▻ Omnibus Sixth Edition

Omnibus Edition

10 Jun

Written By Sarah Kemp

Episode Six

Episode Summary:-

A meteorite corkscrew, the wine Napoleon never received, an Italian winemaker raising money for the Royal Opera House in London, and the wine we all love to drink in the summer (and increasingly all year round), Rosé, all are subjects of conversation in Omnibus Six. Elin McCoy discusses why we love Rosé and discovers the new trend for “canettes” (small cans). She also looks at which celebrities are getting involved, (Yes, Snoop Dogg) and why Bordeaux châteaux are buying up Provence estates.

John Stimpfig reports on Christie’s auctioning two bottles of Petrus, one of which was sent into space (see our “Wines in Space” podcast) and its twin, which stayed on earth. Listeners will be able to bid for the two bottles which are being sold by Christie’s, so they can compare them both, but the pre-sale estimate is US $1,000,000! A meteorite corkscrew is included in the lot (something Sarah and John would dearly love to own).

““Wine has often suffered from too much seriousness. We don’t always want to sit down and contemplate a wine as if it is practically a work of art, a lot of the time we just want to be having fun.””

— Elin McCoy

Running Order:-

0.00 – 21.30
“I’d really like a meteorite corkscrew John, I really would.”– Sarah Kemp

Sarah and John discuss this month’s wine news. First on the agenda is the news that Christie’s is putting up for auction one of the bottles of Petrus 2000 which went into space (see “Wine in Space”) along with its earth-bound twin; the pre-sale estimate for wine and space history, US $1,000,000.

John Stimpfig then unpicks the figures from the 2020 OIV annual report on global consumption, and reveals that 2020 saw the lowest level of consumption since 2002. Among the winners and losers are China, which saw its consumption drop by 17% (China is the sixth largest consumer of wine in the world), while Brazil was positive, with a rise of 18.4%. While 2020 was a tough year for the wine market, the best performer was bag-in-the-box, which increased 12% in volume and 8% by value.

Sarah and John discuss the unique contributions made to the wine world by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat in California and Pio Boffa of Pio Cesare in the Piedmont, who sadly recently died. Both of them were great ambassadors for their regions, and for wine in general.

A bottle of Grand Constance 1821 was sold at the Cape Fine and Rare Auction for nearly three times its estimated price, reaching just over £21,000. The wine was originally destined for Napoleon, who was in exile on St Helena, but he died before it arrived (he was a huge fan of Grande Constance and asked for it on his deathbed), so the shipment was sent back. The wine auctioned was one of the bottles from that consignment.
21.30 – 41.57
“Rosé has opened up a huge area wine can go towards, because not every wine is suitable to lay down and drink in 10 years’ time.” - Elin McCoy

Elin McCoy discusses the many reasons we love Rosé wine, sales of which are booming. She investigates the newest trend for Rosé, which is to be served in cans, called “canettes,” holding 250ml of wine. Colour is all important, she finds, and one Bordeaux producer, Famille Bouey, has teamed up with colour specialist Pantone to produce a Rosé range inspired by its shades of pink. Celebrities have helped make this more accessible and newcomers to the market include Snoop Dogg, who has launched his 19 Crimes Cali Rosé. It is not only celebrities getting into Rosé – some of Bordeaux’s most famous names have been investing in Provence’s vineyards, including Michel Reybier of Château Cos d’Estournel, the Prats family (Jean-Guillaume Prats is CEO of Château Lafite), Chanel (who own Châteaux Canon and Rauzan-Segla) and LVMH.

In the US, several wineries are making Rosé instead of red wine to avoid the smoke taint from the fires, Elin reports, and she is starting to see wineries only making Rosé, a new trend.
41.58 – 52.11
“He told me for the Arts it is a disaster, so I thought why don’t we do something together, a glass of wine to support the theatre.”– Francesca Massone

Francesca Massone, of Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta in the Piedmont, speaks to Sarah Kemp about her unique project to help the Royal Opera House in London, which has suffered during the pandemic. She talks about how a friendship with a former Royal Ballet dancer, Ross MacGibbon, alerted her to the problems the Opera House faced and inspired her to help by selling a special bottling of her top Barbera with a specially designed label by First Artist Ashley Dean. Part of the proceeds (33% of each bottle sold) will go to support the Opera House. The wine can be ordered directly from the winery’s website: www.marchesiincisawines.it