Gastronomy and Wine Portal

The events of this year have surprised many. One of extraordinary events is the finale of the contest “The Best Sommelier of Ukraine 2020” traditionally held by the Association sommelier of Ukraine. Drinks+ Media Group was the general information partner of the competition, what allows us to talk about all the features of this event in detail.

Let’s start from the spot. Perhaps, it doesn’t make certain men, but you must agree that the Kyiv Congress and Exhibition center “Parkovy”, where a sommelier competition was held as part of the BE WINE International Show, can become very spectacular decorations for any show. And moreover – to such an exciting one which turned out to be this year’s competition of the pros.

First and foremost, one might say, historical event for us has happened during the competition. Communication Media Group Drinks+ officially became an associative member of the Association sommelier of Ukraine. The official announcement regarding the Drinks+ entry took place before the final of the competition. The badge – a sign of associative membership – was presented by the President of the Association, Ivan Bachurin. We think this union will benefit the entire Ukrainian wine market. At least, together we have taken a step towards consolidation which is on the agenda in Ukraine today. And here are the first steps.

And the finale! We would like to recall that according to the rules of the International Sommelier Association (ASI), the selection of future finalists takes place behind closed doors, their candidacies are not announced until the very final. This time, the judges debated until late at night. As a result, they determined 4 finalists instead of the traditional three and, as Ivan Bachurin explained, the difference after the announcement of the result of the semi-final ranged from 0.5 to 0.75 points. In short, the battle was a quarter point.

The best sommeliers of Ukraine from previous years were invited to evaluate the championship and choose the winner. As Ivan Bachurin rightly noted, “only the best sommeliers have the right to choose the next best one!” The panel of judges included: Yurii Hlushko – “The Best sommelier 2007”, Ivan Bachurin – “The Best sommelier 2009”, Oleksandr Patsera – “The Best sommelier 2010”, Oleh Kravchenko – “The Best sommelier 2011”, Oleksii Hyzhko – “The Best Sommelier of 2014”, Vyacheslav Nazarchuk – “The Best Sommelier of 2016”, Ivan Percheklyi – “The Best Sommelier of 2017”, Oleksandr Meier – “The Best Sommelier of 2018”. And the best chose the best. More precisely: Maryna Revkova, a sommelier of the Vino e Cucina restaurant, became the champion of “The Best Sommelier of Ukraine 2020” competition from the Association sommelier of Ukraine.

The Drinks+ team congratulates Maryna and is very proud of her victory! And, of course, we look forward to the next victories: Maryna will represent Ukraine at the Best Sommelier in Europe and Africa competition, which will take place on November 15-19 in Cyprus. Bohdan Pavlyukh, the founder of the Wine is Easy School, became the vice-champion. Yan Bezruchko, a sommelier (Belarus), won 3rd place. The 4th place was won in a real battle by Pavel Mnukhin, the brand ambassador of the Wine Bureau (here we will add – our author, for whom we sincerely root. Well, now we are happy for him :). The sponsors of the competition were: SHABO, Marussia Beverages Ukraine, Tavria House of Vintage Cognacs, Chef & Sommelier, Wine Guide of Ukraine.

The Drinks+ columnist took a blitz interview with Ivan Bachurin, President of the Association sommelier of Ukraine.

A few words about the composition of the finalists, their qualifications. What was the intrigue of the competition announced by the organizers?

The final was an action-packed, all four finalists went shoulder to shoulder, as they say, and literally at the very last moment it was decided that not three, but four semi-finalists would compete. The intrigue of the competition began to cultivate in the semi-finales, because out of 12 semi-finalists, objectively at least four more could qualify for the finale and victory. When the finale became clear, it turned out to be incredibly difficult to say who would win. The guys are objectively all very strong, certified, and passed the most difficult ASI exam. And they all took part in the qualifying round for international championships, in particular, in Poland, which took place recently. In a word, this year the final brought together people who at the moment in the Association sommelier of Ukraine, and in general in Ukraine, are the strongest in our profession.

What is the peculiarity and the difference between the tasks of the competition this time in comparison with the previous years?

The Competition Projects fully met the requirements of the International Sommelier Association (ASI) both in the qualifying round and in the semi-finales and in the finale. These are classic tasks: serving sparkling wine, serving still wine, full description in English, as the winner must participate in an international competition. By and large, all participants are English-speaking, but if someone did not speak English, then, according to the jury’s decision, the English-speaking tour would not have been exhibited, because all competitors should be on equal terms. Another task was different – working with a wine list: the process of identifying errors not only gave a chance to earn points but was also fraught with fines. In addition, we have developed two surprise missions. The first was about the culture of cocktails and beer, the second was about the unmistakable pouring of Magnum Schlumberger on stage.

