They wood, if they could

The hottest topic in the world of French wines these days is the controversial debate over the government's decision to allow the French to put wood in their wine, as opposed to wine in wood, to speed up the aging process.

However, as reported on Decanter.com, the French agriculture minister yesterday ducked the controversial issue of wood chips in a speech to open Vinitech, being held this year in Bordeaux, France.

"Dominique Bussereau, speaking on the first day of Vinitech, the world's largest wine techniques and machinery trade fair, said he welcomed the modernization of French wine but made no mention of the divisive issue of wood chips, recently banned for use in AOC winemaking," Decanter.com reported.

"'The state encourages the modernization of the French system of wine segmentation, in order to adapt to evolving consumer demand,' Bussereau said. 'The aim is to conserve our leadership'."

Use of wood chips in winemaking was banned by INAO, the French regulatory body, this month, two months after the EU legalized use. Prior to the ruling seven appellations Anjou, Muscadet, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Medoc, Haut-Médoc and Côtes du Rhône were granted special dispensations, allowing experimental use of wood chips as of the 2006 harvest.

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Indiana gets third wine trail

Indiana has gained its third wine trail, a joint effort of seven different central Indiana wineries under the simple title Indy Wine Trail.

The member wineries: Buck Creek Winery (Indianapolis), Chateau Thomas Winery (Plainfield), Easley Winery (Indianapolis), Ferrin’s Fruit Winery (Carmel), Grape Inspirations Winery (Carmel), Mallow Run Winery (Bargersville), and Simmons Winery (Columbus).

Upcoming events will include celebrations around Valentine’s Day, a barbecue feast during the summer and visits with the winemakers. The new trail features a "passport" program which allows visitors to receive a free wine glass after visiting all seven wineries.

For an update and live links to wine trails in Indiana and every state in the nation, visit Dowd's Guide to American Wine Trails.

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SA picks its top young winemaker

Youth, as they say, must be served. In this instance, however, youth was doing the serving.

For the sixth year, the Diners Club of South Africa sought a winner for its "Young Winemaker of the Year" award, given to the top 30 or younger wine producers in the country.

Francois Agenbag (seen here) of Wolseley, Breedekloof emerged victorious from a field of 62 Dry Red Wine entries. Competitors were allowed to serve the judges blended or single varietal reds, wood-aged or not.

Agenbag's wine is sold under the Seven Oaks label, made at Mountain Ridge, formerly known as the Romansrivier co-operative. His winning entry was Seven Oaks 6+1 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2004.

Judges' tasting notes: "Powerful blackberry, chocolate, with spicy oak backing. Big, rich and full in the mouth with ripe, balanced tannins and well controlled oak. Sweet-fruited throughout. Long, fruit-filled finish. Lots of development potential."

In the other award given by the club, "Winemaker of the Year" went to Gottfried Mocke, winemaker for the Franschhoek Vineyards label, for his Chamonix Chardonnay Reserve 2005.

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Tempranillo emerging in New Zealand

Seeing a new brand emerge with a medal in a prestigious competition is one thing. Seeing a new variety win its class is another.

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo 2005 was awarded the top trophy in the "Other Red Varieties" class at the 2006 Air New Zealand Wine Awards in Taradale, NZ, Sunday night. It is the only New Zealand-produced wine of this variety available in the market, although several other growers have the grapes planted.

Tempranillo is a Spanish grape variety that growers are successfully utilizing in the Hawke’s Bay area that has a warm climate and similar terroir to Europe.

“New Zealand consumers are quite conservative about the wines they drink. It’s up to the industry to offer them something new, educating their palates on a wider range of flavor profiles,” chief winemaker John Hancock said when he accepted the award. “Having a new variety recognized at this level is a big step and will encourage consumers to try something other than Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.”

The Tempranillo 2005 was aged 12 months, predominantly in French oak barrels. It is Trinity Hill's second vintage of the style. It also won a gold medal in the "Other red wines" category in the recent AMP Mercedes Benz Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards.

Go here for a full look at the Air New Zealand winners in all categories.

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W(h)ining over a 'no' vote

Massachusetts voters on election day rejected Ballot Question 1, a proposal that would have allowed for wine sales in food stores by granting a new type of locally issued liquor license.

“I think voters understood this thing for what it was. Why do we need to double the amount of liquor licences in the state and add 3,000 licenses?,” said Joe Baerlein, a spokesman for the No on One Campaign Committee. “They soundly rejected that.”

On the other side, the supermarket industry said it was the opposition's scare campaign that thwarted their attempt to gain a foothold in the retail wine market.

“We knew from the beginning that changing the status quo regarding wine sales was going to be a tough fight,” Chris Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, said in a statement. “The liquor industry spent millions of dollars to maintain their monopoly on wine sales and, unfortunately, Massachusetts voters were misled by a negative, scare campaign.”

No matter who is right, the votes are what counted, and the "no" votes won by about 14%.

About 40 grocery stores have full liquor licenses or beer-and-wine licenses under a state law that limits chains to three licenses each.

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