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This Issue

  1. In memoriam: Brian MacDonald, Frank Supernak and Victor Manola

  2. Mouton Rothschild forsakes paint for enamel

  3. Top Brunello producer declassifies 2002 vintage

  4. New French wine category planned

  5. Etna eruption threatens DOC vineyards

  6. Author unwelcome in Napa after 'trashing' wineries

  7. Graham’s 2002 Vintage Report

In memoriam: Brian MacDonald, Frank Supernak and Victor Manola

11 November 2002

It has been a cruel November for the British Columbia wine industry, with the deaths of three of the industry's figures.

Brian MacDonald, 49, the co-founder of Edgemont Village Wines, died on November 4 after a year-long battle with a malignant brain tumour.

He will be missed by all VQA wine producers. Four years ago, he and Bruce Curry opened their VQA wine store in North Vancouver's Edgemont Village. It has become the second busiest VQA store in the province. A year ago, just as his cancer was diagnosed, he and Curry opened a second store in Vancouver's Dunbar area, which also is flourishing.

MacDonald's full-bore approach to everything he did recalls that athletic cliché about giving 110%. Previously, he had been a journalist and a hotel chain manager. When he got into the wine industry, he armed himself by taking courses which, if pursued fully, would have qualified him as a Master of Wine. He and his partner also made regular trips to visit wineries, lining up a continuous parade of winery representatives to host tastings in their stores.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Brian was his fair treatment of all the wineries represented in his store. He supported them all without denigrating those wineries that still were at the lower end of the learning curve. He was a true friend of British Columbia wine.

Victor Manola and Frank Supernak died on November 10 in an accident at Manola's Silver Sage winery south of Oliver. According to newspaper reports, Manola fell into a tank of wine, likely having been overcome by the carbon dioxide given off by fermenting wine. Supernak, who was helping in the winery, perished while trying to rescue Manola.

Manola grew up in Romania. In 1975, when he was 20, he managed to escape what then was one of Communism's uglier regimes. After the collapse of Communism, he helped bring his relatives to Canada, including Anna, his wife and the co-founder in 1999 of Silver Sage. A former builder, Victor Manola just completed building quite a fine winery this summer in the Okanagan.

Supernak, who was born in Nanaimo in 1961, has worked in the Okanagan since 1984, soon after graduating from the University of Western Ontario. During his first 12 years in the valley, he was employed at what now is the Vincor winery north of Oliver.

In 1996, he was one of the group that took over the Divino Estate Winery, renaming it Hester Creek. During the past five years, Supernak totally redeveloped the Hester Creek vineyard and unlocked the vineyard's potential for good wines.

In the summer of 2002, he was named the winemaker at the Blasted Church Vineyard just north of Okanagan Falls, a relatively new winery which had operated for a few years as Prpich Hills. Here again, Supernak had begun some significant redevelopment in the vineyard, preparing to make quite impressive wines.

Frank was generous with his talents, consulting to various other wineries and winemakers' including any amateur that asked for help. He was also widely admired for the boundless enthusiasm of his winery tours and tastings. His great passion for wine will be missed.

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Mouton Rothschild forsakes paint for enamel
by Liz Hughes

30 October 2002

Château Mouton Rothschild has broken with tradition. For the first time in over 50 years, the château has not asked a famous painter to create a label for its newest released vintage.

Each year since 1945, bottles of the Bordeaux first growth have carried the original work of a celebrated painter on their labels – and become collector's items. But for the newly-released 2000 vintage, château owner Baroness Philippine de Rothschild wanted to make the entire bottle a highly prized object (above).

An enamelled illustration of the gold-encrusted Augsburg Ram from the château's own Museum of Wine in Art was chosen to replace the traditional label. The ram-shaped silver-gilt drinking vessel dates from the 16th century and is the Mouton emblem. It was applied in relief by glassmakers BSN using a technique specially developed for the purpose.

The bottle itself is made from heavy black glass, with screen-printed gold letting. This includes the trademark signature of Baroness Rothschild. A golden ring around the black foil reproduces the design engraved on the ram's collar, and Château Mouton Rothschild is engraved in the base to guarantee authenticity.

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Top Brunello producer declassifies 2002 vintage
by Michèle Shah in Italy

29 October 2002

Tuscan producer Biondi Santi has declared there will be no 2002 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino from the family's historic Tenuta Il Greppo estate.
The estate in southern Tuscany was the first to clone Brunello di Montalcino – in the mid 1800s from Tuscany's famous Sangiovese grape - and its failure to deliver the prestigious wine this year will lose owners Biondi Santi millions of euros.