What are your general personal impressions of the current competition?

As the President of the Association sommelier of Ukraine and the holder of the status of “The Best Sommelier of Ukraine”, I can say that over the past ten years of observation (of which I have been judging contests for seven years and I have been creating them for another three years), it was the strongest finale of the decade among all competitions held in Ukraine.

The events of this year have surprised many. One of extraordinary events is the finale of the contest “The Best Sommelier of Ukraine 2020” traditionally held by the Association sommelier of Ukraine. Drinks+ Media Group was the general information partner of the competition.

Average wine volume of 2.4 million hectolitres is expected in Austria this year. Harvesting will begin in the area around Lake Neusiedl in the first half of September and in many other areas around mid-September.

“After the economically turbulent years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria’s winemakers are looking forward to this year’s vintage. In terms of volume, an average harvest of around 2.4 million hectolitres is expected, similar to last year. Because of weather conditions, the harvest will take place slightly later than in recent years,” explained Johannes Schmuckenschlager, President of Austria’s Winegrowers Association.

He added: “The rather cool weather in the first half of the year also came with some advantages. The grapevines were late developing, which significantly reduced the risk of damage as a result of late frosts. Other European winegrowing regions weren’t as lucky. Large parts of France and Italy, and some areas of Germany, suffered considerable damage because of late frosts, which, all in all, will have an impact on the European wine market this year.”

The weather in 2021

With moderate winter moisture, this year’s growing season began on a very changeable note. March and April saw cool periods alternating with very warm spells, and it was too dry overall. In many cases, the vines did not bud until relatively late, towards the end of April. The cool weather in May delayed the development of the vines slightly, which was viewed as beneficial in terms of the risk of late frost. As a result of the cool May weather, flowering didn’t occur until mid-June, but proceeded very quickly because of the heat that set in at the beginning of that month.

Hail and heavy rain

From June onwards, there were numerous days when temperatures exceeded 30 °C, and the hot, moisture-saturated air came accompanied by heavy downpours of rain and hail. Around 1,000 hectares of vineyards in the Weinviertel were severely damaged by hailstorms on 24 June.

July saw lots of heat and rain, and there were further significant hailstorms in many winegrowing regions, such as the Wachau, Wien, Mittelburgenland, Südsteiermark and Vulkanland. Heavy rain in the Kremstal and Traisental regions led to considerable run-off. The catastrophic flood damage in the German winegrowing region of the Ahr, which occurred at the same time, is also notable in this context. The rainfall and high temperatures led to serious fungal attacks in the vineyards, requiring particular attention and care of the vines.

Ripening of the grapes, expectation of the wine

Despite relatively late budding and later flowering, the growth-promoting weather characterised by heat and moisture led to accelerated ripening, which is why the grapes are at the same stage of ripeness as in the previous year. With ripening delayed until a normal, slightly cooler period with somewhat colder nights, corresponding sugar concentrations and an adequate degree of acidity are expected, which is why we can look forward to very fruity and harmonious wines again this year.

Average harvest volume

In terms of volume, an average harvest volume can be expected. The fruit set was good throughout, although some coulure resulted from the heat during the flowering period in isolated cases. Because of the rainfall, vines need to be tended to ensure a loose canopy of foliage for good aeration around the grapes. This made it possible to guarantee healthy grapes almost everywhere.

Picking to begin in September

“Winegrowers are now hoping for a warm, dry autumn so that they can harvest fully ripe, harmonious wines. Based on estimates from the winegrowing regions, a wine harvest of 2.4 million hectolitres, which is around the annual average, is expected this year. Aside from early picking for grape juice and Sturm (partially fermented grape must) production, harvesting will begin in the area around Lake Neusiedl in the first half of September and in many other areas around mid-September. In most regions, the main harvest will take place in late September, early October,” says Schmuckenschlager.

Photod: Carletto, Blickwerk

Average wine volume of 2.4 million hectolitres is expected in Austria this year. Harvesting will begin in the area around Lake Neusiedl in the first half of September and in many other areas around mid-September.

The first restaurant of Ukrainian cuisine in Paris near the Louvre was opened by Alina Wolf.

Without a traditional ribbon cutting in front of the entrance door which signifies the opening of a new business, Alina Wolf simply started welcoming wandering visitors in her restaurant Oranta. This is an opportunity to try traditional Ukrainian borshch, varenyky and potato pancakes in the heart of the city.

Ms. Wolf, the owner of the restaurant, was born in Ivano-Frankivsk but moved with her family to Paris when she was 10. She said she never lost her connection to the Ukrainian community and culture.

Alina Wolf in her restaurant Oranta in Paris.

