The 160th Hospice de Beaune wine auction: Supporting hospital workers
At a press conference in Paris on Tuesday 3 November, the Hospices de Beaune will present the two non-profits representing hospital workers who will benefit from the sale of the “Pièce des Présidents” barrel of wine :
> La Fédération Hospitalière de France (FHF)
> Le Comité de Gestion des Œuvres Sociales des établissements hospitaliers publics (CGOS)
For this anniversary edition, the Pièce des Présidents charity barrel combines the talents of the domaine des Hospices Civils de Beaune and the Château de Chambord. The lot will comprise 228 liters of Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (Côte de Nuits) contained in a barrel made from grand cru oak from the forest of the Chambord estate.
Every year, the Hospice de Beaune wine auction weekend features many press events. However, given the current health crisis, the tasting at the Hospices and the auction itself will be very restricted in terms of attendance. A wait list has been created for those wishing to take part.
Nevertheless, the Bourgogne wine industry looks forward to welcoming you at two events with no restrictions on attendees:
- On the morning of Friday 13 November, a tasting of the 84 Bourgogne AOCs at the Palais des Congrès in Beaune, featuring the 2019 and 2020 vintages.
- On Sunday 15 November at 9am, a press conference held jointly with the Hospices in Les Halles de Beaune, where we will present the 2020 vintage, along with an update on the industry’s finances over the first nine months of 2020, and a round-up of other news.
For those unable to come to Beaune, videos of the press conference will be available online from Sunday evening in the Bourgogne wines online press room. More information is and will be available via the link below.
The interactive “Rendez-vous avec les Vins de Bourgogne” show, produced by the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), brings together hundreds of industry professionals, journalists, and influencers from around the world for each show to explore one or several Bourgogne AOCs.
Two dates and two themes coming up in 2020:
• 18 November: A session dedicated to the 27 AOCs plus a geographical denomination from the Mâcon appellation. These wines represent a first step towards the notion of terroir, and offer a wealth of little treasures with an unbeatable combination of quality, price, and pleasure.
• 2 December: A session entirely dedicated to the Irancy appellation. This red Village AOC from the north of Bourgogne offers wines with hints of cherry. It is the only appellation that is permitted to include up to 10% of the César varietal alongside the fabulous Pinot Noir. This is a wine that is truly benefitting from climate change, and fully deserves all the interest it is gaining from industry professionals and wine lovers alike.
The show lasts for one hour. The first 20 minutes are dedicated to a presentation of the featured appellations, with reports and interviews with winegrowers. The second part offers a guided tasting of several wines that participants can sample simultaneously with Jean-Pierre Renard, our expert from the École des Vins de Bourgogne. He answers questions live during the tasting, via the Twitter hashtag #BIVBRDV.
The show is broadcast in 10 countries, in both English and French. If you’d like to sign up, check with the Official Trainer in your country to see whether they will be hosting a screening. Journalists can also contact Cécile Mathiaud for more information.
Do you know the Official Bourgogne Wine ambassadors?
There are 70 Official Bourgogne Wine ambassadors located across the globe. They offer training sessions and many other services involving Bourgogne wines.
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB)’s network of Official Bourgogne Wine Ambassadors comprises some 70 trainers around the world. They offer two essential qualities: Professional expertise and educational efficacy.
They include sommeliers, enologists, directors of wine schools, and even journalists, all of whom have carried out special training in addition to their regular jobs. They are also all passionate about Bourgogne wines, and share the values found there. Their mission is to train different audiences, industry professionals, enlightened amateurs or newcomers to the world of wine. This mainly takes place through events in hotel schools or through the organization of training seminars.
This impressive network also allows the BIVB to expand its training program. And during a pandemic, when travel is limited, this is more important than ever. Our Official Trainers are also a key part of the Rendez-vous avec les vins de Bourgogne show (see information above), hosting live sessions in their respective countries where they serve and taste the wines and round out the presentation from the BIVB.
Bourgogne Week in London is a key event at the start of the year for wine industry professionals. And, it returns to the English capital from 11 -14 January 2021, with a few slight adjustments due to the global health crisis.
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) is supporting events organized by various importers through a dedicated communication platform. Several strategic partnerships have also been set up for the event. Part of the action will take place on social media, in particular across Twitter and Instagram, via #BourgogneWeek.
The UK market, which has been losing momentum since the economic crisis of 2008, and which some believed would be lost with Brexit, has seen imports of Bourgogne wines pick up over the past two years. For the first eight months of 2020, this market grew 16.1% by volume and 7.5% in terms of revenue compared to the first eight months 2019. As such, it has consolidated its second place, regaining market share from the US, which is lagging behind due to the new tax wine introduced at the end of 2019 by the Trump administration.
