gold
Tement	Ried Zieregg Kapelle GSTK	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Silver
Tement	Ried Zieregg Kar GSTK	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Bronze
£50-£70
Tement	Ried Zieregg XT GSTK	Südsteiermark	Austria	2015	Gold
Gross	Sauvignon Blanc Ried Nussberg Große STK Ried	Südsteiermark	Austria	2020	Silver
Familienweingut Sattlerhof	Ried Alter Kranachberg	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Silver

 

Oaked 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Marqués de Cáceres	Sauvignon Blanc	Rueda	Spain	2023	Silver
£10-£15
te Pa Family Vineyards	Montfors	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Silver
Spy Valley	E Block	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Bronze
Cantina La Vis	Sauvignon Trentino DOC I Classici "La-vis"	Trentino	Italy	2023	Bronze
£15-£20
Viña Leyda	Coastal Vineyards Garuma	Leyda Valley	Chile	2023	Gold
Invivo	SJP	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Gold
Schneeberger	Ried Kittenberg	Südsteiermark	Austria	2022	Gold
Tschermonegg	Gamlitz	Südsteiermark	Austria	2023	Silver
Spy Valley	Envoy Johnson	Marlborough	New Zealand	2021	Silver
Gross	Bergwein	Südsteiermark	Austria	2022	Bronze
£20-£30
The Marlborist	Grande Sauvignon	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Gold
Attems	Cicinis	Friuli-Venezia-Giulia	Italy	2023	Gold
te Pa Family Vineyards	Oke	Marlborough	New Zealand	2020	Gold
Nals Margreid	Mantele Sauvignon	Alto Adige	Italy	2022	Gold
Schneeberger	Ried Hochbrudersegg	Südsteiermark	Austria	2022	Gold
Terre à Terre	Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard	Wrattonbully	Australia	2023	Gold
Wölffer Estate Vineyard	Antonov	Long Island	USA	2022	Silver
Alpha Estate	Alpha Estate Ecosystem Fumé Single Block "Kaliva"	Amyndeon	Greece	2023	Silver
Viña Leyda	Lot 4	Leyda Valley	Chile	2022	Silver
Morandé	Vitis Única	Valparaíso, Casablanca	Chile	2022	Silver
Krispel	Ried Neusetzberg Erste Lage Eruption	Vulkanland Steiermark	Austria	2022	Silver
Tschermonegg	Ried Lubekogel	Südsteiermark	Austria	2022	Silver
Chamlija	Quartz Fumé	Strandja Mountains	Turkey	2023	Bronze
Krispel	Ried Neusetzberg Alte Reben Erste Lage Eruption	Vulkanland Steiermark	Austria	2021	Bronze
£30-£50
Familienweingut Sattlerhof	Ried Kapellenweingarten	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Master
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery	Dollarhide Estate Vineyards	Napa Valley	USA	2003	Gold
Tschermonegg	Sauvignon Blanc Ried Oberglanzberg	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Gold
Ca' Bolani	Aquilis Friuli DOC Aquileia	Friuli-Venezia-Giulia	Italy	2019	Silver
Cape Point Vineyards	Cape Point Vineyards Reserve	Cape Town	South Africa	2023	Silver
£50-£70
Weingut Hannes Sabathi	Ried Kranachberg Kreuz	Südsteiermark	Austria	2021	Master

Sweet 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
£10-£15
Spy Valley	Late Harvest	Marlborough	New Zealand	2017	Gold

White Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc Blend

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
Under £10
Brancott Estate	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
Flagstone Winery	Free Run Sauvignon Blanc	Cape Coast	South Africa	2023	Bronze
£10-£15
De Grendel Wines	Sauvignon Blanc	Durbanville	South Africa	2024	Gold
Nederburg	The Winemasters	Western Cape	South Africa	2024	Gold
Spy Valley	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2024	Gold
Stoneleigh	Sauvignon Blanc	Marlborough	New Zealand	2023	Silver
De Bortoli Wines	DB Winemakers Selection	Riverina	Australia	2023	Bronze
£15-£20
Viñedos Calcu	Tiny Blocks Sauvignon Blanc Semillon	Colchagua	Chile	2024	Bronze
£20-£30
Wölffer Estate Vineyard	Summer in a Bottle Long Island	Long Island	USA	2023	Gold

Oaked Sauvignon Blanc Blend

Winery	Name of Wine	Region	Country	Vint.	Medal
£10-£15
De Bortoli Wines	Deen Vat 2	Riverina	Australia	2023	Bronze
£15-£20
Church Road	McDonald Series	Hawke's Bay	New Zealand	2021	Silver
Kendall-Jackson	Vintners Reserve	California	USA	2023	Silver
£20-£30
Church Road	Grand Reserve	Hawke's Bay	New Zealand	2021	Silver
£30-£50
La Roncaia	Eclisse DOC Friuli Colli Orientali	Friuli-Venezia-Giulia	Italy	2023	Gold
Tokara	Director's Reserve White	Stellenbosch	South Africa	2021	Gold
Cape Point Vineyards	Isliedh	Cape Town	South Africa	2023	Silver
Journey's End	Ad Infinitum	Stellenbosch	South Africa South Africa	2022	Silver
£50-£70
Clos du Val	Sauvignon Blanc	Napa Valley	USA	2023	Gold

     

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters provides a chance for your wines to shine. The 2024 competition was judged on 12 September at Kimpton Fitzroy London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Sauvignon Blanc Master. This report features the medal winners only. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

Dal explains: “We have carried out a massal selection of 17 individual vines that seem to ripen with a fresher balance – producing grapes with less sugar and more acidity. This selection is currently being assessed. “We have also planted ancient local varieties such as Petit Meslier, Meslier Saint François, Gouais and Sacy, which were abandoned during the creation of the AOCs in 1936 because they didn’t ripen well. The idea is to test them in blends with Sauvignon Blanc to bring more freshness to the wines.” Petit Meslier has undergone a minor but notable resurgence. According to data from Plant Grape, between 1958 and 1988, the area of France planted with vines of this early-budding white variety plummeted from 46 hectares to just 1ha – but by 2018 it had managed to climb back up to 16ha. “Additionally, we have planted recent hybrids resistant to diseases to assess their qualities and reduce the use of phytosanitary products,” says Dal. Asked whether he sees applications for technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence in Centre-Loire vineyards, Dal is not so sure: “The new technologies mentioned (drones, satellite maps, etc) are primarily useful for very large estates, as they allow the compilation of vast amounts of information. As most of our estates are small to medium-sized and very much on a human scale, their owners are often able to name each of their vines individually and have little need for these new technologies. Some of our larger estates have begun to experiment with them, but their use will always be limited in the Centre-Loire vineyards because of their size."

“Artificial intelligence could be very useful, particularly in developing more reliable disease models,” he continues. “However, I feel that many of the applications currently being developed have the same limitations as with drones: if you have two children, you don’t need computer assistance to know their needs,diets or sleeping schedules. But if you’re managing an orphanage with 100 children, then it becomes useful. CentreLoire vineyards are more similar to small nuclear families than to orphanages or large corporations.”

BEAUJOLAIS

Moving southeast to Beaujolais, the 2024 vintage has been similarly troublesome for producers, according to Bertrand Chatelet, technical director of Inter Beaujolais. “The summer of 2024 was marked by rain and high temperatures,increasing the vines’ susceptibility to fungal diseases,” he says The region, known for its fruit-forward Gamay red wines, is undertaking a bold study of some 178 global grape varieties in a bid to discover some which might have a future in its vineyards. “Planted between 2021 and 2022, the Ampelographic Collection serves as research support for a project led by INRAE [Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique], which aims to study and characterise a large number of varieties, to identify genetic or metabolic markers which enable agronomic behaviours of interest in optimising varietal selection programmes,” Chatelet explains. “It will make it possible to choose potential parents for varietal creation programmes by crossing in order to obtain varieties that are both resistant to diseases and adapted to climate change. Forty-nine of these 178 varieties are wine or table grape varieties from different countries– Assyrtiko from Greece, Asmi Noir from Lebanon, Aglianico from Italy – which are very late-ripening, acidic or droughttolerant, and therefore studied for their benefits in the face of climate change.” According to Chatelet, 68 of the 178 varieties being studied “have genes for resistance to cryptogamic diseases, such as mildew”. Among these hybrids are PIWIs (an abbreviation of the German ‘Pilzwiderstandsfähige Reben’) such as Solaris, which have been specially bred for their resistance to fungal disease. They do not require the same intensity of fungicide treatment as other varieties, making them an increasingly popular option for producers who are working towards organic certification. Of course, given that Gamay makes up approximately 98% of all plantings in Beaujolais, the region is researching the “diversity” of clones of the variety –because, after all, consumers expect their Fleurie to taste of Fleurie. “Our job with winegrowers is to identify varieties capable of giving wines which have a family resemblance to Beaujolais, or to find the best winemaking route or the appropriate blend,” Chatelet explains. “Considering new varieties is an important step to cross. Some motivated pioneers have already planted other varieties outside the appellation. Collectively, producers are considering experimenting with new varieties at low percentages, as the INAO [Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité] allows today.”

BORDEAUX

Bordeaux’s reputation for being stuffy and traditional obscures the reality that this most economically important of French wine regions, exporting around €2.3 billion-worth of wine last year, is, by hook or by crook, innovating. Jonathan Ducourt, sales and marketing manager at Vignobles Ducourt, one of the biggest independent family-run producers in the region, says that Bordeaux’s mounting climatic problems have prompted the installation of weather stations at each of the company’s vineyards to provide data on everything from frost risk to humidity and, of course, high summer temperatures. Perhaps fortunately for Bordeaux vignerons, there are traditional varieties that can handle the heat. “To adapt to climate change, we are planting laterripening varieties like Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, allowing us to better manage rising temperatures,” Ducourt says. “Our Bordeaux blend is gradually evolving in response to these changes.” White grape Colombard is also being planted for the same reason – but the Bordelais are even dabbling in hybrids to counter the steep rise in instances of fungal disease. “We are currently trialling new grape varieties with the goal of significantly reducing the need for spraying to protect against mildew and other diseases,” says Ducourt. “By introducing diseaseresistant varieties, we aim to minimise chemical interventions, promote healthier vineyards and enhance the sustainability of our winemaking practices.” In Vignobles Ducourt’s case, its Metissage range (designated as Vin de France) consists of singlevarietal PIWI expressions, with a red made from Cabernet Jura (Cabernet Sauvignon and ‘wild vines’), and two whites, a Muscaris (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Solaris) and a Cal 6-04 (Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and ‘wild vines’). Annual production of all three is in the region of 60,000 bottles. “As a pioneer of new grape varieties, one of the main challenges has been starting from a blank slate, without the ability to compare notes with neighbours,” notes Ducourt. “Each vintage presents a learning curve, from understanding how the variety grows to determining the ideal harvest time, the styles of wine it can produce and its ageing potential.”

LANGUEDOC

Perhaps what is needed to drag France out of its predicament is this level of radical change – and there aren’t many French winemakers more radical than Jean-Claude Mas, of Languedoc’s Domaines Paul Mas. A pioneer of planting disease-resistant grape varieties, such as Souvignier Gris, Floreal and Prior, in the region, Mas has trodden his own path beyond the traditional local roadmap of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan. One might assume, given the Languedoc’s southerly latitude, that the region’s biggest problem would be drought, rather than the damp conditions that fungi thrive in, but Mas points out: “Fungal diseases exist everywhere. Rain at the wrong time can cause black rot – so it’s not just a question of volume of moisture, but when it happens.” Asked whether he expects others to bet big on PIWI grapes, Mas, who insists that he is seeing “some great results” from these varieties in spite of the reservations that some people have about their quality potential, says: “Well, of course other French regions are already well into programmes of growth of PIWIs – in Champagne they have certified the variety Voltis, for example, and in Bordeaux trials are also well advanced.” And he points out: “It’s a competitive advantage against countries like Australia, because the trials and certification take over 10 years, so France is relatively advanced in this area.” Nonetheless, any great leap in the world of wine is destined to fail if the consumer is not on board with the changes. Some retailers clearly think that the average wine drinker will happily plump for a PIWI wine – for example, this summer, UK supermarket Tesco added a Vin de France made from white PIWI variety Floreal to its Tesco Finest range. The multiple retailer already carries some of Mas’ wines too. Asked whether it is difficult to market wines made from such unfamiliar grapes, Mas says: “It is a challenge to communicate – it’s really up to the distributors and retailers in the various markets to explain and promote PIWI wines to consumers.”

