New Zealand wine exports at record high

Over $100 million of wine was shipped out of New Zealand in September, a new record in terms of both value and volume.

Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir continue to be New Zealand's best sellers. Trade body New Zealand Wine Growers claims demand remains high in key markets despite the economic downturn.

New Zealand's wine industry has set itself an export target of $1 billion a year by 2010.

Wine may protect against dementia

Published today on Decanter.com - click here to go to the webpage or click on the image below for a larger version.

Organic Shrinkage

Whole Foods Market, the American-owned Kensington organic temple, has lost £10m in its first year. Does this point to an underlying malaise in the controversial and seemingly unstoppable organic food revolution? Say what you will about the economic slump/recession/catastrophe, but it seems to be engendering some much-needed consumer perspective. The principles of pesticide-free 'natural' food are unimpeachable. But what irks the organic movement's detractors is the culture of snobbishness and elitism that has grown up around it, resulting in what AA Gill calls "the sort of exploitative, chic pricing that is generally reserved for celebrity perfume". Whole Foods' company motto is "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet". The way the organic bandwagon has learnt to serve up its food with moral value is clever marketing, but is frankly bananas (see picture).

The vagueness of organic certification is also a sticking point. The Soil Association is the most respected organics body in the UK, but its blessing is not required in order to sell products as organic. In wine, stories are rife of organic vines growing right next door to non-organic vineyards and being polluted by their pesticides which freely waft over in the air and soak through in the soil. Biodynamics, sometimes branded as 'organic plus', has even less regulation.

Maybe a tightening of consumers' wallets will bring organics back into perspective and keep the focus on quality rather than smoke, mirrors and marketing.

Chilean wine boss dies

Ricardo Claro, chairman of Chilean wine empire Santa Rita, has died of a heart attack aged 74. Claro made his fortune in shipping and the media, before branching into wine with the acquisition of Santa Rita in 1980. A politically divisive figure, Claro has been labelled by some as one of the 'civilian generals' behind Pinochet's 1973 coup.

Politics notwithstanding, he will be remembered for his role in putting Chile on the international wine map. Click here for the El Mercurio obituary (Spanish).

Supermarket Discounting

Joanna Simon's credit crunch recommendations in last weekend's Sunday Times made me wonder exactly how UK supermarkets can offer such low prices. Just as we were writing off the sub-£3 price point, she endorses Asda's own brand Chilean Cabernet for £2.98. Not to be outdone, Jane MacQuitty ("Wine to drink in a recession", Times 25 October) is also raving about Asda, whose Montepulciano - "ridiculously cheap and ridiculously tasty" - also comes in at £2.98.

So how are Asda et al doing it? Are they making a full margin on these recession-proof wines? If so, presumably the producers are selling at rock bottom. The first part of the answer is that they buy in extremely large volumes. Aldi, which has 400 stores, does not buy in lots of less than 150,000 bottles, even for its finer wines. (Tim Atkin reports in The Observer that Aldi's wine buyer claims it is possible to sell claret as cheaply as £2.64, although he is "very reluctant to buy Bordeaux at that level". "Not as reluctant as I would be to drink it", replies Atkin.)

Supermarkets have come in for criticism in the past for inflating the face value of their wines to the extent that their eye-catching 'half-price' offers are actually nothing of the sort, equating in some cases to only the true market price. Naturally, the supermarkets strongly deny this - Tesco says "'We have an absolute rule that for any half-price offer, the wine has to be worth its full price." All very well, but it is almost impossible to verify what a wine which may not be available elsewhere is really worth.

Discounts notwithstanding, a sub-£3 bottle of wine which respected critics assure us is drinkable is impressive and if someone's profit is not being mightily squeezed then the base cost of the wine must be tiny. Bear in mind that £1.46 of each bottle is duty and 17.5% is VAT - that brings Asda's Chilean Cabernet down to £1.25, before we start to factor in transportation, storage and the margins of the supermarket and any agent/importer. Sterling's current weakness means UK buyers are losing out on exchange rates too. Simon says we're fortunate if the wine component in a sub-£4 wine is even 50p, meaning a £2.98-er contains...what, 40p, 35p? Credit is due to the winemakers who are able to turn out drinkable products on such budgets. I for one would love to see the figures.

Info Mine - Carmenère

The Wine Mine Blagging Toolkit - 5 wine nuggets with which to impress your friends...

1. Nowadays, Carmenère is grown almost exclusively in Chile, although pockets can also be found in northeastern Italy and California.

2. Carmenère in France was decimated by the phylloxera epidemic of 1867. The French never re-introduced it due to its susceptibility to pests and relatively low yields. In contrast, Chile has remained phylloxera-free due to its geographical isolation (it is sealed off by the Atacama Desert, the Andes and the Pacific).

3. Carmenère in Chile was for many years incorrectly identified as Merlot, until genetic analysis in the 1990s revealed it to be the distinct Bordeaux varietal, originally planted in the Medoc. Chilean winemakers appear to have suspected that the would-be-Merlot was not the real McCoy, referring to it as rather apologetically as Merlot Chileno.

4. Carmenère needs more time on the vine than Merlot. It requires a fairly warm climate and does not respond well to high levels of rainfall.

5. Carmenère is one of the original six native Bordeaux varietals (the other five being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot).

Info Mine - Tannins

The Wine Mine Blagging Toolkit - 5 wine nuggets with which to impress your friends...

1. Tannins occur naturally throughout the plant kingdom. In wines, they come from grapes' skins, pips and stalks. They can also come from the oak in which wines are matured.

2. They are a natural preservative and so are vital to wines which are intended to age, particularly red wines. (The name tannin comes from its use to tan animal hides into leather.)

3. They give a wine body, structure and 'grip', so are important for wines which are intended to be drunk young too.

4. The way to detect tannins in a wine is that they make your mouth and gums pucker, as if they are drying out. This sensation is caused by tannins' astringency. It is similar to that from strong black tea or an unripe banana.

5. Tannins fade over time, meaning that in young wines which are intended to be kept for many years they can appear overpowering. With time, the fruit characteristics will develop and the tannins will diminish, although not so much that their preservative and structural qualities are lost.