Month: September 2023

The 2023 OIV Awards Winners Announced

The winners of the 2023 OIV Awards were announced last week, in a ceremony in Paris.  Awards were given out by the  OIV President Luigi Moio, the Award Jury President, Azélina Jaboulet-Vercherre, and the Award Jury Scientific Secretary Richard Pfister.

About the OIV Awards

The OIV Award is a distinction set out in the OIV Rules of Procedure, granted each year by an international Jury composed of eminent personalities in the vitivinicultural world, who represent the OIV Member Countries. It is a recognition on the international scale, a reference in the vitivinicultural sector since 1930.

In this year’s edition, the Members of the Jury granted overall 14 Awards, 8 Special Mentions and one Acknowledgment. 76 applications were submitted to the 2023 edition which is a record number!

Books represented a total of 27 countries, with France and Italy leading the majority of applications. The event was attended by numerous representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, together with the publishing houses of the awarded books.

Here is list of the 2023 winners:

La Vigne : Anatomie et physiologie, alimentation et carences, accidents physiologiques et climatiques / Vol.4
AWARD
Switzerland | French
Olivier Viret, Vivian Zufferey, Katia Gindro, Thibaut Verdenal, François Murisier, Carole Parodi

Châteauneuf-du-pape Histoire Géologique & Naissance des Terroirs
AWARD
France | French
Georges Truc

Vitigni, vini rari e antichi
MENTION
Italy | Italian
Ivano Asperti

Improving Sustainable Viticulture and Winemaking Practices
MENTION
Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Sweden | English
Miguel Costa, Sofia Catarino, Jose M. Escalona, Piergiorgio Comuzzo

Microbiologia della vite e del vino
AWARD
Italy | Italian
Patrizia Romano, Maurizio Ciani, Luca Cocolin

 La distillazione enologica. Manuale per la produzione di alcol etilico, grappa, brandy e la valorizzazione dei sottoprodotti vitivinicoli
MENTION
Italy | Italian
Giorgio De Vita, Pietro De Vita

Les Grands Arrêts du droit vitivinicole
AWARD
France | French
Théodore Georgopoulos, directeur

Vigne, vin et éducation Du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours
AWARD
France | French
Marie-Anne Châteaureynaud, Céline Piot, Pauli Davilà, Luis M. Naya, Marguerite Figeac-Monthus

The Routledge Handbook of Wine and Culture
AWARD
United Kingdom | English
Steve Charters, Marion Demossier, Jacqueline Dutton, Graham Harding, Jennifer Smith Maguire, Denton Marks, Tim Unwin

Faïence et vin. De la table du prince à la taverne du peuple (1640-1863)
MENTION
France | French
Jean Rosen

Viti Vini Vici
AWARD
Portugal | Portuguese
Thomaz Vieira da Cruz

The Book of Sherry Wines
AWARD
Spain | Spanish/English
César Saldaña

 Klein Constantia – The Home of Vin de Constance
AWARD
South Africa | English
Joanne Gibson, Malu Lambert

The Acknowledgment of the OIV Awards Jury
for the photographic work in Klein Constantia – The Home of Vin de Constance
To: Heiko von Fintel

Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0
AWARD
Italy | English
Attilio Scienza and editors

Histoire des vins de l’AOC Touraine
MENTION
France | French
Nicolas Raduget

Les vignerons du ciel
AWARD
France | French
Marc Paitier

The History of Rioja Wine
AWARD
Spain | English
Ludger Mees

Fazer a paisagem no Alto Douro Vinhateiro, desafios de um território
MENTION
Portugal | Portuguese
Natália Fauvrelle

La industria vitivinícola mexicana en el Siglo XXI_ retos económicos ambientales y sociales
MENTION
Mexico | Spanish
Ariel Vázquez Elorza, Norma Consuelo Borrego Pérez, Adolfo Federico Herrera García, Ever Sánchez Osorio

Petit précis de viticulture Tome 1: Terroirs, implantation et développement de la vigne
MENTION
France | French
Jean-Luc Berger Directeur de collection

Petit précis de viticulture, tome 2 / La production de raisins
MENTION
France | French
Jean-Luc Berger Directeur de collection

Sur la piste du chasselas
AWARD
Switzerland | French, English, German
Claude-Alain Mayor, Alexandre Truffer, Christian Moreillon

Oenologix
AWARD
France |  French
François Bachelot, author
Vincent Burgeon, Illustrator

2022 Data for U.S. Alcohol Imports

The United States imported $26.6 billion in alcoholic beverages in 2022.

