Wine News and Tidbits
From Arnie Serotsky
Posted December 18, 2024
Protests Over Wine Industry Issues in France
Apparently, grape growers vandalized a wine estate owned by the 2nd largest wine producer in France - Grands Chais de France. According to a public prosecutor in the region (Narbonne), the perpetrators set fire to a refrigeration unit, emptied vats of wine, and left behind evidence indicating they were from the Comité d’Action Viticole (Viticultural Action Committee).
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No one bought an eight bottle lot of 1947 Cheval Blanc at a Danish Auction house
Eight bottles of 1947 Cheval Blanc billed as ‘the world’s most fabled wine’ failed to sell at the Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen.The wines, from a Scandinavian cellar, did not attract a buyer, although other high value Bordeaux wines did. My Google research on this wine suggests that it sells for $20,000+ per bottle. My last Bordeaux purchase was 6 bottles of 2016 Chateau Serilhan St. Estephe at $30 a bottle!
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Apparently, the 2024 West Coast Growing Season was Kind to Growers
West Coast growers have suggested that the 2024, although with an earlier and lighter harvest than the previous year, indicates a return to normal. Growers and winemakers along the West Coast hoped they weren't jinxing themselves when they reported that the crop was shaping up to be a good one. While lighter than the previous year's crop, it doesn't appear to be quite enough to deal with an oversupply of grapes.
The somewhat lighter harvest can be attributed to slightly smaller grape clusters and berry size, following a mild winter in California and parts of Oregon and fewer wild, topsy turvy weather trends. The year was also marked by other positive climatic factors amid lesser or normal pest and disease pressures across the Pacific Northwest and the Golden State.
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A Known Russian Wine Counterfeiter Strikes Again - With Burgundy Bottles of Italian Wine!
The alleged mastermind of a multimillion dollar wine counterfeiting operation was conducting a transaction at Milan’s Malpensa airport when the Italian police moved in and arrested him on Sept. 26. At the same moment in various locations in France and Italy, law enforcement officers launched raids that netted five collaborators. It was the culmination of an international operation to dismantle a network that prosecutors say sold more than €2 million (approximately $2.12 million) in fake wine.
At the head of the illicit activity, investigators found a familiar suspect - Aleksandr Lugov - 40-year-old Russian national who has several aliases. Lugov was previously arrested in Burgundy and convicted of counterfeiting wines from top names, including Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) and Domaine Leroy. But within a few years, investigators began to see similar fakes on the market again, leading them back to Lugov.
How is it that this guy got back out on the street to commit the same crime again?!?! And who were his targeted customers?? In my 50+ years of buying and tasting wine, including a wonderful stay in Burgundy, I only enjoyed wines of this quality and cost once!! Four couples attended a DRC tasting in Rochester at a Les Amis du Vin event that I will never forget and probably never be able to afford again!
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Posted December 18, 2024
Here's a link to a very interesting additional TIDBITS article summary from Arnie Serotsky about alcohol use and our health. Definitely worth a look - especially during the holidays!
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Last updated: 12/21/2024
