LVMH owns all of the top four most valuable wine and Champagne brands in 2024, with Dom Perignon growing the most in value, and Australia’s Jacobs Creek and Penfolds also ranking in the top 10 most valuable brands, according to a new report from Brand Finance.
With Champagne consumption increasing around the globe after the pandemic, the time is ripe for a guide for non-French speakers to master, or at least improve, the pronunciation of some of the more commonly sold Champagne brands. Do you say the ‘t’ in Moët or not? Read on!
Bordeaux Chauvinist Breaks His Budget
A survey by World Wine Watch reveals most men don’t feel less ‘manly’ drinking bubbles in front of their peers, though two in three men only enjoy sparkling wine in the company of a woman while some buy Champagne to show off their spending power and splash out on Cristal.
Switzerland is much more than mountains, chocolates and watches. It’s wine too. Very good wine. But to try, you need to visit (if you can) as little leaves its borders: just 2% of Swiss wine is exported. At the base of the Alps, in a little known region Valais, you can find fabulous wines in a country with one of the highest per capita consumptions of wine in the world.
The Loire Valley is a top sparkling, white and red wine producer. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site with huge caves and castles which housed French kings and perhaps most famous of all, Leonardo da Vinci, who made the region his home.
The Bordeaux Chauvinist reviews a Rhone Valley cask wine, and likes it. He’s gained humility, and saved some money. This column was originally published on the Bordeaux Chauvinist’s website, Cquoi ce vin, or What is this wine? He advises on good value for money wines of all appellations, regions and countries (but he remains a Bordeaux Chauvinist).
Shares in Australia’s biggest wine company Treasury Wine States have rebounded on speculation that wine exports could resume to China in 2023 and analysts expects its run to continue in 2023 as Australia’s relation with China thaw and lockdowns lift after huge nationwide protests against Covid restrictions.
Australians love their wine and are ready to splurge on bubbly. Forget the red wine or VB this Christmas, sparkling is the pick, and often pink, whether imported or locally made. Heading into Christmas, more and more corks will be popped, celebrating the end of a difficult year and hopes for the new one.
Moët leads the world’s wine brands
As organic and biodynamic wines increasingly appear on liquor shop shelves, Australian consumers are being offered more choice from winemakers, as they play catch-up to European producers. While prices of local products are still high, they are coming down though quality needs to improve.
Bucking a global trend, Australian wines are becoming more diverse, with wineries diversifying away from French grapes to others, including Austria’s Grüner Veltliner. That’s good news for a nation where Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate wine production, leading to fatigue for many wine consumers.