For more details, see En Direct on 10 December.
Competition: Bourgogne wines are supporting Asian sommeliers
The BIVB is both patron and on the jury of the “Best French wine sommelier in Asia” competition, the final of which takes place in December.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) is renewing its support for the development of the sommelier profession in Asia. To this end, it is sponsoring the competition to find the best French wine sommelier in Asia.
Between mid-September and mid-October, sommelier associations from 10 territories (Hong Kong, China, Macao, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore) each selected two candidates through a series of simulation tests featuring Bourgogne wines. They will go on to participate in the continental semi-final, and then three finalists will go on to compete for the crown in December. Due to the pandemic, these events will be organized in each country and screened online.
The BIVB organized four masterclasses to help candidate sommeliers prepare for these tests, in partnership with sommelier associations from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and, for the first time, Vietnam.
The 20 semi-finalists will be able to take part in a second, more advanced masterclass, which will enable them to tackle some of the fundamentals of the profession, such as rules about serving wines along with recommendations for food and wine pairings. Furthermore, they will be able to learn with Jean-Pierre Renard, an expert from the École des Vins de Bourgogne. The candidates will thus have all the help they need to get through the semi-final stage and reach the grand final.
The Cité des vins et des Climats de Bourgogne: Something for everyone
The Cité’s three sites in Beaune, Mâcon, and Chablis, will open during 2022. And families will be front and center!
Families have been the focus since the launch of the Cité des vins et des Climats de Bourgogne project. These sites will offer an immersive experience for young and old alike.
Throughout the visitor experience, a specially designed trail for children will help them understand the history of winegrowing in Bourgogne. They will learn about fossils, winegrowers’ huts or cabottes*, the growth cycle of the vine, how grapes form in bunches, and the animals that live in the region, along with themes specific to each Cité.
This experience, taking place in a series of cabottes, will ensure that all the family has fun, either exploring on their own or accompanied by a guide, through immersive, multi-sensorial, and fun attractions.
At the end of the visit, children will be invited to enjoy their own tasting of fruit juices, to help them learn to look, smell, taste, and talk about what they are drinking.
To round out this permanent exhibition for younger visitors, the Cité will offer a different take on winegrowing in Bourgogne through themed workshops. These will be adapted to family audiences and will be very varied and frequently updated over the seasons.
Other one-off events will also feature on the Cité’s cultural programming.
* Cabottes or cadolles are winegrowers’ huts or shelters, located in the vineyards
Morey-Saint-Denis on the Côte de Nuits is a village with one of the highest numbers of Grand CruClimats. Clos de Tart, Clos Saint-Denis, Clos des Lambrays, and Clos de la Roche are all located here, bringing out the very best the Pinot Noir grape has to offer. Despite all being fairly close to one another, each of these Grand Cru has its own unique personality.
According to specialists, the Clos de la Roche is very similar to a Chambertin. On the nose, humus and truffle can often be detected before giving way to aromas of small red and black berries. Intense and full-bodied with age, these wines have a dense tannic structure and aromatic richness that makes for an ideal pairing with feathered game. They are also wonderful with a ribeye steak, and adapt well to the aromatic intensity of Peking duck for fans of Asian cuisine. Their smooth yet sustained tannins would also pair perfectly with veal, braised or in sauce, or with roast or braised lamb. And lastly, a Clos de la Roche would bring out the very best in strong or soft cheeses, or those with a washed rind.
Location
This Grand Cru takes its name from its unique terroir that is heavy with limestone beneath just 30cm of earth, that is rich in large stone blocks. The AOC was recognized in December 1936, and Clos de la Roche is based on historical foundations along with the regrouping of several Climats. And it is one of these – Les Froichots – that will fill the Pièce des Présidents charity barrel at the next edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction.
In 2019, Bourgogne wine sales continued to grow on the American market, for both white and red. Crémant de Bourgogne returned to growth after a stagnating for a year. The USA accounted for 22% of total Bourgogne wine exports in terms of revenue, and 21% by volume.
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 under 14° 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.).
Unsurprisingly, results for the first seven months of 2020 confirmed the gloomy predictions at the end of 2019. Exports fell 16.6% by volume (equivalent to 1.8 million bottles), compared to the first seven months of 2019, and were down 24.7% in terms of revenue, a fall of 33.5 million euros.
