In its January 2010 e-newsletter, Robert Parker shared its wine predictions for 2010.
Wine Market
According to Robert Parker, 2010 is not looking very promising for the wine market despite what appear to be rather buoyant prices for prestigious Bordeaux, Burgundies, and a handful of California Cabernets, etc. The auction market has quickly realized that the top prices being fetched for rare wines are in Hong Kong, but he predicts that by the end of 2010, that market will be saturated with more top wines than even Chinese high-flyers can absorb. Combine that with the growing inventories of vintages that will be very difficult to sell unless discounted and dumped on the marketplace (2007 and 2008 Burgundies, 2007 Bordeaux, 2008 Northern Rhônes, and lots of high-end luxury Champagne), much of this wine is going to find few takers in 2010, and will have to be sold at distress-sale prices. Discount sales are inevitable.
Vintage 2009
Of course, all of this economic turmoil over fat inventories of difficult-to-sell vintages is going to play out in the background of the 2009 vintage being tasted and reviewed this spring, summer, and fall. Virtually all of France as well as other parts of Western Europe are proclaiming this to be one of the all-time great vintages of the last 30 to 50 years. Of course, we all know wine producers have a tendency to assert that the greatest wine they have ever made is the one currently for sale, but the weather in Western Europe, and particularly in France, supports the view that this is well beyond just another promising vintage. Robert Parker, of course, will be looking at the Bordeaux end of it in March, following that up with a look at the Rhône in late August and September.
The Bordelais dreams of the astronomical 2005 Bordeaux prices
At that time the world economy was buoyant but times are vastly different in 2010, and it is impossible for Robert Parker to imagine that 2009 will be able to fetch the kind of prices 2005 did. He continues to expect plenty of economic carnage in the wine world in 2010, and thinks the worst may be yet to come. But for wine drinkers, not speculators, 2010 could be a banner year.
For over 60 years Jean Frederic Hugel was one of his native region’s greatest champions.
After the Second World War Hugel studied at both Montpellier and Bordeaux before returning home.
He ran the family wine business – founded around 1639 – with his two brothers, Georges and André, from 1948 until 1997, when his nephews Jean Philippe, Marc and Etienne took over daily management of the company.
Hugel wrote what eventually became legislation regulating the production of Alsace wines. These were finally recognized officially in 1984 and have become some of the strictest of all French wine appellation laws.
Affectionately known throughout the wine community as ‘Johnny’, he was outspoken, and firm in his beliefs. ‘It is sad to see French growers are following this trend,’ he once said of his fellow winemakers’ use of oak and its by-products. ‘They are timber merchants who forget to be winegrowers.’
But he was no ascetic – one of his best-known pronouncements was, ‘People who like wine are nicer people than those who do not like wine.’
Paul Symington of Symington Family Estates said, ‘In the wine trade around the world, very few reach the level of affection and respect that Johnny earned from all over his lifetime.’
Alsace expert Tom Stevenson said, ‘Johnny Hugel was the single most important person in the development of Alsace wine industry throughout the 20th century.’
Hugel is survived by his wife Simone, who was alongside him at his Riquewihr home, their daughters Dominique and Judith, and four grandchildren: Sylvie, Jean, Etienne, and Michel.
Source: ‘Johnny’ Hugel dies by David Furer on Decanter.com
On the 5th of June 2009, Panos Kakaviatos announces that Hermitage may lose famous signs as part of environmental bill on Decanter.com
The advertising signs that adorn the famous Hermitage slope may be removed as part of a new environmental heritage bill proposed by French authorities.
The signs, the most prominent of which advertise the Jaboulet and Chapoutier vineyards, have become an iconic part of the steep hillside.
However, as part of the move to classify the Hermitage hill, which overlooks the town of Tain l’Hermitage, as an environmental heritage site, the signs are set to be taken down.
The mayor of Tain l’Hermitage, Gilbert Bouchet, would like to see the signs removed. According to Veronique Chalencon, who has worked on the project, they ‘disturb the natural landscape’.
However, Michel Chapoutier, current president of the Hermitage wine growers union, opposes any plans to remove the signs.
