Wines of the New World have stolen the spotlight at this years Decanter World Wine Awards in Covent Garden, London. Of the 24 international trophies, 15 went to New World, 9 to the old world.

“Chile has proven itself a producer of some of the finest Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet blends in the world,” writes Adam Lechmere of Decanter.com.

Other highlights from the event include:

• International Trophies for Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux Varietals all went to Chile at a glittering dinner in the Floral Hall at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

• The trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc Over £10 went to Undurraga’s TH from San Antonio, which judges described as ‘Crisp, herbal, grassy and zesty, appealing elegant and expressive.’

• Cono Sur’s Riesling won the Under £10 in that category, for its Bio Bio Valley Reserva 2008, with its ‘racy nose of lime, honey, grapefuit and ripe peach with hints of mineral and kerosene’.

• And for the fourth time in the past five years the Red Single Varietal trophy Under £10 went to an Argentinian Malbec: this year, the Malbec aka Rodolfo Sadler from Opi Sadler in Mendoza.

Click here for a full list of awards, including international trophy winners

Click here to read more about Decanter’s World Wine Awards from Adam Lechmere’s article “Chile triumphs at Decanter World Wine Awards,”

[Source] – Decanter.com

Back on June 16th Mir Global ran a small piece on South America’s numerous wine producing regions (click here to read). The basic premise of the blog post was to share with readers around the world that wines are produced across Latin America.

Chile and Argentina are unarguably the regional leaders in wine production, with their wines now common place in international markets around the world. Nonetheless, it would be unwise to overlook the potential of other up and coming producers from other countries in Latin America.

Of the many countries that do produce wine in South America, Bolivia is one country Mir Global Marketing is largely ignorant about. I stumbled upon this interesting from the Global Post this afternoon about Bolivia’s burgeoning wine scene and I must say I’m intrigued.

Here is a small excerpt from the article, A hidden high-altitude treasure; Bolivia’s Tarija region produces great wines — it’s just hard to find them outside the country.

Even the French will admit that Chilean and Argentine vinos can be as good as they come. But Bolivian wine? Well, just wait. If you haven’t tried a fine merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, malbec or sauvignon blanc from this small but expanding wine-producing area in southern Bolivia, you’re in for a tasty surprise.

Bolivians long have had a passion for their national drink, singani, a grape brandy distilled from muscatel grapes, but as recently as a decade ago, locals turned up their noses at their own wines, preferring to buy excellent and inexpensive ones from their southern neighbors.

Today, however, Tarija’s major winemakers — Kohlberg, La Concepcion, Aranjuez, and Campos de Solana — are supplying the national market and sending their wines abroad, especially to Europe. Their secret: altitude.

…

Bolivia’s modern wine industry began some 40 years ago when Julio Kohlberg and others brought new varietals, mostly reds, to production. Nobody is really sure, but it is estimated that about 4,942 acres are under cultivation in the Tarija region. Producers began exporting about a decade ago but have been stifled by a lack of investment, marketing and stable access to markets.

Click here to access the complete article from the Global Post

Looking back on my most recent business trip to China to promote Mir Global’s wines and last night’s Sister City Networking Event in Chicago which Mir Global was present at, the two grapes the new Chinese wine consumer seem to prefer are Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec.

This doesn’t mean it is as simple as pitching quality bottles of each of these types of wines to importers / distributors in China. For starters, Chinese by and large have never heard of Malbec and when it comes to white wines you are always fighting against the current because about 70% of the wine consumed in China is red.

Cabernet Sauvignon’s dry, deep tannin full tastes are seldom well received in China. Wine experts and sophisticated consumers do exist, but these consumers are not representative of the greater wine market.

When it comes to Chardonnay, a young wine which has not been aged in french oak and has a sweet almost fresh taste (which reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc) can work. However, finding a young Chardonnay which has these qualities is quite difficult. It is a great deal easier to find a Chardonnay from California that does have a drier, woody taste… sadly Chardonnay’s of this style (which are very popular in the US), are not what the unrefined Chinese wine palate seems to prefer

A friend of mine who is marketing French wines to China has also found Viognier to be quite conducive with the Chinese palate. The floral fruity aromas of a Viognier, attract the Chinese to the wine and when paired with food it goes superbly with spicy Asian cuisine such as Thai food.

