Wine Predictions for the New Decade...!

As we begin 2010 and a new decade there are some fascinating predictions out there. Two I found particularly interesting were Steve Heimoff's "My Ten for the Next Ten" and Julie Brosterman's "Was 2009 the Tipping Point for Wine & Social Media."
But let me begin 2010 with a needed correction to my last blog entry. If you look at the picture I posted, courtesy Philippe Durst of the Dopff Au Moulin winery in Alsace, you would have to believe that there was a lot more pressure inside that bottle than the 2-3 atmospheres of pressure I attributed to Crémants.
I am again indebted to Philippe for the celebratory picture but mostly for pointing out that since Crémants in France are made in the traditional method, previously known as Méthode Champenoise, they all attain 5.5 to 6 bars of pressure. And to quote Philippe here are the correct details.
"Originally the term crémant was in use for wines of lesser pressure in Champagne (such as in Crémant de Cramant) but since it was traded by French producers in exchange for no longer using the wording "méthode champenoise" on the labels, it is now used since 75 in Loire and Burgundy and since 76 in Alsace for fully sparkling wines made with the local grapes."
So while we are in correction mode, I hope that this will be the decade that wine writers and media types will use the words "variety" and "varietal" correctly. Look them up in Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine or check out this
article on Snooth.
Click on the pic for a closer look at the Sangiovese grape "variety" I took while visiting Tuscany.
So do I have any predictions for the new decade? Yes, two of them. We will see a much greater involvement of women in wine and deservedly so. I will go into more details on that in a future posting. My second prediction is that as the the North American palate evolves and becomes more educated we will see the producers of multi million bottles of wine, such as Yellow Tail, adapt and make their wines in a less sweeter fruit bomb style of wine. Who will be asking for that? Why women of course!

Celebrating and Toasting with a C....Sparkling Wine!

Will that be a Champagne, a Cava or a Crémant you will be drinking to celebrate the new Year? All of them made of course in the traditional method. Crémants are produced by adding a smaller dosage for the second fermentation, resulting in less carbon dioxide and thus a lower bottle pressure.This lighter effervescence creates a creamy texture to the wine and hence the term Crémant which means "creamy". Crémants have 2-3 atmospheres of pressure instead of 5-6 in wines from Champagne. My friend Philippe Durst, the Export Manager at Dopff Au Moulin in Alsace sent me this picture of a Crémant having some fun with a waitress.
But no matter what sparkler you will be celebrating with ( and I will be celebrating with a bubbly made here on Vancouver Island called Célébration Brut from Starling Lane Winery.) it turns out that it is actually good for your heart.
My friend Nick Stephens over at Bordeaux-Undiscovered did a great post on that. And of course we all know that we should continue to drink our favourite beverage in 2010 because it is good for our health. Decanter has done a nice summation of the beneficial effects of wine. But only look at the green column. The researchers in the red column will be drinking and celebrating with a cup of decafinated tea.
Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy 2010!!