And bad news for lovers of Santorini's stupendous wines. Above, one of the few crates of Assyrtiko eked out of this year's early and minuscule harvest.
To start, I want to congratulate five new Masters of Wine: Neil Bernardi MW, Tone Veseth Furuholmen MW, Benjamin Hasko MW, Victoria Mason MW and Wei Xing MW!
The MW programme takes a minimum of three years (but generally much longer) and consists of three stages. Stage one of the programme requires that you pass a one-day tasting and theory exam; stage two is a four-day tasting and theory exam; and the final stage of the MW programme requires candidates to write a 10,000-word research paper on a topic of their choice. While the exam portion in the second stage is the most discussed part of the programme, the third stage is incredibly challenging, and the research done is often of great importance to the wine industry. In many cases these papers are made available to the public. Mason and Xing’s papers are currently available on the IMW site. You can read more about the new MWs on JancisRobinson.com!
Argentina elevates Criolla Chica
The Drinks Business has reported that Criolla Chica has been recognized by Argentina’s National Viticulture Institute (INV) as one of 49 ‘vinos de calidad’ or quality grape varieties.
Practically speaking, what this means is that wine vinified from Criolla Chica (aka Listán Prieto) is now allowed to carry a Geographic Indication. It previously had to be sold as table wine with no indication of which appellation it was grown in. The legislation change also allows the wine to be sold as a ‘red wine’ where it previously required any wine made from the variety to be labelled as rosé or rosado – even if it was vinified as a red wine.
Hail and harvest in the Aude
The French publication Vitisphere reported that, on 13 August, the Languedoc was hit by hail. The most extreme damage occurred in Corbières around the commune of Fabrezan where more than 450 ha (1,112 acres) were damaged, and loss was 30–90%. The region has subsequently begun harvest and Jean-Baptiste Ormières, vineyard technician for the Fabrezan co-operative winery, was quoted by Vitisphere as saying that yields this year are miserable.
Early harvests in Crimea and Greece
So far this month I have mentioned the beginning of harvest in France, Austria, Sicily, Hungary and California.
After last week’s report, news journalist for RBC, Ivan Marchuk, emailed me with news that that harvest in Crimea began in early August – around two weeks earlier than usual. Yields are projected to be down by 20–30%. Both the timing and reduced yields are a result of the hottest summer in Crimea in over 30 years.
Stellios Boutaris, CEO of Kir-Yianni in Amyndeon and Naoussa and Domaine Sigalas in Santorini, emailed to say that not only had harvest in Santorini started for them on 29 July but it had concluded on 17 August! This is one of the earliest harvests ever for the island. Quantities are tiny with Boutaris estimating 700 kg for the entirety of Santorini. In part because of this, prices this year soared, and the average price of grapes was around €8 a kilogram. Boutaris compared this to seven years ago when the average price was €3 per kilo.
In Naoussa, the harvest is nearly finished and in Amyndeon, at 700 m (2,297 ft) in elevation, harvest of international white varieties is nearing conclusion – though the harvest of Xinomavro isn’t projected to begin until the end of this month. Boutaris says that Kir-Yianni has never before harvested Xinomavro in August – the variety is usually harvested in late September.
Growth markets for alcoholic beverages
On 15 August the IWSR published a report titled, ‘Which markets are driving growth for the beverage alcohol industry?’ The report explains that, with the exception of the US, most growth in the next four years will be driven by developing markets.
India and the US are both forecast to grow total beverage alcohol (TBA) by $7.6 billion between 2023 and 2028. However, the US, which is already a large market, will add that with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.8% to India’s much more aggressive 4%. China will see a projected $5 billion in growth amounting to 1% CAGR (excluding national spirits brands). Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Vietnam and Nigeria will grow $14.4 billion altogether.
Most of the growth in TBA for these countries is coming from spirits. The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) reported in April that wine consumption in the US, China, and South Africa fell in 2023 and that Brazil’s consumption recovered after a steep dip in 2022.
However, India’s wine market, according to a 2024 USDA/GAIN assessment of commodity and trade that came out last month, is projected to grow wine sales by value by 42% by 2027. In the last three years wine imports have grown by 60% in value.
Mexico’s wine consumption, according to a report from Mexico Business News last month, has risen 22% in the last decade. ISCAM data cited in Meininger’s shows that imports have increased 6% in value in the last year.
Vietnam’s wine sales by value grew 103% between 2020 and 2022, from 171 million to 347 million. However, last month the Vietnamese government proposed a 100% phased tax hike on alcohol by 2030. If this is passed it will likely affect wine consumption.
Currently data on the Nigerian wine market is minimal. Meininger’s published a report in January 2023 showing that wine consumption has tripled in the last 10 years.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. If you have information on the start of harvest in places I have not yet mentioned, please email me at news@jancisrobinson.com.
Photo at top courtesy Domaine Sigalas on Santorini.
This is a transcript of our weekly five-minute news broadcast, which you can watch below. You can also listen to it on The Wine News in 5 Podcast. If you have breaking news in your area, please email news@jancisrobinson.com. And if you enjoy this content and would like to see more like it, please subscribe to our site and our weekly newsletter.