Out with the stainless steel and in with the concrete?

The Bordeaux chateaux are building new cellars as never before. The economic crisis seems to be long gone, at least in Médoc, Saint Emilion and Pomerol. Of the five Premier Grand Cru Classé chateaux three are currently busy renovating: Mouton-Rothschild, Latour and Margaux.

The orangerie and pond, Chateau du Tertre, Margaux, Bordeaux, copyright BKWine Photography

In 2011 Château Cheval Blanc in Saint Emilion inaugurated its brand new cellar. It is a futuristic creation looking something like a wave and it has attracted a lot of attention. This is of course one reason for building a spectacular cellar.

Next to Cheval Blanc, Château la Dominique is busy with its own new cellar, planned to be ready for the harvest 2013. Rumour has it that it will be something like a work of art in the vineyard. The famous Jean Nouvel (l’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris among many other things) is the architect. Château Carmes Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan has engaged the not less famous Philippe Starck for their new cellar.

The brand new chai of Château Petit Village in Pomerol has dramatically black concrete fermentation tanks and, in contrast, a pretty and colourful wine shop. Chateau Petrus, also in Pomerol, has been under construction for a while now and will be ready this summer.

Many of the new cellars are equipped with concrete tanks. The stainless steel tanks, are they history?

Concrete vats, Domaine Sang des Cailloux, Rhone, copyright BKWine Photography

A wine from Walla Walla in Washington with a different approach

A beautiful day in May, I went to Hornstulls Strand where Handpicked Wines Ltd had invited one of the new “cult winemakers”, Charles Smith. Bistro Barbro was filled with people, mostly from restaurants plus a few wine writers. The wines highly appreciated; the mood was high and spittoons used very modestly.

So who is Charles Smith?

Charles Smith, Walla Walla winemaker, copyright Roland Eriksson

Who is Charles Smith? Charles grew up in Sacramento, California. Her mother came from Wales, and his father from France. The French heritage meant that the father made a “garage wine” from purchased grapes to drink at home. And perhaps it might also have contributed to Charles future interest in wine?

In the 1980s, Charles met a Danish girl and moved with her to Denmark. There he started to work as a manager and tour producer for several rock bands.

In 1999 he moved back to the U.S., to the Bainbridge Island where he opened a wine shop. On one of his travels to Walla Walla in Washington State he met a young Frenchman named Christophe Baron. Both began to talk about wine and especially about syrah, a grape that they both admired.

Christophe suggested that Charles should move there, to Walla Walla, and become a winemaker. And so he did, in 2001. He had no money for a winery so Charles went to a small bank in Walla Walla and presented his idea. He explained where he would buy the grapes from and let people at the bank taste some wines. The bank caught on and lent him $ 250,000 with the wine as collateral.

That same year, 2001, he released 330 cases of his first wine K Vintners Syrah Walla Walla Valley that sold out immediately.

They changed the company name a few times and in 2007 they released their first wine under the name of Charles Smith, that they have kept since then.

They changed the name of the winery a few times and in 2007 they launched their first wine under the name of Charles Smith. Today the work with five different brands: K Vintners, Charles Smith Wines, Vino, Secco Italian Bubbles and Charles & Charles.

A little loony, the winemaker?

It is fun to meet winemakers. Most are passionate and a little loony in one way or another. Charles is a bit rough at the edges, slightly overweight, with a big blonde rasta-like hair. Black T-shirt, jeans and sunglasses seem to be a favourite. But he certainly seems like a fun guy!

As a winemaker, he is completely self-taught. The philosophy is to make a great wine for all tastes, and especially in all price ranges. It is not hard to do a good wine that is expensive, he says, but to make a good inexpensive wine is almost impossible.

- I want my wines to have the strength, balance and personality and the character of the grape should be clearly evident, says Charles. What you also notice are the imaginative names and the unusual labels with bombs, skulls and skeletons designed by the Danish designer Rikke Korff, former head of design at Levi Strauss & Co..

In 2009 Charles was named “Winemaker of the Year” by Food & Wine magazine.

And what about the wines?

Charles Smith wines, copyright Roland Eriksson

But how do they taste these peculiar creations? After a while I managed to squeeze in next to a nice girl from Malmö who planned soon to open an American grill restaurant with Charles’s wines as a feature. I understood she was completely sold on the wines, which she thought would be easy to sell to her future restaurant guests.