GOING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS

The reality is that PIWIs alone are probably not the panacea for the ills that the vast majority of the country’s producers are troubled with. Even in France – where grape variety comes second to terroir of origin – tradition and expectation still constrain just how far wineries are willing to experiment. With exceptions, there’s only so much of a hybrid grape that most companies are prepared to add to a blend to make up for a shortfall in yields. There is another revolution brewing in France that could well boost its vineyards’ resilience to climate change,but it’s one focused not on replacing grape varieties, but rather on renewing the soils in which they grow: last month, Provence’s Domaine Mirabeau became France’s first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) vineyard. “In many wine regions, there’s still a monoculture mindset that champions one plant in the vineyard – the vine – and views any other plants as competitors that should be eliminated by ploughing or spraying,” argues Stephen Cronk, a Briton who, along with his wife Jeany, acquired the estate in 2019. “We have regularly applied organic compost, compost teas and probiotic treatment to kickstart microbial and fungal activity in our soil. We have planted other plants, trees and hedges around the domaine where possible, to break up the monoculture that is so common in vineyards around the world. We don’t irrigate at Mirabeau and have relied on the vineyard self-regulating, even through some very hot, dry years in Provence.” Big things have small beginnings – Domaine Mirabeau might be the first, and Cronk acknowledges that regenerative viticulture is “a relatively new concept”, but others look set to follow. Earlier this year, the estate hosted neighbouring Provence producers for a seminar on the regenerative approach. Cronk even suggests that regeneratively-farmed soils can lead to “more complex and nuanced flavours” in the grapes, and therefore in the resultant wines. “More research is needed to pinpoint the science behind the almost magical effect regenerative farming seems to have on wine quality,” he concedes, “but it’s interesting that most producers who go regenerative never look back.” The estate declined to comment on whether it was also looking into hybrid grape varieties. PIWIS certainly seem set to play their part in preventing yields from plummeting in the short term, and they are one option for those seeking to reduce how much they spray their vines, but perhaps French producers need a more transformative change – maybe they need to start thinking from the ground up if they want to weather the coming storm. As Napoléon Bonaparte, the ultimate victor of France’s political upheaval in the late 18th century, put it: “Revolutions are like the most noxious dung heaps, which bring into life the noblest vegetables.”

“An early flowering combined with warmer summers ended up with our first harvest in August, which was in 2003,” he said. “We’ve now had seven harvests in August [2003, 2007, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022],” which means that picking the grapes in this month was becoming “the norm” in Champagne, when late September was a common start date in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In more recent history, 2013 was an exception, as it was a late harvest, which he said “was mainly due to a late flowering”. Panaïotis then pointed out that the number of days between flowering and harvest “used to be 98-99 days, but now it is 87 days”. In 2003 and 2019, it was 80 and 81 days respectively, meaning that “the cycle is considerably shorter”. He added: “Eighty days is too short to have fully ripe grapes, taking into account physiological maturity.” More generally, he said that a shorter cycle means “losing potential complexity”. As for frost risk in Champagne, Panaïotis said that the region did not appear to have become more prone to damage from freezing conditions at the earliest stages of the growing season. “We can’t say that milder winters translate into an earlier bud break – so far it’s not the case,” he stated. While the region is still prone to spring frost damage – with Champagne, for example, “seeing 3% of the area damaged by frost this year – it’s not like we are seeing bud break in mid-March”, Panaïotis added. Nevertheless, as noted above, “If we look at the flowering period, it is a clear indication that springs have been warmer – from the late ’80s we have lost about two weeks: we are now flowering two weeks earlier than what we used to,” he stated. Finally, speaking about the current conditions in Champagne, which have been unusually wet in 2024, he said: “It is a good year for trees and hedges, but a bit more challenging for vineyards and grapes.” As db has covered extensively online during the past few months, 2024 has so far been an exceptionally rainy growing season, with the Comité Champagne noting that the “entire vineyard” has “suffered from strong but controlled mildew pressure”. Indeed, drawing attention to the contrasting conditions in Champagne year-on-year, Michel Drappier told me in mid-September that, while 2023 in Champagne “was like Morocco, this year, it is like the west coast of Ireland”. He added: “If global warming means that Champagne will have a future climate like this one, then we have a real problem.” So much for the problems facing the region. What are the potential solutions?

1. Improve vineyard soils

With a warming climate come extremes, be it the switch from drought to flooding, or from frost to heatwave, and the best manner to deal with such a threat is to improve the resistance of vines to variable weather. Some of these measures can be embarked upon now for quick results; others may take decades. One with immediate benefits is managing soils to improve the carbon content and microbiological life. “We have to prepare for the future,” says Moët & Chandon cellar master Benoît Gouez, before identifying a change in the former, which sees Moët adopt regenerative viticultural practices across its estate. “It means not having a monoculture any more: now we have grass and vegetation in the vineyard, which protects the soils and provides auto-nutrition,” he says, adding: “This is something you can implement quite fast.” Indeed, 100 hectares are currently managed this way. Aside from sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, the plant cover keeps soils cooler during the summer – and therefore the vines too – as well as wetter during dry periods. But if there’s intense rainfall, it helps the water seep into the ground, reducing the chance of flooding, while preventing soil erosion. Of course, Moët is not alone in taking this step, with all the major players trialling a similar approach – which sees minimal tilling of vineyard soils – while Maison Perrier-Jouët is aiming to go 100% regenerative across its vineyard estate by 2030, according to cellar master Séverine Frerson. Meanwhile, Champagne Louis Roederer, which manages its 240ha estate organically, is seeing a benefit in freshness. According to cellar master, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, the practices produce wines with a lower pH and more dry extract, which he attributes to the fact that the vines root more deeply, and yield 20% less than those in conventional farming systems.

2. Reduce planting density

Less immediate, but no less significant in terms of adapting vineyard management to a changing climate, is a gradual shift towards lower-density plantings in Champagne. Called ‘vignes semi-larges’, the recently-approved initiative sees permitted vine row spacing increase from a previous maximum of 1.5m to 2.2m, with many benefits observed from the change. One is easier mechanisation, another is better resistance to dry spells, while a further plus is a lower susceptibility to spring frost, as well as an improvement in air circulation, which can reduce fungal disease infection. Gouez says: “We are transforming the way our vineyards are planted, from high-density to ‘semi-larges’ vineyards, which we have done on 50ha, and it has shown benefits in terms of carbon footprint and better protection of the vines.” Indeed, this wider spacing allows vines to produce more foliage, which contributes to a lowering of the sugar content and an increase in the acidity levels in the grapes. However, as Gouez himself admits, this will be a gradual change that will only come with the replanting of vineyards. Notably, the removal of old vines is, however, a further change that some in the region believe needs to be made. While established, older vines tend to produce lower yields of more intenselyflavoured berries, they also have lower levels of acidity. Odilon de Varine, head winemaker at Champagne Gosset, comments: “The vineyards in Champagne are too old on average, resulting in less malic acid in the musts.” He advocates replanting with younger stock, arguing: “So, the first action to be taken should be the renewal of vines… Younger vines would lead to a higher level of acidity and less accumulated sugar.”

3. Plant ‘forgotten’ grapes

If the region is to start removing its older vine stock, what should it replant with? For a start, growers should consider rootstocks that are better adapted to handle long periods without rainfall because, although average annual precipitation has changed little in Champagne, it tends to fall in more intense bursts, with greater gaps between episodes. As a result, François Moutard, cellar master at Champagne Moutard, says that he is changing the rootstocks as he replants at his estate, “adding some more resistance to water stress with 41B or Fercal rootstock”.” But the main development when it comes to increasing vine resilience for forecast warming and drying in the region concerns grape varieties – with some looking back, others trialling the new, and a few doing both – when it comes to finding a grape-based solution to retaining freshness and quality in Champagne. Those with an eye to the past include Bollinger, which has over the last decade been replanting the ‘forgotten’ grapes of Champagne in a bid to combat the effects of summertime heatwaves. While the region today is almost entirely covered with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, split roughly into equal parts, historically seven varieties were in regular use, with the other four comprising Pinot Gris (called Fromenteau in Champagne), Pinot Blanc (known as Blanc Vrai in the region), Arbane and Petit Meslier. And it is the latter two that hold particular interest for Bollinger because of their high levels of natural acidity.

Bollinger cellar master Denis Bunner explains: “In 2018, which was a very early year, with our harvest starting on 23 August giving very mature grapes, we found that the two old varieties, Petit Meslier and Arbane, had a pH below 3.0, because they ripen more slowly.” While Bollinger is working with the historic grapes of Champagne on a trial basis, there are other producers who are already making and selling bottles using the old varieties of the region. Notable among these is Champagne Château de Bligny, which makes the Cuvée 6 Cépages, combining the three classic varieties with Arbane, Fromenteau and Petit Meslier, and Champagne Drappier, which produces the Quattuor Blanc de Quatre Blancs, comprising equal parts Chardonnay, Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc (see box, page 78). The latter producer has also released its first Champagne made using Fromenteau. Meanwhile, Champagne Moutard makes a varietal Arbane, based on a vineyard planted by François Moutard’s father Lucien in 1952 – a man “who had great foresight”, says François, who also notes that this particular grape is “seeing a resurrection” because “it resists heat very well”.

4. Select for resistance

The region’s largest Champagne producer, Moët & Chandon, is also looking to the past, but incorporating the big three grapes too. Last year, the maison inaugurated a vine collection called Essentia, which comprises as many as 1,800 different grapes. Called a living library, the experimental plantation is made up of cuttings from vines planted before 1970, either from within Moët’s own vineyards, or from its suppliers, with each plant chosen for its special characteristics. “It could be remarkable because of the shape of the grape, the timing of maturation, or its resistance to drought,” records Gouez. Having started this process in 2019, Moët now has 600 different Pinot Noir vines, 600 of Meunier, 600 of Chardonnay, and 300 ‘others’, which include the aforementioned ‘forgotten varieties’, as well as further grapes, such as a colour mutation of Chardonnay that has pink skins. “There is a lot of genetic variation within each grape variety, and the idea is to identify and preserve the genetic diversity of our classic varieties,” says Gouez. The next step is selecting from this nursery the best raw material for changing conditions – whether it be the vine’s heat, drought or mildew resistance – and planting those vines for Champagne making.

5. Trial hybrid grapes

While Gouez believes that there are “solutions for the future with our current varieties”, Moët is also trialling hybrid grapes, such as Voltis, a new vine variety that is more disease-resistant and requires less use of protective products. However, claiming to be the first producer in Champagne to grow all eight grapes authorised for use in the appellation was Champagne Drappier in May 2023, when head of the house Michel Drappier said he was planting Voltis alongside the full suite of seven non-hybrid varieties that were already planted at his property in the Côte des Bars.

Voltis is a white grape, and has been created by France’s INRA and Germany’s Julius Kühn as part of a special project launched in 2000 to develop PIWI varieties. The new variety contains genes from Vitis berlandieri, Vitis rupestris, Vitis vinifera and Muscadinia, and has been bred to resist both powdery and downy mildew. Its benefits are particularly apt after a vintage like 2024, in which a wet summer created immense disease pressure for growers. The inclusion of Voltis within the Champagne region’s rules – known as the cahier des charges – means that it is the first PIWI grape to be included in an AOC specification. Voltis is only authorised on an experimental basis, with plantings limited to less than 5% of a property. Also, any wine made from Voltis can only be used up to a maximum of 10% of a blend. Such rules will be in place over the next 10 years, during which time the quality of Champagne produced from the grape will be analysed – and, should Voltis not yield a fizz of sufficient quality, after this trial period it could be removed from Champagne’s cahier des charges.

6. Alter site selection

Finally on the viticultural side, winemakers are working with Champagne’s existing grapes to craft crisp-tasting fizz. As Charles Duval-Leroy from his family’s Champagne house rightly points out, the timing of harvest can be “adjusted” to ensure grapes are “picked at optimal ripeness levels”, while “preserving acidity”. Another measure that’s available, to the négociant at least, is altering where the grapes are sourced from. Florent Roques-Boizel, CEO at Champagne Boizel, explains: “We have in recent years adapted our approach to preserve the style of our cuvées… in our cru selection we favour some cooler (north-facing, often) villages: a good example is Grauves in the Côte des Blancs, where we have increased our presence recently.” He adds: “We have also increased the share of Chardonnay and Meunier in our blends, decreasing slightly the Pinot Noir, and also increased the percentage of reserve wines.”

