Wine Education Ireland

A South African proposal, to legalise adding water to must, has already been passed by South Africa’s Wine and Spirit Board and is now being considered by their Government. Producers say the method aims to improve, as well as meet a growing trend for lower alcohol levels. It is thought it could become law by the end of 2011.

 
However, the practice of adding water to must is not permitted under EU rules.
This would make it illegal to import South African wines to the EU that have had water added to the must.

Current EU laws permit the reduction of alcohol levels by up to 2% using spinning cone and reverse osmosis technology for ‘experimental’ purposes; the South African proposal argues adding water ‘seems to be a “softer” approach to correcting the balance, as opposed to equipment like spinning cones’.

The South Africans claim that they can only attain the desired physiological ripeness by leaving grapes to hang late on the vines, resulting in high alcohol levels. This is not what the market wants at present, so diluting the must seems a logical, if somewhat drastic, and presently illegal, method to achieve the desired effect.

Nine Sherry bodegas, an industry association and Sherry’s Consejo Regulador have been fined for breaching competition rules. Spain’s National Competition Commission (CNC) fined the group a total of €6,723,000 after it obtained evidence of anti-competitive practices.

The CNC charges that between 2001 and 2006, several of Sherry’s major wineries established a cartel to control the output and price of Sherry to be exported to foreign distributors of ‘buyers own brand’ (BOB) in Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Those named, in decreasing order of fines levied, are Williams & Humbert, José Estévez, Barbadillo, González Byass, Emilio Lustau, Pedro Romero, J. Ferris, and Caydsa.

The CNC learned of the alleged misconduct because of the leniency application of one of the members of the cartel, Grupo Bellavista y Zoilo Ruiz Mateos. Ruiz Mateos was granted an exemption in consideration for its cooperation in the investigation. González Byass’s leniency application was initially accepted for a partial diminution of the fine but was later rejected due to its subsequent failure to cooperate with the CNC.

Fedejerez, a Sherry producers association, has been levied a fine of €400,000 while the Consejo Regulador, Sherry’s governing body, a fine of €200,000.

A Spanish icewine DO has been approved for the first time.

The region of Penedès has accepted the new DO Vino Dulce de Hielo.

This is the first European appellation to allow artificial freezing of grapes. This is forbidden in the traditional icewine regions of Germany, Austria – and Canada – where grapes must be left to freeze naturally on the vine. In Germany, the grapes must be exposed to a temperature of minus 7 degrees or colder before harvesting; in Canada the temperature must drop to minus 8 degrees.

In Penedes grapes are frozen in a cold room, refrigerator, or with dry ice. Freezing on the vines is allowed, but in practice rarely takes place. Sugar additions are forbidden.

The harvested grapes – Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Malvasia de Sitges, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moscatel de Alejandría, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and/or Merlot – must have a minimum of 240 grams per litre of sugar.

To date only Cava producer Jaime Gramona has made Spanish ice wine, although winemakers in Rioja and Utiel-Requena have made experimental batches. Gramona’s ‘Vi de Gel’ has been made since 1997 with Riesling, Moscatel de Grano Menudo and Gewurztraminer as individual varietals, with occasional blending.

The new DO will apply from the 2009 vintage.

Germany plans to build a four-lane motorway and bridge through the Mosel wine-growing region, threatening the future of some of the most important Riesling vineyards in the world.

Hendrik Hering, the minister for winemaking in the state of Rheinland-Palatinate, where the Mosel valley lies, is also the state’s minister of transport. “The bridge is indispensable because it will cut travel time by half an hour between Germany and the Benelux countries and ease the flow of traffic,” he said.

Work crews have already begun laying down the roadway which that will cut into these vines. The vineyards of Zeltingen, Graach, Wehlen, and Bernkastel are all threatened as deep trenches need to accommodate the 120ft wide highway will throw the area’s delicate water distribution system into chaos.

Stuart Pigott, a British writer who specialises in German wines, said: “This is going to be tampering with a very fragile ecosystem which some of the world’s best wines happen to depend on.”

Germany says it is vital to improve transport links with Frankfurt-Hahn airport, a budget airline destination owned by Rheinland-Pfalz. The thinking is that the highway will help turn the airport into a cargo hub for Belgium and Holland and thus become more profitable.

Although there has been talk of getting UNESCO to designate the Mosel Valley a World Heritage Site, the German government has not pursued the matter.

Is there a future for red Muscadet? Muscadet is made at the mouth of the Loire river from the grape variety called Muscadet (or Melon de Bourgogne). It is well known as a not overly sophisticated refreshing white wine.

However soon you may have the possibility to taste red Muscadet. The winegrower Pierre Viaud has discovered a red variant af the Muscadet grape in his vineyard. It all started when he noticed one vine that had one branch with white grapes and another branch with red grapes. Shoots were taken from the red side and there is now an experiential vineyard with some forty vines. An interesting example of genetic modification in real life!