News for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry
Wine sales via catering services have taken a nosedive due to the coronavirus pandemic, especially during lockdown – a great shock for the German wine market. The German wine industry, however, is using this opportunity, to reinvent itself and is breaking new ground in online retail.
Water is essential for all life processes. There can be no life without it. Therefore, it is not surprising that water is also a crucial factor in the beverage industry and in wine production. This makes irrigation for wine growing a topic more important now than ever.
The terms prosecco, frizzante and secco are often used interchangeably; however, there are simple regulations for the official designation of the beverages, depending on how they are produced and the respective amount of carbon dioxide in the bottle.
Thunderstorms, drought periods, forest fires: Climate change can be felt in almost all areas of life – and viticulture is no exception. Winegrowers need to adapt to new conditions, as the changes to climate and weather conditions have a direct impact on grapevines planted in vineyard parcels, sometimes even with serious consequences.
In red wine production, a number of factors go into shaping each wine’s individual character. Key parameters include the location and climate of the vineyard, grape variety and methods of cultivation, ripeness of the grapes, timing of the harvest, approach to pressing the grapes, and, lastly, aging of the wine.
The method is nothing new and yet it seems like the brilliant idea was discovered just yesterday: “Pét-nat,” a centuries-old winemaking method that produces a more-or-less sparking wine usually clouded by yeast.
Grape presses, also called wine presses, feature sophisticated technology. To this day they remain a key piece of equipment for any winery, provided the winery receives the grapes itself and oversees the wine production process right from the very start of the process chain. Presses represent a huge investment, so a purchase needs to be well thought out and consider the specific requirements of the business.
At the start of every year, the German Winegrowers’ Association presents the past year’s report on wine based on official statistics. It is the only wine market study systematically created to provide independent information about overall wine sales in Germany – including direct sales to end customers, wine sales through specialist, food and mail order retailers, and restaurants.
The EU Commission, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), and other international institutes involved in recording annual grape harvests across Europe and around the world expect that the 2019 EU grape harvest will be between 156 and 160 million hectoliters – well below the previous year’s figure of more than 190 million hectoliters. The quality of wine is considered to be consistently good and in fact better than in 2018.