All colors suffered:
> White wine: Down 13.2% by volume and down 23% by revenue
> Red and rosé wines: Down 20% by volume and down 26.5% by revenue
> Crémant de Bourgogne: Down 27.9% by volume and down 26% by revenue
Bourgogne wine industry professionals regularly voice their concerns to the French government, requesting that it and the European Union find a solution to the Boeing/Airbus conflict.
Exports of Bourgogne wines to Canada are growing, reflecting global figures for wine drinking in the country. In the decade from 2010 to 2019, the country showed a leap of 59% by volume and 92.3% in terms of revenue.
Today, Canada is the fifth biggest market in terms of exports of Bourgogne wines, behind the USA, the UK, Japan, and Hong Kong, but ahead of Switzerland, with 6% of revenue. It sits fourth place by volume, just ahead of Japan.
2019 was the fifth year that exports have grown, up 7.9% by volume and up 9.5% in terms of revenue over 2018. The weakness of the euro vis-à-vis the Canadian dollar also helped drive these numbers.
A market little affected by the pandemic:
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, since Q2 2020, Canada is among those markets that has continued to enjoy growth. Over the first seven months of 2020, Canada was in third place by volume, with growth up 9.6% compared to the previous year. Revenue was also up 6.8%.
Quebec alone is the fifth biggest export market for Bourgogne wines:
Some 5.5 million bottles of Bourgogne wine were sold by the Société des Alcools du Québec monopoly over the last tax year to the end of March 2020, up 18% compared to the record set the previous year, for sales of CA3 million, up 17%.
Growth was mainly driven by white wines (up 22%), accounting for some 70% of all sales. The three leading AOCs were Bourgogne Aligoté (1.5 million bottles sold), Chablis, and Bourgogne blanc.
Red wines also enjoyed growth, up 11% by volume, driven by the Bourgogne AOC (up 18%) and Coteaux Bourguignons (up 15%), along with Mercurey (up 18%) and Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune and de Nuits (up 18%).
Crémant de Bourgogne wines continued their gentle growth (up 1%), with 278,000 bottles sold. It is far off the leading sparkling French AOC sold on this market, not counting Champagne.
Albert Bichot innovates for the Hospices de Beaune wine auction
Despite the health crisis, this Bourgogne wine producer is busy ensuring the wine sale is accessible to all, from curious visitors to potential buyers.
For the past 20 years, the Maison Albert Bichot in Beaune has been the leading buyer at the Hospices de Beaune wine auction. This 160th edition is set to be an exceptional one in many ways (see the editorial), particularly in terms of the anti-COVID protocols currently in place. But this is has not discouraged Albéric Bichot and his team – quite the opposite, in fact!
The aim is clear this year, once again: To remain the leading buyer at the sale, whilst making the event as accessible as possible to as many as possible. And to do this, the Albert Bichot wine house is focusing on two highly innovative ideas:
> The creation of an exclusive tasting selection box featuring five wines from the Hospices range, from Village to Grand Cru appellations.
> Live screening of the sale online via Zoom.
These two innovations will help facilitate the event in the face of the current health crisis and serve to support the Hospices de Beaune during these strange times.
The Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot in Pommard produces many Bourgogne AOCs. It is now possible to taste and buy them in a new wine bar the estate has just opened to the public at 12 Place de l'Europe.
The wine bar offers selections of cold meats and cheeses along with a range of beers and homemade fruit juices to ensure there’s something for everyone.
Opening hours:
> Tuesday to Thursday 11am - 6pm
> Friday and Saturday 11am - 9pm
Due to the ongoing health crisis, this year’s tasting will adopt a new format to guarantee visitor safety.
One of the wine house’s advisors will host a tasting of six wines, four of which will be served with a food accompaniment created by chef Laurent Parra from the Restaurant Le Conty in Beaune.
These tastings will be held on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November.
Please reserve online by clicking here, or by calling +33(0)3 80 24 06 66
Three vintages to be discovered at the Château de Chamirey
Come along to Mercurey on 14 November to discover the chateau’s range of wines, from Vosne-Romanée to Pouilly-Fuissé, Mercurey, and beyond!
The Château de Chamirey is the property of the Devillard family, and every year, hosts an open day to coincide with the Hospice de Beaune wine auction. The event provides a wonderful opportunity for visitors to discover the estate’s wines, such as the Château de Chamirey (Mercurey), the Domaine de la Ferté (Givry), the Domaine des Perdrix (Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, etc.) and the Domaine de la Garenne (Pouilly-Fuissé, Mâcon-Azé, etc.). There is something for everyone at the Château de Chamirey!
You will also be able to taste the 2018 vintage which has recently been bottled, along with a few examples from 2019 or even 2020, which are still being aged.
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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