7. Increase phenolic levels

As for the winemaking, cellar masters appear to be looking for ways to ensure that Champagne retains an impression of freshness, even if acidity levels are lower in the wines (and down on average by 1.3g/litre over the past 30 years, according to Bollinger ’s Bunner). To do this, one technique is to increase the level of phenolics in the wine. When elevated, these bring a dry and gently bitter sensation that produces a pleasant, mouthwatering sensation. It’s also a development that riper grapes appear to favour. Gouez explains: “What we are looking for is freshness – and that is not just acidity. There is another element that we didn’t discuss 20 years ago – and coming into discussion today – and that is bitterness. “It is something new for Champagne: with maturation earlier in the season due to higher temperatures and higher levels of light, we are getting more aromas, more sugar and less acidity, which is for the better, because green Champagne doesn’t exist any more.” Nevertheless, the decline in natural acidity is encouraging winemakers like Gouez to better understand how to extract bitter phenolics, which he says are like grapefruit, rather than pea-green. “Like red wines have rustic and noble tannins, in Champagne we want noble tannins that give a sensation of freshness,” he explains.

8. Block malolactic fermentation

There are other tools that a winemaker can employ to compensate for reduced acidity levels in Champagne. One often touted is preventing the conversion of sharp-tasting malic acid to softer lactic acid, a process that can be ‘blocked’ by the addition of sulphur dioxide, as well as keeping temperatures low and sterile-filtering the wine. Most cellar masters do seem to be at least experimenting with retaining malic acid in their wines, although an August heatwave can see the levels fall to such an extent that there isn’t much to keep. Furthermore, the conversion is beneficial for the wine, many producers believe. As Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave, Vincent Chaperon, tells db: “Today, we are still performing 100% malolactic fermentation – we still have many parameters in our hands today, and we don’t need to use this one yet, but we are experimenting. Malolactic fermentation brings complexity; it is another fermentation, and each one brings complexity for both grapes.”

9. Reduce the dosage

Such a Champagne as Blanc Singulier also draws attention to a further change taking place in the region to compensate for richer, riper styles of Champagne, and that is the reduction of sugar levels in the liqueur d’expédition – the final addition of wine, along with sugar and sulphur dioxide, after the disgorgement process to replace the lost liquid In the case of Ruinart’s new cuvée, it is, in fact, the producer ’s first zero-dosage Champagne. Another name that’s also just released its inaugural ‘brut nature’ is Moët, with its new flagship label: Collection Impériale Création N°1. But the house has also been dropping the sugar levels in its Brut Impérial – Champagne’s best-selling product. Gouez tells db that he has cut the dosage by almost half over the past 20 years, from around 13g/l to 7g/l today, “and we are working on lower”, he says. His Grand Vintage has also seen sugar levels fall, from 11g/l to 5g/l, while the next release may be as low as 3g/l. However, in reference to his category-leading brut NV, he says: “We have a natural richness in our wines, which comes from the grapes and reserve wines – we have much more reserve than in the past – and the wine spends longer on its lees in our cellars, so it doesn’t ask for that much dosage.”

10. Expand the reserve

As for the issue of reserves of wine from previous vintages, this has to be Champagne’s greatest insurance against the impact of climate change. Not only does a large store of wine provide a guarantee of supply if a harvest is struck by a weather-related problem, be it frost, hail, drought or moisture-induced mildew, but this back-up supply gives a range of wine styles to balance the variable character of the most recent harvest, known as the base wine. Importantly, rules around harvesting in Champagne encourage producers to build up reserves. Indeed, the maximum reserve level for Champagne has been increased from 8,000 kg/ha to 10,000 kg/ha, meaning that producers can hold the equivalent of an entire vintage in tank. However, the way in which this wine is stored is important. Michel Drappier explains: “We have invested in more oak tanks for our reserve wines, so over 50% is now stored in wooden foudres, because the wines kept in oak retain more freshness – and there’s not too much oakiness in the taste, because it’s such a big volume.” He has also just completed an underground wine store for keeping reserves of wine naturally cool. “We dug a big hole in the côteaux and placed the stainless steel vats directly in the ground, with the temperature of the soil keeping the temperature low – so there is no need for air conditioning, and the reserve wines can be kept at a constant 10o C throughout the year.” And Drappier, like others (such as growers R Pouillon & Fils and Bérêche & Fils, along with houses such as Jacques Selosse and Henriot, and co-ops, notably Palmer), is looking to keep some of this store of wine as a ‘réserve perpetuelle’, in other words a vast tank holding a blend of older harvests. An increasingly common approach in the region, it’s also one that a famous name like Champagne Louis Roederer has made prominent. As its cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon announced in 2021, the maison has ditched its Brut Premier NV, moving to a slightly pricier, multi-vintage entry-point to its range called Collection, which is a numbered cuvée with a slightly different expression each year, depending on the blend of wines used in its creation. At the core of the new cuvée is a réserve perpetuelle, which includes wines back to 2012, and which is refreshed annually with wines from the most recent harvest. Motivating the change is a “fight for freshness”, says Lécaillon, who comments that the huge vat holding a blend of past harvests was a better way to prevent oxidation than storing wines from different vintages separately in smaller tanks. Indeed, this development, and the others noted above, draw attention to the reason why Champagne is the global benchmark for sparkling wine quality, despite changing weather patterns – if producers are not adapting practices in the vineyard, they are coming up with creative solutions in the cellar.

IN 2008, Portugal’s Symington family planted a half-hectare plot of Alicante Bouschet at its prized vineyard, Quinta do Vesúvio, a historic estate in the wild upper Douro where wine has been made for 200 years, and which the Symingtons have owned since 1989. A single quinta brand, Vesúvio’s vintage Ports are routinely rated by top writers at 96 points and above. Yet, with 130 planted hectares, that half-hectare of Alicante Bouschet was merely a drop in Vesúvio’s lagar, and the grape was not listed as a contributor to the 2012 Vesuvio vintage Port. Nevertheless, when the 2022 Vesúvio vintage was recently released, the amount of Alicante Bouschet in the final blend had suddenly leapt to 22%, the rest of the vintage coming from two better-known Douro varieties – Touriga Nacional (45%) and Touriga Franca (33%). It marks a significant step-change in a traditional region where Alicante Bouschet was barely grown 25 years ago. What happened at Vesúvio during the past decade to engender this warm embrace of Alicante Bouschet? And what might it mean for the future make-up of other premium Ports? “Alicante is a variety that has been present in the Douro for many years and exists in field blends of old vineyards, so it is therefore an authorised variety in the Douro,” says Charles Symington, who since 1997 has been in charge of winemaking for all the Symington Port brands – Vesúvio, Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s – as well as its table wines in the Douro and elsewhere in Portugal. Quiet and unassuming, yet engaging, Symington is perhaps more experimental in his approach to winemaking than most of his Douro colleagues. While single blocks of Alicante vines have gradually been replacing traditional field blends in replants, Symington was the first to give Alicante its own, distinct vineyard spot. “Portugal is today the country in which Alicante is most widely planted, and monovarietal [table] wines made from it are widely available,” Symington notes, especially to the south in Alentejo. “These wines raised my interest in the variety, as did the performance of Alicante in our old vineyards of field blends.” Today, he says, the Symington family has a total of 80ha of Alicante, “which is around 8% of our vineyard area in the Douro”, and the amount of Alicante in Vesúvio vintages has increased accordingly: 12% in 2017, 18% in 2019 and 22% in 2022. In the 2018 vintage, there was a 40% co-ferment of Alicante and Touriga Franca, another Charles Symington experiment.

Raising interest

It should be noted that Vesúvio’s embrace of Alicante remains an outlier as far as most other major Port houses are concerned, although the grape has raised the interest of many of the Douro’s independent farmers who supply grapes to red Douro DOC still wine producers. “We do have some Alicante Bouschet, but at 1ha out of our 192ha of planted vines, it is a pretty minor element for us,” says Christian Seely, managing director of AXA Millésimes, owner of Quinta do Noval. “It goes into the blends for our red [table] wines.” David Guimaraens, technical director and head winemaker at The Fladgate Partnership, whose Ports include Taylor ’s and Fonseca, says only its Croft vineyards have any Alicante Bouschet growing in them at present – about 2% of the total. “Currently, Sogrape does not use the Alicante Bouschet grape in its Port wines, whether ruby, vintage or tawny,” says Luís Sottomayor, head of winemaking for Sogrape Ports (Offley, Sandeman). “In the Douro region, this grape is considered residual and is not a focus for us.” “We really haven’t planted any Sezão [Sousão] or Alicante for colour,” says Dirk Niepoort of his eponymous family of Ports, but he adds that among independent farmers there is probably “a trend for doing so”. As Niepoort notes, Alicante Bouschet is a teinturier – a somewhat rare category of grapes that have red pigment in their pulp as well as in their skins – an attractive asset in a wine such as vintage Port, where colour is very important. But that is only one of the characteristics that Symington and other Alicante advocates value in the grape, many of which are especially attractive in a time of global warming. With recent advances in DNA technology, the genetic family trees of most wine grapes have now been charted, but the chronology of their origins and how and when they moved from region to region across Europe is usually lost in time. Not so with Alicante Bouschet. First cultivated in 1866 by Henri Bouschet in Languedoc-Roussillon, Alicante is a cross between the wellknown Grenache and the lesser-known Petit Bouschet. The latter was a creation of Henri’s father, Louis Bouschet, when he crossed Teinturier du Cher with Aramon in search of more colour. No-one seems to know why Alicante was apparently named after a Spanish city when it originated in the South of France. Alicante Bouschet quickly made its way to adjacent countries, especially Spain, and the Reynolds family, which still produces wine in the Alentejo, claims to have first brought the grape to Portugal during the late 1800s. The variety possibly then migrated from there north to the Douro, but Guimaraens, whose family has been in the Port wine business for six generations, thinks Alicante may have come to the valley by other means.

Intense hue: Charles Symington values Alicante Bouschet for its deep colour “I believe that Alicante Bouschet entered the Douro Valley at the end of the 19th century when the vineyards were being replanted after phylloxera devastated the region,” he says. “It was used in part to replace elderberries, which had long been used to give Ports more colour.” Alicante still has the same attraction of lending a vibrant intensity to vintage wines. “Port winemakers are focused on colour, and our window of opportunity to extract colour in a 36-hour ferment is short,” Charles Symington points out. Alicante also has flavour appeal, says David Baverstock, chief winemaker for the Winestone Group, which recently purchased Krohn, a venerable Port house. “Because of the Grenache parentage in Alicante Bouschet, I think it adds not only colour but also fruit depth and tannin structure,” he says. At Vesúvio, Symington adds: “The profile is normally soft but concentrated, the principal contribution from this variety being on the palate.”

Vineyard attraction

Yet perhaps the major commercial attraction of Alicante Bouschet may lie in the vineyard. “The principal varieties in the Douro are long-cycle varieties,” Symington explains. “Alicante is a shortercycle variety, being the first variety to be picked. This characteristic alone is interesting, as from a risk perspective Alicante is ready to pick at the start of September, when it is most unlikely that the weather will have turned against us. It’s also resistant to hydric stress and heat, a quality that is ever more important in the Douro. From a logistic perspective, having an early-ripening variety is interesting.” Baverstock agrees. “I think Alicante has huge potential in the Douro, with climate change also a factor. The teinturiers are great for resisting the increasingly hotter and drier conditions. One other thing about the attraction of Alicante Bouschet, especially for farmers, is its ability to produce quality fruit with high yields.” In this area of low yields, even a modest increase is important. “While Alicante Bouschet has in some places been associated with high yields and low quality,” Symington says, “in the Douro this is far from being the case, [as it is] a variety that produces no more than 5,000kg/ha due to the low organic material of our soils and low rainfall.” Although mildew is not as prevalent a hazard in the Douro as it is in some wetter regions, Alicante Bouschet has thick skins which help discourage mould. This made it attractive to growers in California’s Central Valley when shipping Alicante clusters long distances by train to winemakers on America’s east coast. Is there, nonetheless, an upper limit to the percentage of Alicante in vintage blends? Symington, the only one with any real experience thus far, says: “Alicante is a dominant variety, so to achieve complexity and elegance in a vintage blend Alicante would not be more than 20%. I find that 10% often works well.” Of course, when one grape variety is increased within a vineyard or within a blend, it tends to replace something else. In the case of Vesúvio, it is Tinta Barroca, which, Symington says, “has sadly become a casualty of climate change”. But David Guimaraens points out a major reason why some houses may be hesitant about adding or increasing Alicante.  

