DAN'S WINE BLOG - MORE SNIPPETS of NEWS

Friday, April 10, 2020

Happy Easter, stay safe and here are a few more wine news snippets which may be of interest to you:

LESSEN YOUR BLUES: We all know that light is one of the enemies of safely storing wine for the long term, as the UV has an impact on a number of compounds present in the wine, leading to discolouration and flavour oxidation issues. The advent of LED lights did not improve the situation by much as even though they don’t emit UV, they are usually rich in blue light, which can still impact the wine quality.

However recently, Integrated Power, launched a range of amber LED fittings, which not only do not emit any UV but neither any light in the blue/purple spectrum. These fittings are also motion sensitive so that only the relevant section of the storage facility will be lit at any given time.

CAN IT:  Further to my earlier reports on canned wines, the March 2020 Edition of Grapegrower & Winemaker Magazine, has an article on canned wines in it, which states that currently there are more than 50 different wines in a can available in Australia, (including the excellent ones from the sky rocketing Riot Wines – see my blog 16/08/2019). The article reports sales of “more than AU$25 M value, with exports accounting for at least another $10 M..”

Australian canned wines are being exported to the USA (currently the largest can wine market in the world), New Zealand, China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Canada – with many more new markets to follow, I am sure.

Watch this space as wine in a can really takes off over the next few years, for oh so many reasons.

KI UPDATE:  I recently heard from the guys at The Islander Estate Vineyards – that was devastated by the KI bushfire (January 10, 2020).

The massive recovery job is well underway with all the burnt vine posts, wires and irrigation plumbing having been removed. The burnt vines have all been cut back to being 100mm tall and they have said a few prayers for early winter rains to trigger the rejuvenation process of those vines that have survived. There are some signs of life amongst the vines, but nowhere near enough as yet.

In addition, all the (asbestos riddled) debris of the house and old shearing sheds have now been removed along with all the destroyed equipment.

Currently, they are cleaning out the winery so that they can start making repairs therein.

In the meantime they have just bottled the last of their prior vintage wines, so that they can be sold to generate desperately needed cash flow for this mammoth, almost complete, total rebuild.

Their range is eclectic and exciting, including The Islander “The Independence” 2015 Malbec (Halliday 96 points) which in my humble opinion is the best Australian Malbec I have ever tasted. Incidentally, their range includes the “So Far So Good” Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz which are “no added preservatives or sulphites” wines. They also have museum stocks (that were stored on the mainland) of their Flagship wine, “The Investigator” Cabernet Franc from 2013, 2008, 2005 and 2004.

So please try and buy some of their absolutely cracking wines, check them out at www.iev.com.au or even better still hop over to Kangaroo Island and spend a couple of days visiting this magnificent island that has so much to offer!!

That’s it for this week. More next week and in the meantime please stay safe and enjoy great quality wine. Cheers!