Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Magyar moments

Published: 23 July, 2008

Hungarian wine annual tasting
When? 7 March, 11am-4pm
Where? The Royal Opera House, London
On show: 260 wines from 27 wineries
Contact: Neil Gooch, RGS Group;
tel: 01892 664 855

The Interview: Nicolas Angelina, Operations manager, Volt Lounge, London

Published: 23 July, 2008

What made you open this style bar?
It was something the next generation of the family wanted. When the Antouns first came to London, after 25 years of running restaurants in Paris, they chose Hobart Place for the classical style of Lebanese dining. Then the Mango Tree took over next door; there was an empty space between that and Noura, so they thought, Why not something new?' For us, Volt means electricity, energy!

With Ryman reason

Published: 23 July, 2008

I'm not sure that I'm the right person to write this piece. Arthur Miller would have handled it so much better: the steps that take someone in this direction rather than that, the consequences piling up, the unavoidable dnouement. But Miller is dead, and in any case I doubt if Harpers could have afforded him. So here I am.

Due South

Published: 23 July, 2008

This year's ViniSud will be the biggest yet. More than 1,500 producers are expected in the south of France, along with 32,000 visitors.
ViniSud is essentially a shop window for the entire Mediterranean. And while the majority of exhibitors are French-based, the event also showcases the following countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Macedonia.

The Interview: Hamish Martin, Managing director, Inverarity Vaults

Published: 23 July, 2008

What did you do before setting up Inverarity Vaults?
I had always intended to join the army, but within seven weeks of arriving at Sandhurst I had torn my ligaments playing rugby and was medically discharged. So I applied for a place on the management trainee course at Oddbins and worked for them for two years. Then I joined Champagnes & Chteaux, selling their wines on a commission basis to hotels and restaurants. But I always knew I wanted to come back to Scotland, so when my father retired as production director of The Distillers Company Limited (DCL), he suggested that we create our own blended Scotch whisky. My passion is wine, so I started the wine business by importing a pallet of Domaine de Thelin's ros, which is still our house wine.

The appliance of science

Published: 23 July, 2008

In the wine world, Australia punches above its weight. Consider the facts: in terms of production statistics, Australia isn't really a big player on the global wine scene. While 160,000 hectares (ha) under vine may sound a lot, compare this with the Languedoc's 250,000ha, or even Sicily's 200,000ha, and it's somewhat surprising that the Aussies have a reputation as one of the giants of the wine world. What is the secret to their success? It's likely to be down to several factors, but one of the key elements seems to be that, relative to the size of its industry, Australia has a very active wine-science community working on relevant, industry-driven projects, and its winemakers have gone on to apply the fruits of this research in the pursuit of quality.

BOB does bingo

Published: 23 July, 2008

BOB - Buddies of the Benevolent - kicked of its 2006 programme with a Cocktail Bingo' night on 18 January at Fulham Town Hall and raised close to 1,000 for the Wine and Spirit Trades' Benevolent fund. Almost 100 members of the trade attended, drinking a fair amount of beer, wine and Cuba libres. The Mentzendorff team were the big winners on the night, walking away with three of the prizes: a meal for two at Vault, a leather bag and a bottle of Inniskillin Icewine.
Four more events are planned for this year, including a boat cruise in July and a salsa night in September.

A little more conversation

Published: 23 July, 2008

How do you get consumers and the trade talking about a 50,000-case brand with next to no above-the-line marketing budget and without the help of an expensive PR agency? Nick Dymoke-Marr of Orbital Wines managed it, for the cost of 100 bottles of wine (+ p&p). And all by the power of the blog.
First, some numbers. At the last count (in December 2005) there were 26 million blogs - short for weblogs, a kind of interactive online diary - in the world, with 85,000 new ones being created each day. And the number of blogs devoted to, or mostly involving, wine? Just 56 worldwide, according to http://wineblogwatch.arrr.net. At least one part of the wine world isn't faced with a glut.

Jurisprudence or blind man's buff?

Published: 23 July, 2008

Guilty or not guilty. Happily, that is neither the question nor the answer for the Grand Jury Europen (GJE). As it sips, swirls and spits its way through the evidence presented by more than 150 anonymous vinous witnesses, it may well consider cases of assault, breach of contract, deception, extortion, fraud, negligence, price-rigging and treason, as well as mitigating circumstances such as crimes passionnels and diminished responsibility. But its decisions will not be rendered in a stark one- or two-word verdict. Rather, they will take the form of a summary, with charts and graphs and scores out of 100. As such, some will find them harder to accept than others.

Ex uno plures: Robert Parker and the Grand Jury Europen

Published: 23 July, 2008

The questions have often been asked, with growing urgency, over recent years: who can rival and who will succeed Robert Parker as the dominant influence in the world of fine wine? The answer, almost certainly, is nobody - at least no individual - to which many, though not all, will heave a sigh of relief.
One doesn't have to subscribe to a cometh the hour, cometh the man' theory of history to recognise that Parker was a dedicated, talented individual in the right place at the right time. In all likelihood, nobody else will be able or willing to devote himself or herself so single-mindedly to the task; nobody else will have the resources, financial or physical; nobody else will have the sheer stamina. Moreover, Parker announced in 2003 that he intended to carry on for another 10 years.