“When I moved to France, and I said at school that I was from Ukraine, I was asked where it was. I had to explain that it is between Russia and Poland,” Ms. Wolf said, adding that similar experiences pushed her to promote Ukrainian culture in any way she could.

The idea to open Oranta came to Ms. Wolf when she realized there were no locations where Parisians could find the traditional Ukrainian dishes.

Nearly a month after the restaurant’s soft opening, Ms. Wolf said she plans to adapt the menu to each season. As the restaurant buys all of its products from local farmers, it will change the menu based on the seasonal availability of different vegetables and fruits. Ms. Wolf said she is working to soon include on the Oranta menu Hutsul banosh, a colorful dish made with grits and sour cream and served with cracklings, fried mushrooms and onions.

Borys Gudziak, metropolitan-archbishop of the Philadelphia Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, was one of the first the restaurant’s guests. Recommending visiting Oranta, he shared his impression on his Facebook page:

“Smiles, empty plates and full hearts – the fruit of the first visit to the new Ukrainian restaurant Oranta. Uniquely light potato pancakes – quickly baked, juicy inside, melting in your mouth; varenyky with potatoes, cheese and meat; lordly ribs (come and see what I mean). Belgian and German beers, fine French wine and Ukrainian compote are offered. And, finally, dessert varenyky with cherries and blueberries!”

To make her place unique, Ms. Wolf came up with her restaurant concept due to learning about Ukrainian restaurants all over the world. She says she was inspired by examples in Belgium and East Asia, and especially Veselka in New York. But she strives to live up to the standard set by the top Parisian restaurants, and she aspires to see a time when there will be long queues to get into Oranta.

Oranta is located at 1 rue de Marivaux, 75002 Paris, France; the nearest metro station is Richelieu-Drouot (lines 8 and 9). The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

* Oranta (from the Latin Orans – “pray”), one of the main types of images of the Mother of Jesus, which represents her with her arms raised and outstretched.

The icon of Our Lady of Oranta in the apse of Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral is one of the most significant and sacred masterpieces of Ukrainian culture. The mosaic is more than 1,000 years old.

Based on the material of ukrweekly.com

Photos: Roman Tymotsko, facebook.com/Oranta.Paris

The first restaurant of Ukrainian cuisine in Paris near the Louvre was opened by Alina Wolf.

For the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence 46 Parallel presents a new wine “Proudly Ukrainian”.

“Proudly Ukrainian” is the name of a limited release of author’s premium wines from the Grand Admiral collection, created by winemakers of 46 Parallel Wine Group for the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence.

Grand Admiral Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon Proudly Ukrainian is a unique blend created from the best Ukrainian grapes of the 2018 harvest. Premium author’s vintage wine is presented in a limited edition – only 530 bottles. The wine is characterized by unsurpassed aroma and luxury of taste, and has a rich hue typical of a classic Bordeaux blend. The wine is aged for 24 months in French barrels of Seguin Moreau of roasting level “medium” and “medium +” and marked by further aging in the bottle. Exquisite full-bodied wine with soft tannins, complex structure with shades of cherry, plum, black berries, chocolate and saffian will definitely not leave indifferent the most demanding wine gourmets.

Anna Horkun, CEO and owner of 46 Parallel Wine Group:

“We create our wines with pride for Ukraine. We are sincerely proud that our company has been developing on independent Ukrainian soil. We celebrate 30 years of Independence with a limited collection of Proudly Ukrainian wines, with which we express our sincere gratitude to all those who are building a strong, free, successful Ukraine.”

Unique in terms of brand aesthetics is the design of a new release – a circular label emphasizes the solemnity of the event to which it is dedicated.

Artem Husev, Associate Creative Director Tabasco:

“With the white color of the label, we wanted to emphasize the uniqueness of the wine and the importance of the event itself – the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence. One of the tasks was to highlight it in the lineup while maintaining the recognizability of the style of the 46 Parallel brand. The routes of travelers and researchers, which are the basis of the design, were easily laid out on the map of Ukraine. And the new name speaks loudly about the brand’s philosophy and its Ukrainian roots.”

46 Parallel Wine Group has been working with the Tabasco team since its inception. Non-standard ideas and design solutions allowed the company to successfully implement a project to bring its brands to the Ukrainian market. The new blend has already been highly praised by experts – the wine won a gold medal at the Odessa Wine & Spirits Awards.

For the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence 46 Parallel presents a new wine “Proudly Ukrainian”.

The qualifying round of the Bocuse d’Or Ukraine gastronomic competition took place on June 22-23 at the MHP Culinary Center.

Bocuse d’Or is a legendary international professional competition founded in 1987 by Paul Bocuse, a prominent restaurateur and chef, the father of French gastronomy. Chefs from more than 70 countries compete in this most prestigious gastro event.

