New For Members
It's time for tea
This year’s monograph focusses on a non-alcoholic beverage which is a first for us - tea. But with the increasing interest in no and low-alcohol drinks we thought it was time to delve into this world. Tea has many similarities to wine, so it seemed a natural first choice - the tea plant takes 3-4 years to be productive, natural yeasts play a part in the production process as does the careful cellaring for some styles. There is so much more to discover and we hope you enjoy the read.
Does South America have any 'grand crus'?
Tune into our latest Andre Simon Lecture with Amanda Barnes and you will find out more. Click here to view. Amanda is an award-winning writer and broadcaster, originally from the UK, based in Argentina who tirelessly travels around the leading wine producing regions of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay and touching on Bolivia and Peru. She has met the producers and tasted their wines over a number of years and she now feels the time is to delve into which regions are showing grand crus promise. Well worth a watch and only 45 minutes long – time to enjoy a glass of South American wine too.
‘IN THE NEWS’ ON SID’S BLOG
This is one of the most recent questions on Sid’s Blog which highlights the affects the extreme weather conditions are having on some of our cherished wine regions.
Question: I hear many Okanagan wineries in British Columbia have experienced severe weather problems affecting their vines. Would you kindly update us? Click here for Sid’s answer.
Answer: Yes, serious vine damage in the Okanagan has become very widely spread. First the extremely low temperatures in early 2023 greatly lessened harvest production of that vintage plus really frigid weather again in mid-January of 2024 damaging vines has resulted in a pessimistic forecast for this year’s crop. Wineries are now questioning the risks of replanting successful Syrah and other top grape varieties that can not survive these very cold winters. What does the future hold? Summer 2023 wild fires during the high tourist season has also affected visits and important direct wine sales. Many wineries are suffering loss of revenue and lots of them are for sale. An excellent current article in Wine Enthusiast linked here provides more details on these worrying issues and states “25% of the valley’s wineries are for sale”. Stay tuned.
Insurance News
Although not at the forefront of your mind when joining Society or branch events, insurance is a valuable and important benefit that is provided as part of your membership fee. Please note that the latest 2024 documents are now available for you to view via your zone pages, or the Secretariat pages of the website. The documents available to download, and where applicable related to your region, are:
- Insurance Manual
- Guidance Relating to the Service of Alcohol
- Insurance Certificate Application Form.