'The poor weather conditions of 2002 have forced us to rule out making a Brunello from Tenuta Il Greppo,' Jacopo Biondi Santi said. 'We will instead make a traditional Rosso di Montalcino. According to Biondi Santi, the north-east and south-east facing vines of Il Greppo did not reach the degree of ripeness necessary to make a quality Brunello for ageing. 'It was not an easy decision, especially in financial terms,' Biondi Santi said. 'The total production of 60,000 Brunello and 15,000 Riserva wines equates to a €6 million loss.'

Biondi Santi's second estate, Poggio Salvi, where vines have a more west-facing aspect, will however go ahead with an average production of 70,000 bottles of Brunello. Poggio Salvi Brunello is lower in acidity and tannin than the Il Greppo, and needs less ageing. It is ready to drink at an earlier age.

This year really shows up the extraordinary diversity of Montalcino's 360° microcimate,' says Stefano Cinelli Colombini of Fattoria dei Barbi, whose estate has a south-facing aspect.

'We will be making 130,000 to 150,000 bottles of Brunello, which is 50% our normal production. Our single-vineyard Riserva grapes will go into making a top-notch Brunello. We lowered our yields to 39 hectolitres per hectare this year, and have been adopting a cold pre-maceration technique. We have had to compensate for the lack of tannins by vinifying 25% of the grapes in new wood.'

Another leading Brunello producer, Castello Banfi, has also decided to limit production this year. Banfi will not be making any Brunello Riserva Poggio All'Oro, produced only in selected vintages. 'We have had to make a rigorous selection of the best grapes, which will go into making our Brunello Poggio Alle Mura and Brunello Banfi,' Banfi's managing director Enrico Viglierchio said.

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New French wine category planned
by Catharine Lowe

18 October 2002

Revolutionary plans that would allow producers to step outside the strict Appellation Controllée laws have been submitted to the French government by senior wine professionals.
The plan is for a new French wine category called 'Cepage de France' (varieties of France), under which producers would be able to produce varietal wines with around 80% of a chosen grape variety (100% is currently required), and use oak chips (currently banned).

Region or commune – for example Margaux or Chablis, expressing France's precious 'terroir' – would not appear on the label. The idea was put forward two months ago, and was reiterated last night by Jean-Marie Chadronnier, president of major negociant CVBG Dourthe-Kressman, at the French Wine Awards in London.

Drastic measures to relax the AC laws are urgently needed to help French producers compete with the New World, Chadronnier said.

'French wine must be made simple. We will keep our terroir wines, but the varietal wines are the style that the consumer is comfortable with. We must give the consumer what they want.

'It is very simple: we are currently not playing by the same rules as the New World. It is as though we are playing them at rugby but we have opted to use one hand against their two. France is constraining itself under rules that are of no interest to many consumers.'

This plan, drawn up by Cap 2010, a group of seven industry leaders headed by oenologist Jacques Berthomeau, and including Chardronnier, Languedoc producer Robert Skalli, supermarket moguls Pierre Mirc and Jean Louis Vallet-Carrefour, and producers Pierre Aguilas of Anjou and Jean Louis Pithon of Luberon, was submitted to the Minister of Agriculture two months ago.

Cap 2010 was set up by Berthoemeau last year as a steering committee to advise on implementation of measures needed to improve the French wine industry and halt its loss of market share to New World wines.

But Chadronnier admitted he wasn't certain of success: 'While most of the industry is aware of the urgency, some people can be very traditional. It is a difficult fight as some people won't accept a solution until they are in a very bad situation. It is not going to solve everything but at least it will put France back in the international game at this level.'

On the bright side, Chadronnier pointed out that France with its complexity and terroir is still very good at making fine wine, and holds on to 43% of the UK on-trade market in that category.

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Etna eruption threatens DOC vineyards
by Michèle Shah in Italy

31 October 2002

Lava from Europe's most active volcano is within strolling distance of some of Sicily's top vineyards. The weekend's eruption of Mount Etna has also left winery roads and property in tatters.
'The whole of Catania province has come to a standstill,' says Giovanni Scilio, owner of Tenuta Scilio di Valle Galfina in the heart of the Etna DOC appellation. 'We are very worried that the eruptions will continue. Right now, the lava is just 3km from our vines and winery.'

The volcano, which lies on the eastern half of the island, began erupting on Sunday morning, 27 October (pictured). The flames were followed by earth tremors which reached over 4 on the Richter scale. Producer Barone Scamacca del Murgo took the full brunt of an earthquake, suffering damage to estate housing, winery roofing, and roads leading to and through the property.

'We've grown used to eruptions, but we never expected an earthquake,' Michele Scamacca said. The up-and-coming winery, which makes the impressive IGT San Michele Cabernet Sauvignon, has yet to count the full cost of the damage.

