WORLD WINE NEWS 2017

December 2017

• Drought to hit South Africa's 2018 wine harvest 
  (Reuters) Drought in the Western Cape since May 2017 has led to water restrictions affecting the region's vineyards, whilst frost damage adds tot he likelihood of the smallest harvest for a decade.
• English Wine Body to become WineGB 
  (The Drinks Business) Wines of Great Britain will be shortened to WineGB and follows the formal merger on 1 September of the two industry bodies: United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA) and English Wine Producers (EWP).

November 2017

• World’s oldest wine comes from Georgia – New research 
  (Decanter) Pottery shards found in Georgia show evidence of grape and wine from between 6000 and 5800 BC .

October 2017

• World wine production plummets to 1960s levels 
  (Decanter) The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) shows an 8% fall in global production levels - 2016 was already a 20 year low - with Spain, France and Italy badly affected by 2017's weather (declines of 15%, 19% and 23% respectively).
• Stellenbosch winegrower shot and killed on farm 
  (The Drinks Business) An serious increase in attacks on farmers in South Africa's wine country.
• Little Winegrape Loss from California Wildfires 
  (Growing Produce) Vines rows acted as firebreaks, limiting damage to California vineyards. “Since most of the grapes were harvested before the fire, smoke taint for this harvest will be limited".
• Deadly fires hit wine regions in Spain and Portugal 
  (Decanter) At least 45 dead as fires rage across Galicia and the Dão.
• Fires Still Raging Through Wine Country 
  (Wine Searcher) At least 15 (42) dead and over 2000 buildings destroyed, including several wineries, as wildfires devastate Napa and Sonoma levaing many without power.
• EU wine harvest set for 36 year low 
  (The Drinks Business) 2017's weather challenges spanned Europe, resulting in a predicted 15% reduction in grape harvest.

September 2017

• 14 new Masters of Wine 
  (Institute of Masters of Wine). There are now 369 Masters of Wine living in 29 countries.
• Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan loses final appeal 
  (Decanter) "Dr. Conti's" 1 looks to remain in prison as a US District Judge rejects claims to reduce the 10-year sentence imposed in 2013.

August 2017

• Italy faces ‘one of smallest wine harvests for 60 years’ 
  (Decanter) Spring frosts and the "Lucifer heatwave" have impacted Italy and France this year.
• Italian wine is up to 3,000 years older than we thought – study 
  (Decanter) 6000 year old wine jars found in a Sicilian cave extend wine history in Italy by 3000 years.
• Rioja single vineyard ruling – Five key questions answered 
  (Decanter) Jane Anson looks at June's decision to introduce Viñedos Singulares (singular vineyard designation) to Rioja. Each label will mean hand-harvested grapes from lower-yielding, >35 year old vineyards. For the first few years at least this will likely be applicable to only ~1% of Riojan wine.

July 2017

• Frost Costs French Winemakers Dear 
  (Wine Searcher) April's cold snap affect vineyards across the country, leading to expected lower 2017 harvests.
• The Complete Guide to Botrytis 
  (Wine Searcher) Everything you need to know about how a fungal infection leads to some of the world'd best wines.
• UK wine industry votes for single representative body 
  (The Drinks Business) The United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA) and English Wine Producers (EWP) have voted to merge to form one single-industry representative body.

June 2017

• Ancient wine request discovered on museum piece 
  (The Drinks Business) "Send more wine" identified on previously hidden lines of text from a 600BC pottery piece in the Israel Museum.
• Optimism for English wine harvest following UK heatwave 
  (The Drinks Business) After the doom and gloom of May, the June heatwave has recovered some vineyards to "normal". Volumes are still likely to be down but less than originally feared.
• Wine-preserving eto decanter reaches Kickstarter target in 32 hours 
  (Decanter) Cafetiere-style decanter design gets massive crowd-funding response and set for production in early 2018.
• Sobering Outlook for English Fizz 
  (Wine Searcher) "Despite all the hype surrounding English wine, very few (producers) are actually turning a profit" with the weather, specifically frost, being the major worry for most.
• Brexit is forcing up UK wine prices, warns WSTA 
  (Decanter) Wine prices up 3% in final quarter of 2016, versus 1% in previous two years, with the average price of a bottle of wine £5.56.

May 2017

• Hugel Finally Joins the Grand Cru Class 
  (Wine Searcher) After 34 years of principled opposition do a "diluted classification" the renowned Alsace producer registered for Grand Cru status from the 2015 vintage.
• Viognier saviour Georges Vernay dies in the Rhône 
  (Decanter) The Pope of Condrieu dies aged 92, 64 years after taking over the family winery and almost single-handedly rescuing the Viognier grape from oblivion.
• Sub zero temperatures wipe out crops across England 
  (The Drinks Business) Sub zero temperatures have wiped out more than half of some producers’ crops and there could be at least a 50% drop in production volumes this year.
• Bordeaux’s worst frost since 1991 – What now? 
  (Decanter) Damage reports are coming in after 'black Thursday' and the impact looks severe and it seems certain that Bordeaux 2017 yields will be hit.

April 2017

• ‘Fatal’ frost hits Champagne vineyards 
  (Decanter) Sudden frosts after bud-break threaten 20-50% of vines in Champagne, with similar incidents in Bordeaux and across Europe.
• 2013 Barolo Vintage One for the Ages 
  (Wine Searcher) 2010 was the last great Barolo vintage, and 2013 looks to surpass it with classic, long-ageing "Tightly packed and deeply concentrated" wines.
• Anson: Sizing up two Bordeaux vintage trilogies 
  (Decanter) 2014, 15 and 16 vintages are being compared with 1988, 89 and 90 in terms of uniform quality.

March 2017

• Northern Rhône 2015: Full overview of this ‘excellent’ vintage 
  (Decanter) John Livingstone-Learmonth reviews one of the best years in a lifetime, with "immense" Côte-Rôtie  and "mighty" Hermitage.
• Behold: The drip-free wine bottle! 
  (Brandeis University) Biophysicist Daniel Perlmann may have discovered a drip-free wine bottle design with a small groove cut under the lip.

February 2017

• Heavy rainfall in California ‘is a blessing’ 
  (Decanter) 100mm of rain fall in less than 24 hours causes flooding and landslides, but after 5 years of drought even this is welcomed with only 17% of California now classed as in drought compared to 95% a year ago.
• Oak Sweeter than Sugar for Wine 
  (Wine Searcher) Quercotriterpenosides are 8000 times sweeter than sugar and can be released into wine from oak barrels, making a completely dry wine taste sweeter than expected.
• Cinsaut Revival for Lebanese Wine 
  (Wine Searcher) Traditionally the workhorse grape of Lebanese wine the last few decades have seen this grape fall out of favour, but now it's making a comeback and is well suited to the dry and hot Bekaa Valley.

January 2017

• Chile fires: 100-year-old vines lost in ‘national catastrophe’ 
  (Decanter) Weeks of wildfires in Chile's Central Valley have destroyed ancient vineyards in Maule and Colchagua.  Other articles describe it as "A Nightmare Without An End" (NPR) and "like Dante's Inferno" (Guardian) with the town of Santa Olga effectively destroyed and several firefighters amongst the dead.
• South Africa fire damages 300 year old Vergelegen wine estate 
  (Decanter) Wildfires around the Cape damage up to 40% of the Vergelegen Wine Estate, but vineyard damage is estimated at only 10% and the harvest should be unaffected by smoke-taint.
• NWS: Northern California now on pace for 'wettest water year on record' 
  (SFGate) California's record drought looks like it's finally coming to an end.... and then some.

For 2016's wine news click here