Ukraine is participating in this international event for the first time. It all started on the initiative of Yevhenii Korolyov who became the founder and President of Bocuse d’Or Ukraine. To join the Bocuse d’Or family, it was necessary to present the project with an analysis of the gastronomy market in the country, the best restaurants and chefs, prospects, potential and vector of development of Ukrainian gastronomy in the world, and then defend the project in front of the Bocuse d’Or committee in Lyon. And Yevhen did it perfectly!

From the beginning of 2021, the variety of applications from chefs to participate in the competition was received. The qualifying round determined the best of them to participate in the National selection.

Bocuse d’Or Ukraine is a large-scale professional event in the field of HoReCa in Ukraine. In 2021, Ukraine will host the National Selection for the first time, and the chef who wins it will represent Ukraine at the Bocuse d’Or Europe Final 2022 international gastro arena.

During two intensive days, 36 teams from all over Ukraine prepared 72 meat and fish dishes which were evaluated by Ukrainian and foreign members of the jury.

The jury consisted of all members of the National Organizing Committee: Yevhenii Korolyov, Ihor Kramarenko, Viktor Tymchyshyn, Ike Weishtort, Ihor Lavreshyn, Maryna Kerbytska, Oleksiy Miller, Yuriy Kovryzhenko.

The organizers of the project also invited foreign representatives of the gastronomic world: Pavlo Guryanov – winner of international competitions, including Bocuse d’Or Estonia, and Mikheil Avsadzhanishvili – President of Bocuse d’Or Georgia.

The site bocusedor.com.ua published a list of 8 winning teams that advance to the next round – the National Selection. The winning teams are headed by chefs:

• Maksym Prykhidko
• Oleksandr Lypko
• Vadym Zakharov
• Vladyslav Lionov
• Vitalii Nuzhnyi
• Andrii Pryvarnykov
• Eleonora Barabanova
• Oleksandr Petrenko

Congratulations to the winners! On October 11, at the National Selection, they will compete for the right to represent Ukraine in the European Final in 2022.

Ukrainian and world brands became the partners of the competition:

• METRO Cash & Carry Ukraine
• Kurator
• USMEF (U.S. Meat Export Federation)
• EFFO: professional cooking oil
• Alaska Seafood
• Kontakt
• Convotherm
• Tehma
• Tork
• Ferret.Group
• Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv
• KAMA Restaurant
• Abrikos
• Forward
• Thermomix Ukraine
• Kotányi

“Everything took place at a high international level – that is the feedback we received from the candidates, their assistants and members of the jury. All over the world, the Qualifying Round is on a smaller scale, but our goal was to draw industry attention to this event at this stage – and we have achieved this. We set a very high bar for ourselves and thanks to the strong support of our partners at the National Selection on October 11, which will gather more than 3,000 guests, we will once again show and consolidate the international level of this event not only with a high level of organization but also with professionalism”, – said Dina Kurachenko, Marketing Director of Bocuse d’Or Ukraine.

We are creating the history of Ukrainian gastronomy together!

The qualifying round of the Bocuse d’Or Ukraine gastronomic competition took place on June 22-23 at the MHP Culinary Center.

Technology company Coravin did not stop there and has presented a new product for the sparkling wine category.

The tools for preserving and serving still wine in any amount with the Coravin Models Three, Five, and Six were unveiled early last year. And there was a room for further development. The wine technology business has been concentrated its efforts on launching a system for fizz.

The challenging part of the system is its ability to keep the oxygen out of wine, and the sparkle in it. However, the success was obvious, with Lambrecht introducing virtually The Coravin Sparkling™ preservation system on Wednesday this week – a device, which the inventor claims, is the only universal solution to preserve sparkling wines for two weeks.

Initially the product was released for the US market considering the needs of both the local partners and consumers. The portable system combines a universal-fit stopper with a hand-held charger to maintain sparkling wine carbonation levels between pours, providing two weeks storage.

“When we first introduced the original Coravin system, we always knew that someday we would bring the same power and freedom to the sparkling wine category,” indicated Lambrecht.

Continuing, he said, “After spending years in development, we’re thrilled to introduce Coravin Sparkling and deliver on our continued vision to allow anyone to pour any wine, still or sparkling, in any amount, without the pressure to quickly finish the bottle or the fear of wasting it.”

Committing a joint effort together with industry experts from all over the world, the Coravin team tested early prototypes and validate the technology during the product development stage.

“After testing the Coravin sparkling system, we consider it an amazing addition to our wine tools,” said Yohann Jousselin, Master Sommelier, assistant vice president for food and wine at Shangri-La International Hotel Management.

