No tastings, no ASDW events (Association of Small Direct Wine Importers), no fairs, no fetes, no feasts. What a strange year it has been.
In some ways it has been a relaxing not having to prepare lists and plans, not having to load up the car at 6am, not having to smile and chat all day. Give speeches. Shake hands. Pour glasses and pack away.
But. It's how we grow our customer base. And, to be honest, I actually enjoy chatting to our customers.
Everyone here at Moore Champagne enjoys explaining how the industry works, how our producers maintain standards and how the bubbles get into the bottle and why it is such a marvellous product. If we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't do what we do!
So overall, it's been a bit of a crummy year. We miss being able to be out there meeting our customers. Needless to say, we're looking forward to 2021!
We were lucky enough to be able to take a spin through Champagne towards the end of the summer to catch up with some of our suppliers.
Maude’s team were starting to gather the harvest while we were there. Harvesting was unusually early this year due to the hot summer.
What's more, The Comité Champagne – the body that regulates yields of the region – set a low cap on the amount of grapes that can be turned into wine for making Champagne in 2020.
Meaning only 8,000 kg of grapes per hectare were permitted. Sadly, there was a lot of fruit left in the fields to rot.
If your French is up to it there is a Youtube video made by Les Vignerons de Champagne La Course des Bulles (The Bubble race) which I recommend watching.
Now we are not going to see any of this year’s harvest for at least two years – and for the reserve it will be four or five. Perhaps it is best for 2020 to be bottled and squirrelled away until it has improved a little.
Here's to 2021. Cheers!