This area is dedicated to wine professionals including sommeliers, restaurateurs, wine store owners importers and trainers. Welcome to your very own BIVB website where you can find all the tips and tools you need. You will find documentation, photography, training tools and all kinds of other useful information here to facilitate your search. You can also browse our events and training calendar and you are welcome to attend any that appeal. If you require any further information then don’t hesitate to contact us!
Just two weeks until the Hospices de Beaune wine auction
Every year on the third Sunday in November, the Hospices de Beaune hosts its celebrated wine auction.
The vines belonging to the estate are the result of many generous bequests, and the wine they produce helps to raise money for the Hospices de Beaune. In 1945, the Hospices began supporting one or more charitable organizations each year that benefit from the profits from the sale of a barrel or pièce of wine – more in some years – called the “Pièce des Présidents”. The auctioning of this lot is often the high point of the annual sale.
For the 160th edition, a single barrel will be sold. It combines the talents of the Les Hospices de Beaune estate and the Château de Chambord. The lot will comprise 228 liters of Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from the vineyard on the Côte de Nuits aged in a barrel made from grand cru oak from the forest of the Chambord estate.
Follow all the latest news from this year’s auction, which will enjoy plenty of firsts, live on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.
Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois
A Bourgogne plus geographical denomination AOC that is one to watch.
The Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois AOC produces only red wines from the Pinot Noir varietal, from within the area marked on the map below. It was granted its AOC status in 2000. The wines from this appellation have a sustained cherry red color, with flashes of ruby or bright red. On the nose, they offer notes of cherry, blackcurrant, and wild strawberry, with touches of fig, blueberry, pepper, leather, and sweet spices, sometimes with a hint of menthol. They are fruity in the mouth with good vinosity and structured tannins. The finish is light, with freshness and salinity.
Food and wine pairings
Their good structure with lively and nuanced fruitiness makes these wines ideal companions for poultry tart, pan-fried veal, pies, or home-made burgers. Their fruity nature ensures these wines from the Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois partner perfectly with eggs en meurette in a red wine sauce, or with roast poultry or pork ribs. You can also serve more powerful examples to accompany meats in sauce or grilled rib of beef. If serving with cheese, opt for strongly-flavored ones like Pont-l’Évêque, Epoisses, or Vacherin.
Location
The vines of Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois are located in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, on the left bank of the River Dheune, which separates them from the Côte Chalonnaise to the east. These vines are scattered over slopes facing south and southeast, at between 280m and 420m above sea level. The climate offers a strong continental influence that leads to fairly late ripening.
The subsoil is characterized by granite from the Primary, clay sandstone, clay from the Triassic, and Early Jurassic limestone. For the most part, the vines of Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois grow on versicolored clay from the Triassic.
A request to have the area’s white wines recognized with the AOC is currently ongoing.
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, the equivalent to 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.
2020 heralds the end of several years of continued growth in exports of Bourgogne wines to the USA. In 2019, the country accounted for 22% of total Bourgogne wine exports in terms of revenue, and 21% by volume.
Exports of Bourgogne wines to Canada are growing, reflecting global figures for wine drinking in the country. In the decade from 2010 to 2019, consumption soared 59% by volume and 92.3% in terms of revenue.
Today, Canada is the fifth biggest export market for 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 show 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 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 the Bourgogne Hautes Côtes (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.
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 geographical denominations of 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.
Bourgogne Week London is a key event at the start of the year for wine industry professionals in the UK, and one might have thought the pandemic would have put a halt to the next edition of this unique week-long event that celebrates Bourgogne wines. But no! Estates, négoces, and cooperative cellars have no intention of abandoning their commercial partners across the Channel, especially as the British market is enjoying good growth, despite the circumstances, returning to first place in terms of exports of Bourgogne wines in May and June 2020, both by volume and in terms of revenue.
From 11 to 15 January 2021, London will thus be showcasing Bourgogne wines, through both online and live events, with the catchphrase, “Be Amazed!”. This much-anticipated fun-packed week will be punctuated by wine tastings and round-table discussions organized in partnership with The Buyer trade publication. It will also enjoy a very strong presence on social media via the #BourgogneWeek hashtag. So come along and join in the fun as Bourgogne wines return to London.
EVENTS CALENDAR
The 09/09/2020
Bourgogne Wines and TheFork are inviting you to go back to the restaurant
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.
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