It can be hard to keep up with all the world's wine news, so we do it for you.
Well, hasn't it been a busy week?
The wine news seemed to revolve around France this week with veteran French wine writer and editor Thierry Desseauve acquitted of defamation in a sexist cartoon published by the Bettane-Desseauve publication En Magnum; we read that Cheval-Blanc had planted some trees (in a laudable bid for biodiversity; we also learned that French actress Carole Bouquet is due to visit Bordeaux's Cite du Vin in July to mark the wine attraction's five-year anniversary; and Vivino got a new boss: Frenchman Olivier Grémillon (a Harvard Business School alumni).
But here are some of the other headlines you might have missed (and there are still a few French ones too!).
Football fan celebrates with wine and father's ashes
Before we dive head-first into this one, let's give it a bit of context: Club Atlético Colón, one of the main teams of Santa Fe in northern Argentina – 500km (300 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires and 900km (500 miles) east of Mendoza – has never won a major title in Argentinian football since its formation in 1905.
Until last weekend, its best result in more than a century of fixtures was winning the second division (Primera B) in 1965. So a 3-0 victory over Buenos Aires squad Racing Club de Avellaneda to clinch the 2021 Argentinian League Cup on Saturday was a big deal.
But enough of a big deal to take a drill to the urn containing your father's ashes and, with the aid of a funnel, give the old man a celebratory drop of Cabernet Sauvignon? According to the look on the watching children's faces, probably not.
Most internet commentators thought not too, indicating that, even as a celebration, it was dead wrong. The messages of encouragement, on the other hand, appeared to be limited a precise demographic: hardcore Colón de Santa Fe fans.
But it wasn't any old wine: the jubilant, drill-wielding son took his bottle of 2005 Club Atlético Colón Cabernet Sauvignon (a commemorative, 100-year anniversary bottling) from the fridge for the occasion. The video has over two million views.
All in all, though, big news for Santa Fe. Alongside a fracas with fans of local rival club Unión de Santa Fe, there were reports of pensioners openly weeping in the streets while festivities went on through the rest of the weekend.
Toulouse to get militant, feminist wine bar
Not many cities can boast a militant feminist wine bar, and more's the pity. Constance Charvis and Marion Luc, who are due to open their projected feminist wine cellar and bar La Gougnotte (the translation of which I'll pass onto another website of your choosing) in central Toulouse in October have big plans for their project.
The space is described as "urban, feminist, inclusive and eco-friendly" by the bar's enologist, Charvis. Luc pairs Charvis' wine knowledge with political heft, holding a master's degree in gender studies, and a current workplace specialization in discrimination issues.
Conferences, workshops, screenings and wine tasting groups are all projected activities at the bar. "The idea is to open up a free space for activism in Toulouse," Charvin told French news outlet La Depeche. "That's something of much sought after – militant bars."
French cities scrap to house OIV
Slumming it as they are in Paris' 8th arrondissement, the OIV, or International Organisation of Vine and Wine (or, as Vitisphere.com calls it, "the UN of wine"), is currently looking for a new home in the provinces. Cue a frenzy of desperate "pick me"s from France's triumvirate: Reims (Champagne), Dijon (Burgundy) and Bordeaux (Pomerol).
"Bordeaux has the advantage of being the world capital of wine," said Brigitte Bloch, Bordeaux councillor and head of the council's wine economy group.
"It would make the most sense to have the OIV headquarters in Dijon – home to the only UNESCO university seat dedicated to vines and wine," said François Labet, Vice President of the regional wine trade body, the BIVB.
Champagne is playing it low-key. "We'd be very honored to welcome the OIV," said Maxime Toubart, head of the winegrowers' union of Champagne (SGV), adding that their proposition was "very interesting on a technical level".
However, as Toubart (and others) noted, the final decision lies with the French government – and more precisely, the Department of Agriculture. According to French wine website Vitisphere, it is generally believed that Burgundy has best supporters in high places, although clearly no decision has yet been made. The OIV's next general meeting (at which more information is likely to emerge) is due 11 July.
Argentinian customs put seized wines up for auction
While most people might be familiar with the Hospices de Beaune auction or Premiere Napa Valley, it is sometimes easy to overlook the Argentinian Federal Administration of Public Income's wine auction event.
Due on June 24, the wine lots up for auction (which is to be conducted remotely from the City Bank of Buenos Aires) are comprised entirely of cases and bottles seized at customs points on the country's northern borders with Brazil and Paraguay.
Lots up for grabs include multiple cases of Alma Negra and Angelica Zapata as well as bubbles from the likes of Mumm Argentina. Interested parties should sign up on the bank's website https://subastas.bancociudad.com.ar while lots can be viewed here.
France gets new wine magazine
If you wanted to choose a time to launch a new magazine in France, doing so just before the summer holidays would be as good a time as any. And so it is with Tanin magazine, a new wines and spirits publication launched this week in the "hexagon" (as the French media often refer to their country).
Published by Paris-based Reworld Media and headed up by Parisian wine expert Gabrielle Vizzavona, the front cover kicks off with the question on everyone's minds: "Rosé: is it wine?"
The inaugural issue also has an interview with Gallic impersonator Laurent Guerra and star Rhône winemaker Jean-Louis Chave.
"A group of entrepreneurs with a start-up culture", as Reworld Media describes itself, Tanins is the latest project of France's number one media outlet. Indeed, Reworld has seen a meteoric rise since its inception seven years ago.
It now boasts a huge array of high-profile titles, including Grazia and Marie France, as well as the somewhat more parochial Maison & Travaux, Top Santé and Grand Gibier. Very much one for the Francophones – for the moment.
June 13, 2021 at 06:08AM
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