Bordeaux Wine Output To Reach Seven Year Peak

Bordeaux is one of France’s most reputable and prolific wine-making regions. New reports confirm that Bordeaux’s 2016 wine harvest will allow the region’s wine output to reach a seven year peak, as it escaped the adverse weather conditions that hit the rest of France’s iconic wine-making regions.

For more, visit Ideal Wine Company's blog site.

Bordeaux Promotes Wine With Christmas Campaign

Industry body the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) recently launched an innovative new Christmas campaign. The project is designed to “promote the diversity” of Bordeaux tipples to UK consumers.

For more visit Ideal Wine Company's blog

Brexit Could Impact French Wine Trade

When the Brexit result was announced, the world paused. The value of the British Pound dropped to its lowest level in over 30 years, UK Prime Minister David Cameron resigned and according to the Guardian, the panic caused by Brexit wiped $2 trillion from the value of global markets. But it may have a positive effect on French wine trade, writes Ideal Wine Company.

Brexit and wine  

Last week we discussed how Australian wine makers could benefit from Brexit. This week Ideal Wine Company look at the impact Brexit may have on the French wine trade.

It is not yet clear how Brexit will affect the worldwide wine sector. Decanter writes that the UK is the 6th largest wine consuming country on earth, so it is likely that Brexit will re-shape the international wine market in some way, shape or form.

Read in full at the Ideal Wine Company Blog site.

What is En Primeur Wine?

As a wine enthusiast, there are certain industry terms you may wish to familiarise yourself with in order to broaden your wine knowledge-base. So what is en primeur wine?

En primeur wine

At Ideal Wine Company, we strive to provide effective customer service. We have a number of facilities you can use to learn more about wine.  There’s our Glossary page, where we explain key industry-terms and a Frequently Asked Question’s (FAQs) page, where we answer some common queries about the global wine sector.

On the FAQ’s page, we answer: “what is en primeur?” French for “wine futures,” en primeur refers to the practise of buying a vintage from a producer while it is still in the barrel and has yet to be bottled. If you pursue this option, you will then receive the wine after it has been bottled and distributed.

Ensuring wine quality

Every year, there are numerous en primeur offers from wine merchants, most notably in Bordeaux. However we would advise you to only go en primeur with established merchants, as buying a wine before it has been reviewed by experts means you need to ensure you will receive a quality product.

We would also suggest that you conduct research before buying en primeur. If you perform a few Google searches, you can find out whether a wine region’s industry professionals, along with market experts, believe that it will produce a good vintage that year. For example, as far back as late last year experts suggested that the 2015 Bordeaux would be excellent, due to the favourable weather the region received during the previous growing season.

Choose the right wine

Here at Ideal Wine Company, we don’t provide en primeur purchase options. We are dedicated to providing you with fine wines that have already developed a reputation for excellence. Whether you go en primeur or choose to purchase fine wines which have already cultivated a great reputation, make sure you don’t go in blind. 

It's recommended that do your research, so that you can find the right vintage for you, ensuring that you buy a wine your taste buds are sure to love! 

What Does a Cabernet Sauvignon Taste Like?

This week we want to take some time to talk about the grape that’s featured in many of the wines sold here at the Ideal Wine Company. What does a Cabernet Sauvignon taste like?

Popular grape

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely produced grapes in the wine making world. You may be interested to learn, however, that it’s actually a crossbreed. It’s a natural crossing of the Cabernet France and Sauvignon Blanc grape, which took place way back in the 1600s.

Since then the Cabernet Sauvignon has gained a stellar reputation for its exceptional quality, and the grape is now grown in vineyards across the old and new world. According to Winefolly, the Cabernet Sauvignon is produced in France (the most prolific producer of the grape), Chile, the US, Australia, Italy, South Africa and Argentina.

Grape flavours

The grape has become so popular because it has the ability to provide first-rate wines that are full of flavour. The fruit characteristics of the Cabernet Sauvignon are blackberry, blackcurrant and black cherry. Other characteristics of the grape include violets, vanilla, liquorice, tobacco and black pepper.

This provides a final product that suits the palette of even the most discerning of wine critics. A Cabernet Sauvignon grape often produces a full-bodied red wine with dark fruity flavours and hints of black pepper. Some of these wines also tend to boast a high tannin count, making them wonderful vintages to pair with sumptuous foods that are high in fat.

Old vs. new

The truth is that the taste of a Cabernet Sauvignon largely depends on where it was made.  There are major differences between old and new world wines, and this certainly applies to Cabernet Sauvignon. A vintage produced in California, for example, will be a tad fruiter than one produced in Bordeaux.

This is because whilst 100% Cabernet Sauvignon vintages are often produced in new world wine regions, old world areas tend to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with other grapes. Vintages produced in Bordeaux, for example, often boast more herbal flavours such as violets and graphite.

Different experiences

In other words there’s no way to know what a Cabernet Sauvignon wine will taste like; you’ll encounter a different experience with every new bottle. If you buy one of the Bordeauxs sold by the Ideal Wine Company, it’ll taste different to one or our Californian wines.