‘Why take down the signs on the walls? They have been there for a long time on private property,’ Ingrid Delubac, an assistant for Chapoutier, told decanter.com
Winemakers are also concerned that classification could complicate vineyard work – including building or repair of terrace supporting walls.
‘It may bring more bureaucracy,’ Delubac added.
A revised environmental project is currently being drafted to take into account the views from the wine growers union.
‘We have had several meetings to reassure [winemakers],’ said Chalencon.
The bill will be examined later this year by a commission in Paris.
Picture from www.wineanorak.com
The primeurs sales is a process by which wineries offer their new vintage for sale two years ahead of its availability on the market. It is often considered as an opportunity for wine amateurs to buy the most sought after wines for a lower price than what will be observed once the bottles become available through the standard selling channels in a few year’s time.
The 2005’s sold very well in primeur and reached prices never seen before. But today, these wines are mostly stored in cellars and tend to lose value every day, due to the general economic crisis. Some investors (or should we say speculators?) even started selling those wines with loss in order to cash what still can be. The 2006’s didn’t sell very well in primeur and the 2007’s mostly still sits and waits in the winemerchant’s warehouses, simply because winemerchants have to keep on buying their quota of primeurs every year in order to keep their privilege for the years to come. Unfortunately, the 2007’s were priced very high an very few were actually purchased by end consumers.
According to most wine specialists, the Bordeaux 2008 vintage is better than expected, and also better than the overpriced 2007’s.
Two questions now: will the bordeaux winemakers participate to the primeur campaign? And if they do so, what will be their primeur pricing?
To buy or not to buy?
Hubert de Boüard of St-Émilion made the first move and took everyone by surprise by announcing an opening price for the Château Angélus 2008 close to the reasonably priced 2004, in other words 40% below the 2007! One could think that this is an oppurtunity not to be missed out. But it might not be that simple as we can for instance now expect some 2005’s to be sold at very good prices soon, just like the 2006’s are now on the market cheaper on average than first priced during the primeurs campaign two years ago. And we all know that almost no 2007’s were sold so far.
You might be amongst those who bought some 2006’s in primeur as some traditionaly do so to celebrate the birth of a child born that year… hoping to make a good deal and to later share a birth’ year vintage with your kid once he reaches the drinking age. If so, you probably noticed some of theses same bottles hitting the supermarkets shelves 20% cheaper two years later. If 2008’s saw your family extend again, you might be thinking along the same principle … but this time, you might be better off keeping your cash for the good bargains in the coming two years… so will you gamble?
Twenty of Europe’s most exciting web & mobile startups to pitch at Plugg conference Brussels – 26 February 2009
Plugg, widely known as the conference where the top European startups, entrepreneurs, investors, pundits, trade press & bloggers annually meet up to discuss the current and future state of the Internet and mobile industry in Europe, is today announcing the twenty nominees for the event’s exhilarating pitching competition, the Plugg Start-Ups Rally.
Selected from a pool of 126 European startups who have submitted their profile online, a professional jury of industry pundits and venture capital investors have picked twenty companies that will give a short presentation about their product or service. They will each get 2 minutes to pitch their startup to the Plugg audience and the select crew of jury members will subsequently select 3 finalists to present for 10 minutes after that. Two awards will be given out: one for the overall winner and one for the startup that got the most votes from the audience.Here are the twenty startups that will present at the the Plugg conference in Brussels on the 12th of March 2009, in alphabetical order:
ApSynth (Calcul Plus) – http://www.apsynth.com/
Beebole – http://beebole.com/en/
Bubok – http://bubok.com/
Burt – http://byburt.com/
ContextIn – http://contextin.com/
Desktop Reporting – http://www.desktop-reporting.com/
DPIvision (CannyBill) – http://www.cannybill.com
Hammerkit – http://hammerkit.com
iOpus (AlertFox) – http://www.alertfox.com/
Jinni – http://www.jinni.com
Mendeley – http://www.mendeley.com/
Myngle – http://www.myngle.com
Nulaz – http://www.nulaz.net
Plista – http://plista.com
SenseBoard – http://senseboard.com
Silentale – http://www.silentale.com
Snagsta – http://snagsta.com
SofaTutor – http://www.sofatutor.de
Tailgate Technologies – http://tailgatetechnologies.com
VinoGusto – http://www.vinogusto.com/The names were announced on 26 February at 3:20 PM CET on the Plugg blog
If you have any questions or remarks, please contact me: Robin Wauters – robin@plugg.eu – mobile: 0032-485614307Related post: New round of investment for Vinogusto.com
Starting in January 2009, Vinogusto welcomes professionals of the wine sector.