He added, “We are finally able to expand our sparkling wines by-the-glass program without the risk of wastage.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Johnnes, founder of La Paulée and corporate wine director for Daniel Boulud, said, “I could not be more thrilled about the timing of the new Coravin sparkling system. I will now be able to sample Champagne or any sparkling wine with the same excitement as still wines.”

Following that, he noted, “This is the hottest category of wines and people have finally discovered that sparkling wine, especially Champagne, is not just a wine for celebrations. They are wines for pairing with your meal. I can now have a glass of Blanc de Blancs with my appetizer and move on to fuller bodied styles with the main course. And most importantly, I can do that and know the sparkling wine will still be fresh for another day.”

The instruction for use is simple: after pouring the desired amount of a sparkling drink, place the Sparkling Stopper on the bottle and secure it with the locking handle. You can pour another glass by gently removing the stopper. The last step is to re-attach the Sparkling Stopper and re-charge the bottle with the Sparkling Charger.

One Sparkling Charger Device, two Sparkling Stoppers, four Coravin Pure™ Sparkling CO₂ Capsules and two protective bottle sleeves are included in the Coravin Sparkling™ System package.

The patent-pending universal sparkling wine stopper has an internal retaining clip design that self-adjusts to fit securely on all standard 750ml and magnum 1.5L bottles, even original bottles from renowned luxury Champagne producers, making it really versatile.

The approximate price for the Coravin Sparkling™ Wine Preservation System MSRP will be 465,53 EUR. Coravin Pure™ Sparkling CO₂ replenishment capsules will be available in 6- and 12-packs with an MSRP of about 52,36 EUR and 93 EUR, respectively.

Additional Sparkling Stoppers will be available in 2-packs with an MSRP of around 93 EUR.

All items can be expected to appear on the US market from late summer through Coravin.com, leading retailers and select distributors.

Europe may get the System available in September.

Technology company Coravin did not stop there and has presented a new product for the sparkling wine category. The tools for preserving and serving still wine in any amount with the Coravin Models Three, Five, and Six were unveiled early last year. And there was a room for further development. The wine technology business has […]

Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, takes a deep dive into barrel-aging in the American craft brewing world.

The practice of fermenting beer in wooden vessels has been around for hundreds of years but it wasn’t until the 1990s that American craft brewers started experimenting with aging beer in used spirits barrels.  Today, barrel-aged beer styles produced by American craft brewers regularly win top honours at prestigious international beer competitions and is yet another example of American craft brewing’s relentless innovation. Worth seeking out for their incredible complexity, depth of flavour and subtle nuances of character, barrel-aged beers lend themselves perfectly to the cold winter months.

A variety of beer styles are suitable for barrel aging in wood but sour beers and beers with high alcoholic strength are the most common. Barrels for sour or ‘wild’ beer may be used several times over while barrels that formerly held spirits such as bourbon, tequila or gin are rarely used beyond their first or second fill.

Many American craft brewers consider barrels to be the fifth ingredient of beer and not simply a storage vessel.   They source barrels with as much care and attention as selecting their annual hop varieties. Each barrel is unique which means experimentation and flexibility is an essential part of the barrel-aging process.

Most distilleries or vintners will sell used barrels but brewers will go to great lengths to secure the barrels they have in mind for a particular project. The Bruery, a craft brewery in Orange County, California, buys barrels by the truckload and selects the exact barrels for each project depending on the sensory analysis of the barrel.  Brewers from Great Divide Brewing Co in Denver, Colorado have been known to travel overseas (to Ireland) to hand-pick barrels for their partner programme with Jameson whisky while Eric Ponce, Barrel Program Manager at Firestone Walker Brewing Co in Paso Robles, California has been sourcing different types of spirit barrel from around the world for many years. “Every barrel needs to meet our requirements as in – the distillery we chose, how long the spirit was matured in barrel, barrels should not be rinsed after emptying etc,” he says.

Oak is full of flavoursome, aromatic compounds that can add another level of depth and complexity to a beer, making it the preferred wood for barrel-aging for many brewers. Jeremy Grinkey, Director of Production, at The Bruery explains: “Oak is easy to work with compared to palm and other woods.  It’s fairly common across Europe and has very tight grains lending to its liquid holding properties. Having said that, we’ve used Cherry and Acacia barrels too for fun.”

Equally important to the flavour of the barrel is the art of blending different beer together to create the desired result. A number of base beers may be aging in different barrels, some of which may be fresh barrels to give a high intensity of oak/spirit flavour and others may have been used before to give a lower intensity of flavour and it is the skilful blending of these beers by the brewer that creates the alchemy. Other flavours may be added along the way such as cocoa, coconut or coffee beans to add further levels of complexity. Ponce at Firestone Walker explains: “Blending starts with the flavour of the barrel. If the barrel is not quality and does not impart the flavours and aromas we are expecting that particular barrel will be discarded, but that predicament doesn’t happen often.”

