Relief for Bordeaux vignerons

Vignerons in Bordeaux are relieved that the region's vineyards appear to have avoided smoke taint damage despite recent wildfires (above) in the region. 

A conference organised by the Union of Oenologists of France at the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (ISVV) heard the news was positive. 

"We winegrowers, we are absolutely not worried," said Dominique Guignard, the president of the AOC Graves appellation. 

"In the vineyard there is no there is no concern, we have a vintage that promises to be exceptional,” he was reported as saying by the Vitisphere industry website. 

There were fires in July and August in the South Gironde including Landiras, which borders Graves and Sauternes. 

Guignard said smoke odours were rapidly dissipated by strong winds. 

“Today, from an analytical point of view, we are very confident about the harvest to come,” said  Vincent Renouf, general manager of Excell laboratories, based in Floirac, who said almost 400 analyses had proven negative to smoke taint. 

"To date, and there is no reason for this to change, we have very reassuring data on the potential organoleptic effects of fires on Bordeaux wines," he said. 

Is this the silliest wine ranking list ever?

There is a new way to decide which country makes the best wine in the world.

Seriously.

It is the "brainchild" of kitchen experts Maxima Kitchen Equipment.

Who should, perhaps, stay in the kitchen.

Their genius methodology saw them analyse multiple wine award ceremonies over the past three years including the International Wine Challenge, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Sommeliers Choice Awards and Decanter Awards.

They decided that collating the wines winning awards at these events would show which country produces the best wines.

Never mind that Spain, Italy and France produce a whole lot more wine than New Zealand, Portugal and Greece. Or that wines from places like South Africa and Canada are a lot less likely to enter these shows.

Or that shows are entirely subjective and subject to regional prejudices.

No. None of that was apparently taken into consideration.

The top 10, should you care one jot about this flawed process, were, predictably, France, Spain and Italy. Then came Portugal, the US, Australia, Chile South Africa, Greece and Argentina.

France was top because it "snagged 851 or 24% of the awards". 

Never mind that top producers from Burgundy and Bordeaux would not enter any of these awards in a pink fit. 

Or that smaller producers can't afford to enter. Or sell all they need so don't need to.

That didn't stop websites like Eat This, Not That! from proclaiming the silly list as gospel. It also offers sage advice like "in Portugal Vinho Verde is the variety to start with". 

No wonder wine drinkers get confused. 

Image: Kayla Enright, Scop.io