If we look at the Swedish prices, they start at moderate 115kr (~12 euro) and ends at about 900kr (~95 euro) for the prestige wine King Coal, so they fit both the thinnest and thickest of wallets.

Secco Italian Bubbles 2011

77% chardonnay, 15% pinot bianco, 8% raboso piave. Medium body, young, grapey nose with some hints of mushroom. Young, dry, quite fruity, straightforward, made me think of Henkell Trocken. Charles is the winemaker but the wine comes from Viticoltori Ponte Srl, Ponte di Piave, Veneto, Italy. 75p. (~12€)

Vino Pinot Grigio 2011

Medium body, young and fruity. Dry, fresh, clean taste with some apples, but rather short. 76p. (~13€)

Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2011

Medium nose with hints of citrus, yellow apples and mineral. Medium-bodied, fresh, almost half dry on the palate, with hints of citrus, apple and with some residual sweetness. 78p. (~13€)

Eve Chardonnay 2010

Quite full-bodied, buttery nose with fresh fruit and hints of citrus, caramel and with a balanced oak character. Quite full-bodied, fresh flavour with hints of citrus, minerals and a bit “fat” feeling. 80p. (~13€)

Charles & Charles Rosé 2012

Young, small nose with notes of red berries and raspberries. Young, light, semi-dry flavour with hints of red fruit and some acidity, short. 71p. (~13€)

Charles & Charles 2011

51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% syrah. Big, quite grassy, herbaceous nose, with notes of dark berries and bell-pepper. Medium-bodied, young and dark fruit, with hints of pepper and black currant, almost felt like a cabernet franc. 82p. (~13€)

Charles Smith Boom Boom, copyright Roland Eriksson

Boom Boom! Syrah 2011

Big, young and jammy nose, with some character of grape juice and plums. Young, soft and medium-bodied palate, with soft tannins, dark berries and a bit of jamminess. 84p. (~15€)

Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

96.5% cabernet sauvignon, 3.5% malbec. Quite a big nose, with notes of dark berries, black currants and some oak. Medium-bodied, quite young on the palate, with hints of dark fruit, black currant, and a slightly acidic spiciness, and some oak character. 84p. (~20€)

The Velvet Devil Merlot 2010

Medium nose, young, jammy, with hints of red berries and Victoria plums. Soft, medium-bodied, jammy flavour, with hints of red berries, blueberries and plums. 80p. (~13€)

K “Ovide” 2009

67% cabernet sauvignon, 33% syrah. Big nose, quite ripe and spicy aromas, with notes of dark fruit and hints of toasted barrels. Medium-bodied, quite complex and quite mature on the palate, with hints of dark berries, violet candy, coffee and a nice oakiness, long. The wine is a tribute to Charles’s father Robert Ovide and only around 2,000 bottles are produced. 92p. (~40€)

The Creator 2010

70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% syrah. Young, big, quite spicy on the nose, with notes of dark fruit, black currant, plum and oak barrels. Quite full-bodied, a bit jammy on the palate, with dark berries, black currants and some oak. 90p. (~45€)

King Cole 2009

70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% syrah. Big nose, quite ripe aromas, with hints of both red and dark berries like blackcurrant, cherry, nicely integrated toasted barrel character and cedar-wood. Powerful, full-bodied, balanced on the palate, with silky tannins, dark berries, cherries and plums, well-integrated toasted oak barrels, very good length. 93p. (probably ~70-100€ but probably very difficult to find)

In summary, mostly delicous and easy-to-drink wines in American style, the three prestige wines were of high quality, while Vino, Secco and the Rosé were well made but perhaps a bit expensive (ed. note: this refers to the Swedish market situation). Some of the wines can certainly age well, the prestige wines from 5 to 10 years. But all are delicious to drink now.

Before I went home Charles sat down on a bench outside the restaurant in the warm afternoon sunshine with a bottle of rosé, looking like a true “rock star”, sorry “wine star”, with the two prettiest girls of the tasting next to him; and he was clearly enjoying life.

