DAN'S WINE BLOG-INNOVATION

Friday, April 28, 2023

?This week I am talking about a few innovative wine ideas/actions from across the globe.

?FRENCH INNOVATION:?Wow, the French wine industry (or rather their regulatory overlords) are being pro-active for once and have added, Rkatsiteli, to the official French Grape catalogue, i.e. the varieties that are allowed to be grown in France. This native Georgian white variety (one of 525 Georgian native grape varieties) is late ripening and is used to produce quality dry white wines (and blends) as well as to make delicious, sweet wines. It is currently one of the top 10 most planted white varieties as it was very widely grown under the Communist regime – where it is made into very cheap, just drinkable commercial wine. Whilst the acreage has been significantly declining since the collapse of the Communist system, the quality has been improving in leaps and bounds.

?Today, Rkatsiteli is found mainly in the former USSR, including Georgia, Armenia and the Ukraine, as well as more recently in China, New Zealand, the west coast USA and Australia. Here in Australia the only Rkatsiteli vines I am aware of are at Roseworthy College, when back in the late 1980s attending “residentials” there I used to buy bottles of magnificent College Winery Rkatsiteli – made by the students for $2 a bottle.

?The French are saying that Rkatsiteli is similar to their Colombard and would therefore appeal to the vintners of Gascony who are trying to adapt to climate change – because Rkatsiteli ripens later and is a higher acid variety than Colombard. It produces large bunches of oval shaped grapes, is frost tolerant and is mildew and botrytis resistant. Thus it has been included in the region’s “Protected Geographical Indication” listing/ catalogue.

?SPANISH INNOVATION:?Can you image a barrel house/warehouse with around 50,000 wine barrels in it? Well Spanish winery, Felix Solis Avantis, in Valdepenas, has built such a warehouse. It is eighteen storeys high, fully automated and operated by a staff of two people. The 250 million litre capacity premises is run by robots which can move up to 1,000 barrels a day as well as steam cleaning them between uses. The €70 million investment included 6,000 solar cells to make the company energy-autonomous. In these times of skyrocketing costs innovation is helping Felix Solis Avantis to keep its costs under control and enhance its competitiveness.

?Watch it in action at: https://youtu.be/C_oFaRwfrh4

?CHINESE INNOVATION:?The Chinese wine industry has suffered massively over the Covid years, with sales of both imports and local wines plummeting, yet there is a glimmer of hope for the future for the more innovative producers. Like elsewhere in the wine world, Chinese consumers are developing an interest in wines which are natural, organic, biodynamic, orange and pet-nat. This interest is being mainly driven by Chinese drinkers returning from stints overseas in wine savvy countries. They are primarily students but also include businesspeople.

?A small number of innovative winemakers have started producing wines in these categories and as a result they have not lost sales like the vast majority of mainstream wineries have. Another innovation of late has been the experimenting with, and planting of “non-Bordeaux” grape varieties. China has always been fixated on French grape varieties, especially those of Bordeaux. In more recent years, the success of Australian wine and to a lesser extent Chilean wine helped open wine drinker’s palates up to non-Bordeaux varieties. Today, the more innovative (usually smaller) Chinese wineries are producing a widening range of different grape varieties, including white varieties, for example, there have been Chinese Rieslings available since around 2015. This trend will help some wineries to survive in a slowly crumbling market where mainstream commercial wines are really struggling.

?Well that’s enough innovation for one week. Don’t forget that today is INTERNATIONAL VIOGNIER DAY – so make sure you have a bottle of Aussie Viognier ready to crack open. If you haven’t got a favourite Aussie Viognier, grab a bottle of any one of the several different Viognier that Yalumba make – you won’t be disappointed, especially by the cracking Eden Valley Viognier or the sensational The Virgilius – Outstanding!?Cheers!