 

Shifting waters: might Alicante Bouschet become more prevalent in the Douro? “Our philosophy at Fladgate is that each one of our vintage Ports is recognised by its style, by each vineyard and what is planted there, each with different varieties used in different proportions,” he says. In other words, don’t alter what consumers expect of a brand. So, while Guimaraens wants to preserve the minor Alicante contribution to Croft’s vintage Port, there is none of it in Taylor’s or Fonseca, and he doesn’t plan to add any. “Alicante Bouschet has always been one of the many approved grape varieties in the Douro demarcated wine region, although not one of the official ‘recommended’ ones,” says Ana Brochado Coelho, who heads communication for regional generic body the IVDP. “Over the last two decades, however, it has found favour with some Douro Port and table wine producers.” Indeed, an additional incentive for the expansion of Alicante Bouschet into premier Ports is that it has become popular in Douro red table wines. Some producers, including Symington, use the same vineyards to supply grapes for both their Ports and their table wines. Maéva Fonsino, international senior brand manager for Porto Cruz, says: ”We do have plantings of Alicante Bouschet, but this variety is not used in our Port wine blends. The experiments we have made with Alicante do not reveal it to be as satisfactory as the traditional Tourigas, which when perfectly ripe produce lovely LBV [late bottled vintage] wines and Vintage Ports.” Fonsino also argues that “the essence of Port wine is not the grape varieties. Its distinctiveness is that Port will always be a blend of the traditional varieties of the Douro. It is not possible to say that one grape variety, like Alicante Bouschet, is by itself, better than others.”

Hearty embracing

That said, because Symington Family Estates is the largest producer of premium Ports, its hearty embracing of Alicante Bouschet will likely continue to influence other Douro producers and, especially, farmers. Nor is Charles Symington limiting Alicante usage to his Vesúvio wine. The most recent vintages of other Symington Ports are not far behind – there is 8% Alicante in the 2017 Cockburn’s, for example, 6% in the 2020 Graham’s and 3% in the 2017 Dow’s. In spite of the Douro considering itself a region steeped in tradition, the trade has always been quick to follow disrupters such as the Symingtons. Vertical rows and block planting in vineyards, automated treading machines in the wineries, pink Port, Portonic and Douro table wines are just a handful of examples of recent innovations readily adopted by Port houses in the region. Perhaps in a similar fashion, as global warming continues to disrupt wine regions, Alicante Bouschet is on the verge of becoming a key beneficiary in the Douro – and the latest in a wave of big changes coming to the Port capital.

   

INNOVATION IS the name of the game for closures companies. It’s all about having the newest line, the most up-to-date technology, the ultimate sustainable solution. And not for nothing – keeping up with changing consumer habits is vital to their survival, particularly as the ongoing decline in global wine consumption plagues not only winemakers, but bottlers and closure makers too. Retaining your “competitive edge” is key to securing your future, says Kateřina Slezáková, marketing manager at Czech firm Vinolok. The way to do this, she says, is through a diverse product offering. “To stay relevant in the evolving market, Vinolok must continuously innovate and adapt to changing consumer behaviours,” she says. Wine consumption has been in decline in its traditional continental European markets for decades, but for many years this volume decline was offset by growth in other markets – the likes of the UK, US and APAC regions including Japan, China and Australia. However, over the past 10 years, these former growth markets have also started to see volume declines. “The new generation have distinct habits,” says Nuno Silva, global marketing manager at Portuguese cork manufacturer MA Silva. “At the moment, this means a reduction in wine consumption, and we need to be aligned to that reality.” According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, in the UK’s case, per capita consumption of wine peaked in 2009 and has been in decline ever since, except for a small temporary boost during the Covid pandemic. On a per-adult basis, the UK now drinks about 14% less wine than it did in 2000. As such, the stakes are only getting higher for closures companies battling it out for market share, and firms are increasingly feeling the pressure to be everything to everyone. “Everyone is looking for something unique and distinctive,” says Paola Cermisoni, marketing manager overseas & Australia at French closures giant Crealis. “That’s why our portfolio is very large and dynamic, to offer several solutions.” Crealis came into being only two years ago following the merging of eight different closures brands in 2022. The company now produces foils, capsules, wire hoods, corks and flanged corks for the wine trade. But the formation of the group also gave Crealis capacity to cater to spirits brands and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as oils, vinegars and fragrances. The merger, involving Enoplastic, Sparflex, Le Muselet Valentin, Rivercap, Maverick Enterprise Inc, Corchomex, PE.DI and Supercap, points to precisely how much the ‘more is more’ sentiment is taking over the closures game.

And Crealis is not alone in its expansion strategy. In April 2024, fellow closures company Guala, which previously specialised in the production of closures for spirits and wines, announced its acquisition of crown closures manufacturer Astir Vitogiannis for €136 million in a move designed to expand its presence in the beer market. Guala CEO Mauro Caneschi said at the time that the acquisition represented “a further important step in the group’s growth strategy of strengthening its market position in glass bottle closures, alongside the goal to continue growing the business in exciting international markets and within the luxury sector”.

INNOVATION COUNTS

Diversification doesn’t always mean tapping into other sectors. Diam Bouchage has been manufacturing natural cork closures for wine brands for more than 20 years, and has no plans to move away from the category, or to share its focus elsewhere. The cork company is, however, no stranger to innovation, and commercial and marketing director François Margot says the shift towards diversification is just as key within the wine sector itself. “We see the market going very, very clearly towards differentiation,” he adds. Diam’s latest innovation comes in the form of two cork closures specially designed for bottling and maturing wines “sur lattes”. A response to the growing number of Champagne producers returning to tradition by performing a second fermentation under cork, Diam’s newest offerings – MD5Ti and MD10Ti – are designed to replace metal crown caps during tirage. “Tirage under cork was used in the past and is still part of a very old tradition,” Margot explains. Liqueur de tirage is a liquid solution of yeast, wine and sugar that is added to the still base wine in order to create the secondary fermentation in bottle. The amount of sugar determines the level of dryness in the wine, as well as the atmospheric pressure in the bottle.

The inconsistency of oxygen ingress from one bottle to the next, as well as the risk of taint, forced the method out of fashion. But modern cork technology means closures companies can control gas exchange more efficiently, lowering the risk for winemakers. Responding to a growth in interest, Diam Bouchage has been working with Champagne houses to adapt its new technology – just one of the innovations the company has been formulating. “We have transformed our cork into an oenological tool by creating a range of around 20 different corks, from which the winemaker can pick and choose, depending on wine quality, and depending on what they want to do with the wine,” Margot says. “It is a real challenge, because our company is shifting from a cork producer to basically a winemaker’s assistant,” he adds, but staying ahead of the curve is essential in a sector where individuality is highly prized. “It’s about giving options to winemakers to match what they want their wines to become.”

LOOKING GOOD

Product diversity matters just as much for what the consumer sees as to what they taste. “Established brands have their place on the shelf, but if you want to buy a different wine that you don’t know, the leading reason [for purchase] will always be the packaging,” says Elena Zaharieva, director of investor relations at Herti. As she puts it: “Anyone would buy a bottle of wine that looks good.” For Zaharieva, “bright colours and shiny elements” attract the customer’s eye. “Every manufacturer of wine strives for their product to look good and be noticed and chosen by the customer in the store. A beautiful bottle, a new label, a multicoloured cap or foil print – all this contributes to the look of the wine and makes the choice easier for the customer”. Vinolok’s Kateřina Slezáková believes differentiation is key here too. “Luxurious packaging implies a high-end product, while a minimalist design might suggest modernity and simplicity,” she says. “It influences consumer perceptions, differentiates the product from competitors, conveys vital information and creates an emotional connection.

Investing in high-quality, thoughtful design and packaging can significantly impact sales and brand loyalty.” Not only are closures companies offering something unique to wine brands, but to consumers too. Personalisation has become key for companies like Italy’s Tapi Group. “Consumers are increasingly looking for unique and personalised products, which extends to packaging and closures,” says Paolo Boratto, marketing manager at Tapi. Embossings, debossings, prints, engravings and aged effect looks, as well as custom engravings, are all part of the package, and Boratto believes it helps brands to connect more personally with consumers. Getting the bottle of wine into the hands of the consumer is ultimately the goal. If closures companies can provide wine brands with one of the tools to do just that, they may just be able to secure their future for the years to come.

“Even in Saumur-Champigny, there are people who make cheap wine, and they have found it hard,” says de la Brosse. “People don’t want to drink that [level] any more – and, of course, we are still cheaper than Bordeaux or Burgundy.” In all-white Vouvray, producers have found the going easier than in red appellations, but even here there have been changes. “We have the same number of customers, but they drink less, and now they want a premium cuvée,” says Guillaume Paris of Domaine Paris Père et Fils. “Twenty years ago, we didn’t need to export to sell our production; now it’s essential.”  

Common theme

This increased emphasis on exports is a theme that is repeated across the region, and it’s a big focus for the InterLoire generic body, which is hoping to increase the proportion of its members’ bottles sold abroad from the current level of 21% to 30% of sales by 2030. With its wide diversity of wine styles, myriad appellations and a large number of pretty small producers, gaining greater recognition for the wider Loire region is central to any expansion, says InterLoire’s president, Sophie Talbot. She is encouraging producers from all appellations to brand themselves as Vins de Loire to achieve it; to use the overarching pan-regional descriptor, as well as any appellation descriptors. “We don’t want to erase the personalities of our AOPs or PGIs,” she says. “But we want everyone to see they can be part of a common identity.” This seems sensible, although it will rely on significant buy-in from a large number of growers to be successful, and will need to be maintained over a prolonged period to gain resonance with consumers who can’t pronounce Loire, never mind find the region on a map. A further factor making a prolonged assault on export markets difficult is – frustratingly – out of the hands of the region’s producers: vintage variability. The Loire’s cool northerly location means that its wines have generally weathered global warming pretty well (of which more later) – at least when it comes to style. However, vintage sizes are another story. Warm winters and early vine activity have left plants exceptionally vulnerable to spring frosts, while summer hail and mildew caused by higher humidity have taken their toll too. The table on the facing page shows this with demoralising clarity. There have been only two vintages since 2013 that are notably larger than average. Four vintages, on the other hand – 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021 – have been very much lower than the norm. “We are more and more sensitive to frost,” says Gilles Colinet, owner of Château de Berrye. “It’s about every three or four years. In 2021, we lost half our harvest.” At Château de Valmer in Vouvray, the description of recent vintages offered by Jean de Saint Venant is a litany of woe. He explains: “[After] 2019, it was Covid, so we only sold half our production; 2020 was dry, so we were down 20%; 2021 was a disaster; 2022 was dry, so down again; and then, in 2023, there was a lot of volume, but quality was a problem.” De Saint Venant reckons he has lost the equivalent of one year’s-worth of production since 2019, and two years’- worth since 2010. Making up for that kind of lost income is tough – particularly for a region where bottle prices are affordable, rather than expensive. At UK Loire specialist Yapp Brothers, CEO Tom Ashworth says he has “definitely seen more people selling up or giving up than in other regions”. For instance, one of Yapp’s favourite Muscadet producers recently sold his vineyards and became a landscape gardener. The plus side, perhaps, is that land prices here remain relatively affordable. At €10,000–€15,000/hectare, it’s possible for new or young hopefuls to gain a foothold in good regions with mature vines. Nicolas Gonnin, a young organic, natural wine producer with the 5ha Vignoble du Rab, is perhaps typical – and he’s optimistic. “We’re suffering [with volumes] at the moment,” he says, “but in general we are less affected by climate change than in Bordeaux or further south.” This is a good point. Growers in StNicolas-de-Bourgeuil have teamed up to blanket their vineyards with more than 100 frost fans – a huge investment, but one which has largely safeguarded volumes. And, once volume fluctuations are minimised, they are happy with what they are seeing. The Loire’s temperatures now are similar to those of Bordeaux in the 1960s – and this has been good news for the fruit profile of the region’s Cabernet Francs. “Those green notes are a thing of the past,” says Louis Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves in SaumurChampigny. “I’m 100% sure Cabernet Franc is a grape for the future – it’s a way to bring back freshness.”

