Although Heidi von der Mehren has been at California estate Merry Edwards for the past five years, 2018 was her first vintage fully in charge. Anne Krebiehl MW tastes the new 2018 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc and AVA Pinots and hears first hand from Heidi where she is intending to take the wines. We learn too why the SB came out of Meredith Edwards’ distaste of the varietal, plus how pivotal the key UCD 37 clone of Pinot is, and how it came into being.
When a winemaker talks about their wine they will often do so by referring to the unique terroir, or specific location where the vines from which the grapes that go into the wine are grown. But should we be doing the same with beer in terms of where the barley, hops, yeast and water that goes into the brewing come from? To help us find out Richard Siddle explores the wine side of the debate, whilst Emma Inch, the current British Beer Writer of the Year, makes the case for beer. Let the debate begin…
West Country based winemaker, Daniel Ham, has recently launched his new Off Beat Wines label onto the market – to critical acclaim. His 2018 is already sold out, and his 2019 all but spoken for already. With a new winery to open later this year in readiness for the 2020 vintage, it’s been a whirlwind few months for Dan that has turned doubters into believers. Himself included.
No matter how well your sales are doing in your domestic market, you will never maximise the full potential of your brand unless you find a way to successfully export it into new markets around the world. But that’s a lot easier said than done, says Chris Briers head of export at Southwestern Distillery that has been able to build a strong export strategy for its brands, including Tarquin’s Gin. Here he sets out his do’s and dont’s of how to build an export business for your brand.
Always one to have an opinion about a Bordeaux vintage, Joss Fowler thinks that Bordeaux 2010 is the Lewis Hamilton vintage – all the bling, all the gear but a tad aggressive and overworked. But the best wines of 2010, fifteen or twenty or so of them, are breathtaking – wines that will knock the socks off anyone lucky enough to taste them, especially when they are mature. It is these wines that the reputation of 2010 will live off for years, he believes. Here he blind-tastes the very best of them, at speed and with the clock ticking.
Three years since Rioja introduced its Single Vineyard category, Ramon Bilbao unveils its long-anticipated Lalomba project – a series of Vinedos Singulares wines that set out to capture the individual character of each very special vineyard. The entirely new Finca Valhonta andLadero reds are the producer’s most expensive ever wines and the Finca Lalinde 2019 Rosado is a re-launched premium rosado, which all share an unprecedented degree of background research and development. Quite apart from the individual merits of each wine, collectively Lalomba shows how producers in Rioja are starting to believe that terroir character can be a better predictor of quality than the length of time that a wine spends maturing in a barrel.
The explosion in English wine production over the last decade explosion is well documented, but do we really understand what it is actually happening amongst the vines and in the wineries of producers across the country? Robert Mason both celebrates the enormous strides taken within the English wine industry, but also makes the case for why it is everyone’s responsibility in the trade to get to know the sector better and identify the areas, the styles, and the wines that are right for their business and then do all they can to sell them.
Paul Mabray and Polly Hammond have been banging the drum for digital and e-commerce in the wine industry for years. For much of that time they have been left frustrated by the unwillingness of so many wine companies to take online seriously. Not any more. The Covid-19 lockdown has forced consumers and drinks businesses online like never before, opening the way for Mabray and Hammond, through their respective digital businesses, Emetry and 5Forests, to be able to offer their services and work with wine producers, to act fast to try and make the most of the Covid boom in online sales. In the latest The Buyer video interview, Richard Siddle talks to them about what they actually mean by making the most of digital and how they hope to work together and combine their data analysis and brand marketing skills to offer more wine and drinks companies the advice, support and action they need.
One of the most memorable – and inspiring – aspects of the Covid-19 crisis is how individuals and businesses have responded and, in many cases, gone way beyond the norm to not just look after themselves at this time, but rather think of others and go to extraordinary lengths to help them. It’s why The Buyer has started its new ‘Raise A Glass To’ series to shine the spotlight on the people we think deserve particular praise. Today we salute the amazing efforts of Graft Wine’s Nik Darlington. Here’s why…
It’s a sign that things are starting to get back a little more towards normal when the various drinks competitions start to open their doors for new entries for their 2021 events. The Buyer is once again very pleased to be the business media partner for The People’s Choice Wine Awards which is about to go into its fourth year. Still the only major competition that includes consumers in the judging process. This year’s awards are also being extended to include a number of spirits categories for the first time. Here are all the details.
