Afternoon Brief, March 20th

Thieves Hit Chablis Winery, Stealing More Than 1,000 Bottles: Thieves entered Domaine du Château de Viviers undetected in the middle of the night and stole wines with a total estimated value of more than €50,000, said the Chablis producer...

Winemaking at Chablis After growing and harvesting, the wine needs to be bottled. This process contains several applications, all needing compressed air or nitrogen. The compressed air is used for bottling the machines, putting on the capsules and labelling. How is nitrogen used during the bottling? During bottling, nitrogen is used twice. First to remove oxygen from the empty bottles, and afterwards to chase the carbon gasses just before capping. The compressed air and nitrogen is provided by a variable speed drive (VSD) compressor with built-in dryer and a nitrogen generator. On top, the Michel family also uses 3 filters. By replacing nitrogen in bottles with a generator while using a VSD compressor, the Michel family saves not only time and money but also energy.

A special thank you to Lee Anderson for contributing to our Guest Blog Series. In this post, Lee shares her experience as a sommelier in Chicago's fine dining scene. Read how Lee would create a memorable experience for her guests with wine-on-tap: I have a tattoo on my left lower arm. It is a sketch of an angel sitting on the moon with her red wings spread out behind her. It commemorates the bottle that began my love affair with wine. That bottle was not pricey or particularly fancy. It was Peter Jerman’s “Red Angel on the Moon”: a pinot noir. What was special was everything that came with it: the perfectly polished glassware, the date I had been crushing on for weeks, the excellent food pairing, and the stellar service. The night was beautiful, and the wine was perfect. As a sommelier and wine buyer who’s spent a majority of my career in fine dining, I would focus on recreating that moment for my guests. I wanted them to walk out of my restaurant feeling li

Amcor’s STELVIN® range was the first screw cap for wine when it was launched in 1964 The market pioneer continues to pave the way in providing winemakers with more sustainable choices  Zurich, Switzerland, 20 March 2024: Amcor Capsules, a global leader in developing and producing responsible closures and capsules for wine and spirits brands, celebrates the 60th anniversary of its pioneering STELVIN® aluminum screw cap range for wine. The development of STELVIN® in 1964 in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, marked a significant milestone in the wine industry. At a time when there were no screw cap alternatives available in the market, the concept of STELVIN® was first pioneered to address challenges faced by the Swiss grape variety Chasselas, which is known for its sensitivity to cork taint. The STELVIN® mechanical system played a crucial role in this achievement, providing a solution that preserves the wine's aromas, its freshness, taste and qu

Unstable weather is making it increasingly hard to decide picking dates for grapes. We caught up with leading winemakers from Australia, France and the UK to find out how earlier harvests are impacting on grape quality. Having always been at the mercy of Mother Nature, winemakers are acutely aware of the impact climate change is having on their livelihoods. Temperatures aren’t only rising, weather patterns are becoming increasingly erratic and extreme, and incidents of devastating wildfires, floods, droughts and late spring frosts are becoming more commonplace in the world’s leading wine-growing regions. In 2021, France was besieged by a cocktail of climate catastrophes, from destructive spring frosts and raging wildfires to violent hail storms. The April frosts across swathes of French vineyard land were particularly brutal, resulting in losses of up to EUR 2 billion. Yields across France hit historic lows in 2021, down 30% on average, though losses were far worse in many

If you had a favorite brand of cereal as a kid (who didn’t, right?), then you must remember the visceral disappointment you felt when your parents bought a generic off-brand product instead of your favorite. You didn’t even need to taste them, did you? The mere fact they did not have the familiar mascot on the box made you hate them. The fact that most of us can relate speaks volumes about the power of labels and branding. Before a customer has had a chance to try your product, they judge it by its appearance. When it comes to premium products like wine, spirits, craft beer, or cannabis products, the appearance is pretty much everything a brand has to bet on for attracting new retail consumers. THE POWER OF LABELS FOR PREMIUM PRODUCTS Branding has always been important for any product claiming to be premium. But the importance of labels has grown in recent years as new technologies have allowed us to create brand experiences even for people who have never bought the product

Burgundy Exemplifies Good Food and Wine in France!

In 2022, two exciting flagship projects will be shining the spotlight on good food and wine, in Dijon, Beaune, Mâcon and Chablis! October 18th – The Cité internationale du vin et de la gastronomie in Dijon: The capital of the Dukes of Burgundy is championing the values recognized by UNESCO: the gastronomic meal of the […]

Chardonnay is one the most versatile and popular varieties in the world. From the flinty, mineral wines of Chablis to the opulent, rich and buttery California styles, Chardonnay is a reflection of cultural and climatic influence. Today, we have many tools available to direct this typically neutral varietal to its full potential. This webinar will explore varying techniques for driving Chardonnay wine style as well as the Enartis yeast and malolactic bacteria range for Chardonnay. Please join Enartis USA for this webinar which will cover the following topics: Chardonnay Wine Styles Vinification and Processing Strategies Chardonnay Yeast Selection Malolactic Fermentation 15 minute Q&A at the end of the webinar Date and Time: Tuesday, July 28 9:00-10:00am PDT (California Time)  Fee: Free! REGISTER NOW!

Today's #winebiz news for #wineindustry professionals...  Finally, Some Good News About Smoke Taint Smoke taint is a scourge that can ruin a harvest. But as Jeff Siegel discovers, research has unlocked some answers...