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8th September 2020 Thoughts

Wine competitions: quality signals or fruitless endeavours?

In 1224, in his notable poem Battle of the Wines, Henry d’Andeli tells the story of a famous wine tasting organized by the French king Philip Augustus. In this tasting, samples from across Europe were tasted and judged by an English priest. The priest classified the wines as either ‘Celebrated’ in the case of those which pleased him or ‘Excommunicated’ for those that did not. With the rise of the industrial revolution and the growth of international trade, the wine industry has become a $354.7 billion global market. But wine quality cannot be ascertained ex-ante, for this reason, the industry faces an information asymmetry problem. The producer, distributor or retailer involved in the economic transaction often possess greater material knowledge than the general consumer. Where this is the case, systems emerge which attempt to address this information imbalance. Filmmakers spend millions creating trailers, in literature, there are renowned awards such as the Booker Prize, and in the wine industry there have been scores and competitions. From well-established, renowned international awards to small, emerging regional competitions, format and scale is broad and diverse. However, in a marketplace where applications like Vivino provide consumers with immediate community-generated reviews, whether competitions are effective tools in establishing objective, qualitative benchmarks to aid purchasing decisions or serve as revenue-generating marketing machines is not altogether clear. In this article, I explore the research on wine competitions and discuss what producers should consider before entering their wines into a competition.

31st August 2020 Thoughts

Overstating terroir: the effacing of the vigneron

Unlike most other agricultural products, bar the most niche of fruit and vegetable, a wine’s origin, in some cases down to a single acre of land, is touted as a semi-mystical source of quality. Although lacking an exact definition, Jancis Robinson notes terroir to be a vines ‘total natural growing environment’. While some consider farming practices a function of terroir, for the most part, it is inclusive of the place, not the person. It is said that the soil, subsoil, rocks, exposition, mesoclimate, and microclimate of a particular vine, are amongst that which most influence the grapevines phenotype. Although romanticised by the French, recognition of place precedes them by some time. The Ancient Greeks were known to stamp amphorae with a seal of origin, the result being different regions established varying reputations for the quality of their wine. But one need not look to Ancient Greece to observe the importance of place. Anybody who has planted in their own garden will recognise that particular plots, even within a 30m² site, perform better, yielding more fruitful results, than others. However, both viticulture and wine differ greatly from almost all other farming endeavours. The sheer volume of decisions made by the vigneron and the subsequent scale of their influence is so vast that one must wonder to what extent terroir can really be credited for the style of the finished wine. Amongst natural wine circles ‘sense of place’ has become a hallmark of authenticity. To ‘let the place show’ is the mantra of the most zen winos. But when these ‘small’ decisions yield such notably broad variance, is this a plausible proposition? Has fetishising terroir obfuscated and subordinated the role of the farmer? A recent conversation with Wine Advocates, Dr William Kelley, stoked my thoughts.

27th August 2020 Features

Sip Champagnes: the best way to discover outstanding Champagne

As a wealthy, mercantile nation, England had a marked influence on the development of sparkling Champagne. On both sides of the channel, the roots of the modern Champagne industry were laid during the Industrial Revolution. Most notably, the British method of coal-fired glassmaking contributed to stronger bottles able to withstand higher pressure. By the end of the 19th century, Champagne was making its mark and embedding itself into popular culture. Since 1950, global sales have grown steadily, with 13 million bottles sold in 2019 in the UK alone. To the surprise of many, there are almost 16,000 individual growers and 320 houses in Champagne. However, those 320 houses sell almost 70% of the regions total production. Only around 2000 of these growers continue to grow and produce their own wine. A concentration of powerful conglomerates raising the price paid to growers for their crop has made bottling one’s own wine economically unfeasible and increasingly unattractive. In 2018 alone, 120 growers disappeared. Despite being the second-largest consumer of Champagne, here in the UK, we import only 130 growers with the vast majority of sales achieved by the 5 largest houses. Lack of visibility in such an important market makes the prospect of surviving as a grower all the more daunting. Sip Champagnes is the brainchild of friends Daniel Blatchford and Peter Crawford. Together, photographer and tech-wiz Blatchford, and longstanding Champagne enthusiast and collector, Crawford, aim to platform underexposed artisan producers by providing customers with a unique exploration through a subscription model and standalone bottle shop. I spoke with the pair about this exciting project.

23rd January 2019 Viticulture / Wine Science

Growing wine at altitude: what’s the deal?

It is commonplace to flaunt a vineyards altitude in plain sight on a bottle of Argentinian Malbec with producers competing to show that they work with the highest-altitude vineyards. So why exactly is Argentinian Malbec grown at such high-altitude?

16th January 2019 Features

An evening with Dom Perignon at Simpsons Birmingham

Fantastic evening with Dom Perignon at the Michelin starred Simpsons in Birmingham. During the evening we tasted DP Vintage 09, Rosé 05, DP P2 2000, 99 and 98. Check out this post in which I explain exactly what the Dom Perignon P2 series is and also share my tasting notes from the evening.

12th January 2019 Wine Science / Winemaking

Yeast in winemaking: the unsung heroes of aroma

As a 16 year old I remember working in the cold, damp warehouse of a recycled clothing store. Frequently I would find myself muttering frustratedly under my breath that I was certain the store’s customers would never give me any credit for my work and that the more glamorous store assistants would be the recipients of their gratitude. I think that if our beloved yeast could speak they would vent similar frustrations. So often we wax poetic about the beauty of soil, terroir, vineyard management and climate but less often do we give yeast their fare share of our appreciation. This article will explore in a little more detail the role of yeast in winemaking.

6th January 2019 Viticulture / Wine Science / Winemaking

Petrol aroma in riesling: what the TDN …

Exactly what it is which forms the final flavour profile of a wine is complex, multi-faceted and in the most part unknown. Despite this particular dominating aroma or flavour have come to define particular varieties. The petrol aroma in Riesling is one of them. I don’t know why, but I just can’t get enough of it, I’m a petrolhead. But what exactly is it? A fault? A varietal characteristic? Whatever it is, it‘s aroma that divides wine lovers and mystifies the casual wine drinker. This post will explore its origins and discuss in more detail viticultural and climatic factors affecting its presence and concentration.