Due to the ongoing pandemic, some of our communication operations, including press trips, the Grands Jours du Bourgogne, and training sessions that were set to take place between now and the end of July have had to be postponed. In terms of international events, these will begin again, we hope, in August or September. We are currently putting together a new schedule which we will share with you as soon as possible. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyalty to Bourgogne wines and we look forward to seeing many of you at one of our events very soon.
But life in Bourgogne hasn’t stopped – quite the contrary!
The natural world cannot be locked down. #LaVigneContinue (The Vines Grow On), especially in spring, after the sap has risen in the vines and the buds have emerged from their cotton cocoons. There is lots of work to do in each plot: Once pruning is complete, the trellising needs to be checked, the vines need to be tied up, and the soil needs to be worked.
The region’s winegrowers and négociants are thus doing what they can, and adapting accordingly. In the vines and the wineries, work is being organized around strict social distancing rules (click here to find out more).
In order that as many people as possible can keep up with this busy period, we have created a Facebook group called “Les Bourgogne avec vous” (Bourgogne wines by your side). This is a place for sharing these precious moments during the birth of the future 2020 vintage. Every member can share their #BourgogneMoments and suggest their own tips and tricks – come and join us!
And just like our winegrowers, we are also hard at work, ready to answer any questions you might have. You can contact us via email, or by phone on +33 (0)6 08 56 85 56.
You can also follow our online press room here and even sign up for notifications to be informed every time a new press release is published.
We look forward to seeing you soon and until then, take care!
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At your service
Bourgogne AOCs all mapped out!
This modern-day treasure map is your go-to tool for finding your way around Bourgogne wines AOCs.
Bourgogne wines include plenty of hidden gems, and finding them is like a real treasure hunt. What better tool for hunting down your treasures than our latest navigational aid, Bourgogne Maps!
This new tool, developed by the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), is available from the Bourgogne wines website at www.bourgogne-wines.com (see the Maps section at the bottom of the page). There is no X to mark the spot, rather the opportunity to explore maps covering the 84 Bourgogne appellations, and the 27 Mâcon plus geographical denomination wines and the 13 Bourgogne plus geographical denomination wines, along with their production areas - perfect for finding your way around!
Designed using data from the Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) and land registry resources, these maps reveal the different levels of appellation, Climats and lieu-dits, almost as if you were standing there yourself! This is the first time Bourgogne has been mapped in this way, right down to its Régionale AOCs.
Bourgogne Maps is free and interactive, and offers plenty of extra content regarding different appellations, such as documents and photos, and helps you locate estates, wine houses, cellars, and all kinds of wine-themed events.
This is also a very useful tool for your publications as all maps are printable, in PDF format.
“Discovering Bourgogne Wines” was created using the knowledge of the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) and the region’s winegrowers and négociants. It offers participants the chance to follow an online learning course lasting just under 90 minutes.
Available in four languages, it allows you to evaluate your knowledge, learn, and have fun, through videos, 360° photos, experiences, quizzes, and so much more. Mainly targeting wine professionals, including restaurateurs, winestore owners, importers, and brokers, it is available for all on the Bourgogne wines website.
It comprises four themes:
- Discovering Bourgogne Wines: Refresh your knowledge of the region’s history, terroir, varietals, and appellations
- 365 Days in Bourgogne: To discover the Bourgogne universe from vine to wine
- Tasting Bourgogne Wines: Learn about the organoleptic qualities of Bourgogne wines
- Advising and Helping Customers: A key tool for market influencers
And as an added bonus, downloadable fact sheets provide detailed information to help you move from mere understanding to full expertise.
Enjoyed in 177 territories, rich in history dating back 2,000 years, vinified by thousands of winegrowers and négociants, Bourgogne wines symbolize the notion of sharing perhaps more than any other product. And this was the driver behind the creation of the www.bourgogne-wines.com website.
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) is seeking to broaden the point of view of its different audiences and bring them together in a network by collecting and sharing a wide range of testimonials from wine enthusiasts, journalists and wine-industry professionals.
Plenty of experiences to be shared Speakers’ Corner is a place where each contributor can select the format they prefer for sharing their experience. As such, a winegrower from Moroges might choose a text format to describe their 2019 vintage (in French), while an artist from Marsannay-la-Côte might choose a photograph to showcase their work. One might also discover videos, podcasts, and even songs!
