Noticias da Semana

Como anunciado anteriormente, inauguramos hoje o primeiro Noticias da Semana disponibilizadas pelo nosso parceiro de luta por um maior conhecimento enófilo: A Academia do Vinho. Desde já agradecemos ao seu director, João Paulo Victorino. Para quem não sabe esta empresa dedica-se à formação na área do vinho e nós aqui no blog quisemos aproveitar a newsletter que enviam semanalmente a todos aqueles que a subscrevem para "arranjar" conteúdo e com isso aumentar o número de posts, que isto de fazer posts originais todas as semanas dá muito trabalho. Mesmo sendo cinco! :) Não nos custa nada lembrar que o calendário de formação está disponível no site, e já tendo participado num curso (WSET Nível 2), posso referenciar positivamente o mesmo.

Nem todas as noticias são de extremo interesse, algumas são apenas curiosidades e outras nem isso são. Por isso, antes de publicar daremos uma vista de olhos na newsletter e tentaremos publicar apenas as mais relevantes. Esperamos que esta iniciativa seja recorrente e fixa à terça ou quarta feira. Se as noticias não forem grande coisa, pelo menos, sempre têm algo para ler durante o resto da semana após o habitual post de segunda feira. :)

Estados Unidos desbancará a França como maior mercado mundial de vinhos

Esta é a afirmação do secretário-geral da VinExpo, Robert Beynant durante entrevista coletiva que divulgou hoje o resultado de uma esquisa encomendada pela feira que acontecerá em junho em Bordeaux. Beynant vaticinou que os Estados Unidos vão superar a França como maior mercado mundial de vinhos nos próximos cinco anos.

Beynant revelou que “o mundo está consumindo mais vinho e vinhos melhores, mais caros”

O estudo previu ainda que o consumo de vinhos não espumantes nos EUA vai aumentar de 23 milhões de hectolitros em 2005 para 27,3 milhões em 2010, superando o consumo francês, que deve cair de 27,4 milhões de hectolitros para 24,9 milhões.

A Itália permanecerá como o segundo maior mercado em termos de volume, com consumo em 2010 previsto para chegar a 27,2 milhões de hectolitros, segundo o estudo da consultoria londrina International Wine and Spirits Record.

Pela primeira vez nos dez anos de história da pesquisa, Rússia e China apareceram entre os dez maiores mercados em termos de consumo, e a previsão é que continuem a apresentar crescimento forte nos próximos cinco anos.

Ao todo, o mercado global de vinhos não espumantes com teor alcoólico inferior a 15% está previsto para crescer de 211,9 milhões de hectolitros em 2005 para 224,8 milhões de hectolitros em 2010.

Em valores o consumo global de vinho vai aumentar em 5%, mas que o valor do mercado aumentará 9%, passando de US$ 107 bilhões em 2005 para US$ 117 bilhões nos próximos cinco anos.

In http://www.vinhosnet.com.br 31/ 01/ 2007

Screw tops on wine bottles 'can lead to rotten eggs smell
By Martin Beckford

Millions of bottles of wine sealed with screw tops rather than corks could be ruined by the smell of rotten eggs, experts have discovered.

Tests suggest that more than one screw top bottle in 50 sold in Britain could be affected by the problem, a chemical process called sulphidisation. The figures throw into doubt claims by the wine industry that screw tops are safer and more reliable than corks.

The annual International Wine Challenge event tested tens of thousands of wines from around the world including around 9,000 with screw caps. It found 2.2 per cent of screw top bottles suffered from sulphidisation and other problems connected with the wine not breathing.

The effects leave a whiff of sulphur, likened by some to burning rubber, rotten eggs, burnt matches or stink bombs. Around 100 million screw top bottles of wine a year are sold in Britain and the figure is rising as it becomes a popular alternative to cork.

Almost 90 per cent of New Zealand wines now arrive in screw top bottles. Warren Adamson, the UK director of the New Zealand Wine & Grape Industry, said: "This is the first time any official figures have come out with regard to the screw top's sulphide problems. These are helpful for our producers. However New Zealand wines were only 1.7 per cent affected, below the average."