So how much time should a beer spend aging in a barrel?  There is no definitive answer and it depends on when the beer is ready. “It’s all about taste,” says Ponce. “We have a concept of how long depending on the base beer and type of spirit barrel, plus we measure liquid from each barrel to get analytical and micro specs but overall it’s about taste,” he adds. At the Bruery, sours age anywhere from six months to four years and stouts, barley wine etc will age between 1-3 years. Some beers are ‘double barrel-aged’ which means the beer has been moved into a fresh Bourbon barrel after about a year for extra extraction.

Simply leaving a beer in a barrel and hoping for the best is not going to cut it.   Barrel-aging presents a number of challenges as Bryan Slekes, Senior Director of Finance at Great Divide acknowledges: “Time, consistency and efficiency are the key challenges in barrel-aging.  Beer often takes a year in the barrel before we get what we want out of it, every barrel is different and sometimes individual barrels don’t work out.” Grinkey at The Bruery adds: “Planning and understanding the risk factor is huge. It’s hard to know what something will taste like in two years time, just because beer is put in a barrel doesn’t always make it better.”

Barrel-aged American craft beers are available from select retailers throughout Ukraine.

About the author: Lotte Peplow is the American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association and is based in London, UK.  She is a Certified Cicerone®, BDI accredited Beer Sommelier, beer writer, beer communicator, international beer judge, homebrewer and beer lover.

About the Brewers Association

The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,500-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers.

Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, takes a deep dive into barrel-aging in the American craft brewing world.

Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, takes a deep dive into latest trends in American craft beer.

American craft brewers are renowned the world over for developing creative, exciting new beer styles and many are now available in Ukraine. Here’s a look at today’s most popular beer styles and current trends in the American craft brewing world:

1. India Pale Ale (IPA) – the most popular beer style in the States with over one third of all sales and the biggest driver of craft beer volume. IPAs are synonymous with American craft brewing and offer hoppy innovation of their own with a variety of iterations from sour, fruited or milkshake to barrel-aged, Brett or Brut IPA.

Forty years ago, American craft brewing innovation kick-started the craft beer revolution that we now see emulated all over the world and the IPA style was, and still is, at the forefront of that movement. One of the key reasons for the success of American craft beer is the proximity to highly sought-after hop varieties which allows brewers to constantly evaluate and select the hops they need.

Beer lovers know that fresh and well taken care of raw materials make for better beer and by selecting hops varieties themselves brewers can develop flavour profiles in beer that may be difficult to match elsewhere.

This fact is borne out by the number of medals and top honours that American craft beer wins at prestigious international beer competitions. The use of high-quality raw materials, relentless innovation, technical brewing expertise and an unswerving commitment to quality ensures American craft beer reaches the beer lover exactly as the brewer intended.

2. Light beer/Lagers – we’re seeing the emergence of not just craft lager but lighter more sessionable styles such as blonde ale, Kölsch, cream ale and they are starting to drive volume for many small and independent American craft breweries. They appeal to the craft beer drinker who may be aging, having been in the category since its inception, and is now looking for styles with a lower ABV that are light, crisp and easy drinking.

3. Sour or Flavoured beers – a diverse range of beers that comprise a wide variety of different flavours but are not hoppy or bitter and not IPAs. They include beers that are fruity, spicy, tart, made with adjuncts such as coconut or cardamom, or brewed with Brettanomyces (a form of wild yeast). These styles appeal to younger consumers, aged 21-34 who are starting their craft beer journey and more interested in bold flavours and variety than hops and bitterness.

Whether these younger beer drinkers move into the light beer/lager category or jump directly to IPAs will be watched with interest.

In terms of packaging, cans remain a popular packaging format accounting for 54% of all craft beer packed sales, a figure that has more than tripled since 2016.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 alcohol beverage trends in America were not that different to other years, but how did the beer market hold up? American craft brewers collectively produced 23.1 million barrels of beer decreasing craft’s overall beer market share by volume to 12.3%, down from 13.6% the previous year.   A principal reason for this decline was the shift in how consumers purchased their beer. As pandemic regulations went into effect in March 2020, beer drinkers were unable to visit pubs and bars at the same frequency and looked to off-premises suppliers such as liquor stores and grocery to fulfil their beer needs. This purchasing pattern hit craft beer hardest because the segment has historically been more reliant on the on-premise than the overall beer market. Retail dollar value was estimated at $22.2 billion, representing 23.6% market share and a 22% decline over 2019. Craft brewers provided more than 138,000 direct jobs, a 14% decrease from 2019.