Signature red

The impact of climate change is such that many winemakers now think the Loire’s signature red variety actually performs better in cooler years than warmer ones, when the fruit is brighter and the tannins usually better-mannered. Higher summer temperatures are leading to a growing interest in Côt (Malbec) too. AOP Touraine is increasing the minimum amount of the grape required in its reds from 25% to 50% by 2030. AOP Touraine Amboise reds have had to be 100% Côt since 2019. Not that it’s as simple as ‘warmer equals better’ for red varieties. Etienne Neethling, professor in viticulture and oenology at the Ecole Supérieure des Agricultures in Angers says that making red wines in elevated temperatures is actually more challenging than whites, with sugar ripeness often running way ahead of phenolic ripeness, and growers forced, as a result, to choose between high alcohol or unripe tannins. Sauvignon Blanc growers, too, are finding life awkward, with the Loire’s trademark grassy notes being superseded by more tropical flavours. Trimming back vine canopy to reduce ripening is helping for the moment but, as Lionel Gosseaume admits: “That might not be enough in 25 years’ time.” As a result, we can expect to see forgotten, high-acid old varieties such as Orbois (Arbois) and MeslierSaint-François (currently under experimentation) making a return in some shape or form in the coming years. Given all the above, the big winner of the last 20 years in the Loire is clear. Chenin Blanc is on a roll. Its naturally high acidity is allowing it to navigate higher temperatures without losing structure – any grape that can survive the sun in Stellenbosch isn’t going to struggle too much with a degree more of heat in Saumur – and its ability to make still whites and sparkling give it real flexibility. It helps, too, that white wine and fizz are on consumers’ wish list. “There’s a huge demand for Chenin Blanc,” says Clotilde Legrand of the eponymous Domaine Clotilde Legrand. “For white wine in general, but for Chenin Blanc in particular. It can produce very good wine in any soils. Different, but still good.” It’s a point that has been made before by Ken Forrester in South Africa: that the variety is “just at home barefoot as it is in high heels”. Interestingly, Loire producers are quite open about how the work done by the Cape’s wineries with the variety has helped to revive their own fortunes. In terms of total plantings, Chenin is very close to Sauvignon in the Loire, and it’s growing, with some of the more optimistic Cabernet Franc vineyards, in particular, slowly being replaced. Saumur growers point out that their appellation was almost entirely white until the global demand for red wines in the 1980s saw wholesale Cabernet Franc plantings.

Photo courtesy: ©InterLoire “It’s possible that Chenin Blanc could overtake Sauvignon Blanc, which has big problems with global warming,” says Guillaume Paris. “With Chenin, even if we harvest late, we keep the freshness.” Perhaps the best indication of Chenin’s revival is that growers in Saumur have bestowed their ultimate accolade on it: creating six Dénominations Géographiques Complémentaires (DGCs) – effectively crus in waiting – for the still wines. Whether or not the world needs more layers of classification is, perhaps, a moot point. But their creation certainly illustrates the direction of travel and, growers say, will help them to charge more for their best wines. And here, there is consensus. If there’s one thing that the Loire has across the board, it’s value for money. “On a qualitative basis, the top Chenins are on a par with good Burgundy,” says Yapp Brothers’ Tom Ashworth. “You can still be drinking really good Savennières with some bottle age in a restaurant for £50–£60, which you can’t with Burgundy. Prices have gone up – sometimes by 30%. But it’s still difficult to pay more than €10 for Loire wines from an export point of view. Burgundy starts at that level whereas, with the exception of a few star names, hardly anything in the Loire is over that. “It’s still fantastic value – and hugely underrated.”

However, with the recent Labour victory in the General Election, the industry is hoping these measures won’t come into force in six months’ time. “We are lobbying hard to get this policy scrapped before it’s too late,” Colley explains. “We hope that the new Government will recognise how complicated this new system will be for businesses operating in retail, hospitality and the supply base, and instead look to bring in policies that stimulate growth, rather than stifle it.” It remains to be seen whether the new Government will heed the concerns of businesses across the UK, alongside strong lobbying from the WSTA. The King’s Speech on 17 July made no mention of excise duty, and it looks like we will have to wait until the Autumn Statement from newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the earliest to see whether the new rules will be amended. Bearing in mind the fact that the much protested VI1 forms were hanging over the industry’s head for more than three years before being abandoned only two weeks before they were due to come into effect, there may not be any progress until as late as January next year, according to the WSTA. In the meantime, some producers have been trying to get around the issue through reformulation to bring the ABV down: already, Concha y Toro’s Isla Negra brand has switched to a lower ABV on its leading wines to bring them under 11%. Bearing in mind the popularity of no and low options, is this indicative that a new category may be emerging in response to changes to duty banding? Morrisons wine sourcing manager Charles Cutteridge argues that there is a role for mid-strength wines at the entry level, “where the duty breaks offer a clear value message”. “Where we can naturally lower alcohol, then there’s definitely something,” he explains, citing Muscadet or Vinho Verde and other classic wines where you might expect the level to be around 10.5%. “But are we going to see 8% Shiraz at £10, or that sort of category of ‘sessionable’ wines? I think not.”

DIFFERENT APPROACH

There are, Cutteridge feels, clear limitations to reformulation, not least because “it requires a completely different approach in the vineyard”. Plus, with the UK the only country trying to re-engineer wines for this reason, “it doesn’t make sense to do [it] for just one market”. “For now, we’re just going to make the best wines we can. We’ve got our reformulation programme which is going well, but there are no wider plans to introduce mid-strength,” Cutteridge says. “We need to fight for our customers to keep people in the category,” Clive Donaldson, director of beverages at Asda’s IPL International Procurement & Logistics division, told db at a recent tasting. “We’re trying to make intelligent choices around lowering ABV, where it makes sense to do it. You can create a lot of Frankenstein wines by letting ABV drive decision, but obviously if there’s a sensible decision… it’s a no-brainer.” Waitrose buying manager James Matthewson agrees. “We have done that on a couple of our blends to reduce the alcohol – but only where we feel it doesn’t change the product so significantly that people would notice,” he says. “We’re not going through a programme of taking all of our 13% wines to that level, because we think the product would suffer, and it will not be authentic. And authenticity is really important to us.” Despite the uncertainty around duty rates and other legislation such as extended retail responsibility due to come into force later down the line, there remains much to be optimistic about, according to Colley. With a decisive Election result and the introduction of a new government, “this will bring a degree of stability and restore some confidence,” he said.

RETAIL EXPANSION

This can be seen in the increased commitment to bricks-and-mortar retail from the likes of Majestic, which also bought Vagabond and nine of its bars out of administration in April. Amathus Drinks is adding five new stores over the next few months, and there are new highend retail ventures from Sotheby’s, Berry Bros. & Rudd and Justerini & Brooks. Furthermore, Asda is accelerating its growth strategy in convenience retail, opening 110 new outlets after acquiring stores from the Co-op Group and petrol forecourt firm EG Group. With falling global wine consumption, the laws of supply and demand mean there is value to be found around the world, according to Asda’s Donaldson, notably in Australia and France, while Portugal “continues to offer both interesting wines and some very good value”, he says. “There have been a few big winners for us over the past year or so,” Colley agrees. “Sparkling is performing strongly, particularly English Sparkling and wines like crémant and Cap Classique, with some customers trading out of Champagne and into other traditional method sparkling wines.”

‘Sparkling is performing strongly, particularly English Sparkling and wines like crémant and Cap Classique’ Sales in Majestic’s expanded, more premium offers from the US and South Africa are up double digits, while “we’re seeing more and more customers trade up to discover new wines”, he says Meanwhile, fine wine sales at Christmas were up more than 13%, Colley adds. However, there has only been “a small trend” towards some customers buying fewer bottles, but better-quality, more distinctive wines. “There’s not been a huge shift by any means, but it is a change in shopping patterns that we are seeing from some customers,” Colley says. Cockburns’ Paulin notes that his customers have become more curious, providing indies with the chance to help consumers to discover and taste new styles. “Supermarkets do have a great range across the board, even in the fine wine selection, but they don’t have the specialists there to talk through the wines, or the chance to try the wines and find out about them,” he points out. But this curiosity isn’t merely confined to the specialists. Waitrose has added a range of more esoteric wines, with five new products joining its own-label Loved & Found range, while Asda recently relaunched its Wine Atlas roster as more of “a rolling discovery range”, complete with its own hotspot on the fixture to help signpost consumers towards trying new things. Aldi reports that sales of its Specially Selected range of wines saw more than 20% sales growth in 2023, but adds that “more than ever, we’re seeing shoppers look for a bargain” – the reason it has adapted its offer by introducing a Wine of the Week promotion, rather than purely around seasonal events such as Christmas and Easter. “This is helping shoppers try different grape varieties that price might otherwise be a barrier to,” an Aldi spokesperson explains, pointing out that the retailer’s Specially Selected Cairanne sold out in only four days after it was reduced from £8.99 to £3.49 at Christmas. “Shoppers continue to want to try wines from new and upcoming wine regions,” the spokesperson says. Asda’s Donaldson agrees. “I don’t think there is a huge amount of confidence about, but people still want to enjoy themselves, and it’s quite a delicate balance. It’s not all doom and gloom.” db

The options for retaliation appear limited. After all, vintage is hampered by most Port houses’ self-imposed rule that they will only declare when quality meets stringent conditions. Even with modernday oenological expertise, that’s still rarely more than three times a decade. Add to that reticence the very formal image of vintage Port: its intimidating conventions, high-maintenance cellaring and decanting demands. It might be tempting to draw the conclusion that vintage Port is a category, like its stereotypically upper-crust consumer base, in terminal decline. Fortunately, you’d be wrong. Fewer people these days may regard vintage Port as a cellar or dining room staple – indeed, many homes feature neither – but the thirst is still there. It just needs a dynamic retailer or sommelier to offer the right prompt, to transform the traditions surrounding this drink from barriers into an intrinsic part of its unique appeal.

PORT IS 'SEXY’

As a category that can often feel inescapably British, it’s helpful to introduce some international perspective on ways to make this drink a success. “My motto is: ‘Port is sexy,’” maintains renowned German chef Johannes King, who runs gourmet bistro and delicatessen Sylter Manufactur Johannes King on his country’s upmarket island destination of Sylt. That mindset might be rather at odds with Port’s old school, Oxbridge don image, but sex sells: King gets through around 1,500 bottles a year, of which roughly 40% is vintage. That performance hasn’t happened by accident. King’s ontrade arm offers five Ports by the glass, of which one – currently Quinta do Noval 1991 at €16 – is always vintage. On a normal day, his bistro feeds anywhere between 60 and 200 guests, of whom “most” will order Port. A fair few will also be inspired to wander into the deli and buy a bottle to take home. That activity ramps up in summer time, when King opens a separate Port and Madeira themed pop-up offering seminars and tastings, with a “five Ports for €35” flight every Thursday. If King neatly punctures the notion that Port is only for Christmas, then Maximilian Wilm, operations manager and sommelier at Kinfelts Kitchen & Wine in Hamburg, is busy proving that it doesn’t just appeal to a stuffy senior crowd either. “Our average guest is 35 to 40 years old,” he reports. “They tend to be more curious than older gentlemen.” With a monthly Port training session for the team, that curiosity can be channelled into significant sales. It helps that Port isn’t made to wait until the end of the meal here. “We sell it especially with the main course and game, to get it out of the cheese corner,” explains Wilm. While tawny Port tends to be offered by the glass at Kinfelts, for vintage there is a focus on half-bottles. It’s a format that Marc Almert, head sommelier at Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, also finds useful, especially for smaller tables.

That said, he’s also a fan of the eyecatching large-format bottles. “Make it visible,” stresses Almert. In the fine dining arena, that means adding Port to the cheese or chocolate trolley, while ensuring that it appears not only on the wine list, but on the dessert menu too. “And of course,” he advises, “include tawny or vintage Ports in tasting flights whenever possible.” This demand for alternative bottle formats is one that many Port houses are keen to support. While half-bottles can help remove a barrier, even if only a psychological one, for less confident restaurants afraid of expensive wastage, nothing makes a bolder statement than a super-sized version. “We have the most amazing stock of big bottles,” confirms João Vasconcelos, UK market manager and head of global duty free for The Fladgate Partnership. “We can very easily use these in top restaurants to really get the sommeliers excited.” At present, diners at The Ritz in London are tempted by a 12-litre bottle of Fonseca Guimaraens, its unwieldy size solved by Coravin and decanter. Large formats are just one of the eye-catching tools vintage Port has at its disposal for restaurateurs with an eye on Instagram. Far from consigning Port tongs to a basket of unhelpful anachronisms, Vasconcelos actively encourages their use. “It’s something sommeliers absolutely love,” he explains. “They want to create theatre. Port’s served at the end, so that’s the last memory you have of that restaurant experience.” It doesn’t end there, though. People who have an enjoyable vintage Port experience in a restaurant – or indeed as part of Porto’s booming tourism scene – may feel encouraged to recreate that moment at home. What’s more, a lot of the contemporary attitudes towards vintage Port displayed in the on-trade can also prove useful tools in retail. Berry Bros. & Rudd certainly won’t dissuade customers from the classic vintage Port and Stilton match, but head of content Barbara Drew MW likes to encourage a broader mindset. “The fruitiness and sweetness of Port can also work very well with more contrasting flavours: cured meats and pickles as part of a light supper, or alongside a rich, chocolateor nut-based dessert,” she remarks. “A small glass of vintage Port is also magnificent alongside a slice of traditional iced fruit cake at a wedding.”