The Interview: Daniele Drago, Sommelier, La Luna

Published: 23 July, 2008

Most of your wine knowledge is self-taught; has this been difficult?
Not really. I started learning about the different Italian labels and grape varieties when I was in Sicily. The turning point came when I moved over here and had a look at the brochure for Enotria Winecellars. There were so many wines, it was just incredible: 25 or 30 different kinds of Barolo. So I started reading books about the whole subject - not just the labels but about the people behind the wines, the regions, the different grapes and so on. Since opening the restaurant, I have also started to visit the vineyards. Although, unfortunately, I don't have much time to travel around Italy; otherwise I'd be over there a lot more. I'm very lucky because I have good wine friends and they bring their wines over to me.

The Aus-thentic experience

Published: 23 July, 2008

Paul Henry, general manager of Wine Australia, introduces the 2006 Australia Day Tastings, Authentic Australia': It is every country's desire to populate the wine market with democratising brands, as well as compelling reasons to trial and trade up. The search for a profitable mix that uniquely balances accessibility with interest is a challenge, and one that Australia seeks to deliver above all other categories. It
can do so by representing itself as a broad and inclusive producer that seeks to champion quality and excitement, whatever the price point. That is what is meant by Authentic Australia.

Promoting Pinot

Published: 23 July, 2008

It's like a word-association game: we link certain wine regions with particular grape varieties. For example, Sancerre suggests Sauvignon Blanc; Rioja implies Tempranillo; the Barossa Valley connotes Shiraz; Oregon means Pinot Noir.
Actually, that last pair might provoke an academic response. Many people in the trade have little or no experience of Oregon wine beyond a quick tasting during their WSET qualifications. If pressed to define this US wine region further, vague references to boutique producers', expensive' and inconsistent' may be all that come to mind.

The Interview: James Harris, Proprietor, 11 Abingdon Road, London

Published: 23 July, 2008

You must be relieved that the restaurant is now open?
A new place is very similar to childbirth. When it's finished you say, Absolutely never again, not in a million years,' but then sometime afterwards you begin to forget the pain and think, Wouldn't it be great to have another one,' and you're off again. But the real hard work starts when the adrenalin levels go down and you've still got a snagging list from here to Brighton.

Cyber wine

Published: 23 July, 2008

There I was in the kitchen, grumpy because I felt I was having to give up my precious Sunday evening to do some sort of virtual wine tasting. Being an editor, the boss, you learn the brutal art of delegating. After all, you can't do everything. Indeed, all those stress guides tell you to prioritise and delegate, but I had left it too late. Last thing on the Friday, there was hardly anyone around so I was left with six bottles of wine, a website and an access code. Drat!

The C word

Published: 23 July, 2008

New Year's Day 2006 was not only a day of recovery from festive mania, it was also the first day of a whole new set of EU traceability regulations for the catering industry. Depending on individual views, these additions are either an important asset or a frustrating affliction, but either way, they are the next step towards a world in which a restaurant waiter can tell a customer exactly which patch of ocean the house sea bass comes from and the name of the fisherman who caught it.

Australia: state of play

Published: 23 July, 2008

As an objective framework to a paper that necessarily has a large degree of subjective arguments and judgements, I decided I would start with an analysis of the trophy results for the last six Sydney Royal Wine Shows (from 2000 to 2005 inclusive). I looked at the varietal mix, the regional mix and the winemaker mix - the first two simple enough; the last requiring some preliminary explanation. So I will start with the winemakers. The primary division was between large, medium and small. I could give you a winery-by-winery classification,
but - while some of you might disagree - the majority wouldn't.

The Interview: Mark Dorber, Manager, The White Horse

Published: 23 July, 2008

What do you think of your pub's alternative title, The Sloaney Pony'?
I have a beef with Time Out and certain other lazy journalists about that. Round here was certainly the yuppie capital of
the world in 1986, but that particular crowd has long moved on.

13 reasons to be cheerful

Published: 23 July, 2008

When Harpers undertook its survey of the wine trade earlier this year - canvassing importers, distributors, retailers, buyers and sommeliers - an overwhelming sense of lethargy was apparent. For every response that was bullish, enthusiastic and hopeful, there were four that were bearish, negative and despondent. Reduced margins, deep-cut promotions, retailer and producer consolidation, increasing commoditisation of the product and the dumbing down' of wine communication were all cited time and time again.

Happy anniversary

Published: 23 July, 2008

Time and place
New Zealand Annual Trade Tasting 2006
Lord's Cricket Ground, London NW1
Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 January
10am-5pm
Contact Alison Power at New Zealand Winegrowers
020 7973 8079

Event info
This year's tasting will feature a selection of gold medal-winning wines from the Air New Zealand Wine awards, while central varietal tables will focus on aromatics, red blends and Syrahs. On Tuesday 17 at 3.30pm, a seminar titled New Zealand Syrah - New World Fruit and Old World Structure', looking at viticultural and vinicultural influences and Hawkes Bay's dominance with Syrah, will be held in the Lord's Media Centre. Speakers include Steve Smith of Craggy Range, Kate Ormond of Te Mata, Anna-Barbara Helliwell of Unison, and Ronan Sayburn, executive head sommelier at Gordon Ramsay restaurants in London. Call Alison Power on the above number to reserve your seat.