Charles Smith with at least one of the two, copyright Roland Eriksson

Area in production: 33 350 hectares, of which:

• The Champagne houses 3 400 hectares
• The growers own 29 900 hectares and

Production: 320 million bottles, of which:

• The Champagne houses produce 219 million bottles,
• The growers 72 million bottles,
• The cooperatives 28 million bottles.

Number of “producers”: 5133 (not strictly speaking; it’s just the sum of the below), of which:

• Champagne houses: 340
• Growers who own their land and bottle and sell their own champagne (so called recoltant-manipulant, RM): 2 016
• Growers belonging to a cooperative: 2 735
• Cooperatives: 42

This really shows the importance of a good relationship between the growers and the houses.

Grape varieties:

• Chardonnay: 9 950 hectares (29,1 % of total surface)
• Pinot meunier: 11 000 hectares (32, 2 % of total surface)
• Pinot noir: 13 111 hectares (38, 4 % of total surface)
• Arbanne, petit meslier, pinot blanc, pinot gris: <0.02%

Thank you Champagne Philippe Gamet for (most of) the figures!

Concrete fermentation tanks in Champagne covered in shining white tiles, copyright BKWine Photography

Global wine production down in 2012, Europe declining, most others growing. Is Europe strangling its wine sector?

Global wine production decreased 6% in 2012 to 252 million hectolitres. This was partially due to a very small harvest in Europe but also a longer term trend. France, Italy and Spain are still the biggest producers. But the overall trend is a decline in European wine production and a rise in New World countries and China.

So now to the exciting things, wine production and wine consumption, after having looked at global vineyard surface and global grape production. First the world-wide wine production.

All numbers come from the recent OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) report.

Wine production is decreasing, short term and long term

Global wine production in 2012 reached 252 million hectolitres (Mhl), or 25 billion litres. That was down 6% from 267 Mhl in 2011.

In a longer perspective, production has shrunk from 280 Mhl in 2000 with 10%. Compared with the average wine production over the period 2000-2012, which was 270 Mhl, the latest year is 7% lower.

The peak year for global wine production was 2004 when almost 300 Mhl (296 Mhl) was made.

The trend over the period is steadily but not dramatically decreasing.

But the decrease in wine production is solely caused by the decline in European wine production. Most other countries have thriving and growing wine sectors. (More on this below.)

Global wine production 2000-2012, source OIV

Wine production is shifting away from Europe

Europe’s share of wine global wine production is shrinking. In 2000 Europe produced 73% of all the world’s wine. Europe’s share has shrunk with 11 points to 62% of global wine production in 2012.

There is – as yet – no obvious “winner” who has taken over the major part of the share lost by Europe. Rather, all other regions have increased their share of wine production between 2000 and 2012:

• Americas: up from 17% to 19.8%
• Asia: up from 4.5% to 6.9%
• Oceania: up from 3.1% to 5.9%, almost doubling its share
• Africa: up from 4.3% to 5.1%

Regional shift in wine production 2000-2012, source OIV

2012 was a particularly bad year for Europe, in terms of wine volumes, which aggravated the situation somewhat for Europe. But the trend is clear.

As I mentioned in the piece on vineyard acreage one can put this in the context of European (in particular EU) agricultural policies for the wine sector. Instead of promoting growth and a dynamic wine industry the European policies have been (and to a great extent still are) focussed on destruction of the production facilities, paying money to wine growers to grub up the vineyards, as well as protectionism (for example the planting rights system) and other non-dynamic initiatives (for instance protecting names/brands).

Very little has been done in the EU agricultural policies for wine to create a more dynamic and market oriented wine sector.

The biggest wine producing countries: The winner is, France. Followed by Italy

France and Italy are since long the two top wine producing countries. Since 2000 France has held the top spot, except for the four years 2007-2010 when Italy was biggest.

In 2012 France made 41.4 Mhl of wine, down 19% on the 52 Mhl it made in 2011. The average wine production was 49.3 Mhl.

Italy made 40,1 Mhl of wine in the same year, down 6% from the 42.8 Mhl it made in 2011. The average wine production was 46.9 Mhl.

2012 also represents the smallest wine harvest over the whole period for both France and Italy.

