In 50 years’ time, Berrys believes wine is unlikely to be sold in glass bottles. Using glass will be unrealistic as retailers and importers try to cut costs, waste, and reduce the environmental impact of wine being shipped around the globe.

The average weight of a wine bottle is 500g, but there have been recent moves to produce more lightweight bottles.

Berrys believes the cost and environmental impact of shipping pre-bottled wine around the world means, in the future, we’re likely to see ‘wine tankers’ crossing our oceans. Bulk shipments of wine could arrive, before being put into plastic or reinforced cardboard containers in a bid to reduce environmental emissions and create a domestic bottling industry.

“I see a far greater range of packaging on the shelves in 2058. Cartons will be the obvious choice for much of the wine and will dominate the shelves for the mass market. Variety will be greater – we’re already seeing 500 ml and 1 litre options. Cartons will mean far more tailoring to consumption and branding opportunities for big brands.”

Ian Williamson, Tetra Pak UK

In March we kicked off the first UK Cutty Sark Cocktail competition following the 85th anniversary of the creation of the brand.

The competition has generated tremendous interest from both the bartender community and cocktail enthusiasts with over 800 entries all competing to win a weekend in New York.

The six finalists have been chosen and voting will now start on selecting the UK’s favourite Cutty Sark cocktail.

The lucky winner will be announced on Friday, 13th June 2008 (unlucky for some!).

 Andy Pearson, the Bartender Guild’s 2007 UK Mixology Champion, will walk you through the six finalists’ recipes on drinkshop.com

There are some great Cutty recipes for the summer including “Restoration” and “Sail Away Sark”.

Please log on, watch the videos and vote for your favourite.

I have just returned from a brief visit to a rain-drenched Rioja, tasting and assessing the new releases. The wines in general are elegant, fresh and focused but even in youth seem to  lack  something of the concentration and tannic grip of more illustrious forebears such as 2001 and 2004. Overall, I would say, of the major Bodegas visited La Rioja Alta, Artadi and Allende are very much on form, but that CVNE have lost a little focus. Easy enough to say, perhaps, when their new corporate structure involves part ownership by the Coca Cola dynasty.

The Artardi wines from outside of Rioja maintain their outstanding quality/price ratio, their 2007 Artazuri Granacha Rosé the best so far, its ’serious’ sibling Santa Cruz truly outstanding. In Rioja itself, Juan Carlos (pictured with  son Carlos above) is focusing more and more on specific parcels, which he likes to vinify separately, with assemblage tending to take place as late as possible. One of his new vineyards Ribaltyo (right) looks like Beaucastel, with its large glacial pudding-stoned carpet; others rely more on Alavesa limestone and others again have more clay in the soil.

A tasting by plot revealed very significant differences. Another El Pison maybe around the corner? A propos, the range was looking excellent in 2007, with Vinas De Gain, Pagos Viejos and El Pison all appropriately brilliant, far outperforming what one may have expected from the year. Elsewhere, at La Rioja Alta it is still the traditional styles which are the most convincing. Both the Alberdi 2002 and the Ardanza 2000 are showing great promise and the 1995 904 La Rioja Alta continues to grow in complexity. We are lucky enough to have secured one of the last parcels of this wine, which is currently being shipped.

The best CVNE wines for me were from Jesus Madrazo’s single vineyard estate, Contino. Overall I generally prefer Imperial to Real, although the latter, its putative Burgundian influence often somewhat unclear, can sometimes work, as with the Vina Real Reserva 2001.

And so, inevitably, to the inimitable Miguel Angel de Gregorio (left pictured in the 1945 Calvario vineyard) at Finca Allende. Those of hubristic temperament may have questioned the scale of his grandiose building projects, yet the winery has at last been completed and very impressive it is too, its fine 17th century sandstone facade and elegant cupola making it by some distance the finest Bodega in Briones!

His wines are uniformly excellent, even the Coronado from La Mancha, which, with the 2004, has shed several layers of torpor and a degree or two of alcohol. The white 2006 is more aromatic than the 2005 but attractive nonetheless. Aurus is getting better, wearing its 25 month oak ageing with Guigal-like dexterity…………yet the best  of all is undoubtedly Calvario. The 2005 is better even than the 2004; its texture silky, its tannins very fine and its fruit character exemplary. The 2006 will probably be nearly as good when the oak has softened a little.

Closure producers will go head to head today at the London International Wine Fair (LIWF 2008), debating consistency over the lifetime of a closure and whether taint caused by faulty closures is still a problem for the wine trade.

And tomorrow, addressing the international debate that triggered the burning question, will be American author George Taber. His latest work, ‘To Cork or Not to Cork’ has already received Stateside acclaim. Launching the title at the Fair, George will discuss the key arguments for and against different types of closures.

A practical workshop will follow on the subject of ‘post-bottling reduction’ and excessive levels of sulphides - how to spot it, what are the causes and how various closures perform. His talk will be accompanied by an inter-active tasting and discussion which is likely to spark some interesting debate amongst closure producers who have already been discussing the respective merits of their products in a stand-off ahead of the debate.

