Episode description

Today in Wine News

The Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino recently announced some major changes to their evaluation system for new vintages of wines tasted during the annual en primeur event known as Benvenuto Brunello. By shifting away from the traditional five star rating and moving towards a short description of the wine’s character and key data points, the Consorzio is signaling to the rest of the wine world that the era of numeric wine scores is fading.

How will the new classification system affect advance sales of the yet-to-be-released Brunellos? And what will happen to wine news outlets and sales vehicles that continue to use a points system to evaluate and advertise wine?

Keep listening to learn more.

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In Other News

Here are some highlights from the week:

World’s Best Vineyards have named the Top 50 Vineyards of 2024. The awards ceremony, held last week at the picturesque Nyetimber estate in West Sussex, England, crowned Marqués de Riscal in Rioja as its number one choice. Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley was named the Best Vineyard in North America, with Jordan Winery and Duckhorn Vineyards supplying the additional California representation on the list.

* Press Release/Wine Business

The Michelin Guide has released its first list of recommended restaurants for the state of Texas. 15 Michelin One Star establishments and 2 Michelin Green Star awards from across Texas were presented at the first Michelin Guide ceremony for the state.

* “All The Stars and Bib Gourmands from the Michelin Guide Texas 2024” (Louis Thomas/The Drinks Business)

And finally, a serial wine counterfeiter has been caught for selling fake DRC. Again. 40-year-old Russian national Aleksandr Lugov was apprehended by police at Milan’s Malpensa airport in late September, an arrest that occurred simultaneously with raids in Turin, Milan, and Paris that resulted in the arrests of five of Lugov’s collaborators. Lugov was leading a wine counterfeiting gang across Europe that made more than $2 million dollars in blue chip Burgundy fakes. This is a developing story with a pending investigation, so stay tuned for more details.

* “An Accused Russian Counterfeiter and Burgundy Bottles Filled With Italian Wine” (Suzanne Mustacich/Wine Spectator)

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That’s all the news this week. Thank you for listening to The Wine Press!

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We’ll be back next Thursday with a new crop of wine news. Until then, cheers and happy drinking!

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