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Tina and Brett
Here’s some insight into the last week in wine. Enartis, a major player in the wine industry, has acquired WINEGRID, a company known for pioneering wine production monitoring through advanced sensor technology and AI. This acquisition enables Enartis to enhance winery efficiency and product quality by integrating real-time monitoring during various winemaking stages. WINEGRID’s cutting-edge sensors provide crucial data for optimizing fermentation and other vital parameters, offering winemakers predictive insights for decision-making, reducing costs, and promoting a more efficient winemaking process. This strategic move aligns with Enartis’ mission of spearheading “smart winemaking,” combining expertise with innovation to empower wineries worldwide
Enartis, a significant player in the wine industry, has acquired WINEGRID, a company pioneering wine production monitoring through advanced sensor technology and AI. This acquisition enables Enartis to enhance winery efficiency and product quality by integrating real-time monitoring during various winemaking stages. WINEGRID’s cutting-edge sensors provide crucial data, optimizing fermentation and other vital parameters, offering winemakers predictive insights for decision-making, reducing costs, and promoting a more efficient winemaking process. This strategic move aligns with Enartis’ mission of spearheading “smart winemaking,” bridging expertise with innovation to empower wineries worldwide.
Napa’s 2023 harvest might be ‘the vintage of a lifetime’
Napa Valley vintners are beyond excited about the 2023 vintage. The 2023 California wine vintage, though marked by a delayed harvest due to a wet winter and subsequent slower growth, is projected to be outstanding. While the delay led to greater yields on the valley floor, resulting in the need to drop excess fruit, the quality of the grapes is exceptional. Valley floor grapes display a balanced, fresh profile with higher acids, while those from higher-altitude vineyards offer concentrated flavors and depth. The vintage favored Burgundian varieties, showcasing purity and elegance with their pressed and fermented wines. The wet season brought advantages and challenges across various regions, including increased nutrients for vines but also mildew pressure. Overall, winemakers anticipate wines of excellent quality and acidity from regions like Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Temecula, and Mendocino, each with their unique highlights and challenges.
The Next Generation of Great Napa Valley Wines for Collectors
The quest for Napa Valley’s next prized cult wines involves exploring beyond the famed names to uncover future collectibles. While sought-after labels like Harlan, Bond, and Screaming Eagle dominate discussions among collectors, lesser-known wineries are emerging as potential stars. Small-scale producers like Memento Mori, Vice Versa, and La Pelle are generating buzz akin to past cult favorites through personalized tastings and word-of-mouth endorsements. Retail spaces like Vintner’s Collective and Acme Fine Wines are hubs spotlighting up-and-coming talents such as Julien Fayard and Maayan Koschitzky, leveraging exceptional fruit sources and winemaking expertise. Wineries like Realm Cellars and Bella Oaks, with seasoned mentors and a focus on land stewardship, also represent promising prospects in Napa’s ever-evolving wine landscape. Ultimately, the search for the valley’s next collectible wine entails frequent visits, advice-seeking, and a keen exploration of AVAs, winemakers, and vineyards, offering wine enthusiasts the chance to discover future treasures through each bottle, conversation, and tasting experience.
Economist Tells Wine Execs Media’s Negative Narrative at Odds With Economic Facts
At the Wine Industry Financial Symposium, The Economist’s senior economics writer, Callum Williams, challenged the prevailing narrative of economic gloom, particularly concerning the wine sector. Williams highlighted the disconnect between negative media depictions and the reality of wine consumers’ purchasing power, emphasizing that despite the perceived downturn, consumers are eager to invest in wine products and services. He delved into the remarkable rebound of the wine economy post-pandemic, countering notions that the crisis had significantly impacted the industry’s GDP. Williams also touched on the evolving global economic landscape between the U.S. and China, underscoring shifts in investment patterns and the growing importance of localized wine supply chains. In essence, he concluded that the wine industry, akin to the broader economy, remains resilient, with consumers displaying a strong inclination to support local wine production.
Wine inventory remains high despite steady sales and reduced production | Wine Australia
In 2022–23, Australian wine sales matched production, marking the first time in five years for stable year-on-year sales. Despite low production—964 million liters, the lowest in 15 years—sales remained steady at 1.07 billion liters. The report indicates that the national wine inventory decreased by 4%, driven by reduced red wine stocks, which decreased by 10%. Although this decrease in inventory eases some pressure, the overall inventory, particularly red wine, remains notably high, impacting winery inventories and wine grape demand and prices. The challenge of rebalancing supply and demand persists, especially considering the global oversupply that’s been straining wine-producing countries for over a decade.
New research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that headaches from red wine might be due to quercetin, a flavanol present in red wines, hindering alcohol metabolism, leading to symptoms like headaches. Quercetin, also found in various fruits and veggies including grapes, acts as an antioxidant but can interfere with alcohol metabolism when combined with it. This process may result in elevated acetaldehyde levels in the bloodstream, leading to reactions like headaches and nausea. While sulfites and biogenic amines have been considered culprits before, this study highlights quercetin’s potential role. Human studies are planned to confirm this hypothesis, potentially paving the way for alerting consumers about high quercetin levels in wines.
Can vitiforestry help revive Champagne’s ‘dying’ soils?
Ruinart’s vitiforestry project in Taissy aims to address Champagne’s biodiversity decline due to extensive vine cultivation. The project involves planting hedges, trees, and shelters to restore biodiversity lost to monoculture and mechanical farming, combatting soil degradation. This initiative, although limited to a specific vineyard, intends to serve as a model for broader sustainability efforts in Champagne. However, the broader implementation faces challenges such as varying ownership and skepticism about altering precious vine plots. Additionally, the region grapples with sustainability issues exacerbated by climate change, including resistance to banning herbicides and increasing weather-related challenges in vineyard management.
The BC Wine Grape Council’s commissioned assessment revealed the urgent need for financial aid, estimating $162 million to $317 million for a replant program in British Columbia’s grape wine industry. Winter damage and viral diseases have affected about 29% and 30% of vineyard acreage, respectively, requiring replanting of 3,814 to 7,492 acres. With reduced yields and tourism revenue due to climate-related crises, government support is crucial. Industry leaders emphasize that this investment aligns with federal and provincial funding models seen elsewhere in Canada and is imperative given the sector’s significant economic impact. Stakeholders advocate for specific guidelines for the program’s success, aiming to secure the industry’s future in the face of unprecedented challenges.