The top ten (well, eleven) countries in 2012 were:

1. France, 41 Mhl
2. Italy, 40 Mhl
3. Spain, 30 Mhl
4. USA, 20 Mhl
5. China, 14.9 Mhl
6. Australia, 12.7 Mhl
7. Chile, 12.6 Mhl
8. Argentina, 11.8 Mhl
9. South Africa, 10 Mhl
10. Germany, 9 Mhl
11. Portugal 6.1 Mhl

NB: It should be noted that statistics from China are often considered very approximate.

Here’s a graphic illustration of some of the top producers (NB: this chart shows a selection of the top producers, not the top 10/11):

Evolution of some major wine producers 2000-2012, source OIV

Here is the picture of the evolution of the wine production for the global top six:

Wine production global top 6

And if we look at the following five biggest producers, number 7 to number 11 on the top list:

Wine production global top 7 to 11

Growth and decline. New World up

There are several countries that have recorded significant growth in wine production:

• Chile, up 88% since 2000
• Australia, up 57%
• South Africa, up 44%
• China, up 42%

It is three New World countries that are the big gainers!

China, not what you think! At least not yet

Perhaps one of the most surprising numbers here is that China has not grown more than what it apparently has. It is often thought that wine production in China has boomed in recent years but the numbers disprove that. (And often touted in media as a catastrophe scenario for Europe. But Europe is working hard on that scenario itself. See more below.)

On the other hand, already at the start of the period in 2000 China was a significant wine producer. It has only risen one position on the ranking, from being number 6 in 2000 to becoming number 5 in 2012, displacing Argentina.

Looking back to the numbers for vineyard acreage and grape production, which both showed significant increases for China, the conclusion must be that the Chinese are making a lot of table grapes, raisins and grape juice.

The big looser: Europe

One thing that is very clear from these numbers is that the Old World European countries are the big losers. Their output of wine is shrinking rapidly.

If we organise the top eleven wine producing countries in two groups, EU countries and non-EU countries, the charts show a dramatic picture:

Wine production in the EU countries on the top 10 list

Wine production EU in top 11, 2000-2012

Wine production in the non-EU countries on the top 10 list

Wine production non-EU in top 11, 2000-2012

All the major EU wine producing countries are declining.

All the major non-EU wine producing countries are growing their production, although the growth in the US is at best minimal (+1% compared to the average of the period).

What to make of the EU agricultural wine policies?

If the aim of the EU’s agricultural policies for wine were to strengthen the EU’s market position on the international wine market then it seems that the EU agricultural policies for wine are not succeeding. Or perhaps the EU has decided that the only way to go for the wine sector in the EU is downwards and the aim of the CAP policies for wine is to ease the pain of shrinking by giving out subsidies?

Let’s look at one more chart. Let’s assume that the trends over the period 2000-2012 will continue. What will then happen with the EU wine production and the non-EU wine production (still limiting this to the top 11 countries)?

EU vs non-EU long term trend in wine production (top 11 countries only)

By 2030 the 6 non-EU countries will pass the 5 EU countries in making more wine. (This does not take into account all other wine producing countries. They would probably make the picture even worse for Europe.) It is of course questionable if the trends will continue like this. But why not?

Admittedly, the EU subsidies have, I believe, decreased thanks to some of the reforms initiated by the previous agricultural commissioner.

However, a lot of the focus of many wine producers’ lobbying organisations (ARVEV, CNAOC, EFOW etc, to mention just a few), as well as country governments, is still on subsidies and protectionism. That may not be the best way to create a dynamic wine industry in Europe. At least not judging from how successful that kind of policies have been so far. They seem more designed to protect current wine producers from competition from others within the region, and on demanding subsidies, rather than on creating a dynamic and profitable wine sector.

The above charts show clearly that the countries where subsidies and protectionism are not the focus, but where market dynamics more come into play, are the countries that are developing their wine production the most.

In this perspective one must question the value of “traditional” European wine market “regulations” and policies.

Europe, what kind of wine industry do you want? Subsistence based on subsidies and protectionism or profitable winemaking successful on the international wine market?

More

This is the third article in the series on global vineyard, grape growing, wine production, wine consumption, and wine trade statistics based on the latest OIV report.

• Part 1: The world’s grape growing (vineyard) surface area
• Part 2: The world’s grape production 2000-2012

Source: All numerical statistics come from the OIV, International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

Is it possible to replace the antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties of sulphur with a preservative made from grape seeds?