Then there’s the question of year-round appeal. Although Drew confirms “a strong uptick” for vintage Port sales at Christmas, “this is often for mature vintage Ports, which are ready for drinking”. Outside the festive season, BBR presents vintage Port as part of the portfolio mix for those customers who prefer to take a rather longer-term outlook on their wine purchases. “The fact remains that vintage Port is not only a wine that ages magnificently well – for up to 50 years, in many cases – but also for the quality offers incredible value for money,” remarks Drew. “For any wine collector looking to lay down bottles for decades to come, it is a must for their cellar.” When it comes to collectors, Filipe Gonçalves, chief marketing officer at Sogrape, is alert to what makes this rarefied section of the market tick. “Many collectors prefer magnums and double magnums for their best table wines, and vintage Port can do the same,” he argues. Taking a cue from the irresistible party statement made by large-format Champagne bottles, Gonçalves notes: “Vintage Port is well suited for marking celebrations with a significant number of invitees.” The Port trade is also keen to cater for the modern breed of wine enthusiast – drinkers rather than collectors – who lack either the space or the patience to cellar their purchases. In an era when few retailers or restaurants can take the cash flow and storage hit, several houses plug the gap between new vintage declarations with special releases from their own extensive cellars. For the producer, it’s an opportunity to generate excitement and command a premium; for the consumer, there’s the guarantee of perfect provenance, and often a chance to get your hands on a limited release.

NO BARRIERS

Others are at pains to remind people that they don’t have to wait 20 years to broach that bottle. “Most wines are bought and drunk within six hours or six days – it’s the same thing,” remarks Dirk Niepoort of Niepoort Vinhos. In his view, that doesn’t have to be a barrier to enjoying even vintage Port. “The ’22, even if it’s the most tannic thing you’ve ever tasted in your life, is still so fun to drink,” insists Niepoort. His main concern is that Port avoids the mistakes of Sherry “by dropping prices, making it worse and worse, so that people lost respect for it”. By contrast, he ventures provocatively: “I think we should be a bit snobbish.” For Niepoort that means “we should make it better, smaller quantities, very rare, keep up the good reputation”. It’s a view echoed in part by Constance Descamps, international marketing manager for Porto Cruz’s parent company La Martiniquaise. However, she prefers to highlight two divergent sides of the Port business. “At a time when consumers are looking for the best deals, accessible ports such as tawny, ruby or white want to remain competitive and affordable, so promotions are tending to intensify to offset price rises,” she observes. By contrast, continues Descamps, “consumers of vintage Ports are true connoisseurs who know how to drink them and what to pair them with to enjoy them to the full.”

The suggestion from all sides is that vintage Port needs to celebrate and cement this status as one of the world’s great fine wines. Let other styles reinvent themselves and reinvigorate the wider category. A select bunch of these new fans will then inevitably want to explore its pinnacle. Vintage Port doesn’t need to change; it just needs to welcome people to the summit and ensure they feel part of something truly special.  

Another enormous benefit of belonging to a cooperative is the management of costs. Germany’s Ruppertsberger Weinkeller Hoheburg, which was founded in 1911, has since built up a vineyard area of around 400ha. Describing how it operates, the cooperative’s managing director, Gerhard Brauer, explains: “The main purpose of our company is to generate cost-covering grape prices for our members, which enables them to run their wine businesses in a stable manner.” But there are other advantages, says Brauer, such as “the division of work according to strength”. He adds that “everyone here does exactly what they do best” in order to complete outstanding work in the fields and vineyards “and deliver great grapes year after year”.

Brauer adds: “The well-trained cellar team, led by our cellar master Christoph Schwertl, is able to process the grapes very gently thanks to state-of-the-art technology and thus produce great wines. The marketing team specialises in direct sales, wholesale and export strategies to bring the wines to customers in the best possible way.” Lastly, he says: “The logistics team is then ready to help.” This teamwork, he argues, is where a cooperative truly excels – because it utilises the individual strengths of everyone and can therefore achieve what one person or organisation alone could not.

TIGHT-KNIT GROUP

Looking at cooperatives from outside the tight-knit group in question shows the true effect that collaboration can bring, especially when it comes to ‘share of voice’. This can be seen at Spain’s Bodegas Sonsierra, a cooperative founded in 1961 by a group of vine growers from San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja Alta, where the collaborative model “upholds democratic participation, autonomy, independence and equity, which ensures collective wellbeing”, says CEO Luis del Águila. He highlights that the cooperative also “helps generate employment and local development”, because “a large proportion of the profits are reinvested locally”, which in turn “benefits the economy and promotes the sustainable development of the region”. Del Águila observes that Bodegas Sonsierra works according to “principles of mutual benefit that allow equitable access to goods and services”. It not only has a deep-rooted commitment to the community, but also to sustainable development, based on “values of solidarity (the actions of the few have repercussions for everyone) and social responsibility”. He adds: “It has always had a positive impact on the environment as it promotes respect for natural resources, which are re-inverted into an improved quality of life.”

Origin story: Bodegas Sonsierra is rooted in Rioja Alta According to del Águila, it is all about “knowing how to listen to the land and understand its needs”. Indeed, winemakers have long been at the mercy of what the land and climate dictates. There are ways of working with the environment and creating not only fantastic wine, but also planet-friendly offerings using more conscientious and better ways of working. As a result of a joint effort and the union of hundreds of wine growers, Bodegas BSI was founded in Jumilla in Spain in 1934 (as Bodegas Cooperativas San Isidro), making this year its 90th anniversary. Describing how the cooperative works in symbiosis with the environment, Bodegas San Isidro (BSI) general director Joaquín Hernández says that BSI was a pioneer in “implementing cultural practices and specific measures to certify its vineyards as organic”. Jumilla is a region that is windy and dry – with around 300mm of annual rainfall – meaning that there is little disease pressure on the vines. Nonetheless, gaining certification inevitably involves a significant level of admin. However, that is perhaps made easier by joining forces. BSI unites 400 shareholders, and has now become “the main socioeconomic engine of the area, with more than 1,400 hectares of vineyards, including the largest area of Monastrell vines of ungrafted rootstock”, says Hernández. Similarly eco-minded, there is no denying that Vignobles Foncalieu has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. It all started in 2001 when the group signed the first collective land use contract in France, on the initiative of one of its member wineries. Six years later, another milestone was crossed with the creation of vineyards earmarked for experimenting with grape varieties geared to the needs of the future. Foncalieu head viticulturist Gabriel Ruetsch explains: “We waited until the grape varieties were authorised in 2016 before planting them in a bid to drastically reduce the use of inputs.” Concurrently,

Foncalieu pioneered the use of mating disruption to combat grape vine moths. This alternative control method uses synthetic pheromones to prevent the moths from mating and has put an end to spraying in half of the vineyards. At Foncalieu, member growers have their sights clearly set on organic farming and are provided with the support, training and enhanced remuneration to do so. Five hundred hectares of vines have already been certified, and a further 44ha are in the transitional phase. The medium-term objective is to achieve HVE3 (High Environmental Value) certification for all of Les Vignobles Foncalieu’s brands. Ruetsch says this will happen “by protecting biodiversity, and reducing inputs to ultimately achieve zero-pesticide residues in the wines”. He reports that 88% of production in the 2023 vintage already came from responsible approaches, such as HVE, BIO and Terra Vitis. According to Ruetsch, the term “prevention is better than a cure” is the guiding principle of the group – and this rationale has led Vignobles Foncalieu to use increasingly innovative solutions, including “kits which allow early detection of powdery mildew, use of drones to hunt down flavescence dorée, and vineyard surveillance using connected traps fitted with mini cameras”. Ruetsch further explains that software provides digital tracking of the active substances used by wine growers and adds that a network of weather stations connected to ground sensors allows the cooperative to measure the rate of humidity in the soil so that it can accurately manage drip irrigation and save water resources. Having a large turnover means cooperatives can make investments in equipment and training, meaning there are more centralised opportunities to make progress. Large capabilities and extended nous have both helped Union des Vignerons des Côtes du Rhône to become a leading cooperative in France. Speaking about how working together can assist greater steps forwards, Union des Vignerons des Côtes du Rhône marketing director Sandrine Sanchez admits that it is “much easier to be innovative and benefit from new techniques when you have the strength of a collective structure, and the capacity to invest in the latest equipment”. Sanchez explains that the creation of the cooperative has meant that “business concerns are driven professionally” and “there is a team in charge of marketing and business concerns”, as well as people analysing consumer preferences in terms of wine and packaging so that they can “make relevant decisions for innovation”. All vital elements for creating the best wine possible.

POSITIVE STEPS

In Italy, giving another example of positive steps forward, is Cavit, the story of which began in 1950, as the Consorzio di Cantine Sociali (Wine Cooperative Consortium). Initially, it offered collaboration and assistance to many of its members, consolidating the culture of wine in Trentino and contributing to the training of wine growers. By 1957, Cavit had added the commercialisation of production of its members, in both Italy and abroad, to its remit. Nowadays, its mission remains the same and it continues to promote the wine made by its associates, investing in constant improvement in quality, and taking Trentino wines all around the world. It has 5,200 growers and 11 winery members, and represents 60% of the 6,300ha of vineyards in Trentino. Cavit export director EMEA & Asia Andrea Nicolini points out that, even though cooperative members are bound by the same rules as single producers, there are still benefits that single producers not in a cooperative won’t necessarily be able to enjoy. Nicolini explains: “For example, it is easier for us to sell in both the home and international markets as a large cooperative. We have the capacity to research and understand the different markets, we have a central administrative centre to help with paperwork, legalities, labels and red tape, and we can offer a full portfolio of wines and prices – different styles and varietals from entrylevel up to premium.” db

Old hand: Ornellaia has been traded on La Place since 2015Then there’s the issue of volume. “The production of Pio Cesare wines is very small and very limited – we act with a very strict artisanal philosophy – which could not match the requests of both our actual partners and La Place,” explains Boffa. She also stresses the importance to Pio Cesare of its on-trade customer base, which she describes as “the strongest aspect and asset of our brand, which our partners have contributed to creating in all those years and which we do not want to lose”. This loyalty to existing trade relationships will resonate particularly powerfully with importers and agencies. After all, their work – often over decades – to build a loyal, carefully balanced customer base for a wine is inevitably undermined when its producer chooses to add a parallel route to market. “Building a market for a producer is about much more than making a sale,” insists Liberty Wines CEO Tom Platt. “It is about building a broad base of distribution and ensuring that the wines are sold in the best restaurants and independent wine merchants throughout the UK. This can’t be done by putting the wine on La Place, where visibility tends to be lost as soon as it is sold.”

Upbeat report

Over at Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR), head of buying Martyn Rolph balances an upbeat report on Italy’s fine wine performance with concerns about the longer-term impact of La Place’s growing involvement in this category. He cites the country’s run of “excellent recent vintages” as a helpful factor, with the merchant’s Brunello 2021 campaign in March proving “hugely successful”. While interest in Barolo is also on the rise, Rolph confirms: “It’s a region that still requires significant effort as regards educating customers.” That’s worth bearing in mind for the growing number of Piedmont producers being courted by La Place. It also helps to explain why, with the exception of a scattering of Amarone di Valpolicella, the system retains such a narrow regional focus. You certainly need a pretty stellar reputation to jostle for attention in this increasingly crowded marketplace. “Producers are competing for exposure during the condensed La Place release period, and we have to be selective in regard to who we promote,” warns Rolph. “Some less established brands may see greater success if they choose to release outside of this busy period, whilst building their name.” Rolph also shares Platt’s reservation about the impact of La Place on the relationship building that lies at the heart of the traditional wine trade. “Selling via La Place can place limits on our ability to brand build by working in close partnership with producers,” he remarks. “So many producers make brilliant wine; that alone sometimes isn’t enough.” Occasionally it looks possible to have your cake and eat it. Tuscany’s Bibi Graetz has just started working directly with BBR for certain wines, including a global exclusive for its 2021 Balocchi di Cabernet Franc. Meanwhile other wines, Testamatta and Colore, are due to join La Place’s September releases. It might be tempting to draw a link between Italy’s growing success in the fine wine market and the country’s growing presence on La Place. Yet there’s an argument that these achievements have come despite, not because of, this sales channel. “We don’t think that distribution via La Place has aided the Italian fine wine market,” is the blunt assessment of Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform run by merchant Bordeaux Index. “One of the issues we find is that the cross-regional nature of these releases can obscure collector focus on the key wines being released at the time, as well as understanding of the regional vintage dynamics.”

Pros and cons: Giovanni Mazzei says there are trade-offs in using La Place Instead, O’Connell joins others in emphasising the importance of brand recognition. “There are clearly a lot of high-quality wines being made in Tuscany,” he observes, “but the demand for and price performance of individual names has most relied on recognition and consumer following rather than outright quality considerations, although there is obviously usually some connection between the two.” A quick look at the top Italian performers on LiveTrade over the last year shows just how narrowly focused that consumer following remains.

