Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Justin Keay's travels in the Alentejo

Published: 03 December, 2010

Here I am, back in the Alentejo just a few months since I was last here, this time to visit wineries in the south of the region and judge wines at the Fijev tasting.

Geoffrey Dean: Our man Down Under's Ashes and wine blog

Published: 02 December, 2010

I thought it couldn't get much better when I read headlines of "Ashes Humiliation" in an Australian national newspaper the day after England's total of 517 for one in the drawn first Test in Brisbane.

Douglas Blyde: restaurant review, Hotel Viura, Rioja

Published: 01 December, 2010

Instead of taking the title of Rioja's most famous red grape, tempranillo, boutique hotel Viura, which opened in May, recalls the region's most planted white vine. Although this might seem a peculiar move in a region where 85% of output is red, one glance at architects, Joseba and Xabier Aranburu's self consciously modern, yet surprisingly tactile structure reveals that they are unafraid of going against convention.

Geoffrey Dean: Ashes blog from Brisbane

Published: 25 November, 2010

On the eve of the most eagerly awaited Ashes series in recent times started, I found it quite ironic that statistics should be published revealing that Australian beer sales have hit their lowest level for 60 years.

Richard Siddle, comment November 19 issue

Published: 23 November, 2010

Stepping off the plane last week, after a 27-hour journey from Argentina into a fog bound London Heathrow, brought home to me how far removed South American winemakers are to the UK market.

Blog: discovering baroque music & vines and Caberlot

Published: 18 November, 2010

James Lawrence, wine writer, attended the World Wine Symposium in Lake Como recently, where he met some interesting characters

Hylton and Wendy Appelbaum own DeMorgenzon, a large estate perched high on a hill in Stellenbosch. They are some of the most relaxed and fun people I have ever met, a million miles apart from the stuffy false image that wine can attract.

We were introduced on the second day of the World Wine Symposium in October, a now annual event in Lake Como that was started last year in a bid to bring producers, journalists and importers together to discuss the future of the wine industry.

After interviewing many a delegate during the course of the three days I got chatting to the Appelbaums, who have coined a unique way of producing the best quality fruit in the region.

Not content with meticulously pruning and caring for his vineyards, Hylton connects speakers to every row of vines and plays them baroque music 24/7. My first thought was 'nice gimmick', until he explains the reasoning behind it.

"My vines clearly respond to the sound waves from melodic Baroque music, they show greater vigour and are healthier as a result, he says. "We saw a difference within the first year after introducing music to the vineyards."

"That is evidence enough I think", he adds with great conviction.

Music and wine have, of course, a long established affinity. The Wine Merchants BBR have published a music play list to accompany some of its choice wines. Research has shown that peoples perceptions of wine can be influenced by different styles of music. But music played to the vines? That was a new one on me.

His claims do have some scientific backing. In 1973 a book called The Sound of Music and Plants, detailing experiments conducted at the Colorado Woman's College in Denver, determined that playing soothing music to plants made them grow faster. Moreover, recent scientific studies undertaken at Bilkent University in Turkey, in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Government Music Academy, found that classical music has positive effects on root growth.

Why not play some Beyonce then I ask?

My neighbours would go insane, he replies.

My dad used to talk to the plants -"grow you sods" he would shout every morning. And admittedly, it did work.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding and Hylton believes his fruit and subsequently the wines are better quality as a result. His Chenin was certainly very good indeed, complex and rich but also nicely structured.

It was another beautiful October evening in Como and we all drank his wine as the sun set over the lake. So who says wine making is routine?

There were more surprises to come. I met up later with a lovely German couple who have the rarest grape variety on earth in their estate in Tuscany, Il Caberlot.

There are only 2 hectares of this variety in the world, a genetic cross between Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Bettina and Moritz Rogosky, the winery owners, explained that the varietal was first identified in the early 1960´s in an old abandoned vineyard near Padua. Her husband, Woolf Rogosky, acquired and named the varietal `Caberlot´, and set out to produce a great wine with a truly unique character.

I must admit, until the Symposium I had never come across or even heard of this grape.

It was first planted in 1986, with two additional vineyards planted in 1999 and 2004. Yields are low at the estate, often under 30 hectolitres per hectare. Production is tiny, with only 2500 magnums released each year. A wine dearly sought after with little supply.

I asked Moritz whether he would ever consider sharing their variety. "Only outside Tuscany" was his reply. I guess there is only room for one Caberlot in this town.

