The Heart and Soul of Wine.

Berry Bros & Rudd recently released a report on the future of wine.
They are of course Britain's oldest wine establishment, celebrating their 310th anniversary this year. I have a great respect for this vintage company but do not agree with everything covered in this report. (For those of you interested in reading the entire report, email me at fruitofthevine@shaw.ca and I will send you a pdf copy)
Their claims on China as a future rival to Bordeaux are refuted by people in the know as evidenced by comments left on Decanter.com
There is an intense interest in wine around the globe and a thirst for knowledge about the subject. Bloggers and writers everywhere giving us daily doses and we can't seem to get enough of it. We all know how wine drinkers progress from the sweet barely drinkable wines but eventually will settle for the many outstanding wines available today. I think of my own journey along the road of wine which started while in college. Mateus was where it was at. So I find Jasper Morris' MW
prediction somewhat unbelievable.
"In 50 years, consumers will ask for wine by the brand name or flavour and won't know, or care, where it has come from. Grapes will be genetically modified to change a wine's taste and producers will add artificial flavourings to create a style wanted by consumers." I cannot visualize the wine consuming public dumbing down and ordering a "Waitrose White" or a "Rosemount Red"
The quality of wines will continue to improve. It has to, if wineries expect to sell their wines in this highly competitive market. An example of this happening is the creation of a "crus" appellation in the Minervois region of the Languedoc. TheAOC Minervois La Livinière
was established in 1999. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Isabelle Coustal, the proprietor and wine maker at Chateau Saint Eulalie.
Her Chateau Sante Eulalie La Cantilene is an outstanding wine and an example of what the future holds for us wine drinkers not content to drink the commercial plonk. We tasted Isabelle's Plaisir d'Eulalie. and it truly is a pleasure. Candle light and wine shared with friends enjoying a good meal came to my mind. Now I won't be around 50 years from now to say I told you the BBR report was not accurate, but future wine drinkers will be enjoying some amazing wines like the ones coming from the Minervois La Liviniere today. And with wine makers like Isabelle leading the way the Heart and Soul of good wines will be passed on to wine drinkers 50 years from now.