Domestic bliss

Embracing the top of the Tyrrhenian Sea in a mountainous and infertile crescent, Liguria boasts maritime achievements that completely overshadow a viticultural legacy that dates back to Roman times. The Romans quickly recognised that the Ligurian Alps, responsible for the superb natural harbours of Genoa and Portofino, also provided incomparable sites for cool-climate viticulture and quickly set about terracing the forbidding slopes of the Cinqueterre. Although Liguria may no longer rule the seas, the Mediterranean continues to influence both climate and commerce. Resorts of varying charm occupy every inch of coastline, and viticulture continues to satisfy the demands from tourist and stevedore alike.

Language barriers

It may be hard to believe, but Lombardy, the most industrial region in Italy (its capital Milan is also the capital of the Italian press, Italian culture, Italian commerce and finance, and the fashion world), is also one of the most important Italian regions for agriculture. Not only does it produce grain, milk and cheese, but it also produces wine.

The Interview: Rudi Venerandi, Proprietor, Alba, London

Has your wine list changed much since you opened the restaurant in 1989?

Homage to Catalonia

The Codornu group is best known for its Cavas, but in recent years the company has spread its wings and now owns still wine companies across Spain and the globe. Codornu's international director, Xavier Pages, explains what's next for the Catalan giant

The promised land

The ancient Greeks introduced viticulture in the south of Italy, naming Italy Oenotria after the Greek word for wine, oinos. Since then, Puglia has played a key role in the Italian wine scene. For many years the region was an anonymous source of bulk wines, often used to enhance well-known wines in France as well as Italy. Although one can still see truckloads from the south on their way north, Puglia is now claiming its own place in the national and international wine world. It is widely regarded as the Promised Land'.

The Interview: Remi Krug, Chairman, IHEGGAT, Reims, France

What's special about the IHEGGAT training programme?

Still life

Anjou-Saumur extends from 60km west of Angers to 15km east of Saumur, from Durtal in the north to Thouars in the south. Touraine abuts Anjou-Saumur in the west and reaches Blois in the north-east, Saint-Aignan in the south-east. Together they include 39 appellations, ranging in degree of familiarity from Vouvray to Cour-Cheverny.

Local Flavour

Sardinia's wine represents a growing industry. Its producers are an interesting mingle of small, traditional growers, cooperatives and medium to large private estates. They range from the 3.5ha, 3,000-bottle estate of Giovanni Battista Columbu's Malvasia di Bosa DOC near Nuoro (featured in the documentary film Mondovino) to Sella & Mosca's industrial 650ha, seven million-bottle production.

From the heights of Mont Blanc to the depth of Inferno

Italy's smallest wine-producing region, Valle d'Aosta, an autonomous Alpine province where French-style architectural features predominate, is not only the site of Europe's highest vineyards, but also home to a broad spectrum of indigenous varieties that are usually blended to produce distinctive DOC cuves.

Booting up

Italy was the only European country that enjoyed an increase in sales of wine to the UK in 2004 (AC Nielsen), so the mood should be upbeat as 44 leading Italian importers gather at Lord's Cricket Ground for the seventh Definitive Italian Tasting, instigated by the Italian Wines Committee of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association and organised by Hunt & Coady.

Va-va-Vouvray

Never has a classic wine style been dumped on by so many with such regrettable thoroughness. At the outset of my research for this feature it was hard to find a friend for these charming wines, as the following responses show: I don't personally think they have anything unique to offer' (supermarket buyer); you can always find a sparkling Vouvray with a good amount of bottle age on a restaurant wine list because the turnover is so slow' (agent); or, most damning of all, Loire crmants are like Skoda cars. You wouldn't be seen dead drinking them, though inside the bottle they are quite decent' (wine merchant).

Campaign trailing

As recently as three years ago, Bordeaux remained resolutely upbeat about its most valuable foreign market. Though shipments to the UK fell 4% in 2002, they were up 5% in value. Total exports had maintained a steady upward trajectory over the previous decade, even if they had slipped back from their all-time high of just over 2.5 million hl in 1997. The curve speaks for itself,' declared Tanguy Chatillon, the then marketing director at the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), as he laid the sales graph in front of me. Here are the figures. The rest is bullshit!'

The Interview - Robyn and Robert Wilson, Owners, Bleeding Heart Restaurants, London

Promoting discussion

Harpers drew a packed house at last month's LIWSF to debate how wine brand-owners can make the most of their marketing budgets. In the second part of our coverage of the event, Harpers presents the reaction of our panellists and the audience to the specially commissioned consumer research presented by Wine Intelligence and outlined in last week's issue

Vinexposed

The organisers claim that the exhibition site has been totally reorganised, thanks to the recently built Hall 3, a permanent 12,000m2 structure that replaces the former temporary building. Standing to the west of Hall 1, it will house some 200 exhibitors, with air-conditioning, no interior pillars, picture windows and 10-metre-high ceilings. Hall 3 will also contain a 400m2 conference room that will accommodate a number of tastings and provide 2,000 extra parking spaces.

Andrew Firth, Managing director, Playford Ros, North Yorkshire

Playing the yield

If you think that in 2004 Champagne produced a maximum of 12,000kg/ha, or even 14,000kg/ha if the blocage is included (as it will be one day when, hey presto, it becomes AOC Champagne), then think again, because it was 23,000kg/ha (146.6hl/ha) according to press-house records.

Bonnie boom

With a population of just 5 million, Scotland has at least two million fewer potential wine drinkers than the bustling streets of Greater London, and 45 million less than England as a whole. But despite the relatively small consumer base, its wine industry is thriving.

The Interview - Roberto Della Pietra, Head sommelier, Roussillon, London

What is the main theme of your list?
The first criterion for the list is that the wines make sense with the food that we serve here. The head chef, Alexis [Gauthier], is really into southern French cuisine. His food is fairly close in style to classic French cooking, but with a Mediterranean influence and an emphasis on vegetables. The wines that tend to work best with the food are the more unusual wines from the regions in the south of France, and obviously wines from Roussillon play a big role. About 80% of the list is French, and about 30% of the wines are sourced from the core regions of Roussillon, Languedoc, south-west France, Jura and Savoie. We have very few wines from Burgundy or Bordeaux, although we do have quite a few from the Loire and the Rhne Valley. There is also a good selection from Italy and Spain, because they work well with the Mediterranean elements in the food.

Harpers Debate: Part 1

For the second year in a row, Harpers teamed up with leading industry research group Wine Intelligence, which released original research prepared especially for the debate.