Wave of expansion

As more and more producers from around the world pile onto La Place’s bandwagon, this challenge to stand out from the crowd looks set to become harder, yet more urgent than ever. “La Place de Bordeaux seems to be riding the wave of expansion,” observes Hewitt of Liv-ex. “At present, all players can benefit from it: producers get more exposure, négociants can exploit more sources of revenue and fine wine merchants enjoy a wider choice of wines to offer their customers, who amass a more diversified portfolio, which lessens the risk of losses during a potential market downturn.” Despite this short-term benefit, however, Hewitt warns: “There may yet be a saturation point where the benefits of being released through La Place are lost in an enormous jumble of releases.” Any producer, Italian or not, who is seduced by the allure of La Place should give careful thought to whether this is really the place to be.

Primitivo may sound like primitive, but it’s named after the Italian word ‘primaticcio’ – or early, as in ripening. Knowing when to pick is crucial, but not that difficult, claims Shannon. “For someone like me who lives in the vineyard, you just have to look at the grapes and talk to them. They’ll tell you when they’re ripe,” he says. “And I like cold fermentation. I like to preserve all that flavour in the vineyard.” AMano is fermented at a chilly 15o°C. At the Produttori di Manduria cooperative, commercial director Giovanni Dimitri says: “We never go over 20o°C, which is so important to preserve freshness and acidity.” Without temperature control, he reckons fermentation could happily hit 30o C or more. His Primitivo is picked in midto late August: “We start at 4.30 in the morning, and by 11.30 we’ve left the vineyards because it’s too hot”. Produttori di Manduria is the oldest co-op in Puglia, with 700ha farmed by its 300 members and around 1m bottles of Primitivo di Manduria DOC produced each year. Dimitri says: “Primitivo has become one of the most interesting grapes, commercially speaking, from Italy in recent years.” He puts this down to the variety’s easy-drinking style, with abundant fruit and light tannins, which makes it much more approachable than the likes of Nebbiolo or Sangiovese. “In my view, Primitivo is a very flexible variety according to the age of the vines, harvest times and farming,” he adds. “Then, with different winemaking techniques, it is possible to elevate it to medium to top level with ageing in barrels, even if Primitivo is not such a big friend of wood, honestly speaking.” The searing midsummer heat is tempered by the sea breeze, with the peninsula only 40 miles wide from coast to coast. Climate change is naturally a hot topic. “Like everyone, we’re trying to understand what the future holds, and nobody knows if we’re in the middle of a big wave,” says Dimitri.

Local character: Primitivo has a strong association with Puglia Alcohol levels tend to be high, and it is a subject which “really does divide people”, says Sarah Knowles MW, Italian buyer for retailer The Wine Society, which lists Dimitri’s Primitivo. “There’s certainly a group of our members who would rather have levels under 12.5% or 13%, but there’s also quite a large group of people who are not as bothered about this as perhaps we think.” She also points out: “All the Barolos from 2019/20 were pretty much at 14%–14.5%, as are most of the Bordeaux being released en primeur at the moment.” Knowles says: “Primitivo was once very much the workhorse, offering great value under £10, but I think that space is being really well catered for by other grapes, like Nero d’Avola.” While quality varies, well-made examples can definitely sell for more, in her view. One example is the Society’s 150th anniversary bottling of Primitivo from Dimitri’s co-operative that sold out, priced at £10.50.

Rustic charm: but Primitivo wines are starting to command higher prices“I think once people find familiarity with Primitivo, they’re happy to treat themselves to a more superior wine, whether it’s a Manduria DOC or a passito,” says Elena Ciurletti, owner of Orion Wines, headquartered in Trento. To prove the point, sales of Orion’s £12.50 La Masseria del Borgo Primitivo di Manduria DOC at UK supermarket Sainsbury’s are up 47% on last year, while its Terre di Faiano organic Primitivo (£10.99) is reportedly one of the topselling Italian reds in Waitrose. For the on-trade and independent retailers, Orion produces Lucale Primitivo Appassimento at its Masseria Borgo dei Trulli estate, where it has 32ha of Primitivo vineyards. Encouraged by the success of Lucale, it has just added two more passito wines – Saracena and Mirea. The craze for drying grapes has spread well beyond the Veneto and Valpolicella, but Primitivo seems an unlikely candidate, being already quite full-bodied and sumptuous. Ciurletti accepts the point, but says: “I still think people are really open to that style of wine, and consumers can’t get enough of them.”

Incredible history

With more than 30 years of making Primitivo, wine entrepreneur Stefano Girelli of TWP Wines is a big fan. “It’s one of the greatest grape varieties we have in Italy,” he says. “Primitivo certainly has incredible history, heritage and, from a winemaking perspective, it’s extremely flexible. If it’s trained properly, picked at the right time and vinified the right way, you can go from a rosé to an intense red, capable of ageing.” Giovanni Dimitri says: “In Puglia, nature is very generous,” and Girelli agrees, saying that even the bush-trained alberello vines he favours can easily yield 60hl/ha–70 hl/ha. To temper Primitivo’s natural exuberance, he likes to keep the maceration relatively short, and says you can choose whether to keep the pips, depending on the vintage and whether “they’re a little green, or toasty from fully-ripened grapes”.

Sea view: maritime influence is one of the keys to premium Primitivo “I think there’s a huge amount you can do in winemaking around management of the skins, tannins and sugar levels of Primitivo,” says The Wine Society’s Knowles, “and, in the vineyard, by trying to shade the bunches a bit more.” The cumulative effect adds freshness to these often quite voluptuous wines. At the Tinazzi winery, where the top wine is Imperio LXXIV Primitivo di Manduria DOC, winemaker Antonio Testa says: “We can limit the last pruning to avoid sunburn and dehydration, and winter pruning helps manage the grape load per plant which, in turn, affects sugar level.” At Masseria Altemura, which Zonin1821 acquired in 2000, director and agronomist Antonio Cavallo explains: “From mid-August we get some dried berries, so we try to keep the western side of our vineyards shielded, and we’re careful in the winery not to be too aggressive on the skins.” Half the estate’s 155ha are given over to Primitivo to produce Sasseo, a Salento IGT, and its single-vineyard flagship wine Altemura, a Primitivo di Manduria DOC with only 20,000–25,000 bottles released each year. Like others, Cavallo worries about the average quality and consistency of Primitivo, and says: “At the moment they’re discussing in the consorzio about tightening the rules.” But, with a wide variation in terroir and different priorities for big producers like Zonin1821 compared to much smaller players, finding common ground regarding quality levels and pricing won’t be easy. That said, there is a new generation of winemakers coming through, and this gives Giovanni Dimitri real faith in the future. “Every day I try a new wine from these new guys, and I’m so happy when I have a good one,” he says. “We’ve started to do in Puglia what they started doing in Tuscany in the 1960s and 1970s, and today we’re beginning to harvest the fruit of this change of mind.” Vito Palumbo agrees. “In general, I’m optimistic about Puglia and Primitivo,” he says. “A lot of the younger generation are coming back here to invest in tourism and in wine, and I’m seeing a lot of small wineries run by young people.”

He adds: “It could also mean that winemakers would try to reduce or minimise their use of technical winemaking, giving more trust in the quality of the grapes and the quality of their work in the vineyard.” Groiss, who plans to pursue the new labelling terms for her wines, warns that, for the system to be a success, it has to be rigorously enforced. “Classification can be dangerous if it’s not focused enough – if the wines taste like all the others, they shouldn’t be classified as single-vineyard wines,” she argues. Among the key proponents of the new system has been Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg – indeed, the historic Kamptal estate’s winemaker and CEO, Michael Moosbrugger, is also ÖTW chair. Alfred Unterganschnigg, who has handled Schloss Gobelsburg’s sales and marketing for more than two decades, says that these early efforts may have seemed like a “small stone thrown into a big pond” at the time, but today those ripples have become a wave that will sweep over Austria in the decades to come. For Unterganschnigg, one of the most important advantages of implementing the system is that it facilitates the communication of the quality of Austrian wine, especially to a more international audience. “It makes many things much easier and simpler to explain,” he argues. “If a Chinese sommelier comes to us and asks about the land, and we say it’s a premier cru, suddenly they understand that the quality is very high without even having tasted it – it offers a clear picture.” From an international perspective, it might make a great deal of sense. Austrian wine exports are continuing to rise in value, hitting €238.2m in 2023, with 11.3% year-on-year value growth in the Asian markets of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Asked whether Austria’s producers should really have a say themselves over the worthiness of their own wines to be awarded either Erste or Grosse Lage status, Unterganschnigg tells the drinks business: “Who knows their own child better than the mother?”

As for whether vineyards might run the risk of losing that status, Unterganschnigg says: “Once a vineyard is made a grand cru, it has gone through all the qualifications, so it should stay there – it’s a verification system that is democratic for everyone.” However, not all are in favour of the new system. The strongest opposition to it comes from Burgenland, the region on the eastern edge of the country, pressed up against Austria’s border with Hungary. The largest winegrowing region within Burgenland is Neusiedlersee. A DAC since 2012 and with approximately 6,000ha under vine, Neusiedlersee is a major force in Austrian wine. Among the producers in the region to express discontent with the proposed system is Weingut Gebrüder Nittnaus. “Classification is not something we want to promote,” says Andreas Nittnaus. “We like single vineyards, but we don’t see the need to promote them officially.” His brother, Hans Michael Nittnaus, chimes in: “What does the history of the vineyard really have to do with the quality of the wine?” The pair also suggest that, as in Bordeaux and Burgundy, these classification systems, by their nature, “cement the status quo”, to the disadvantage of newer producers. History is something that could perhaps work against Burgenland when it comes to classification. The Blaufränkisch wines produced by Weingut Moric’s Roland Velich certainly invite comparisons with grand cru Burgundy and, as the group of visiting Japanese wine trade professionals sporting ‘Moric’ caps gathered around the winemaker’s stand at Vievinum illustrates, these are wines that have a serious cult following. But, while Velich might seem to be exactly the sort of person to favour a Burgundy-style vineyard classification, this is not the case. “When it comes to historical sites, they come from places that have always cultivated wine. For 1,000 years, we in Burgenland were part of Hungary; 100 years ago, we became part of Austria,” explains Velich. “It is wrong to think of a grand cru as something with a historical record – we don’t have those records for Burgenland, as with all the disruption throughout Hungarian history, wars and new regimes, a lot of things got lost, including the records.” Faced with the concerns of Burgenland winemakers, Schloss Gobelsburg’s Unterganschnigg says: “With any action there is a reaction – everyone has their own opinion.”

Case for the defence

Indeed, not every winemaker in Burgenland is against the plans. René Pöckl is something of a superstar in the region, with Weingut Pöckl’s blends of local grapes, such as Zweigelt and Sankt Laurent, with international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, receiving critical acclaim. Pöckl suggests that one grape in particular could receive a reputational boost from the new system. “Blaufränkisch will really benefit, because there are so many bad sites for Blaufränkisch, and it will help customers to find the good sites,” he says. “It is really important that the reputation for great sites for this grape are built up. There are so many good ones, and they’re mixed up with bad ones.” But Pöckl, whose winery is decorated with bottles of great Bordeaux wines, does not plan to use the system. “It’s not necessary,” he says. “I make blends, so the single sites are not as important. But if you have a single-site wine, I strongly believe it necessary to put it on the label.”

“For lower-priced wines, people buy by variety,” he adds, “but, for more expensive ones, people want to taste the soil, the environment, so therefore it makes sense to have it on the label. “There will be producers in northern Burgenland who are strongly against it because the region is quite flat, so there aren’t as many differences between sites, but if you are on the slopes and have different types of soils, it [classification] has to come to bring us forward.” Between those who are vociferously for this bold new vineyard classification and those who are against it, there are some producers who are straddling both sides of the debate. Dieter Hübler, co-founder of winery Laurenz V in Kamptal, suggests that while it has been a work in progress for many years, it is still a relatively rapid change for the world of wine. “Burgundy did it in 500 years, we did it in 30, so there will always be friction,” he says. Warning that the Austrian wine sector should “learn to walk before it runs”, Hübler, who is overall in favour of the new system, says that the debate is unlikely to settle anytime soon, adding: “Good luck trying to get one single opinion out of farmers!” Austrian wine has come a long way since the scandal of 1985, when it emerged that numerous wines from the country had been adulterated with diethylene glycol, a toxic substance found in antifreeze. Today, Austria’s wines are arguably among the most dynamic and consistently excellent in the world. This new classification could sever any final reservations that consumers might have regarding the quality of the country’s wines. There is still the crucial question of whether the new system will be fit for purpose in years to come – historical greatness does not necessarily equal future success, as Honegger suggests. “It remains to be seen where the best vineyards of each region will be over the next 30 years, with the climate radically changing.” If it does prove a long-term success, other wine countries may follow suit. While several winemakers joke that “Austria is always behind trends”, in this case it could be ahead of the curve.

