Groundbreaking Greek tasting ...
HEADLINES
Winespark, a Dublin-based wine subscription service, has enjoyed 30 per cent revenue growth in the last 12 months, to €1.3 million.
American Airlines has decided to ditch Champagne on board, replacing it with the official wine for Formula 1, Ferrari Trento DOC, on first and business class flights.
Meanwhile, Champagne Laurent Perrier teams up with new luxury airline, Global Airlines.
UK retailer, Majestic, has declared publicly for the first time that it intends to expand at a rate of one new store per month, as part of their “bricks-and-mortar expansion”.
PROGRESS
OBSCURE GREEK VARIETIES 🇬🇷
Jancis Robinson applauds a recent “ground-breaking” tasting of Greek wines, held in Edinburgh and London. The legendary critic chose to eschew the well known Assyrtiko, choosing instead to focus on the country’s red offerings and she was pleasantly surprised by the results. Greece is home to an wide range of unique native grapes (300+), despite “producing less wine than, for example, the Republic of Moldova”.
Rather humorously, she alludes to the country’s less-than-flawless reputation for hosting successful trade tastings. On one occasion, the critic recalls a message on the tasting invitation that read: ‘Please note that due to extremely strict Greek/EU funding regulations, the wine labels will be covered for this event and the wine names will not be listed in the tasting booklet.’ A buyer’s worst nightmare!
But this tasting was different.
The Greek Wine Federation, an independent, non-profit association of Greek wine exporters, put on “a truly effective showing of what Greece has to offer the modern wine drinker”, during tastings in London and Edinburgh.
Producers are increasingly working with “obscure local grape varieties, which tend confusingly to have several local synonyms and different ways of spelling them”, such as iatiko and Kotsifali of Crete, Mandilaria (known as Mavrokoundoura on the island of Evia) and Mouhtaro or Mouchtaro! 🤯🤯
The one quality these reds share, according to Robinson, is a pleasant “earthy dustiness”, making them “distinctly Greek”.
NEW WAVE ARGENTINA 🇦🇷
Greece isn’t the only country experimenting with forgotten varieties and new styles. Further south, Argentina is making strides, attempting to lure in younger generations to the joy and wonder that their local wines can offer. Sophia Longhi reports for The Buyer.
With “one foot in tradition and one foot in innovation”, Argentinian wine producers are trying to capture the attention of their home market after years satisfying the Malbec craze abroad.
Producers are experimenting with the local Criolla varieties (that went out of fashion when international grapes were all the rage) producing pale, pure-fruited, crunchy reds.*
Even the beloved Malbec is taking on a new form. The use of whole-cluster fermentation and a more judicious use of oak has led to a “new style of Malbec sweeping across Argentina and out into the world”. **
Esteemed Buenos Aires restaurants like Don Julio are helping to “drive demand for premium Argentine wines to be sold in the city and across the country”.
Gastronomy is booming with different cuisines emerging and a demand for lighter, fresher wines. Torrontés is making a comeback in a big way, including funkier, cloudy styles.
Producers are experimenting with steel, concrete and even amphora and where oak is used, it’s often in a “restrained way, with lightly-toasted, second-use or large barrels”.
** Whole-cluster fermentation changes a wine in a number of ways. By fermenting berries in tact with the stems, the wine takes on greater levels of aromatics and tannins and the stems absorb some colour (making the wine appear paler). Many producers believe the technique offers greater freshness too.
TACTICS
Playing the Allocation Game
Kelly Magyarics explores navigating the allocation game for hard-to-secure wines, in an article for Seven Fifty Daily.
What is the “secret sauce” to securing and retaining allocated wines?
Show support and respect to your suppliers
Be polite, on time and kind to sales reps
Reach out directly to the source (an often overlooked tactic). Contact a producer directly, sign up for a newsletter, follow on social media and show support in whatever way possible
Play the numbers game. For certain wineries and importers, it is a “direct equation… you buy X amount of A, you can get Y amount of B”
Secure “by the glass” placements or agree a “long-term buying commitment” to receive certain allocations
TRIVIA
The leading exporter of Argentinian wines, Trapiche Winery, exports to over 80 countries, making 450 different wines, with 4,500 different labels – each tailored to specific markets! The Buyer.
SURVEY
If you are a woman working in wine, you can take part in a new survey, the first of its kind to comprehensively examine working conditions in the industry for women. Queena Wong, founder of Curious Vines, has teamed up with C&C Group’s Proof Insight, to put this together. You can access the link here.