But a wine taster Martin Isark said: "Although the smelly problem is a small percentage, with over a hundred million screw top wines hitting our shelves that's potentially a big stink."

In http://www.telegraph.co.uk 17/01/2007

Sales of expensive wines booming

American wine consumers are buying more higher-priced wine than ever, with all price points $8 and above showing double-digit growth in the last 34 months.

According to the latest data from ACNielsen, sales of wines priced $15 and above grew 41 percent between January 2004 and October 2006. Sales of wines priced between $10 and $14.99 have grown by 28 percent. In the $8-to-$9.99 category, sales have increased 18 percent.

At the same time, sales of wines priced below $6 are dropping. In particular, sales of wines priced under $3 fell 15 percent between January 2004 and October 2006.

"We've moved away from the generics and the low end," said Barbara Insel, managing director of the St. Helena industry research and consulting firm MKF Research. "It's hard to say the industry has reached out a lot because we haven't been that good at that. We've caught the zeitgeist rather than driven it."

Insel believes that consumers are migrating from the concept of a $10 everyday wine up to higher prices.

"I've been saying '$15 is the new $10' for a while, but now finally people seem to be hearing it," Insel says. "[The category] is still small above $15, but there's growth."

The highest average bottle price is $10.42 for Pinot Noir. The second-highest average bottle price is Zinfandel at $8.64. White Zinfandel, at $3.41, has the lowest average bottle price of any of the top varietals.

In http://www.sfgate.com 19/ 01/ 2007

France revamps wine labels to rival New World

National designation aims to lift slumping industry, but traditionalists balk

PARIS - French wine producers are set to launch a national wine label as part of a marketing strategy they hope will help them compete with New World producers and pull the industry out of a slump.

The new "Vignobles de France" label will allow winemakers to blend midrange "vins de pays" wines from different regions for the first time and then sell them under a "French" label.

Supporters say the move will make French wine easier to understand, help winemakers adapt their products to different consumer tastes, and win back customers in countries where French wines have lost out to competition.

But some producers say the plan tramples on the French "terroir" tradition, or attachment to regional produce, and successful winemakers say it could hurt their business.

"We are trying to link together the word 'France,' the name of a grape and the name of a brand on which a company can invest over the long term and earn some money," said Michel Leguay, the deputy director for technical issues at Viniflhor, the wine industry board.

For example, the change would allow a wine distributor to create a bottle of sauvignon that would be made up of wine from the sauvignon grape from different regions. This would mean they could tailor the wine according to different tastes.

"It could produce a sauvignon that has a bit of acidity, of the aroma from the Loire and a bit of roundness and a more mature aroma from the Languedoc," Leguay said.

"It could just as well be a product that has more sugar for Japan or wines that are a bit more structured for the United States with a bit more of a woody flavor."

The new idea, which won the industry's support at a meeting last week and could be implemented in the spring, aims to help France's struggling wine industry. It employs 75,000 people.

The industry is suffering because domestic wine consumption per head has plummeted to about 14½ gallons per year from 26½ gallons in 1970 and because of increased competition from New World producers in countries such as Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Australia.

Those countries use slick campaigns for marketing their wines often based around the name of the grape and have developed straightforward flavors for less sophisticated wine drinkers.

In contrast France has more than 140 Vins de Pays of different qualities and taste according to each region, and only a few wines are labeled according to the grape.

The idea of a regional identity, or terroir, in food and wine production is cherished by French people, and the new labeling system is facing some resistance.

Wine producers in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France, which produces Vins de Pays d'Oc, are furious. After a series of crises in their region, they have adapted their products for exports markets including developing "vins de cepage," or wine that is labeled according to the grape.

The Languedoc region is now the largest exporter of French wine, ahead of the more prestigious Bordeaux region, and is the fourth world exporter of vins de cepage after Australia, Chile and the United States.

"The 'vignobles de France' will have the consequence of destroying the quality revolution that has taken place over 20 years in our region," said Jacques Gravegeal, the president of the Union of Producers of Vin de pays d'Oc.

He says the change could hurt the regional economy as distributors use more wine from other areas of France.

In http://www.msnbc.msn.com 29/ 01/ 2007

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