Ridgeview

During a recent wine road trip, the gregarious Jimmy Smith, aka The Wine Guy, and I stopped off at Ridgeview in East Sussex on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony, to quaff a few of England's finest sparklers, two of which are featured in this video – Ridgeview's flagship fizz Bloomsbury Brut and quirky sparkling red Pimlico. Chin chin!

Paper wine bottle launch imminent

The world’s first paper wine bottle is set to hit UK supermarket shelves imminently. Its maker, GreenBottle, has just signed a deal with independent wine supplier Kingsland Wines to bottle the wine at its Manchester base. GreenBottle founder Martin Myerscough (pictured) is in the final stages of negotiation with one of the UK’s leading supermarkets, which is set to debut the bottle this autumn.

“We’re looking at a six month ‘first to market’ agreement, and will premiere the bottle with one or two wines to begin with,” Myerscough told the drinks business. “Kingsland is currently doing some shelf life testing, but we predict it to be the same is bag-in-box wine: 9-12 months,” Myerscough added. The entrepreneur has seen huge interest in the bottle from Australia, California and France, and plans to take his invention across the globe next year.

“The phone has been ringing from all corners of the world. I’ve just come back from Australia, where I’ve had serious interest in the bottle from a number of wineries. Even a few French producers have shown an interest,” Myerscough said, though warned of the dangers of getting too excited and ahead of the game. “The focus for now is getting the bottles on the shelf in the UK,” he said.

On the subject of pricing, he confirmed the bottle would be under £5, but warned that if priced too cheaply it would “devalue the brand.” The bottles, which weigh just 55g, will be made at Myerscough’s plant in St Helens and filled at Kingsland in Manchester. Myerscough intendeds to sell the technology, allowing companies to build bottling plants next to their manufacturing sites and cut down on transport. The compostable bottle’s carbon footprint is 10% of that of a glass bottle. 

Johann Henschke

During the Australia First Families of Wine dinner at Skylon last week, I caught up with the rather dashing Johann Henschke, a sixth-generation member of iconic estate Henschke in the Barossa Valley, to talk about the bumper 2012 vintage, cork vs screwcap, Australian wine in China, and whether he plans to take over the running of the estate.

“Wine is no different than toilet paper”

One of the most powerful wine buyers in the world, Annette Alvarez-Peters of Costco, has slammed wine as “just a beverage” and “no different than toilet paper.” As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, speaking in a CNBC news report this week, the director of wine buying for the world’s largest wine retailer said: "Is wine more special than clothing? Is it more special than televisions? I don't think so."


When CNBC presenter Carl Quintanilla offered that wine was different to toilet paper because it’s personal, Alvarez-Peters replied: “People can look at it that way, but at the end of the day it's just a beverage, you either like it or you don’t.” Alvarez-Peters is in charge of over US$1bn in wine sales per year, including fine wines like Château Mouton Rothshild and Château Pétrus.

She is also in charge of setting prices on wines that affect most of America’s small wine retailers, as well as heading a team of 17 international and domestic wine buyers. Before taking on the role of director of wine buying, Alvarez-Peters worked as a buyer in Costco's electronics division. She had no wine and spirits knowledge.

“I’m an employee of Costco that happens to oversee the wine category,” she told Quintanilla. Last year, Alvarez-Peters was voted the sixth most powerful person in the wine world in Decanter magazines biennial power list. Costco is the largest US importer of French fine wines, none of which are marked up more than 15%. Alvarez-Peters keeps the Costco wine selection down to just 200 lines at any one time.

Costco is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the US, the sixth largest retailer in the US, and the seventh largest retailer in the world. This week, the retail giant will be jostling with Woolworths and Coles in Australia to offer the lowest price for Penfolds Grange 2007, set to go on sale on Thursday. One of the most anticipated launches of the year in Australia, the RRP for Grange 2007 is AU$625, but it is thought that the big three will offer it for significantly less.

d'Arenberg celebrates 100th birthday

Quirky McLaren Vale winery d’Arenberg marks 100 years of family ownership this year, and, as reported on the drinks business, chief winemaker Chester Osborn is keen to take the centenary celebrations around the world. “We’ll be hosting dinners and parties all over the world. We want to involve as many people as possible, we can’t think of a better excuse to have a party,” he said. The celebrations kicked off last week with a party hosted by the company’s 84-year-old managing director, d’Arry Osborn (left).

