Plus a promising new environmentally-friendly technology for combating downy mildew, a common vineyard scourge around the world.
Before I get to global news, next week is Burgundy Week in London. Which means that Jancis, Julia and Tam will be tasting the soon-to-be-released (though in most cases not yet bottled) 2023s non-stop. Our tasting note database will be updated daily from Monday with their reviews which, along with reviews from our man in Burgundy, Matthew Hayes, should help you with buying decisions. You can also find a free list of London merchants currently making offers of 2023 burgundy on the site.
Also, a quick reminder that the rerelease of Vintners’ Tales has continued on our YouTube channel. Yesterday we posted a 1992 episode featuring Farr Vintners’ Stephen Browett and Lindsay Hamilton. While Hamilton left the company in 2008, Browett celebrated four decades with the company last year. It’s funny to watch someone who is now such a mainstay of the London wine trade talk about being regarded as an upstart!
On to the news!
Update on the Southern Glazer’s lawsuit
As I discussed in this newscast on 14 December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sued Southern Glazer's, the largest alcohol distributor in the US, for price discrimination. The FTC alleges that Southern Glazer’s has deprived small independent retailers of discounts and rebates and has given large retailers advantageous treatment.
On 6 January the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) announced that they were seeking further clarification from the FTC on the actions taken against one of their members. In their statement they take issue with the FTC for targeting volume-based discounts. They do not acknowledge that the FTC has clarified that volume discounts are not illegal, but are required to be tied to clear cost savings on the side of the supplier – which, according to the FTC’s investigation, Southern’s discounts far exceeded. The statement also claims that the WSWA supports the 21st Amendment, granting states the right to regulate alcohol distribution, and says, and I quote, ‘We urge policymakers, including the incoming Trump Administration, to remain steadfast in their commitment to fostering American business growth.’
I’d like to remind the WSWA that small businesses are businesses. And I’d also like to point out to anyone curious that, as well as being a member of the WSWA, Southern holds two out of 13 of WSWA’s leadership and staff positions.
Bordeaux’s Blaye AOP changes its name
Except it’s not Blaye AOP anymore … It’s Blavia AOP. The official cahier des charges for this small appellation on the east side of the Gironde was updated on 19 December. In addition to the name change, the updates state that, within the boundaries of the AOP previously known as Blaye, producers will now need to be located on parcels of land that meet the criteria of the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO). They’ll also need to submit a request to be included in Blavia AOP by 31 March. Malbec has been elevated from an accessory variety to a main variety alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Regulations related to vineyard management and blending of wines have also been updated.
Honestly, I find this piece of news bizarre. I can’t figure out what the intended impact is. Producers are going to have to reapply for an AOP that they may no longer be able to qualify for if they’re not on an approved parcel. Meanwhile Google results for Blavia turn up a genus of moths, a skincare company, a clothing company, a TV analyst, and a trivia game about Black entertainment … nothing about wine. If I were a producer I might decide to simply label as Bordeaux!
New sizes for wine packaging in the US
Thank you to my colleague Alder Yarrow for reporting this piece of news on his website Vinography. Prior to today, 10 January, wine producers in the US were limited to bottling wine in 187-ml single servings, 375-ml half bottles, 500-ml bottles, 750-ml bottles and large formats – 1.5, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 litres. As of today, the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) have added 13 new packaging sizes starting with 180 ml up to 2.25 litres. Apparently, the alternative to this change in regulation was to eliminate federal standards for fill but the TTB received enough comments in opposition that they determined the 13 additional fill sizes to be the better option. The reason for this is that many states defer to federal standards and eliminating these standards would put producers at the mercy of each individual state’s legislation … which sounds horrific and makes me oddly grateful for federal regulation of packaging size. Possible benefits to this change could include packaging innovations – specifically new forms of alternative packaging – and that producers will be able to more closely tailor serving sizes to consumer demands.
A new, environmentally-friendly way to combat downy mildew
Like most plants, vines are prone to attacks from a multitude of bacteria, fungi and pests. Some infections are more difficult to manage than others. Downy mildew, which is technically an oomycete – a fungus-like organism – is difficult to manage because treatments are largely inorganic systemic fungicides whose residues can show up in wine or are fungicides which use copper – a heavy metal. And while even certified-organic grape-growers are allowed to use copper, it builds up in soils and, at a certain level, limits plant growth and yield, and does long-term damage to microbial populations in the soil.
It was therefore good news when Immunrise, a small biocontrol company in Bordeaux, discovered a microscopic alga in 2016 that, when tested by the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) in a lab environment, was shown to be 100% effective against downy mildew and 50% effective against botrytis and some of the fungal strains that cause the grapevine disease esca.
Over the last few years this product has undergone trials. On 7 January the French publication Vitisphere reported the results: The algae was first tested in Italy in a vineyard artificially inoculated with downy mildew. The treatment was 85% effective in managing the mildew whereas the copper-based fungicide commonly referred to as Bordeaux mixture was 94% effective. The product then underwent field trials in Langon and Fronsac in south-west France. These trials showed that using Immunrise in addition to conventional treatments such as those including copper allowed growers to reduce their use of conventional treatments by around two-thirds without affecting yield. The company is currently awaiting sensory analysis on the wines made from these test plots. If trials continue to go well the company expects this product to be approved for commercial use in 2029.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. If you enjoy this newscast and would like to see it continue, please subscribe to JancisRobinson.com. And if you have breaking news in your area, please email news@jancisrobinson.com.
Image at top by Alder Yarrow at Vinography.com.
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 enjoy this content and would like to see more like it, please subscribe to our site and our weekly newsletter.