Who we are?
Vinogusto.com is an online wine and winetourism guide based around consummers’ opinion. Our site traffic now reaches up to 500.000 visitors a month and our aim is to help them:
- choose their wines and find places to buy them,
- discover new wineplaces worth a visit. (wineries and producers, cellars & online merchants, restaurants and winebars , lodgings in the wine producing regions,…).
Vinogusto for Wineries and Producers:
We offer you to present your business along with the wines and/or services available to our user community. Our offering to professionals is articulated around three types of yearly subscriptions providing various levels of visibility on our platform (Prestige from 450€/year, Normal from 150€/year and Reduced from 50€/year).
Regardless of the subscription type, our fee includes:
- A detailed presentation with contact information, direct link to your website, practical information such has opening hours, geographical situtaion on map,…
- Description of your service offering: wine tasting sessions, lodging, rural house, animations,…
- An unlimited photo gallery
- Exhaustive presentation of the wines produced
- Price list of the wines for sale at the winery with direct link the realted wine page on your site or contact details
- Publication in 5 languages (English, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian)
- Update of your data at any time
- Excellent national and international visibility
How to register?
The professionnal’s corner of our website gives you access to all details regarding our various subscriptions and to our online registration system.
Would you have any questions or need any help, don’t hesitate to contact us
Company Profile:
Vinogusto sprl
TVA : BE889.923.431
Address: Rue J-B Vannypen, 75, 1160 Brussels, Belgium
Website: www.vinogusto.com
Tel : +32 2 672 86 55
Fax : +32 2 792 47 05
On February 13rd, the online wineguide and social networking website Vinogusto.com will officialize a third round of investment with a new raise of 355.000 euros.
The 2008 results confirmed the enormous potential of this wineguide and wine tourism website based on consumers’opinions.
Some key figures:
- 450.000 unique visitors/month (+ 350% increase year to date),
- 100.000 wines and consumers’opinions, 65.000 addresses, 375.000 pictures,
- 100.000 wine offers (online retailers, cellars, wineries direct sales),
- publication in 5 languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch).
The raised funds will be dedicated to 3 main focus areas for 2009:
- permanent improvement of users’ navigation and participation experiences,
- content enrichment, among others through partnerships with recognized critics and experts (Winedecider.com, Toprural.com, and soon Quarin.com and Idealwine.com)
- service offer for professionals of the sector (presentation of wine professional’s businesses along with their wine offer and services),
Vinogusto.com is ahead of Snooth.com
According to Google Trends, the audience of Vinogusto.com is higher than its Snooth.com American counterpart.
2009 starts up as thrilling and exciting for the entire very motivated team at Vinogusto 
Related post on Loogic.com : ” The competition is clearly between Vinogusto and Snooth which has just received an investment of one million dollars as mentioned by François Derbaix, and who practically double the investment received by Vinogusto but the traffic is about the same.”
Tuesday the 21st of October, we’ll present Vinogusto along with lovelychart, doxys, whatsupin and adlogix during the next Betagroup meeting in Brussels.
For more information: linkedin group or google group.
Some of your friends might use Vinogusto already. In a few clicks you can compare your Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo contacts with Vinogusto and find your friends already using Vinogusto or invite the others to join you.
Vinogusto.com went live in May 2007 and has over 3.000 registered users today. Lately, our wine community welcomes 15 new users daily. Besides, over 5.000 winelovers visit us daily and enjoy the reviews of 23.952 wines and 37.439 adresses.