Sauvignon Blanc’s fruity and vibrant aromas along with its crisp and refreshing taste seem to draw the Chinese wine drinker in. During last night’s networking event in Chicago, I was particularly intrigued by the overwhelming positive reaction of women who sampled Palmer Vineyard’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.

Palmer’s Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine drinker a refreshing and crisp experience. It is almost as if this particular wine has a subtle carbonated kick to it. Not strong enough to think you are drinking a wine spritzer, but just enough to give it a unique kick and not overcompensate other elements of the wine.

Moving onto Malbec’s, Argentina’s pride and joy. Many describe Malbec as a versatile red wine, and this is exactly what it is. Malbec in my mind, is almost a hybrid of characteristics commonly associated with other reds such as Merlot, Cabernet and Pinot Noir. Malbec’s which have been aged in french oak retain their berry, fruity substance while also balancing in a magical way with the dry and intense tannin’s typically associated with a full bodied red wine.

** Reminder to all readers, opinions expressed in this entry are my own and should be not treated as fact. Thank you.

~ Bennett Reiss – International Trade Consultant at Mir Global Marketing LLC

The results are out, the reviews have been written, and now its time to sample the 2009 wine harvest. At lease this is the case for producers in the Southern Hemisphere of the world.

As producers in North America and Europe watch their grapes ripen, vintners in Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are preparing to sample their first bottles of 2009.

A healthy growing season is paramount in the process of ultimately producing a quality wine. This is of course why certain regions in the world excel in wine making. These regions are blessed with extremely conducive climates for growing grapes used in wine making. This is why regions like Mendoza, Argentina have historically been known to consistently produce high quality wines. Click here to read more about the region of Mendoza from Mir Global Marketing’s home page)

This article from the Winespectator.com provides links to the publications reports on how the 2009 grapes have turned out in Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Argentina: Heat spike hurts Argentine white wines, but reds weather the warmth

Chile: A warm and dry year leads to ripe wines and slightly higher yields

South Africa: South Africa’s wine regions enjoy a cool, dry season, producing quality across the board

Australia: Yields are down in most regions, but a cool, dry season may have produced elegant reds

New Zealand: A moderate growing season bodes well for the country’s reds and whites

To access complete country harvest and grape reports from the Winespectator.com, please click on each respective country link

Below I have copied and pasted a excerpt from this article from Decanter.com about Argentina’s wine harvest falling 25%.

What really grabbed my attention was the last paragraph… During the past few years NYC’s restaurants and wine bars have increasingly been carrying more wine from Argentina.

Guillermo Garcia points out that the economic crisis has helped Argentine wine. This has been crucial in helping Argentina break the mold and get their wines onto tables, which would normally be occupied by a French, Italian or Californian bottle.

Due to climatic conditions, this year’s wine harvest in Argentina will be down 25% as compared to last year.

Mendoza, Argentina

According to Argentina’s National Wine Institute, hail in some provinces, and overall higher temperatures in February and March, are factors in the lower production output this year.

The lower production this year has occurred despite Argentina having a 12% increase in land under cultivation for wine grapes.

Guillermo Garcia, president of the National Wine Institute, said: ‘If there had not been an international crisis, we would not have been able to provide wine to countries with developed markets.’

Chile’s leading wine exporter Concha y Toro CHT.SN(VCO.N) said on Wednesday its first quarter net profit rose 37.6 percent from a year earlier
to 8.395 billion pesos ($14.4 million).

Concha y Toro said consolidated sales rose 12.6 percent during the period to 68.458 billion pesos.

“In this quarter, we saw significant growth in the UnitedStates market,” CEO Eduardo Guilisasti said in statement, adding the company also saw growth in the United Kingdom and Japan.

Concha y Toro reported in February its profit for 2008 slipped 5.23 percent to 35.152 billion pesos.

The company said in November it planned to raise up to $189 million in a capital increase and bond issues on the local market to pay for future projects and pay down short-term debt.

[Reuters Article]