Brief remembrance of wine times past…
It was the worst of times, it was the best of wines.
- The biggest ever Real Wine Fair took place in April 2016, 160 + vignerons from around the world including a healthy contingent from the US, 2,500 +visitors, street food stands and around 30 associated mini events such as masterclasses, tastings and wine dinners.
- The most successful Real Wine Month involved over 300 restaurants, bars and retailers from the Orkneys to Cornwall, as well as 50 + in Ireland.
- A trip to Austria saw the whole sales team decamp for a few days to Kamptal, Styria and Burgenland to meet and enjoy the hospitality of eight of our growers.
- At the beginning of July we had a Jura portfolio tasting, featuring wines from our extensive Jura range (15 growers) followed by an…
- Houillon/Overnoy dinner downstairs at Terroirs with Pierre Overnoy and Emmanuel Houillon. We drank ten wines with five courses of classic Jura recipes. A humbling experience.
- Artisan Australia at Cargo nightclub in Shoreditch in September featured six of our growers including Patrick Sullivan, Gareth Belton, Sarah & Iwo (Si Vintners), James Erskine, Xavier Goodridge and the Julian and Adam Castagna.
- Bang for Your Buck was the name of our successful October trade tasting where we featured 140 + wines under £15 ex vat including many new agencies.
And the buying?
2016 – The Year of New Wines
Plenty of progressive buying with the majority of new wines coming from Italy (Valtellina, Lazio and Trentino), Jura, Burgundy and Australia. New estates included:
Les Vignes du Paradis, Savoie; Les Bottes Rouges, Jura; Domaine Les Bodines, Jura; Antoine Petitprez, Burgundy; Champagne Marie-Courtin; Dominio di Urogallo, Cangas; Vilar, Trentino; Paolo Balgera, Valtellina ; 1701, Franciacorta; Andrea Occhipinti, Lazio; Damiano Ciolli, Lazio; Sclavos Wines, Cephalonia; Sato, Central Otago; The Don, Nelson; Sam Vinciullo, Margaret River; Express Winemakers, Great Southern; Ruth Lewandowski Wine, California/Utah; Ryme Cellars, California.
And the bad news? Brexit, of course, the exchange rate and the difficulties of the 16 vintage in many regions and countries.