There are two ways to get involved:
- Head over to Speakers’ Corner and check out “What they are saying about Bourgogne wines” and the portraits of each contributor
- Search Instagram for #MaTribuneBourgogne. Use it yourself, this is a great way to discover or share some wonderful shots of bottles, tastings, food and wine combinations, and winegrowers.
Our press service is particularly attentive to laws regarding data privacy and the new European GDPR legislation.
Your personal data, such as your name and email address etc., are only used by us as strictly necessary and in a confidential manner, respecting your rights to access or correct your data.
• If you wish, you can access and correct your data and subscriptions by clicking on the links at the bottom of the email containing this newsletter. Or you can do so in person at BIVB, 12 boulevard Bretonnière, 21200 Beaune.
• If you have any questions regarding our commitment to the GDPR and French data privacy law, please click here.
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Winegrowing in Bourgogne: The People and the Vines
Spring has sprung and things are happening in the vineyards. The buds and first leaves are just starting to appear. At this time of year, everything happens very fast, making it the perfect moment to watch this short film about the fascinating work of the winegrower in the Bourgogne region.
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Economy
2019 – an exceptional year. 2020 – a year in suspense!
After 2019 set new records, Bourgogne winegrowers and negociants remain prudent in an international context fraught with uncertainty.
After 2019 set new records, those in the Bourgogne wine sector remain prudent, in an international context fraught with uncertainty.
The 2018 and 2019 vintages taken together offer potential sales 7% higher than the average for wine leaving estates in the period 2009 to 2018.
• Transactions in the first six months of the 2019-2020 campaign were impacted by the 2019 harvest, which was smaller than the previous one. Nonetheless, the 2018 vintage continues to comfortably satisfy the demands of the market: Up 20%, for 48% of volumes in the first six months of 2019-2020. This volume of 2018 helped to conserve good figures for bottles leaving estates: Up 3% for 38% of total volumes in the first six months of 2019-2020.
• Export figures for 2019 were excellent: Up 9.2% by volume and up 10.3% in terms of revenue. For the first time, Bourgogne wines even exceeded one billion euros in terms of export revenue.
However, the euphoria over this new record was quickly counterbalanced by the international context. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting confinement, clouds were already gathering.
The United States, the leading export market for Bourgogne wines, imposed a 25% ad valorem tax, which will be maintained until August 2020. The United Kingdom, the second-biggest export market, is currently negotiating a new trade deal with the European Union, the contours of which remain unknown. Hong Kong, the fourth-biggest market by revenue, has been rocked for months by political unrest.
We will have to wait until May for some real visibility on the first quarter of 2020 and a few months after that in order to measure the real impact of the current health crisis.
Bourgogne wine sales continued to grow on the American market in 2019, for both white and red. Crémant de Bourgogne returned to growth after stagnating for a year. Overall, exports of Bourgogne wines to the United States recorded year-on-year growth in 2019 of 7.2% by volume and 6.5% in terms of revenue, compared to 2018.
In 2019, the USA was by far the leading export market for Bourgogne wines by revenue, accounting for 22% of total Bourgogne wine exports. It was also in top spot by volume, with 21% of total exports.
This strong performance was notably driven by a favorable euro/dollar exchange rate. However, since mid-October 2019, Bourgogne wines (excluding Crémant de Bourgogne) have been subject to a decision by the US President to impose a 25% ad valorem tax on still wines as part of the trade dispute concerning Boeing and Airbus. This has been compounded by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (closure of restaurants, wine bars, lockdown, suspension of shipping by plane, etc.). It is still too early to know the impact of these two factors on the Bourgogne wine market in the USA, but initial figures providing an indication should be available by May.
To this 25% ad valorem tax, which will be maintained until August 2020 at the earliest, must be added the various measures introduced since early March to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, such as closing restaurants, confining people to their homes, and the suspension of a large number of transatlantic flights. It is still too early to know the consequences of all these events on the Bourgogne wine market in the United States. The first results we will be able to analyze will no doubt be available around the beginning of May 2020.
