The world of wine never stops buzzing with life, daily pouring loads of news about emerging market developments, wine styles, rediscovered grape varieties and so much more. That’s where I (humbly) step in; I search and sift and pick and choose to compile this month’s bulletin for you to enjoy.
Taylor’s celebrates becoming first port in space with special gift box
As man keeps up attempts at reaching new heights and depths into the lesser known around us, failure can be catastrophic as was clearly seen in the case of Titan during an expedition in the North Atlantic Ocean some weeks back. Last year, a Jeff Bezos expedition in the opposite direction was thankfully successful and Martin Green writes for Decanter Magazine reporting that it has recently emerged that a bottle of port was one of its more unusual passengers.
Portuguese entrepreneur Mário Ferreira travelled to an altitude of 107 kilometres (66 miles) above mean sea level. He took a bottle of Taylor’s 2003 Vintage Port with him as a passenger on the mission run by Blue Origin, the aerospace company set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In doing so, the tourism tycoon became the first Portuguese man in space, and he toasted his 10-minute suborbital journey with a glass of his favourite fortified wine. Read more here.
Assovini Sicilia: the future of wine Sicily led by a female triumvirate
Now this is refreshing news. Women have been making firm strides forward in securing key positions within the wine industry which still however remains male-dominated. Wine News (winenews.it) reports how Sicily seems to be leading by example: hopefully neighbouring territories are taking note (hint, hint).
Mariangela Cambria (Cottanera) is the new president, supported by Lilly Ferro (Casa Vinicola Fazio) and Josè Rallo (Donnafugata). If the renaissance of wine in Sicily was led by great men, most notably Diego Planeta, Giacomo Rallo, and Lucio Tasca d’Almerita, who instilled in their descendants and throughout the productive fabric of Sicily the importance of working together, an all-female triumvirate will now lead the future of an island that is a wine continent and has invested heavily in quality, beauty, wine tourism, sustainability, and authenticity. Read more here.
The world’s oldest vines
Wine has this captivating knack of telling stories which serve to further engage its drinkers, not necessarily with the full glass in hand, but sometimes more so with the aura that they create around the bottle of history and culture they have just uncorked. Here’s more on the topic by Bob Campbell MW writing for The Real Review.
“Which country has, according to the Old Vine Registry, the world’s oldest grapevine? My guess would have been Australia, with the Hill of Grace ‘grandfathers’ in the Eden Valley. But at 163 years of age this vineyard is a relative youngster compared to the gelber orleans (grape variety) in the Nahe region of Germany, which is estimated to be over 600 years old. It was, according to its entry in the Old Vine Registry, found on an old abandoned terrace. The grapes taste ‘terrible, like cucumber’. The registry records 128 vines that are over 125 years old planted in 18 countries. At a glance, Australia and USA seem to be home to the most geriatric grapevines.” Read more here.