Yes, that is the idea of Intergrapes in Italy after seven years of study. They claim that the preservative is as effective as sulphur and that the wine better retains its natural flavours. Moreover, says Intergrapes, the wine can be aged for a longer period than a wine with no sulphur.

The preservative is made from polyphenols found naturally in grape seeds. The solution is added to the must and wine during the vinification.

Studies have so far been made only by Intergrapes and we look forward to hearing other opinions about this new preservative.

Read more here thedrinksbusiness.com.

Sulphur pellet to clean barrels, copyright BKWine Photography

A new grape has been born in Switzerland, developed by the research institute Agroscope Changins. The Swiss are good at developing environmentally friendly grapes and this new grape, called Divico, has good resistance to both grey rot, mildiou and oidium.

The grape is a cross between two grapes: gamaret and the hybrid bronner. With Divico the research institute wanted to obtain a grape that has the quality characteristics of a vitis vinifera and the resistance to fungal diseases of the American vitis rupestris. Remains to be seen what the consumers will think of this new grape. New grapes, and especially hybrids, are always a hard sell.

Read more on mon-viti.com

Grape bunch attacked by grey rot, copyright BKWine Photography

Global grape production: short term drop, long term rise, big shift away from Europe, productivity increasing

Global grape production has seen a slight drop in 2012 from 2011 but has since 2000 seen a slight increase. The big change is a shift from Europe that has dropped from almost 63% to 40% of world grape production. The big increases have been in Asia and in the Americas.

The other day I looked at the global and country statistics for vineyard surface area. Today it is time for global grape production. All numbers come from the recent OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) report.

Since 2000 the world’s grape production has gone up somewhat. It is not a great increase, from 648 million quintals to 691 million quintals in 2012, in other words a 7% increase over 12 years, with an average of 664 Mql.

Quintals is an unusual measure that equals 100kg. Perhaps it is the standard in grape harvest reporting to the OIV, but apart from that I have only seen it in Italy. In Italy vineyard yield is often measured in quintals per hectare, and not hectolitres per hectare that is the common measure in many other places in Europe. But hectolitres is of course only relevant for wine production…

Divide the quintals with ten if you prefer to measure in (metric) tonnes: The world grape production in 2012 was 69 million tonnes.

Important: the statistics show grape production for all usage, not only wine!

Europe’s share of world grape production shrinking dramatically

There has been a dramatic change in where in the world these grapes are grown though:

In 2000 62.5% of all the world’s grapes came from Europe.

In 2012 that number has shrunk to 39% of the world’s grapes.

Europe’s total grape production in 2000 was 405 Mql. In 2012 it was only 269 Mql. Europe has decreased its grape production with 136 Mql, a decrease with -34%, a third of the total output in 2000.

The regions that have increased their share of grape production are:

Asia: up from 19.4% to 31.2% of the world’s grape production between 2000 and 2012.

America: up from 12% to 21%.

The world’s grape production 2000-2012, source OIV

Or to illustrate the shift away from Europe even more:

Global grape production shifts from Europe, source OIV

The biggest grape producing countries: the winner is, China!

The top list of grape producing countries today (2012):

1. China
2. Italy
3. USA
4. France
5. Spain
6. Chile
7. India
8. Argentina
9. Iran

I expect that very little of what is produced in Iran is turned into wine (but no doubt some is). Also in China much of the production does not end up as wine.

In 2005 the top list looked like this:

1. Italy
2. USA
3. France
4. Spain
5. China

The top four on the 2005 ranking have all shrunk their production since then. China has on the other hand grown dramatically.

Today China accounts for 14% of the world production of grapes and Italy and the USA (nr 2 and nr 3 on the list) each make 10%.

Growth most marked in China, India and Chile

By far the biggest increase in grape production has happened in China (excluding countries with very small production). China has increased its production more than 200% since 2000 and now has an output of 100 Mql. China’s grape production is now almost 40% of all of Europe’s.

Two other countries have also significantly increased the production over the period 2000-2012: India with 150% to reach almost 30 Mql and Chile with around 65% to reach almost 35 Mql.

The “traditional” big grape producers – Italy, USA, France, and Spain – have all reduced their output.

The world’s major grape producers, source OIV

Yield varies dramatically: Europe lowest, Americas highest, increasing for non-wine use

The yield is a very important parameter in vine growing for making wine. It is generally assumed that a lower yield makes for a better wine. This is not always the case.