All closure producers agree that oxygen is beneficial to the evolution of wine in bottle, but research continues into the optimum level of permeability.

To cork or not to cork, have your say!

Thanks in part to warmer temperatures (2007 was the second warmest year in the UK in 356 years) more and more English land is becoming suitable for wine production and perhaps in 50 years time, England will be able to compete with Champagne.

Today, there are 1,000 vineyards in England across Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Sussex and production in 2006 was just over 3.3 million bottles. Berrys believes, the amount of English farmland devoted to wine production may rival that of France by 2058.

French Champagne producers such as Louis Roederer have been looking at the chalky soil of the South Downs with interest, believing it offers them a great opportunity to produce sparkling wines similar to Champagne itself.

Recent international blind-tasting competitions even saw some English sparkling wines triumphing over the best Champagnes.

If British growers get support from British drinkers and are able to compete on price will they be able to compete with Champagne in the future?

The world of wine is constantly in a state of flux, and since it has evolved so much over the last 50 years, we’ve rounded up all our experts to predict what another 50 may bring.

Our recently launched Future of Wine Report predicts some pretty big changes, but then again in 1958, few people would have predicted the USA, Argentina or Chile would be capable of producing good wine. Now, nearly every other bottle of wine is made outside of Europe’s Big 5 wine producing regions and these countries lead the New World Wine rankings.

So, who will head the table in 2058?

Already the world’s sixth largest wine producer and number four in terms of area under vine, China, we predict, will be the world’s leading producer of volume wine by 2058 and that Cabernets and Chardonnays of real promise will be made. With the right soil, low labour costs and soaring domestic demand, China is set to take the world of wine by storm.

But not only do we believe China will establish itself as a leading producer of volume wine, our experts also consider China to have all the essential ingredients to make fine wine to rival the best of Bordeaux.

While most Chinese wines seem alien to Western palates, a new breed of Chinese winemaker, backed by foreign investment and technical advice, is already trying to change that reputation and in 50 years time China’s current 400 wineries may well mutiply more than ten-fold, with up to a quarter producing fine quality wine.

Do you agree that China will rival Bordeaux in 50 years time? Have your say by voting below or leaving us a comment.

The sun’s shining and so am I. Those lazy summer days with friends and family have finally arrived and this weekend I managed to squeeze in a beach picnic, a barbeque extravaganza and a light alfresco dinner amongst the jasmine and falling blossom! Ahh, pure bliss.

With the odds against me I decided to put some faith in British summertime and stock up with some delicious wines ahead of the weekend. For me classic Sauvignon Blanc is synonymous with summer and perfect for lighter dishes so I cracked open a couple of bottles 2006 Sancerre, Les Monts Damnés, Cotat, Chavignol at our light balmy summer dinner. Nowhere else in the Loire does Sauvignon Blanc express quite so much concentration and complexity as in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where the region’s trademark herbal and mineral profile shines through amidst delicious notes of pear, citrus and freshly-cut grass.

But subtlety went out the window when it came to our barbeque bash where a big, bold bottle of Berrys’ Shiraz stood up beautifully to our charred steak, smoky spare ribs and spicy chicken marinade. When it comes to barbecues I don’t think you can go wrong by looking to the great barbecuers of the world – Argentineans, Australians, Americans and South Africans.

Have a favourite BBQ wine? Let us know!

Today Berrys’ launched their ‘Future of Wine Report’, attracting a whole host of media attention including an article in the Guardian and an appreciative mention on Jancis Robinson’s website.

The world of wine can change pretty quickly. So much has changed over the last 50 years that we thought it would be fun, and instructive, to consider what might be happening in another fifty years, in 2058.

Four of us – Alun Griffiths MW, Simon Field MW, David Berry Green and myself - were locked in a room with bread and water for sustenance until we could come up with some worthwhile thoughts. It made sense to divide the market into ‘volume’ and ‘fine wine’, under which headings we looked at where it would come from (China!), what it might taste like, what technological advantages might have come through and how much it might cost.

Following the last point up, I snuck a look at an old Berry’s price list from 1958 and saw Château Latour 1955 quoted at 15/6d (a snip, you cry). We have some in stock today at a mere £ 1540.00 per bottle, which I reckon is a multiplication in cost of about 2,000! If that replicates itself over the next 50 years then Latour 1955 would be worth over £ 3 million a bottle – frightening thought.

Have a look at our various thoughts

I recently read an interesting article by Dan Berger addressing the notion that our genetic makeup determines everything we taste and thus like and dislike.

He notes: “Your genetic structure may determine the wines you like to taste and smell. Some people have a genetic makeup that lets them like everything. These lucky souls are called “supertasters.”

If we all taste the same wine slightly differently from one another, does each individual’s DNA determine our ability to detect some of the near-trivial elements in wine, both in aroma and taste?

Or do external factors such as our upbringing, acquired wine knowledge and level of exposure to differing wine types together with various ethnic, social, and acculturative influences play a greater role than genetic makeup?