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.
By the Bordeaux Chauvinist, who reviews the “Clos De Lunes” series in time for the full moon this Halloween weekend. The Bordeaux Chauvinist is a guest sommelier columnist for World Wine Watch, advising on good value for money wines of all appellations and regions (but he remains a Bordeaux Chauvinist).
A ranking of the world’s most valuable wine brands is led by Moët & Chandon, followed by China’s Changyu. LVMH’s Chandon and Veuve Clicquot join in at third and fourth place.
Shares in Australia’s largest wine producer, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), have recovered slightly after the company was hit with a temporarily 169% tariff on its wine exports to China, as TWE seeks to sell its surplus wine elsewhere, make more wine in France or potentially China to avoid the tariff which will kill its Chinese sales.
Shares in Australia’s largest wine producer, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), fell to their lowest level in five years this week on possible tariffs or bans being placed on its exports to China. The company has also paused on a demerger of its famous Penfolds brand, to focus on boosting its operations.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has targeted Treasury Wine Estates, Casella Wines, Pernod Richard and Australia Swan Vintage as part of its anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) investigations into Australian wine exports.
Australian wine exports dip
The number of sparkling wine drinkers in the US is growing, with a 17% increase in the number of monthly drinkers since 2018, with US drinkers increasingly favouring Italian wines, though they turn to Champagne for quality, according to a report.
Tell us whether you prefer French, Italian or Australian bubbles here.
South Korea is being put forward as a top wine market for winemakers to target, second only to the US and ahead of China, having survived COVID-19 comparatively well with wine consumption expected to rise robustly, according to Wine Australia.
With July the driest month on record in Champagne, producers will have less grapes with which to produce the region’s famous wines. But according to the vineyard director at Taittinger, there were positives from the drought too, with less mould and mildew to harm fruit.
As fires rage in the Napa Valley and threaten US wine production, the drought has worsened in France, with more areas reaching ‘crisis’ level water restrictions in September after the warmest European winter on record, as households and farmers face severe water restrictions.