But back to Predappio and its quest. Physically one of the largest of the 16 subzones, Predappio sits right in the middle of the group, which together occupies a strip of land that runs for around 120 kilometres on a north-west/south-east orientation to some 10km short of Bologna to the west, and slightly beyond Rimini on the Adriatic coastline to the east. Viticulture is concentrated at altitudes of between 100 and 300 metres above sea level, but some vines are found are up to 500m. In the line-up of five Predappio wines presented at Vini ad Arte, top cuvées were included, mostly from singlevineyard sites, with only 4,000 to 5,000 bottles produced of Chiara Condello’s Le Lucciole 2020, the best-known estate within the Predappio group. At Tenuta Piccolo Brunelli, the highest winery in the group, located at 350m, only 1,000 bottles per hectare are made from its three hectares of vineyard, while Noelia Ricci, located between 300m and 340m, makes only 6,000 bottles. The two bigger players in Predappio are Dre Donà with 53,000 bottles and Poderi Dal Nespoli with 10,000 bottles. The latter’s Gualdo 2021, a lighter, elegantly perfumed style, is made from young vines only planted in 2016, auguring well for this wine’s future. Encouragingly, all these top wines sell in the €20–€30 price range, except for the better known Condello wine, which is priced at €70.

Prolonged winters

The Romagna climate is continental, with hot summers and cold, prolonged winters, but as we heard from Vini ad Arte participants and local oenologist Marisa Fontana, the weather pattern has been changing quite dramatically over the past decade or so. While rainfall, which gradually increases as you climb further into the Apennines, has always been limited in the foothills, more drought-like conditions have been experienced in recent harvests, such as 2022.

Although the 2023 viticultural cycle began with a lack of rainfall and higher than average temperatures, triggering early vegetal growth, concentrated rainfall in two bursts at the start of May and mid-month, amounting to more than 500mm – a year’s worth of rain in only six days – brought damaging floods and landslides to the region. The geological structure of Emilia-Romagna is among the most complex in the world, according to the Consorzio Vini di Romagna. As far as the soil profiles are concerned, the consorzio lists six main types: red soil, brown soil, light blue clay, fossiliferous ochre limestone, chalky marl and sandstone marl. In Predappio itself, which runs from near the town of Forli on Via Emilia to the south-west up into the Apennines, with the vineyards located between 120m and 400m, soils are mainly of clay-limestone.

Local mission: producers are keen to press their case for DOCG status But there are more sandy soils in the lower area, with intrusions of red clay; then chalk and limestone in Predappio Alta. These chalky marls have soil rich in calcium sulphate and ‘spungone’ – a kind of spongy sandstone made up of seashells held together by calcareous cement. Oenologist Fontana characterises the wines produced from these chalky marls as being “very rich in fruit, powerful, but with elegant tannins”. In terms of style, while specific soil type, altitude and exposure to cooling sea breezes obviously have their effects, for top sommelier/educator Andrea Dani from Piedmont, who introduced all Vini ad Arte programme sessions, the Predappio style of Sangiovese is all about minerality and balancing tannins. Vigorous when young, these tannins become silkier as they are better integrated into the wines, with their elegant, fruity expression. Good freshness and acidity show these are wines with considerable ageing potential. One of the attractions for Enrico Drei Donà in gaining DOCG status is, he feels, that given there are around 450ha of vineyard in Predappio, there is potential to increase the volume of the Sangiovese produced in this Romagna sub-region to a couple of million bottles in a few years’ time. “We’ll be the new Montalcino,” he says, only half-joking. Drei Donà thinks the whole process will take between three to six years because of all the bureaucracy involved at Italian governmental and EU level. And, while Predappio producers are looking to follow the precedent set by Nizza, they do already boast their own DOCG for white grape Albana (see box, p83), which while not widely known outside the region, was the first white grape to be granted such status in Italy in 1987. Despite this earlier recognition, Predappio’s DOCG mission is by no means a sure thing. “It is still premature to talk about DOCG [for Predappio],” Roberto Monti, president of the Consorzio Vini di Romagna, tells the drinks business. “There are many companies that demonstrate their belief in the Sottozone [sub-zone] project, which is currently supported by about 600,000 bottles produced by around 80 companies.”  

The Shipping Forecast

From a logistical point of view, it might seem that a bridge connecting Sicily to the toe of Italy would be highly advantageous, particularly when it comes to the transportation of supplies for wineries, and getting the finished wines (whether bottled or in bulk) back over to the mainland. Joseph De Maio, CEO of STI Internazionale, which handles imports of Italian wine, believes that a bridge should not be a priority. “Besides the fact that the bridge has already cost Italian taxpayers millions of euros, the main argument is: does it make sense to build this bridge without upgrading the motorways in Sicily?” he asks. “Most of the trailers collecting goods in Sicily use scheduled short sea services from Palermo to Naples and Genoa anyway,” De Maio continues. “In my opinion, the only major improvement would come from intermodal containers being shipped by rail from Sicilian terminals directly to mainland Italy and Northern Europe.” What’s more, the view that Sicily should have a better road network before it builds a bridge is a sentiment shared by many wine producers. Antonio Ciccarelli, PR & communication manager for Tuscanybased wine group Piccini 1882, which counts the 13-hectare Torre Mora estate in Etna DOC in its portfolio, claims that many roads in Sicily are “exactly the same” as they were during the Second World War.

“The real priority for the Sicilian economy is to have modern roads and railways,” Ciccarelli argues. “To move goods by train across the island from Catania to Palermo takes seven to eight hours, and to move goods on the road from Catania to Trapani takes five to six hours. I think all Sicilians would prefer to have better infrastructure on the island than a bridge in one of the most seismically active places in the world.” However, there is not much optimism that the condition of Sicilian infrastructure will improve. Marilena Leta, of the Tenuta Gorghi Tondi wine estate based in the west of Sicily, goes as far as to call the idea of high-speed trains on Sicily a “sci-fi dream”, adding: “You can understand why even talking about the Messina Bridge seems like a joke to the great majority of Sicilians.”

What's the point?

If it is a “joke”, then it might well be one without much of a punchline. Count Laurent Bernard de la Gatinais, president of Tenuta Rapitalà in Palermo province’s Camporeale and a former president of the Assovini Sicilia group of Sicilian wine producers, argues that a bridge would be redundant without an improved road network, and suggests that, while it might be a “fantastic” structure, it would be akin to a “cathedral in the desert”. De la Gatinais believes the costs of the bridge will outweigh the benefits, positing: “Maybe with the bridge you can save 20 minutes on a 15-hour trip. Is it worth it?” Indeed, that is the €12 billion question. Roberta Urso, of Cantine Settesoli, a cooperative which manages 6,000 hectares of vines (around 7% of the total vineyard area of Sicily), says that there are plenty of “costs and benefits” to consider. “According to one estimate, it would guarantee an increase in wealth produced on a national scale of €2.9bn per year, equivalent to 0.17% of GDP,” Urso reports. “The bridge would reduce travel times between Sicily and Calabria, facilitating trade and tourism between Sicily and the rest of Italy, attracting new investments and creating jobs, and would help promote tourism in Sicily and Calabria, bringing new visitors. However, the economic benefits of the bridge have not yet been definitively demonstrated.” Urso also notes that a construction project as monumental as the Messina Bridge “could have a negative impact on the environment” and, from a winefocused perspective, there is one appellation in particular that could be affected: Faro. Encircling the city of Messina, Faro DOC is not a major appellation when it comes to production – according to the Consorzio di Tutela Vino Faro DOC, it contains only 15 producers, cultivating 25ha of vines and producing around 40,000 bottles of wine per annum. But, while small in profile, it’s a DOC that could be thrust into the forefront of the debate about the bridge.

Land of opportunity

Whereas many Sicilians seem sceptical about the benefits a bridge could bring, Antonio Bonfiglio, of Faro DOC’s Cantine Bonfiglio, suggests it could provide an opportunity for the wine region closest to it: “We are in favour of any work that contributes to the development of southern Italy and to improving the living conditions of its inhabitants, but without distorting our territory, its uniqueness, and giving priority to the needs of our citizens,” he says. Bonfiglio adds: “The bridge would certainly make logistics easier and reduce time and costs.

“The environmental impact of the bridge would certainly be considerable, but it would not affect the vineyards of Cantine Bonfiglio, which are located south of the city of Messina. I do not see any particular negative effects related to the construction of the bridge, especially since I believe that any spotlight shining on the city would help it in terms of visibility.” But not all those in Faro DOC are keen on the idea. A spokesperson for the Bonavita winery pulls no punches when they say that they are “absolutely against the bridge over the strait”, adding: “It would not improve the economic and traffic situation of the city, nor would it facilitate the shipment of wine. Rather, it would destroy an already very fragile ecosystem.” The environmental argument to be made against the bridge is a compelling one. According to research, 4.3m birds migrate through the Strait of Messina every year, with anywhere between 17% and 46% reportedly at risk of colliding with the bridge, were it to be built. How this impact on biodiversity would affect nearby vineyards is not clear. Enza La Fauci, of the Tenuta Enza La Fauci estate in Faro, describes the bridge project as “undoubtedly very important”, but adds: “Where the bridge is to be built is truly a place of rare beauty, one of the most beautiful places we have. And really the idea of building a gigantic bridge, I must say, does not leave me entirely indifferent.”

Tourist destination

Indeed, while a bridge might make it easier for those travelling from mainland Italy to get to Faro DOC, the structure might yet detract from the area’s appeal as a wine tourism destination, if it proves to be an eyesore. Nonetheless, La Fauci is not entirely opposed to the idea. She explains: “We need to shed light on this territory. And surely such an important construction could help us.” All of the Faro estates contacted claim their vineyards and wineries would not be disturbed by any construction work. Indeed, as a wine destination, Calabria has plenty of points going for it, but accessibility is not one of them. If Sicily’s roads are, to quote Tenuta Gorghi Tondi’s Leta, “antiquated and neglected”, then those in Calabria are not much better. Tramontana says that the Criserà vineyards – planted with the likes of Alicante and Gaglioppo – would not suffer any negative impact from construction work, since Costa Viola, where the winery is located, is outside any proposed construction zone. And, regarding the crucial question of whether or not the bridge will ever be built, Tramontana’s response is simply: “We’ll see.” However, bridges, by their very nature, link two sides – and, while the Sicilians have their reasons for being sceptical both about the need for a bridge and the likelihood of it ever being constructed, Calabrians seem to be a bit more receptive to the idea. Franco Tramontana, managing director of winery Casa Vinicola Criserà, which is situated only a few kilometres from Messina, but on the other side of the strait, says that he is backing a Messina Bridge, suggesting that it could be “the redemption of our territory”.

Calabria is not a wealthy region. According to 2022 data, a staggering 34.7% of Calabrians are at risk of poverty – by far and away the highest proportion in the country, compared to 22.4% of Sicilians, and the Italian national average of 14%. It is a region that has arguably been left behind by the rest of Italy. While Puglia and Sicily have become booming tourist destinations, producing wines that fill supermarket shelves and pizzeria menus around the world, Calabria is yet to follow suit. Simply put, Calabria arguably needs investment even more than Sicily does. “There would certainly be many other priorities before the bridge, but if they were to do it, it would be an international attraction and the area would certainly benefit from it,” suggests Tramontana.

Sense of scepticism

There is a prevailing sense of scepticism on both sides of the Strait of Messina about the likelihood of a bridge ever happening. It has been talked about for decades – millenia even. According to some reports, construction could start this year, with work predicted to conclude in 2032, but it seems that not so much as a bolt has been put in place so far. In the meantime, most in the Sicilian wine industry do not consider a Messina Bridge to be an engineering triumph linking them to the mainland, but rather a colossal folly. “We have heard about it since we were children, and every time it is like déjà vu,” remarks Leta of Gorghi Tondi. Sicilians, and Italians in general, have heard it all before. There is also something to be said for how a bridge could rupture something that is at the very heart of the identity of Sicily, the Sicilian people and the Sicilian wine industry – it is an island. So much of this identity hinges on Sicily being cut off from the rest of Italy. Many Sicilians would prefer the island to remain a separate entity, so that they can continue to do things as they have always done. As Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa put it in his novel The Leopard: “In Sicily, it doesn’t matter about doing things well or badly; the sin which we Sicilians never forgive is simply that of ‘doing’ at all.”