Worldbeat

Wines & Vines, Feb, 2005 by Larry Walker

The French government has agreed to allow Champagne producers to make a record volume of bubbly from the 2004 harvest in order to replenish stocks that were driven down by the low yields from the 2003 harvest. Production of nearly 380 million bottles of Champagne is expected. The previous record was 334 million bottles from the 1999 harvest.

The decision followed the appeal by Yves Benard, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) representing the negociants, and Patrick le Brun, president of the Syndicat General des Vigernons de la Champagne (SGV), the chief growers' union.

Producers will be allowed to raise permitted yields to 14,000 kilos per hectare, 1,000 kilos above the usual maximum allowed (1 hectare = 2.47 acres). Some 324 million bottles will be given appellation rights, while the equivalent to about 54 million bottles will go into the reserve stocks.

The quality of the 2004 harvest is said to be very good and grape prices have risen about 5%, to about 5 euros per kilo (1 euro = US$1.34).

Australia Exports Set A Record

Exports of Australian wine to all countries grew by 21% in volume to 638.5 million liters, and by 12% in value, to AU$2.7 billion for the first 11 months of 2004 (AU$1 = US$.76). However, the average price per liter fell by 7% to AU$4.27, largely because of an unfavorable exchange rate.

Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation spokesperson Lawrie Stanford said that as the oversupply of wine in California eased, more openings were expected for Australian imports in the U.S.

The UK held top spot as Australia's biggest customer, with a value of AU$960 million. The U.S. grew in value to AU$911 million, in the second slot, while the Canadian market was up 21% to AU$228 million, in third place.

Hungary Wins Exclusive Right To Tokaj

An Advocate General court of the European Union has granted Hungary the exclusive right to the name of the famous Tokaj dessert wine. The court ruled that Italy must stop using the name Tocai by March 2007. Italian producers make wine from the Tocai grape in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.

Advocate General Francis Jacobs found that the Italian Tocai was not a geographical indication, because "it has no such special quality, reputation or characteristic," according to a report by just-drinks.com. He ruled that Hungarian Tokaj does meet all those criteria and should be protected by EU and international intellectual property laws.

Chilean Exports Booming

An estimate by Vinas de Chile, the association of Chilean winemakers, forecast that the value of total exports for 2004 will exceed $800 million. For the first nine months of the year, wine exports were up by 25.8% in value, compared to the same period of 2003 to $590.7 million, and up 21.7% in volume.

Exports to the UK, where Chilean wines are strong rivals to California, grew even faster during the same period, gaining 29% in value and 34% in volume. During that period, bulk wine exports to the UK grew 68%, contrary to the aim of the UK office of Wines of Chile to increase sales in the [pounds sterling]5-plus category ([pounds sterling]1 = US$1.95).

A good deal of the increase in bulk shipments is because the giant chain, Tesco, is bottling its own-label Chilean wines in the UK rather than Chile.

Elsewhere

Cousino-Macul's 2003 Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay was judged the best Chardonnay in Chile by the Guia de Vinos de Chile. Published in both Spanish and English, the Guia de Vinos de Chile is the most influential consumer guide in Chile. Similar to the French Hachette Guide to Wines, the Chilean guide ranks wines by numerical scores, by symbols and also by price category. Cousino-Macul's 2003 Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay retails for $13.99 in the U.S.

Monkey Bay, a new Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, has been introduced in the U.S. by Canandaigua Wine Company. Canandaigua is positioning the wine as a good value, with a suggested retail of $9.99, well below most New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The wine is from the Marlborough region. Over the past five years, exports to the U.S. have increased five-fold to more than 800,000 cases, and, during the past year alone, U.S. retail sales have soared 64%.