Competitions, exports, harassment and enforcement actions, sustainability... here are the main wine news to record for November 2021.
We have collected the ten wine news of November 2021 that are worth knowing for us.
COMPETITIONS
The best sommelier in Europe and Africa is Italian: congratulations to Salvatore Castano . Second place went to the Danish Nina Jensen, third place to the Austrian Suvad Zlatic.
However, the best AIS sommelier in Italy is Stefano Berzi , from the Bergamo delegation.
We had the pleasure of interviewing him :
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Even in the world of wine there is increasingly more talk about environmental sustainability. Signs in this direction are coming from large and small, in Italy and abroad. In France, it should be noted that in Pomerol the ban on chemical weed control is included in regulations for the first time.
For Italy you can read about it here , here or even here , in an only apparently counterintuitive way. For Pomerol here .
PROSEK VERSUS PROSECCO
Italy's battle against the recognition of the traditional European geographical mention for Croatian Prosek continues with the sending of a dossier with the Italian opposition to the attention of the European Commission. To summarize the story you can read about it here .
WINE EXPORT
Wine and pasta play a crucial role in Italian agri-food exports.
Specifically in the wine sector, the United States is the first destination for the export of Italian wine : in the first 8 months of 2021 there was +22.7% compared to 2020 and +19.4% compared to the previous year. Whites, reds and especially Prosecco reign supreme, while there is still a lot of untapped potential from Italian rosés , and therefore opportunities.
HARASSMENT
There has been talk in recent weeks of harassment in the world of wine: six members of the Court of Master Sommeliers America were expelled for harassment , following complaints from 21 women and the resulting investigations. For info: out of 172 members of the CMS-A, 144 are men.
We read about it above all in the Anglo-Saxon press, for example in the New York Times or Decanter .
WINE AUCTIONS
The Hospice du Beaune's annual auction set a new record, with a lot selling for €800,000 (compared to €600,000 in 2020).
With 362 lots all sold above estimate, the 161st charity auction of the well-known Burgundy institution was organized by Sotheby's and achieved €13.5 million, partly earmarked for the fight against violence against women and cancer research.
For further information: on The Drinks Business or Forbes .
WINE EVENTS
The FIVI Wine and Independent Winemakers Market in Piacenza has just ended, while from 19 to 29 November there was the " Benvenuto Brunello " preview: 11 days of tastings with 119 wineries. Organized by the Brunello di Montalcino wine consortium, it allowed a preview tasting of the 2017 Brunello, the 2016 Brunello Riserva and the 2020 Rosso di Montalcino.
You can read about Brunello in many places, including here and here .
RANKINGS
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore takes the podium: it is the best white wine in the world according to Wine Enthusiast .
Naturally the Italian press writes about it: including SKY tg 24 and La Repubblica .
While the review of the bottle can be read here .
WINE IN UK
How do the English fare in terms of wine supplies ? Not good, according to a letter from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA). The causes? General increase in costs and shortage of HGV drivers (due to Covid and Brexit), which has created chaos in deliveries.
AMBASSADORS OF HEROIC WINEMAKING
Cervim (Centre for Research, Studies and Enhancement for Mountain Viticulture, Steep Slope and Small Islands based in Valle d'Aosta) has appointed five ambassadors of heroic viticulture . The target? Promote viticulture and heroic wines out of passion, knowledge of the places or because they work directly in these contexts.
