Here's what happened to wine around the world in February 2023: all the wine news of the month to know. From events to the appointments of the Valtenesi Consortium, from the fires in Chile to one of the most important reports on working conditions in California's vineyards.
News from the world of wine: February 2023.
1. EVENTS
Fivi market
The FIVI Independent Winegrowers market this year moves from Piacenza to Bologna : the twelfth edition of the event will be held between 25 and 27 November 2023.
Chianti Classico Collection 2023
On 13 and 14 February 2023, the annual event dedicated to previews of Chianti Classico was held at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence. If you want to get a precise idea, the editors of Intravino have written a lot about it.
Read about it here , here , here , here .
2 PEOPLE
Paul Pasini
The Valtenesi Consortium has a new president , Paolo Pasini, owner together with the cousins of the Pasini San Giovanni winery, which we have proposed in our selections. Among the objectives, the valorisation of Valtenesi, also through its autochthonous "groppello" vine, the development of the potential of the Casa del Vino, headquarters of the Consortium, and the strengthening of the territorial network.
Donald Hess
Donald Hess, who revolutionized Napa Valley tourism with art, has died . 45 years ago he founded the Hess Collection Winery, today Hess Persson Estates.
Joseph Benanti
Giuseppe Benanti died on February 1st: one of the people who more and earlier than others believed in the potential of Etna wines, which until the 1980s practically only produced table wine.
His were, and are, wines of great class: we have proposed them in our selections.
3. CALIFORNIA
Sonoma County
For many farmers in Sonoma County (Northern California), powerful storms in early January damaged their future crop. Meteorologists attribute them to an unusual series of atmospheric currents that dumped huge amounts of rain. The result is a real emergency.
Health of workers in the vineyard
The Merced Community and Labor Center of the University of California has published the results of its first “California Farmworker Health Study”: a major study on California farm workers to quantify their working and housing conditions.
1200 workers interviewed, 110 pages of reports and not at all encouraging conditions found.
Juslyn Vineyards
Juslyn Vineyards will be sold for $35 million.
Chile and New Zealand
There have been massive fires in south-central Chile after temperatures hit a record 40C. More than 20 people have died and more than 40,000 hectares have been burned. The regions of Araucanía, Biobío and Ñuble have declared a state of emergency. Many vineyards destroyed, including some of the oldest in the country.
In New Zealand things are not much better, with Cyclone Gabrielle when the harvest begins.
4. ARRESTS
On February 16, the perpetrators of major wine frauds were sentenced to house arrest in France. This is a case involving 380,000 cases of Spanish bulk wine fraudulently labeled as Bordeaux.
5. UKRAINE
The damage to the world of wine due to the war in Ukraine is enormous, including destroyed warehouses and people at the front: an updated report can be read on Meininger's International .
6. LABELS
In 2024 a revolution is announced in the world of wine labels, with the indication of the ingredients. On Wine Industry Advisor you can read a preview of what to expect.