Bettina and Moritz are very proud of their wine and with just cause. The 2004 I tried had an impressive bouquet of cherry, ash and plum with subtle notes of chocolate and tobacco. It was a wine of incredible finesse, elegance and perfume, the sort that Parker might give a low score too. No uber ripeness or over extraction here. Most remarkably, it was even better 24 hours later, with no signs of oxidation at all.

These interviews marked the end of a fascinating conference, some of my preconceptions and knowledge about wine were challenged and expanded two weeks ago, and I feel all the better for it. That's the whole point of these events for me, to leave with more than I came with, and not just the complimentary paraphernalia about the Symposium.

I wonder what surprises next year will bring?

Richard Siddle: Argentine Adventures, Part Two

Published: 14 November, 2010

Famous last words...having said I was sure I would be back in Mendoza city one day it did not expect to be walking back in to the Diplomatic Hotel some 14 hours later.

Richard Siddle does Argentina

Published: 12 November, 2010

Harpers Wine & Spirit editor Richard Siddle is in the clutches of Wines of Argentina...

Richard Siddle, Chilean adventures: winery opening Errazuriz style

Published: 08 November, 2010

When I was first told that as part of the Errazuriz Don Maximiano winery opening event in Chile I would be expected to wear a dinner suit for the gala dinner, the prospect of lugging the full paraphernalia half way round the world did not flll me with excitement.

Richard Siddle, Chilean adventures: winery opening Errazuriz style

Published: 08 November, 2010

Richard Siddle Chilean adventures in Aconcagua Valley

Published: 06 November, 2010

Safely ensconced in Chile for the inauguration of Errazuriz's new winery Don Maximiano in
Aconcagua. A 24-hour plus journey rather beats the hour and twenty minute jaunt down to William Reed HQ. However. catering and onboard entertainment facilities of Brazilian airline,TAM, on a par with Network South.

Blog: is Bordeaux 2010 the latest in another great trilogy?

Published: 05 November, 2010

Panos Kakaviatos, wine writer, visited key players in the region to take a close look at how Bordeaux's 2010 vintage is stacking up compared with 2009's "miracle" offering.

A night of whisky and curry

Published: 04 November, 2010

James Lawrence attends a whisky and curry matching at Quilon in London

Harvest blog, Anne Krebiehl, Treiso, Piedmonte

Published: 03 November, 2010

After the last grapes had come in, we started cleaning: the crusher/de-stemmer, the pipes, the hall. Remontages were still made twice a day for all the fermenting vats and those that had finished were racked off: what spectrum of purple, dark red and pink the fine lees were. I was tempted to play Jackson Pollock and pour them all over the winery in finely patterned arabesques, but alas, I just shovelled them into a tank.

Simon Burnton: the highs and lows of taking the WSET advanced course

Published: 01 November, 2010

Attempting the WSET advanced course in a single week requires a fair amount of single-mindedness and dedication, involving as it does four and a half packed days of classroom study and a recommendation that students spend a further 80 hours of their own time on preparation and revision. It suits a young insomniac with no family, even fewer friends, and a concentration span so monumentally impressive even Ribena is jealous of how concentrated they are.

Harvest blog, Anne Krebiehl, Treiso, Piedmonte

Published: 26 October, 2010

Last Friday (October 22) we took in the last grapes: all the tanks and fermenters in the winery were full, bearing the names of all the various plots: Nebbiolo Chiesetta, Nebbiolo Caterina, Nebbiolo Munfrin, Vanotu. Francesco said that it had been a whole month, starting with Moscato and Favorita, ending with the Nebbiolo and Barbera. I only dealt with the blood-dark, spicy Barberas and the mysterious Nebbiolos. Tulin and Vanotu will be bottled as single-vineyard Babarescos - and the remaining plots will either make the Nubiola Barbaresco and the younger vines will make Langhe Nebbiolo.

Days five to seven: Australian wine trip blog

Published: 25 October, 2010

Becky Leach is online development manager for Majestic Wine and winner of the James Busby Twitter competition

Richard Siddle, comment, October 22

Published: 22 October, 2010

It's been a mixed week of fortunes for wine generics. On the hand Michael Cox, who has presided over Chile's amazing growth in the UK for the last seven years, received a special award for his services to the country from no less a person than the Chilean president. Whilst on the other side of the world it was announced that Paul Henry, the face of Wine Australia was following the generic's head for the UK and Europe, Lisa McGovern and tendering his resignation. To lose two such high profile figures in the space of a few weeks seems more than just bad timing.

Day four Australian wine blog, Becky Leach

Published: 21 October, 2010

Becky Leach is online development manager for Majestic Wine and winner of the James Busby Twitter competition to win a trip to travel to wineries in Australia.