When it comes to grape yield in the OIV statistics we have to be careful with the interpretation. In this case yield means quantity of grapes per hectare of vineyards. Two important notes: 1) it is grapes for all uses (not only wine), and 2) the vineyard area used for the calculation is the total acreage, including vines not in production.

So let’s take a look at the chart:

The world’s grape yield 2000-2012, source OIV

A few things to note, from a wine perspective:

• Grape yield is by a big margin lowest in Europe. One should be careful to interpret this as meaning “Europe is more quality conscious”. A more correct interpretation is probably: in Europe almost all grapes are used for wine production and in wine production yields are lower than in vineyards used for raisins, table grapes, or juice.
• Grape yields are low in “mainly wine” countries, and higher in countries with more “other use”, table grapes, raisins and juice production (an assumption that will be tested in the next article on global wine production)
• Yields have been quite stable in Europe
• Yields have gone down in Australia (the dominant country in Oceania)
• Yields have increased dramatically in Asia

The yield in Europe is around 65 quintals per hectare. If we translate that to hectolitres per hectares it becomes, with a very approximate conversion, some 40-45 hectolitres per hectare. It is surprisingly low but it is probably wildly off the mark from what the “real” vineyard wine yields (measured as vine production on productive vineyard surface) are in Europe. The number includes vineyards not yet in production and grapes for all uses. The “real” yield is probably much higher.

The global trend in grape yield is upwards. The global yield has increased form a bit over 80 ql/ha in 2000 to 91.7 quintals per hectare in 2012. As the OIV notes: “productivity is growing especially in the countries that produce non-fermented products and table grapes.”

More

This is the second article in the series of global vineyard, grape growing, wine production and wine consumption statistics based on the latest OIV report.

• Part 1: The world’s grape growing (vineyard) surface area

Source: All numerical statistics come from the OIV, International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

The Wine Forger’s Handbook

Wine writer Stuart George and best-selling art crime expert Dr. Noah Charney has recently published “The Wine Forger’s Handbook”. Here is what Stuart says about the book: “Fine wine is a multi-million dollar industry and is fraught with peril. From fake bottles to fraudulent contents, from mislabelled wine to misled consumers, wine has been faked, forged, and used for fraud for as long as it has been consumed. This eBook provides a brief history of forgery and fraud in the fine wine world, including case studies on Rudy Kurniawan and Hardy Rodenstock.”

The Wine Forger’s Handbook also functions as a guide, both on how fraudsters have been found out, and tips on how to avoid being fooled in your own wine purchases.  Hopefully it will not provide people with too many tips on how to become a fraudster yourself!

The book, says Stuart, “is for everyone who enjoys true crime stories of forgery, deception, and detection set against the vivid backdrop of the world of wine”.

If you would like to buy the book: The Wine Forger’s Handbook.

Stuart is also a guest writer on BKWine Magazine.

A winemaker in Languedoc, Jeff Coutelou at Mas Coutelou, has his own recipe to avoid diseases in the vineyard. He has a lot of different varieties planted in the same vineyard. It protects the vines from viruses, he says, and makes them less susceptible to other diseases.

Read about Jeff Coutelou on Drinks Business.

In the past, wine producers often had many grape varieties planted in the same vineyard (“en foule” (**) it is called in French). Now this is considered as inconvenient but who knows, old habits may return.

(**) Update: We have picked up the term “en foule” from vine growers we have met that have applied it to vineyards planted with different grape varieties mixed together in one vineyard. It seems that a more correct application of that word is to designate a vineyard that is planted, normally with a single variety, without trellising on wires and where the propagation is done by rooting branches. The vineyard thus becomes “disorganised” like a “crowd” after some time. This is also a method that is not much in use any longer.

Gamay grapes on the vine in the vineyard, copyright BKWine Photography

At the same day as the big Champagne day in Stockholm a Champagne day OFF was arranged by a few importers of small, high quality champagne producers.

BKWine’s Peter Dybeck tasted and commented champagnes from Françoise Bedel and Pierre Larmandier, both biodynamic, and several others. Read more here Champagne Day OFF 2013: favourite champagnes.

In the cellar at Champagnes Philipponnat, copyright BKWine Photography