BurgundyStreet

Due to the adulteration scandal of the 2003 vintage, Brunello producers are using mobile phones and the Internet to assure consumers about the purity of the product.  ”You can now SMS — text — to get the bottle’s history,” Stefano Campatelli, director of the Consorzorio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino said Thursday.

Consumers can text that information along with the size of the bottle (usually 750 ml) to a telephone number in Italy +39 366 300 8880.

“You will get back a text that will tell you information about the producer, how many bottles were produced, the history of the bottle,”

Brilliant.

Famed Langhe producer, Bruno Giacosa announced back in May, that he wouldn’t be releasing the ‘06 vintage saying “There is nothing at all special about the ‘06 vintage; it falls short in every category – nose, typicity, structure” he said.  ”It was a growing season that went crooked from the beginning, and never found its balance.  You had so much rain during picking, and so many problems with ripeness levels and the health of the fruit.  The 2006’s will not hold up well over time; as they age their weakness will emerge”

Well, as expected, this statement and decision has caused nothing short of havoc in the Langhe region.  It seems as though Bruno Giacosa is standing firm in his decision, and is being applauded for it by many.  To bottle the ‘06 vintage would be to go against his principles, a sacrifice of quality.  This he will not do.  However, many do not feel like this.  All Langhe producers have now sent their wines to market, and they are all in disagreement.  This may be a direct result of the recession, and most cannot afford this decision.  Until we taste the wines, we will not know.  But some producers claim the wines are great!  Another legendary producer Mauro Mascarello claims “If all of the vintages were as bad as this, i’d love to have them all!”

JF Hillebrand, the world’s leading beverage shipping and logistics company, has bought out its rival firm ABV Logistics.  

Hillebrand’s Tom Yusef said: “With this acquisition, we are able to augment our extensive global range of services using ABV Logistics’ particular strength in Iberia and Italy, where their service coverage is impressive.”  He added “ABV Logistics’ customers will also enjoy a wider selection of route options and improved access to space and equipment, supported by JF Hillebrand’s award winning AXIS information management system.”

The Italian agricultural minister has backed plans to accept fine wine as loan collateral from crisis-hit producers.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Gianni Zonin, chairman of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and head of wine producer Zonin, which owns 10 estates across Italy, proposed the idea this week.

‘We’ve done it with cheese, so why not with good wines like Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico?’ he said.

‘This is a great idea, it has my blessing’, said agricultural minister Luca Zaia.

Banks can sell the wine if creditors default, so can afford to offer low interest rates to the wine industry that is suffering from supermarket discounting.

The plan follows an Italian tradition of accepting wheels of Parmesan cheese as collateral.

Italian bank Credito Emiliano has long stored thousands of Parmesan wheels, worth around €300 each, in warehouses as collateral while they mature.

There are already plans to expand beyond wine. ‘We may start with accepting wine as collateral, but I would prefer the Italian banking association to launch an industry-wide scheme which involves a range of companies’, Zonin added.

‘This will help producers in times of crisis’.