Bordeaux harvest claims rejected…
FOLLOWING the claims made last week by a number of Bordeaux producers that this year’s harvest could be the “vintage of the century”, French critics have come out to say that this is something that has been said three times over the last eight years and questionable at best.
According to the Times last weekend, a respected critic with Le Figaro, Bernard Burtschy, has said that “in the face of a depressed market, producers are trying too hard”, when referring to their boasting tactics adding that “it’s another vintage of the century”.
It is suggested that after a reported “45 per cent fall in sales last year, wine makers from the region are talking up their harvest to bolster revenue” where others have called it “mainly a ploy” to offset falling sales.
The report added; “Connoisseurs said that there was some truth in the claim that 2009 might prove memorable — but Bordeaux’s châteaux had oversold harvests so often that they had drained public confidence.
“However, critics say that it is far too early to start drawing conclusions about the 2009 vintage, which will not be tasted by critics until April, purchased by merchants until June and not be consumed at dinner parties for at least five years. Looks like we will just have to wait and see…!
10 Green bottles…
REPORTS from the world of wine suggest that it might not be very long before consumers see shopping aisles brimming with bottles boasting their claims of carbon neutrality.
In the US, Rodney Strong Winery, became the second winery in the country to announce it went “carbon neutral,” one of a handful in the world to lay claim to such green ground.
“It’s going to be increasingly important for consumers to know that the wines they choose are participating in the green revolution that our planet is going to have to go through to survive,” said Robert Nicholson, principal of Healdsburg wine consulting firm International Wine Associates.
Winebusiness.com reports that one region, the California wine industry, long at the forefront of the sustainable agriculture movement, is struggling to answer a host of new questions about its impact on the environment. Today wineries are as apt to be asked about their carbon footprints as they are about the scores their wines have garnered from critics.
As consumers become more concerned about global warming, large retailers are demanding more information from suppliers about the environmental impact of their products. Producers of everything from paper towels to pinot noir are facing a future where they must spend time and money trying to calculate their products’ carbon emissions. How quickly the wine industry reacts is anyone’s guess.
Retail Excellence Awards
NOMINATED as a finalist in the category for the Best Medium Store in the 2009 Retail Excellence Awards, O’Briens Wine Beer and Spirits at the Parkway Shopping Centre continue to reach the standards they have set at their flagship outlet in Limerick.
Delighted with the recognition of the judges, store manager Mike Curran noted this week that both he and the staff at the store will continue to strive for retail excellence at the Parkway outlet. Confident about the festive period ahead, Mike was quick to note the offers, tastings and wide fair available and that he expects a brisk trade for Christmas.
