Wine Industry Comment

In the last couple of weeks we have seen a number of news items about the wine industry and one of them is very disturbing.

There was an attack on students studying wine in Bordeaux. Six Chinese students were attacked in their home in a village near Bordeaux. One of them required facial surgery.

Of course most people associated with the wine industry in France will condemn this attack and be appalled by it.

These students were trying to improve their lives just like anyone else. The cruel people who committed this attack should realise that it is essential that there is a thriving industry in China to serve both export and internal markets. The middle class in China is growing rapidly and demand for wine is growing rapidly with it.

If the domestic supply for wine in China does not meet the demand created by the rapid growth of the middle class then the price of wine will go up for all of us.

Nobody will benefit from being violent towards defenceless students. This type of thuggish behaviour must stop.

Wine should be about conviviality not violence.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10125578/China-demands-action-from-France-as-wine-students-attacked-in-Bordeaux.html

There were severe hailstorms in France on the 17th of June and high temperatures are continuing to set off severe rainfall and thunderstorms. One storm on Monday destroyed some vineyards in the Vouvray district. Not only were the developing grapes damaged but also their branches which will not have time to repair themselves for next year.

This is very damaging for the vineyards concerned and coupled with the poor summer last year it only adds to the difficulties. The weather may be damaging for the French wine industry but not as damaging as violence towards Chines wine students.

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/06/vouvray-crops-damaged-by-hail-storm/

On a lighter note we now have the possibility of drinking our wine straight from a can. I shall stick to tippling from a glass. Whatever next, will there be tinned Whisky?

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/french-embrace-wine-article-1.1370628

I am all in favour of anything which makes opening a bottle of wine easier especially if you have forgotten a corkscrew on a picnic. We have umpteen corkscrews in our house and quite often I can't find one. So I think that the twist-off cork is a great idea. This stopper is rather like a Champagne cork without the flanges. You can grip the top and twist off the cork.

The inside of the bottle neck has a thread with locks into the groove in the stopper. No need for a cork screw and the cork will make a popping noise when you remove it. You can also reseal an unfinished bottle, but of course any air  left in the bottle will spoil the wine. I am surprised that a bright spark did not find a method of venting the air from the bottle when resealing it.

Screw caps do the job of protecting the wine equally as well as these new types of corks. But there is resistance to the use of screw caps in many markets including America.

Any wine sealed with a cork could be subject to cork taint caused by a fungal mould which taints the wine - "Waiter my wine is corked".  If the the new twist-off cork can resolve this problem we are on to a winner. Even top class wines could be sealed in this way.

When bottles are placed on their side the wine penetrates the cork to make the seal expand, but the cork allows a small amount of oxygen into the bottle to help the wine mature - or so the theory goes. Stelvar screw caps form an airtight seal so top class wine producers are reluctant to use a metal cap.

The new twist corks will also allow some of the bottle opening ceremony to remain. You can twist off the cork as you would with a Champagne bottle and produce a popping noise. You can even sniff the new cork to make sure that the wine is not corked. The pretence of being a connoisseur  can still be maintained at the the dining table unless of course you spill the wine all over your guests by opening the bottle with too much force.

You can even wind the capsule around the cork - this is very difficult to do with a Stelvar cap! So let us all hail the twist off cork.

http://www.gizmag.com/helix-cork/27951/