Aligoté & the spring of it all
Year 16, No. 04
Highlights: Aligoté feature
For anyone in the wine trade, spring is a sack of madness tossed into a swirling river of insanity.
Most everything important happens in the spring and seemingly all at once as this is the season of fairs, tastings, and various judging competitions. Thankfully, the immense body comprising European Wine Fairs Inc. have realized that they can’t all take place at the same moment and so, Barcelona Wine Week, Wine Paris, Prowein, and Vinitaly are kind enough to follow each other over three, hardcore months.
Most colleagues I know don’t go to all of them and in the past, the only one that truly mattered was Prowein. That is, until people got tired of staying in ‘popup’ Airbnbs that were little more than closets at exorbitant prices because all the hotels were exceptionally full as the fair is in the hot, hot prime European destination of… Düsseldorf.
Well, there’s clearly a new dominant player on the fair scene and officially, that’s Wine Paris. It only started in 2019 via the merger of Vinisud (formerly of Montpellier) and Wine Vision but looks as if the 2026 edition will be the most visited wine fair in all of Europe.
As an interesting aside, apparently Wine Paris was nearly Wine Barcelona at one point as the organizers were looking to move and in talks with the Catalan government to relocate. Unfortunately, just before everything was signed, there were elections, politicians changed and the interest was lost. It was unfortunately very shortsighted as while Barcelona Wine Week is a fine event for Spanish wine and probably the best there is currently, it’s just that, only for Spanish wine and an event with Vinisud as the underpinnings could have been so much more.
Wine Paris really took off once WineExpo joined in 2020 and they squeaked in the fair just before the world went off the rails. But, coming back in a post-pandemic world, the fair has gotten ever-more popular because… dunno… it’s in Paris, oui? But in addition to ample hotels, restaurants, and not needing to sleep on a boat ‘hotel’ (unless that’s your thing) the French also know how to do the ‘off’ like no one else and so the side events are tremendous as well with more each year.
They were also smart enough not to crash Wine Paris into other key events such as Grands Jours de Bourgogne which is happening right now. If you don’t it, this is an event only for Burgundy wines that’s intense, amazing, and if in the wine trade, it's one of those things you need to do at least once… if they let you in. The last time I was there, I was focusing on the sparkling wines of Crémant de Bourgogne as well as digging a great deal more into Aligoté, a variety which, like Wine Paris, has seen its star get ever-brighter in recent years.
Outside of the parallel existence of the wine fair world, reality continues for most people and in the case of the Ukrainians, this means a war that isn’t looking to reach a conclusion any time soon. This is why on the anniversary of the Russian invasion this year, I looked back at a mishmash of events (*) that have crossed paths in these last four years. Additionally, there’s a report on the Russians fully destroying a 19-century winery (*) that they’d previously looted in 2022, but apparently decided that just wasn’t enough war crime.
Drink well, be well.
-Miquel
(*) Free to read
The Featured Report
An Aligoté Feature
Previously maligned and often forgotten, this under-appreciated white grape variety of Burgundy has very much been in vogue in recent years as the weather warms and people look for ‘affordable’ Burg.
Drink It or Sink It
An evolving look at the sub-5€ end of the wine world with a great many more ‘Drinks’ than ‘Sinks’. Follow along on the main channels via Instagram or YouTube.
And now this
Have you ever thought, “I could use a good deal more Ribera del Duero in my life.”? If so, then this fine bottle is very much for you.
If looking to learn everything about the current state of Greek wines, then the 2026 edition of “Greek Wine Explained” (*) is what you’re looking for.
There’s essentially nothing bad to say about Malvasia de Sitges (except that there should be more) and this wine is yet more proof of that.
And lastly a look at a fine family winery in the Campania region that are making great versions of pretty much everything, especially Taurasi.