Despite the ravages of Covid-19 on the American craft beer industry, the number of breweries operating remains at an all-time high of 8,794. It’s been a challenging year, but American craft brewers are ever resourceful and have found new ways to connect with their customer base and keep their businesses open, such as enhanced sanitation measures, new technology to limit personal interaction, maintaining social distancing and new routes to market

In 2020 we continued to see the beer market move upmarket, otherwise known as premiumisation.  The craft sector has been a beneficiary of premiumisation in recent years – people may be drinking less but they tend to buy higher priced products. Premium priced beers (including craft, imports, super premium and flavoured malt beverages) are now approaching a majority in terms of total volume and in dollar sales are much higher.

Looking at last year, the steady shift towards premiumisation continued, somewhat surprisingly given the economic destruction wrought by the pandemic, but it looks to be continuing unabated and is likely to continue for another 5-10 years after which it is harder to predict.

Looking ahead, the Craft Brewers Conference, the number one environment in North America for concentrated, affordable brewing education and idea sharing, takes place in Denver, Colorado September 9-12, 2021. Registration opens on May 4, 2021.

In 2022, the Great American Beer Festival, North America’s largest ticketed beer festival, will return in person to celebrate its 40^th Anniversary in Denver, Colorado, October 6-8, 2022.

Many American craft beers such as Firestone Walker Brewing Co, Lakefront Brewery Inc, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Rogue Ales, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Stone Brewing Co. and The Bruery are available in Silpo or Good Wine stores throughout Ukraine, plus selected on trade venues.

www.brewersassociation.org

About the author: Lotte Peplow is the American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association and is based in London, UK.  She is a Certified Cicerone®, BDI accredited Beer Sommelier, beer writer, beer communicator, international beer judge, homebrewer and beer lover.

About the Brewers Association

The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,500-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup^®, Great American Beer Festival^®, Craft Brewers Conference^® & BrewExpo America^®, SAVOR^™: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con^TM, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week^®. The BA publishes The New Brewer^® magazine, and Brewers Publications^® is the leading publisher of brewing literature in the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com^® and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association^® and the free Brew Guru^® mobile app. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, takes a deep dive into latest trends in American craft beer.

Through its mobile application, Yes We Wine allows wine professionals to compile all of their tasting data so that they can then be compared with other vintages or with notes recorded by other tasters. The startup, which claims 3,000 users worldwide, is simultaneously launching a platform dedicated to data analysis and event facilitation.

“It’s hard to do a tasting with a glass, a sheet of paper, and a pencil when you only have two hands,” – jokes Vincent Pichot, co-founder of Yes We Wine. Behind this very simple idea of replacing the good old handwritten board with a digital notebook, this young Bordeaux company, founded in 2019, under takes to highlight the data accumulated over the various tastings that punctuate the life of wine professionals, whether they are buyers, wine merchants, owners, or enlightened amateurs.

Available on iOS and Android, the Yes We Wine application lists hundreds of thousands of wines. During a tasting, a starting point is to enter the domain and the vintage concerned to launch the eight-step tool through which the taster will synthesize their assessments. For each wine tested, the application generates a summary sheet kept in memory of the user’s profile who thus has a library of their past experiences.

The eight-step tool provides a taster with the following evaluation criteria, such as acolour, nose flavours, and intensity, palate flavours, concentration, and length, balance of acidity, tannin, and alcohol. In the end, there is a possibility to leave your comment and five-star score.

These data are available for a comparison with those of other tasters either publicly or through private groups organized, for example, in the context of specialized events. “When I taste wine, I need to be able to compare myself whether with another vintage or with the opinions of other tasters,” summarizes the entrepreneur.

A B2B / B2B2C model

Free for the end user, the Yes We Wine application adopts a resolutely B2B positioning. “We are not intended to sell wine, that is why we do not offer to scan the labels”, – specifies Vincent Pichot referencing to the Danish-American juggernaut Vivino which recently carried out a monumental fundraising campaign of nearly 130 million euros.

The Bordeaux startup has chosen to base its economic model on the added value of its tasting data.Since the beginning of the year, it has been offering professionals in the sector to use its platform to organize their tastings, with the possibility of accessing statistical dashboards that will summarize and compile the scores of the various testers, whether they arephysically gathered in the same place or distributed to the different parts of the world.The platform also has a module dedicated to facilitation conducive to the organization of masterclasses or shared sessions.