Chester has released a celebratory fizz called Dadd, made of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, to mark the centenary. Though milestone is worth making a noise about, Osborn, who is currently nursing a torn Achilles tendon, believes it represents a moment in a much longer journey. "I'm just the custodian at this time, preparing to pass it on," he said.

Established in April 1912 by teetotaler and racehorse owner Joseph Osborn, four generations of the Osborn family have worked the property and shaped the family business into its current form. d’Arry took over from his father in 1943 aged 16. During his tenure, he initiated the red stripe on the labels and championed Grenache. “Things were very different in those days. We worked with horses as we didn’t have a tractor. The winemaking was also a lot more agricultural,” he said.

d’Arry handed over the reins to his son, Chester, in 1983 after he graduated. At the helm, Chester’s main aim has been driving a focus on premium wines, while maintaining the techniques used by his ancestors. d’Arenberg now exports to over sixty countries and has become one of Australia’s best-known wine brands, its wines easily recognised by their diagonal red stripe and eccentric names, like The Stump Jump, Dead Arm, Hermit Crab, Love Grass and Laughing Magpie.

Osborn believes the quirky names keep the d'Arenberg brand fresh. "My father stopped saying “no more labels” about 20 years ago when he realised they increased our story," he said. The winery plans to release a number of new labels this summer, including a single vineyard Shiraz and a rosé called Stephanie the Gnome, taking its total count up to 60.

Battle of Bosworth

Wine and the City talks to Louise Hemsley-Smith, co-owner of Battle of Bosworth winery in the McLaren Vale, Australia, at Quo Vadis in Soho, about the reasoning behind the historic name, the benefits of single site wine, sulphur-free Shiraz, and natural wine bohemians.

d'Arenberg "Dadd" sparkling wine released

McLaren Vale producer d’Arenberg has released a limited edition sparkling wine called Dadd. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, the label carries the signature d’Arenberg red sash, which bears a striking resemblance to a Champagne house with a similarly familial name.

Chief winemaker Chester Osborn revealed the project has been one hundred years in the making. “Four generations of dads have culminated in this celebratory project. It has taken us a century to produce a high end sparkling wine from high altitude vineyards in the Adelaide Hills – the highest altitude in fact,” he said.

The non-vintage sparkler is a blend of 52% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 8% Pinot Meunier. As to the wine’s reception in the UK, Osborn is confident it will be welcomed with good humour. “I’m really excited about it. We wanted to call it Dadd with a double ‘d’ because there are so many of us involved with the project”, he said.

In defense of the provocative label, he said: “The Dadd label features the red sash because all of our wines have it – it’s been with us for sixty years.” 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the family-owned winery.

Dan Buckle of Mount Langi Ghiran

Wine and the City chats to Dan Buckle, chief winemaker of Mount Langi Ghiran in Australia's Victoria region, about the changes he's made at Langi since joining in 2003, the rain-soaked 2011 vintage and Australia's struggle to be taken seriously as a premium wine producer.

Chester Osborn, d'Arenberg

Wine and the City chats to Chester Osborn, the flamboyant chief winemaker of d'Arenberg in McLaren Vale at the London International Wine Fair about his involvement with Australia's First Families of Wine, his controversially titled new sweet wine: Botryotinia Fuckeliana, and the launch of his new sparkling wine, 'Dadd'.

Robert Joseph interview

Wine and the City talks to wine writer Robert Joseph at The Drinks Business' annual conference, about the so-called 'new consumer', the UK's yo-yo discounting trend, and why premium wine should stay in heavy bottles.

John Duval, former chief winemaker of Penfolds

Wine and the City catches up with John Duval, former chief winemaker of Penfolds and custodian of Penfolds Grange, at the Liberty portfolio tasting at The Oval cricket ground, to talk about his newfound freedom after 30 years with Penfolds, his new wine project – John Duval Wines – and whether or not there is a market for Australian wine in China.

Video: Tasting of Katnook Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine and the City and Jimmy Smith of the West London Wine School taste Katnook Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, 2007. You can find the wine at Bibendum for £9.99.

Katnook Estate was founded by a Scot, John Riddoch, in 1890. Originally called the Coonawarra Fruit Colony, Riddoch planted 140 acres of vines on the estate. His first vintages were modest affairs – the wines were made in a wool shed.

Today Katnook is one of the most esteemed domains in Coonawarra. Its vineyards are planted in Terra Rossa soil, spanning 330 hectares in the heart of this remote region in South Australia.