Winegrowers and négociants are invited to share their daily lives across social media. As we mentioned in the introduction, the agricultural world keeps turning during this unprecedented global crisis. That is why Vin & Société, the national association representing the French wine industry, and the marketing agency La Bicyclette de Paul are inviting everyone involved in vinegrowing and winemaking in France to share snapshots of their daily lives through photos and videos posted on social media with the hashtag #LaVigneContinue (The Vines Grow On).
This is a chance to open a window on a world and its landscapes, and to discover a world like no other, as it changes from day to day. It is also an opportunity for winegrowers to share the initiatives they are putting in place to help overcome the economic difficulties they are currently facing.
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Winemakers and maisons
A starring role for Long-Depaquit!
Bourgogne wine producer, the Domaine Long-Depaquit, owned by the Albert Bichot wine house, features in the film, Uncorked, which was released on Netflix on 27 March.
The film tells the story of Elijah, a young African-American who wants to become a Master Sommelier, an elite diploma obtained by just a handful of successful candidates. But this dream goes against Elijah’s father’s desire for his son to take over the family’s barbecue restaurant in Memphis.
Uncorked is a touching comedy-drama about father-son relationships, and it’s also a film about wine, and Chablis in particular. Elijah comes to France and falls in love with the Domaine Long-Depaquit in Chablis. The vines and the cellars of the Domaine Long-Depaquit provided an idyllic location for American director Prentice Penny to shoot the film which was released on 27 March on Netflix.
Work on this project began in January, covering a total of 1,765m² across four of the winery’s roofs. It will allow for a saving of around 40% in terms of the site’s annual energy bill, with a production of solar energy estimated at 380,000kw/h.
This will allow the cooperative to reduce their environmental footprint by 181 tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Les Vignerons des Terres Secrètes is planning to take this strategy even further with the installation of electric charging stations outside the winery in Prissé sometime during 2020.
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A new co-manager for the Cellier aux Moines estate
Guillaume Marko joined the estate in 2015 as technical manager for vines and wine. He has now been promoted to co-manager, and as such will be more closely associated with the management and growth of this family-run estate.
Guillaume Marko knows the Bourgogne winegrowing industry very well. Before joining the Cellier aux Moines estate at the age of 29, he worked on a series of different estates, including Frédéric Magnien in Morey-Saint-Denis, Arnoux-Lachaux in Vosne-Romanée, and Romanée Conti, where he did his DNO internship (IUVV Dijon).
Domaine de la Commaraine is expanding
The estate, which was created in 1112 in Pommard, has just acquired several hectares of vines on the Côtes de Nuits.
The Domaine de la Commaraine was already the owner of more than three hectares in Pommard, in the Premier Cru Climat of Clos de la Commaraine, wines said to have been highly appreciated by Thomas Jefferson when he visited Bourgogne at the end of the 18th century. Historically, the estate covered around 10 hectares.
It is in part the desire to reconstitute this heritage that motivated the estate and its director to acquire these new vines on the Côte de Nuits. They are located in the appellations of Nuits-Saint-Georges (including two Premier Crus) and in Chambolle-Musigny.
The René Bouvier estate covers around 30 hectares of vines on the Côte de Nuits, and has recently launched a brand-new website at www.renebouvier.com.
This extensive site contains plenty of information about the estate’s wines, which come from 26 appellations, with detailed downloadable information sheets for each one.
Intuitive navigation allows visitors to locate every plot and explore the soil and subsoil found therein.
A winemaker from the Cave de Lugny recently published a surprising image of seven sheep wandering around her plot of vines in Saint-Gengoux-de-Scissé.
These wooly friends had been brought in to keep down the grass. This practice means the winegrower is able to forego chemical weed killers, particularly on tricky-to-access plots such as this one. And the added bonus with these workers is that they bring along their own natural fertilizer!
The sheep will take four days to eat away at all the grass in this plot. They then need to be removed before they start on the young buds, these delicious little mouthfuls they love to snap up.
This experiment has provided some useful data to improve this practice in the future.
Bourgogne vs. Burgundy: to re-affirm their identity, the region and the producers are reverting back to the original French iteration of the name, Bourgogne.
EN DIRECT 9 issues per year, published by
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