Logistics threaten Wine’s Covid rebound

It has been another busy week in the wine world, with new threats, new opportunities and new wine regions emerging.

Global logistics threaten Covid rebound

Wellness stories continue to flow as parts of the world begin to see light at the end of the Covid tunnel. However, while many sectors and markets are already showing signs of increased sales and demand, the effects of Covid on global shipping and logistics show no signs of abating.

Paul-François Vranken, head of the Vranken-Pommery Monopole champagne house, addressed the issue this week in an interview with the French stock market news site, La Lettre de la Bourse. While Vranken admitted that “2020 has been a tough year for champagne” with an 18% reduction in sales volume, the overall message was positive. Vranken pointed out that early estimates predicted a 40 percent loss in demand and that “champagne is a festive wine and [its sales have] a strong ability to bounce back. ”Even the potential damage from Brexit has been minimized, with the UK’s exit from the European Union having“ no impact ”on sales.

However, global shipping logistics remain a serious issue. “Like other companies,” said Vranken, “our problems abroad are logistical. We have to deal with a lack of containers which is disrupting shipping.”

The current global shipping crisis is due to Covid. An ANZ Bank analysis in April said the shipping industry was “in catch-up mode” and “really only has enough capacity to meet demand when things are going well.” It highlighted ship delays in ports, a lack of manpower and an interruption in the flow of empty containers, all due to the impact of the Covid. And not just Covid:

“Unpredictable events, as experienced with the blockade of the Suez Canal, or now the Yantian [the port supplying Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong] The Covid crisis unfortunately risks further aggravating the situation for the months to come. And the ripple effects will last for months, ”said a recent report on the state of the global freight forwarder industry Hillebrand.

Valençay is proud of a new fresco for the Tour de France

Ah, the Tour de France. “The Tour is a national showcase, it has been a long time since it passed through the Indre [department], Benjamin Rabier, responsible for young farmers of Boischaut Nord (in the center of the Loire) declared this week to the media France3. “This is the opportunity to make a point. It was not easy to do something catchy.”

Look out for a 33-meter-long “fresco” coated with silage in a field adjacent to the sixth stage of the Tour de France course, held on Thursday. Featuring a bottle of wine, a bunch of grapes, a cow’s head, a block of cheese, a chicken, a sheaf of wheat and a pair of crossed forks, the canvas was pinned to the field by bales of pastel colored silage .

No sign of this on our view of the highlights, but the region is home to Valençay cheese and wine. Certainly, the natural setting made some people think.

“It’s good to have a quiet scene where you can focus on the deep France,” James Davison wrote on the Guardian’s scene blog. “It’s an area I know quite well and I can’t see anywhere I would rather be right now, with a glass of red to fry the pack on the way.”

“The same for me, James,” said Guardian writer John Brewin. “I miss the possibility of going to the French countryside, even if everything is always closed when I go there.”

Washington wins fifth AVA in one year

Located in and at the eastern end of the Yakima Valley, Goose Gap was announced this week as Washington State’s newest American Wine Area (AVA). The area “takes its name from a saddle of dirt known as Goose Gap, which was named because it was a migration route for geese between rivers, providing hunters with an exceptional site for hunting.” said Alan Busacca PhD, who wrote the AVA petition.

At the eastern end of Yakima Valley, Goose Gap is northeast of Horse Heaven Hills and southeast of Red Mountain AVA. Goose Gap is also southwest of the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia rivers and the relatively new Candy Mountain AVA (unveiled in September 2020). “Goose Gap and the adjacent Goose Mountain, which is also part of the AVA, create a rough triangle that traces the geography between Candy Mountain, Red Mountain and Badger Mountain,” Busacca said.

Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards & Winery is currently the only winery located in the AVA.

Goose Gap joins a slew of new statewide AVAs, including the aforementioned Candy Mountain, announced last year with the Royal Slope AVA, just south of the old lakes in the Columbia Valley. Burn of Columbia Valley AVA (on the north banks of the Columbia River, between Horse Heaven Hills and Columbia Gorge) and White Bluffs AVA (on the east side of the Columbia River, southeast of Wahluke Slope and north of Tri-Cities) were created in June of this year.

Sommelier launches the book of wine and you are the hero

In the Forgotten Kingdom, the end of the world is near and the wine has gone bad. Not the title of Alice Fiering’s latest work, but the premise of sommelier Fabrizio Bucella’s new book: À la Recherche du Vin Perdu (In Search of Lost Wine). Despite the Proustian title, the book is one of which you, the reader, are the hero.

Currently only available in French, you must go on a quest (“halfway between Monty Python [and the Holy Grail] and The Visitors ”according to the great French newspaper Le Figaro): to find the famous grimoire, or book of spells, which contains the recipe for making good wine; to restore the balance of the Forgotten Lands; and bring good wine back to the people.

Although clearly removed from Michel Rolland’s to-do list, the plot offers wine lovers an “unprecedented experience in oenological literature: an epic and playful adventure where you will have to make choices, solve puzzles, play with it. the destinies and traverse dangerous labyrinths “, according to Dunod editors.

“A game-book to read alone or with friends, around a good bottle, to learn while having fun – and having fun while learning”, adds the presentation text. Those who want to jump in and get their hands on the grimoire itself can acquire the two-volume Oenology Manual by Ribéreau-Gayon et al. for around 25 times the price (À la Recherche du Vin Perdu is on sale in France at € 16.90).

Piedmont announces 5.8 million euros in subsidies for the restructuring of its vineyard

Local authorities in northern Italy’s wine region, Piedmont, have called on winegrowers in the region to release € 5.8 million in funds for “restructuring and conversion” of vineyards in the region. The money, coming from the coffers of the EU’s Common Organization of the Markets, is available as part of a wider EU campaign to improve the overall reputation of wine regions in member states.

In the case of Piedmont, the move will allow wine growers to engage in efforts at replanting and varietal conversion in the vineyard, as well as the more mundane, but no less vital, process of replacing vine stakes, tension and training.

Submissions can be made by most wineries, from individual local producers to cooperatives and corporations. The deadline for submission is July 15, 2021.

The Alsatian vineyard goes into barrels

In order to reduce its carbon footprint, the Alsatian Jean Huttard estate has started to put part of its production in barrels and has installed a charging station at the estate. Hélène Huttard told Le Parisien newspaper “we have discovered that 60% of our carbon footprint is in glass, labels and caps”.

The estate now uses 30L “ecofass” recycled plastic drums that are part of a circulatory system that seems to be collected, cleaned and reused once empty. “It is very appreciated by [on-trade] professionals in concert halls [as well as] festival organizers and restaurateurs, ”said Huttard.When you order wine by the glass in a restaurant, few people check whether or not it comes from a bottle. “

According to the report, barrels can keep wine intact for up to two years if left undisturbed. This decision is part of a wider global move towards more environmentally friendly wine packaging and Huttard has also installed a wine charging station at its family estate, based in Zellenberg, 15 km away. north of Colmar. Residents are requested to purchase a € 7 glass bottle (plus € 2 deposit) for this purpose.