DAN'S WINE BLOG- THE CHANGING SCENE

Friday, March 10, 2023

?A few interesting bits of overseas news from the changing scene of the wine world…

?GERMANY:?In the Palatinate region of Germany the Galler winery has bottled a wine called “2/4 Wein” made from the new PIWI varieties (see link below to my Blog: 16-12-22 “Environmental Issue”) Sauvignac and Johanniter into 500mL reusable beer bottles with crown seals. In due course, consumers will be able to return the empties to vending machines in supermarkets. The aim of this project is to help the environment by reducing the considerable energy used in re-cycling the glass bottles.

?Blog Link:?https://www.wineassist.com.au/dans-blog/environmental-issue

?JAPAN:?Meanwhile in Japan, the Minister of Digital Affairs has recently announced that stores will be allowed to sell alcohol through self-checkout registers, without a staff member having to check the customer’s ID for their age (20 years being the legal age for alcohol). For the new system, the checkout will be equipped with a card reader that can scan the purchaser’s driver’s licence or the My Number Card (a government-issued ID first introduced in 2016). As yet there is no provision to ensure that the purchaser is using their own proof of ID card. At first glance this appears to be a move to increase the sluggish uptake of My Number Card (bearing in mind that many Japanese do not have a driver’s licence due to the crowding in most cities).

?FRANCE: ?Following on from the French Government buying surplus wine, for distillation, from growers during the Pandemic, they have just announced a €160million fund to help growers deal with the current oversupply of wine, as well as approving (in principal) vine pulls to reduce the total amount of wine that France produces. The French Government will contribute an initial €40million to be matched by EU funding. This will launch a distillation campaign this summer, with if necessary a second campaign towards the end of the year, up to a maximum of €160million.

?The wine that will be distilled will be turned into bio-ethanol fuel or spirit used in the manufacture of perfume. The estimated figure is that around 250 million litres of French wine will need to be distilled, with some industry experts saying the figure could be as high as 300 million litres.

?In 2020, €211million was spent on buying and distilling 260 million litres of wine.

?The government has given approval in principal to the uprooting of vines in areas which are unable to sell their overproduction, especially in Bordeaux where it is estimated that 10% of the current vineyards need to be removed in order to bring the regions supply and demand back into balance. France is now seeking assistance from EAFRD (the EU agricultural fund for rural development), on the basis that abandoned vineyards pose a risk of transmitting golden flavescence (a vine disease) to erstwhile healthy vineyards.

?Bordeaux vignerons have so far held two strikes over the issue of the wine glut, as at present, while there is government approval, there is no compensation available to them for removing vines to convert the land to other uses.

?CAN IT:?Waitrose Supermarkets have announced that they will be replacing all “small” bottles of wine in their stores with cans – 375mL and 187mL glass bottles will no longer be carried. Last year the chain sold almost three million small bottles of wine. The only exceptions will be Champagne, Prosecco, Cava and Rioja due to appellation restrictions and regulations.

?Well that’s it for another week, stay safe and #chooseaustralianwine and when possible enjoy #emergingvarieties .?Cheers, Dan T.