Passed by Bordeaux Technowest, Yes We Wine joined le Village by CA at the beginning of the year. It also entered the Microsoft for Startups program. Funded mainly on own funds, with the help of regional grants, it claims 3,000 users in 70 countries for its application available in four languages (French, English, Chinese and Russian). At the end of March, Yes We Wine launched a modest crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, aimed at accelerating the development of future features. For example, it plans to add a “My coach” button to its mobile application which will offer a centralized view of the different tastings performed by the user.

For the materials of placeco.fr

Through its mobile application, Yes We Wine allows wine professionals to compile all of their tasting data.

Olga Verchenko is a wine professional living in Barcelona and working in wine business since 2012, when she graduated from the Msc Wine Programme at Burgundy School of Business. Today she is a founder of ViniComm wine project: having a wine job title, she also shares her wine passion and knowledge on the blog @vinicomm and conducts wine tastings in Catalonia.

This summer I had an enormous pleasure to visit a true Atlantic gem the Azores – an archipelago composed of 9 islands that used to be ancient volcanos. It is small wonder that a myriad of local wines was tasted, still exotic and rare for many wine fans. Here are the most fascinating stories you should know.

Indigenous varieties

The local volcano terroir is without a doubt the Land of white wines with the 3 main traditional varieties:

1. Verdelho(not to be confused with Spanish Verdejo) is responsible for a crunchy acidity and contributes to ageing potential of the blend.
2. Arinto dos Açores is the most widespread on 4 islands where viticulture is practiced (São Miguel, Pico, Graciosa, Terceira) and is used for both light fresh and aged on the lees full-bodied wines.
3. Terrantez do Pico is the hardest to grow grape variety planted only in Pico island since the 15th century. Its origin and parents are still not clear. There are only 89 strains of Terrantez on the island and this unique breed is in danger of extinction. This is the corpulent body of the local wines.

Red wine apologists will not be disappointed either: 15 red varieties are officially permitted, however one of the most unusual ones is the experimental Isabella a Proibida by Antonio Maçanita – the succulent red made of the American hybrid forbidden in the rest of the European Union.

UNESCO heritage made of magma 

As if the islands landscape was not diverse enough, the vine growers once had created the UNESCO Heritage “curraletas” – the black dry-stone walls that protect the vines from the ocean wind and sea salt capable of burning the vine leaves on the sun. Interesting fact, after the eruption the black magma rocks had to be removed from the soil and transported somewhere anyways, so the locals killed two birds with one stone forming black basalt plots that later became vineyards.

What Atlantic volcano tastes like

We all heard that volcano wines have special and recognizable notes. In Azorean wines, however, not just volcano terroir, but the Atlantic influence makes the difference.

The local Terrantez is the saltiest and the most resin expression of the terroir. Add some tropical flowers, hazelnuts, marzipan plus amazing crispness you will have the idea.

In Verdelho, the mineral notes remind basalt stone and iodine ocean breeze smell coming right from the glass. The palate varies depending on the style: fresher samples amaze with vibrant acidity, salty almond and pear, while aged in bottle wine develops notes of ripe stone fruits and biscuit.

Arinto dos Açores is a very versatile in styles and can surprise you with orange confiture, baked apples, lemon blossom and honey in combination with aromas of the wet stone, sometimes reminding a high-level Riesling, yet with a salty touch.

The unique nectar of Pico island

Island Pico is a home not only to the highest Portuguese peak, but also to the unique wine “Czar” that broke the world record in 2017 with the highest degree of alcohol (20.1%) ever obtained naturally in wine without fortifying it.

We interviewed the winemaker Fortunato Garcia who passionately shared the “Czar” story. In the 17^th century, 200 years after the vines had been brought to the islands, the Azores thrived thanks to an enormous amount of wine export, including to the Czar courts. The high-ranking elite of that time fell in love with the intense white wine called “passato” which was also the most expensive and prestigious one.

Since then, it has been produced exclusively on Pico island in limited quantities. Fortunato emphasises that is not a sweet wine as we used to know it, neither a conventional fortified wine. In average, it reaches 18% of alcohol naturally thanks to the high sugar concentration in late harvested traditional white varieties (Verdelho, Terrantez do Pico and Arinto dos Açores). On the other hand, the inherent high acidity of 3 varieties helps to create an amazing balance of sweetness and acidity (The residual sugars vary between 24 to 30 g/l only). A minimum 6-years ageing in French used oak adds to the complexity likewise.

With this being said, do not miss the opportunity to get a bottle of “Czar” when travelling to the islands, as only around 2000 bottles are produced per harvest, while the ageing potential is a lifetime!

All photos are provided by author and are subject to copyright

Olga Verchenko told about traveling to a true Atlantic gem the Azores – an archipelago composed of 9 islands that used to be ancient volcanos. It is small wonder that a myriad of local wines was tasted, still exotic and rare for many wine fans.