There have been two main eruption sites, the first on southern slopes 2200 metres above Nicolosi. A second eruption occurred on the volcano's northeastern side, above the organically farmed vineyards of Valle Galfina's 20-hectare holding. Tongues of fire reaching 100 or more metres into the air were reported.

Below Galfina, sand ash 10cm thick covers the rooftops of the ski town Linguaglossa, and hundreds of families have already been evacuated from damaged homes in the area. Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday declared a state of emergency in the region.

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Author unwelcome in Napa after 'trashing' wineries
by Alan Goldfarb and Adam Lechmere

23 October 2002

An author accused of 'trashing' influential figures in the Napa wine world was barred from speaking at two major venues in St Helena.
James Conaway's The Far Side of Eden, a follow-up to 1992's Napa: The Story of an American Eden, was published within the last week in America – and it has ruffled a few feathers in Napa.

In the book Conaway says that while Napa is protected by some of the most far-sighted environmental legislation in the country, the 'idyllic character' of the valley has disappeared. The burgeoning wine industry is blamed for at least part of the problem.

Earlier this month Conaway was scheduled to talk at a pre-publication event at Copia, the Mondavi-inspired American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa City, but the event was cancelled.

The talk was moved to St. Helena's Cameo movie theatre, but that date was scrapped as well, when theatre owner Charlotte Wagner cancelled the author's appearance, saying Conaway had 'trashed' some of her friends. 'I wouldn't have wanted to support him,' she said.

Finally it was held at the St Helena Grammar School, where less than 100 people showed up.

Conaway said the Cameo theatre date may have fallen through because the owner was a friend of the wife of vineyard manager Dave Abreu, who has played key roles at some of Napa's major wineries. He is mentioned in the book.

But Conaway denies he has 'trashed' anybody. 'I wrote about what happened in the valley. Certain echelons of society in Napa aren't used to any sort of objective analysis.'

'I was flabbergasted by the cancellations,' Conaway added. 'I felt that people had genuine questions about the book and they should have a chance to ask them.'

Sara Cakebread, who is related to the owners of premium Napa winery Cakebread Cellars, said, 'There's no gray area (in the book). He says the vintners are bad and the environmentalists are good. But this Valley is what it is because of the vintners.

'I took a little offence. He doesn't live here. I truly believe some of the things he said are not true. There are a few bad apples, who have made some mistakes. But we wouldn't have the quality of life if it weren't for the vintners.'

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Graham’s 2002 Vintage Report

The winter of 2001/2002 was very dry in the Douro – just 68mm of rain fell between November and January at Malvedos compared with a 7 year average of 318 mm. Minimum temperatures of 0 to 3 degrees were recorded at the property during January to April. These lows contrasted with sunny daytime temperatures. The large fluctuations of temperature continued through most of the winter and spring and brought about a later than usual bud burst in mid March.

In early April, frost effected some of the high lying areas, which caused some damage and reduced crop size. April is typically a wet month in the Douro, but the dry conditions continued and very little rain fell – just 19mm at Malvedos. Flowering took place in mid May under dry but cloudy conditions, leading to reasonable fruit set. The early frost in the high lying areas, the good fruit set and the relatively low rainfall suggested that an average sized year was probable.

The summer was mild, which was fortunate because low levels of rainfall continued throughout this period. The vines resisted the dry conditions surprisingly well, partly due to sporadic showers and the exceptional amount of rain that fell during the winter of 2000/2001 replenishing the water table to normal levels. Temperatures at Malvedos remained reasonably moderate for the month of August, reaching 40 degrees on one day only. A couple of days of rain on 24th and 25th August set the scene for a very encouraging harvest. These heavy showers in August are often regarded as “heaven-sent” as they help the grapes to swell, the sugar readings to rise and the skins to soften. Everything therefore indicated that we were building up to what might be a classic year: low yields, a little hydric stress, grapes in near perfect condition and mild weather conditions for balanced ripening.

Following our regular maturation studies conducted in the vineyards, picking began at Malvedos on the 16th September with the last batch of grapes being received on the 3rd October. The harvest started with grapes in excellent condition despite a little rain falling on the 7th and 8th of September. Conditions remained dry until the 15th when the weather broke and we endured heavy showers through to the 22nd September. The weather then improved for a week or so and it was during this period that good picking conditions resumed and that we were able to vinify the Touriga Nacional and part of the Touriga Franca (Francesa) with very encouraging results.

It is too early to assess the wines at this stage, but there are undoubtedly some very good wines made during the 1st phase of the harvest, after which matters became more difficult, particularly with wines produced from higher lying areas. The vintage turned out to be average to small in size.

Graham’s Port
Portugal

November 2002

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