The Prague Post
December 1st, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre

Home » Archives » Night & Day

Wine by the mile

Vinexpo 2007 in Bordeaux was memorable and exhausting

By Helena Baker
For The Prague Post
August 1st, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Kids in the long, long hall: part of a mile packed with wine, and happily lost souls.
enlarge
The largest wine and spirits fair in the world takes place every other year at the exhibition halls in Bordeaux-Lac, France. It’s about a mile in length, which means you often need 20 minutes to walk from one appointment to the next (unless you’re lucky enough to be in one of the golf carts whizzing up and down the aisles). Some 2,400 exhibitors arrive in late June from 45 countries.  
According to the official Vinexpo catalog, total sales for the wine and spirits industry in 2005 amounted to $277 billion — a figure that grows every year. So a new Marketers section was introduced this year, featuring a series of seminars and lectures on global financial trends and dedicated to such themes as packaging and design, logistics, training and promotion.  
Les Citadelles du Vin hosted a pre-opening bash at the casino by the lake. Les Citadelles is a wine contest organized in Cotes de Bourg, a lesser-known Bordeaux appellation lying on the “wrong side” of the estuary from the grand chateaux of the Médoc. All the winning wines were on offer before and during the festive dinner, including three ice wines from the Czech Republic: Znovín Znojmo, Vinné sklepy and Valtice, all unfortunately in miniscule bottles that did not last long.      
While Bordeaux may style itself the world’s wine capital, others beg to differ. A host of tutored tastings take place during the five days of the fair, with Austria, Italy and Germany working hardest. British wine journalist Robert Joseph and French Master of Wine Gérard Basset offered the opinion from the podium at one tasting that the most important grape varieties in the world are not the ubiquitous Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, but Pinot Noir and Riesling — the irony being that neither of these is cultivated in Bordeaux.    
By the end of five days of swirling and spitting, everyone was pretty exhausted.  
The next Vinexpo is the Asia-Pacific version in Hong Kong, scheduled for May 2008.  

Winery of the month
Malý vinař František Mádl
“Small winemaker” Fano Mádl began production shortly after the 1898 revolution in a series of old farm buildings in Velké Bílovice, which he has since painstakingly turned into a modern winery. From uncertain beginnings as a boutique producer dedicated to quality wines aimed at the Prague dining scene, the company has outgrown its small winemaker moniker. Nowadays, Mádl has little problem offloading 160,000 bottles a year, mostly to large customers — but let that pass. The term “small” more accurately refers to the care and individual attention he devotes to his vines. In Mádl’s own words, he makes wines with a little bit of himself inside. He claims to know every vine in his vineyard. Grapes from his 9 hectares (22.2 acres) are supplemented by bought-in fruit, which make up 70 percent of the total. Wine is first fermented in stainless-steel tanks, with some 15,000 liters moving on to French-oak barriques, which he was among the first to experiment with, long before their overuse became a tedious fashion in this country. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris stand out among the white varietals. Important reds: Blauer Portugieser (Modrý Portugal), Lemberger (Frankovka) and Zweigeltrebe. For more information, check malyvinar@slunce.cz.  
Wines of the month
Local rosé: Maidenburg Claret 2006
Producer: Reisten, Pavlov, Mikulov wine region
Claret, meaning pale red, is the English name for red Bordeaux. This Moravian pearl possesses a salmony pink hue with a lovely fruity nose reminiscent of wild strawberries. The palate is lively and juicy, with crisp and well-balanced acidity. A refreshing start to summer evening entertainment. For more information, check www.reisten.net (approx. 180 Kč/$8.90)
Foreign white: Sylvaner Spätlese trocken 2004
Producer: Michael Teschke, Gau-Algesheim, Germany
A small producer, whose family originally came to the Rheinhessen region from East Prussia, specializes in this rather unfashionable yet excellent variety. A shade of clean straw shimmers in the glass, leading to a complex nose dominated by walnuts, ripe golden delicious apples and quinces. It features a full and harmonious palate filled with steely mineral flavors and a lingering finish. Possibly the best producer of Silvaner (Sylvaner) in Germany. For more information, e-mail michaelteschke@web.de (approx. 180 Kč)
Events diary
Every four years, the town of Kyjov comes alive with four days of folk-costume parades, Moravian songs played by dulcimer bands, theatrical presentations, market stalls — and, naturally, wine tastings. The event? An ethnographic celebration called Slovácký rok, or Slovak Year. The celebrations are scheduled for Aug. 9–12 (and I will, of course, be there to report later). A merry old time is sure to be had by all. For more information, check www.mestokyjov.cz.
— Helena Baker’s wine column appears the first Wednesday of every month. She can be reached at
features@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (1/08/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.