Total U.S. imports of distilled spirits, beer, and wine accounted for 14 % of all U.S. agricultural imports.

Distilled spirits were the largest and fastest-growing segment of these products, accounting for almost half or $12 billion of U.S. alcohol imports.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service

Town of Cardston, Alberta lifts prohibition law after 121 years

Cardston in Alberta, one of Canada’s few remaining dry towns, has recently voted to remove laws forbidding the sale of alcohol.

It was announced that last week the town council voted in favour of allowing “limited liquor sales.” The historic decision resulted in voting 5-2 in favour of a bylaw allowing restaurants and recreation facilities to apply for a liquor license.

The Mormon-founded town has maintained its Prohibition laws long after the rest of the province axed them in 1923, with previous attempts to have the ban lifted, in 1957 and 2014.

“Do I have fears? I do. But I trust the people,” said Cardston mayor Maggie Kronen. “Changes can be good, changes can be bad — we shall see.”

According to the 2021 census, 62% of Cardston’s residents are Mormons, belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which forbids the consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

It will still be some months before the first alcoholic drink is served at a Cardston restaurant as applications for liquor licenses will take some time to process.

Cask Whisky Association officially launches

The Cask Whisky Association has just launched in the whisky sector which will protect buyers who buy and sell casks.

This new association is made up of two boards and advisors, including cask whisky businesses, distilleries, independent bottles and whisky experts, alongside legal and insurance professionals.

Colin Hampden-White, Chairman of the advisory board and spokesperson, states “The CWA’s goal is to uphold the overall reputation of the Scotch whisky industry.”

“The Cask Whisky Association exists to protect private customers from unscrupulous business practices and traders, and safeguard independent bottlers from over-inflated pricing,” he said. “Our members are committed to, and will provide guidance on, best practice.”

Wendy Chamberlain MP, chair of the Scotch Whisky All Party Parliamentary Group states: “Having met with the Cask Whisky Association, I am aware that there are many reputable organisations who want to provide good investment opportunities to enthusiasts and investors alike. The actions of bad actors in this field risk harming not only consumers but the reputation of Scotch whisky and the long-term viability of the industry as a whole.”

The association has also met with Lord Richard Harrington, who states “This type of cross-industry collaboration is welcomed. Where blind spots in regulation exist, such as in the cask investment space, it is encouraging to see different parts of the industry coming together to address the issues that emerge. Scotch is a true British success story so measures must be put in place to protect the integrity of the sector.”

A full list of Cask Whisky Association members will be published in November.

50% of UK Millennials Perceive Drinking and Dining as Essential Spending

Design My Night has just released the results of its city survey, with this year’s focus being on affordability.

The results show that a large proportion (83%) of participants have changed their spending habits due to the cost-of-living crisis.

However, 50% of millennials who completed the survey view drinking and dining as essential spending. The survey also shows 46% of respondents would happily spend £60 on a meal.

When asked what event people would most likely splash out on, birthdays came up as the clear winner, with 85% stating they would happily spend more for this occasion.

Katie Kirwan, head of brand and B2C at Design My Night, states: “The going may be tough right now, but going out remains important to our audience across all price points. While we’ve seen that a demand for affordability is propping up the industry, quality of spending is equally as important, and people aren’t willing to sacrifice their money for the mediocre. Hospitality’s run of it post-covid has been difficult, but our consumer survey has shown that shared experiences are still there to be catered to, and that with over 50% of millennials seeing drinking and dining as a necessity, a cost of living crisis isn’t going to hold the industry back.”