Wine News and Tid Bits
From Arnie Serotsky
Posted August 5, 2022
Drought Plagues Tuscan Wine Producers
04 AUGUST 2022 - By Eloise Feilden
Tuscan producers and grape growers are looking to salvage what they can of this year’s crop as drought and a major heatwave take a toll on the region’s wine.
Tuscany has seen little to no rainfall since March this year, causing vineyards to suffer. Bunches of grapes are ripening earlier than expected due to prolonged high temperatures, causing a reduction in yield and the quality of the grapes. Even those with a high drought tolerance are being affected.
“We have smaller grapes, and we expect the number of grapes to be lower than the average of the last few years, probably in line with last year’s,” Sergio Zingarelli, the vice-president of the Chianti Classico Consortium, told Reuters.
Climate change is also putting Tuscan wine producers at risk due to extreme weather patterns. The news outlet reported that a hailstorm which occurred a few weeks ago destroyed up to 40% of the grapes in the region.
The Italian government has already declared a state of emergency in five regions in Northern Italy due to the severe drought that has been affecting the region.
The five states – Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto – will be given emergency funds of €36.5m (£31m) in order to tackle the water shortage, with further measures to be considered if the situation does not improve. Severe drought has been affecting northern Italy for several months, following a winter in which very little snow fell and then a very dry spring. This means that vineyards across the Langhe, Valpolicella, Franciacorta have no reserves of water in the soil to draw on. It comes after three extremely dry winters: 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Olive oil production in Tuscany could also fall by up to 60%, according to the region’s farmers, as drought plagues the rest of the agriculture industry in the region.
Posted June 30, 2022
Möet Hennessy Buys Napa's Joseph Phelps Vineyards
The multinational luxury corporation has purchased a Napa icon, home of Insignia
Another Napa wine icon is changing hands. Wine Spectator has learned that LVMH Moët Hennessy, the global wine and fashion titan, has signed a deal to purchase Joseph Phelps Vineyards. The agreement includes the brand, winery and inventory, and several hundred acres of vines in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The purchase price was not disclosed.
"Moët Hennessy plans to build on the admirable legacy established by Joseph Phelps, his children and grandchildren, maintaining the shared values of quality, craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and focus on sustainability," Moët Hennessy CEO Philippe Schaus said in a statement.
Another Napa wine icon is changing hands. Wine Spectator has learned that LVMH Moët Hennessy, the global wine and fashion titan, has signed a deal to purchase Joseph Phelps Vineyards. The agreement includes the brand, winery and inventory, and several hundred acres of vines in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The purchase price was not disclosed.
"Moët Hennessy plans to build on the admirable legacy established by Joseph Phelps, his children and grandchildren, maintaining the shared values of quality, craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and focus on sustainability," Moët Hennessy CEO Philippe Schaus said in a statement.
Foley Family Wines Buys Napa’s Silverado Vineyards - Vintner, finance executive and hockey team owner Bill Foley secures 300 acres of Napa vines with latest deal expanding his winery holdings
California vintner Bill Foley is bolstering his company's presence in Napa Valley with a deal to purchase Silverado Vineyards from the Disney Miller family, Wine Spectator has learned. The purchase price is estimated to be north of $150 million.
Founded by Ron Miller and his wife, Diane Disney Miller, Silverado last year marked its 40th anniversary. Its holdings include 300 acres of vineyards, including 100 acres in Napa’s Stags Leap District AVA (where the winery is located), 100 acres in Coombsville and 100 acres in Yountville.
Silverado's current annual production is about 68,000 cases, sold primarily through the wholesale market, but it holds a permit to make up to 140,000 cases. Its offerings range from Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, at around $25 a bottle, up through single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon expressions like Geo and Solo, the latter selling at around $125.
Silverado's two founders passed away in recent years—Ron died in 2019 at the age of 85 and Diane, the oldest daughter of Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian, passed in 2013 at age 79—and their seven children have carried on the Silverado legacy. Now the Napa Valley fixture passes to Foley Family Wines, which continues to steadily expand its vineyard and winery footprint in the Golden State.
Oregon Welcomes Its 23rd AVA
Posted July 7, 2022
PORTLAND, ORE. (PRWEB) JULY 05, 2022
Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon, the newest appellation in Oregon and nested American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Willamette Valley, has received federal recognition as an official AVA. Drawn to reflect distinct soil, topography and climate attributes, Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon AVA becomes the 23rd federally recognized winegrowing region in Oregon and the 11th nested AVA within the Willamette Valley. The new nested AVA was granted approval by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on June 3, 2022 and takes effect on July 5, 2022.
IWAGY Wine Glassware - INAO
by Tim Free
Posted July 9, 2022
Our wine tasting Club, It Was A Good Year, Inc., has invested in its own glassware. Partly this investment was made to improve the quality of glasses that are used for its events, as most venues we’ve used in the past (except the CIA) have offered poor tasting glasses. It’s important to a club that is dedicated to winetasting to have good glasses that enhance the taster’s ability to “nose” the wines, and that are small enough for a few ounces of wine to provide the full tasting experience. Also, many of the venues we’ve used or investigated do not have enough wine glasses for a typical IWAGY event (8 wines X 40 participants = 320 glasses). We have learned from our experience at the CIA and other wine tastings in the NYC area about the INAO glassware. These have been designed by the French government (and licensed to various glass producers) and are for the present the best choice we could make, taking availability and price into account. These glasses are used in France as the preferred glass for evaluating wines for important considerations like approval for AOC labeling and for evaluating new wine regions which are applying for AOC authorization. Another important aspect of these glasses is that their shape and size allow the glassware to take up minimal table space. Here’s a description of the glasses and their function:
INAO Glasses
A type of wine glass approved by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine that is certified and approved for the sampling and tasting of wine. The National Institute is a French organization that has been assigned the responsibility of protecting and certifying the authenticity of the origin of food products, which include wine. In so doing, the INAO has approved the design of glasses made specifically for professional wine tasting. The glasses are typically designed with a stem, a bowl size varying from 5 to 8 ounces, and a tulip shape that enables the wine to be swirled easily around the bowl to provide more aeration area through the shape of the bowl. The size and shape create a design for the effective presentation to the eyes, the nose and the tongue of the person tasting the wine. The eye looks for intensity of color, clarity, and shade. The nose seeks the aroma, which is concentrated as it moves up the narrowing bowl. And, the tongue tests for the bouquet, acidity, temperature, and smoothness as the wine reaches the taste buds of the wine professional. The INAO glass is readily available from stores specializing in wine accessories.
Our glasses hold about 7oz = ~ 21 cl. This also makes them ideal for Ports, Sherries, Sauternes, and other similar wines.
Last updated: 7/11/2023
