Here are a few of the most exciting things that happened in the world of wine this week:
The gist of it: A bottle of Champagne salvaged from the wreck of the Jönköping (a Swedish schooner sunk off the Finnish coast by a German U-boat in 1916) has come up for sale in London. The bottle of 1907 Heidsieck Monopole ‘Goût Américan’ is from a shipment of Champagne salvaged from the bottom of the Baltic in the late 1990s; a bottle of the same wreck recently fetched €6,010 on auction in Paris. Read more about the ship, her cargo and how she met her end here.
Bonus WWW factoid: This is not the first time that perfectly preserved champagne has been found in a ship wreck. In 2010, divers found 168 bottles of bubbly (thought to be premium brand Veuve Clicquot) while exploring a shipwreck off the Finnish Aland archipelago in the Baltic Sea. When they tasted the wine, they realised it was likely more than a century old. According to Veuve Cliquot's extensive shipping records, the consignment of 30 bottles could have been sent by France's King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court. Read more about this fascinating find here.
The gist of it: The fine wine market is showing signs of bursting into life after the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index rose by nearly 2.7% in March – its biggest monthly increase in more than three years. The 2.69% increase in the index is the largest monthly increase since February 2013, when it rose 3.05%. Read more about the economic implications of this sudden upwards trend here.
Bonus WWW factoid: The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 has been declared 'the wine industry's leading economic benchmark' by Reuters and represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines for which there is a strong secondary market. The index is calculated monthly.
The gist of it: Sumaridge announced the inauguration of a new art competition in conjunction with Hermanus FynArts. Open to Grade 11 & 12 students in the Overberg, the competition seeks to find and develop young artistic talent. The ultimate winner wil be awarded the Violet Bellingham Memorial Trophy, named for Holly Bellingham's mother, who was an accomplished watercolour artist. The participating artists; work will be on display in the Sumaridge tasting room from the beginning of June and prizes will be awarded on 16 June (World Youth Day).
The gist of it: When the feisty blokes from the Swartland Revolution announced last year that they will not be hosting another Revolution event come 2016 everyone was a bit disappointed. But we needn’t have feared, their new event (the Swartland Independent Producers Festival, or SIP Festival for short) was equally awesome. Low-key, family-friendly and trendy without trying too hard, it captured the essence of the region’s unfettered wine-making ethos and made it so much more accessible for the average wine lover. Great job guys!
This week’s Weekly Wine Wrap-Up was brought to you by Juliet Cullinan Wines. The 26th annual Juliet Cullinan Standard Bank Wine Festival will be hosted on 12 & 13 July 2016 at Summer Place, Hyde Park. Tickets are available at Webtickets from April onwards.
