A guide to the wine regions featured in our Legacy collection.
As we approach the advent of our new Legacy collection Its time we started taking a deep dive into some of the various regions that will be included in the series. We will be looking at what makes these regions both fascinating in their own right, as well as why they are fantastic places to source investment wines. Which of course, is of the utmost importance to you, the investor.
All of these regions have elements in common that allow them to grow fantastic grapes, and conversely, make incredible wines that will age well and appreciate in value. Some of these elements include,
- Climate
- Landscape
- Winemaking tradition
- A wine market
When combined, these different traits allow us to pick the wines best suited to be a great addition to your portfolio. Something age worthy, with high market liquidity, and with lots of potential upside. So buckle in, we are taking a trip around the world together to discover why these countries can help you grow your investment portfolio, and in time, make both your wallet and your taste buds very happy.
Starting with…
France
Principal Regions that will feature in our legacy collection:
- Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, Rhône, Loire Valley, Provence, Beaujolais, Alsace.
“France, the country that produces more fine wine than any other, and in which wine is so firmly embedded in the culture that such French people as are interested in wine have a quasi-spiritual relationship with it.”
The oxford companion to wine — Fourth edition, Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding.
It is hard to overstate how important French wine has been to the world’s fine-wine producers. Each region of France as listed above has a completely unique character that is preserved in French law and has gone a long way to defining what people come to expect of wines from anywhere in the world. From the Grenache and Syrah dominated vineyards of Rhône. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blends of Bordeaux. And the supple Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of Burgundy. These wines have been emulated again and again by winemakers everywhere.
France is also the world’s biggest wine producer, (though it does tend to duke it out with Italy for that coveted top spot on occasion). And as such the market for French wines is very ‘liquid’. Pun intended.
The climate of France, though varied from north to south, is a perfect wine-growing climate. With juicy ripe reds being grown down south, and tart acidic whites like Chablis being made further north. And finally, France has a history of wine growing that borrows as much from science as it does tradition. Winemaking is a craft in France that has been honed, refined, perfected again and again over the many centuries it has been growing wine grapes. The evolution of which potentially started in 600bc with the arrival of Greek immigrants from Phocaea in Anatolia, who went on to found the city of Massalia, or as we know it now, Marseilles.
This combination of perfect climate, deep history, refined appellations that are enshrined in French law, and indeed simple cultural gravitas surrounding wine means that French wines are still some of the best and most sought-after wines in the world. You can begin to see why we will be including so many of their finest examples of wine in our weekly Legacy collection releases. And you can begin to appreciate with France as the example, just what it takes to make an investment grade wine in general.
As each collection is released we will of course be digging deeper into each individual region in France and in other countries so that when you come to choose your wines, you will be equipped with all the knowledge you need to make the best possible choice.
Italy
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- Tuscany, Veneto, Piedmont.
“To consider the history of wine in Italy is to consider the history of Italy itself, however, wine and Italian civilization are virtually synonymous. The Ancient Greek name for much of Italy already acknowledged the importance of viticulture to the peninsula: Oenotria, or ‘land of trained vines’.”
The oxford companion to wine — Fourth edition, Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding.
Italy is often talked about in the wine world in the same breath as France and for good reason. It is equal in almost every way. The amount of wine produced in Italy is often on par, if not exceeding the output of France. It has a history that is as ancient as any in the world and one that has included wine-growing and viticulture from the outset. Indeed, the Roman empire is as famous for their decadence in food and wine, as they are for their technological and militaristic endeavours. The Mediterranean climate of Italy is equally perfect for grape growing. From the deep intense reds of Sicily in the south to the refined savoury wines of Piedmont and the refreshing acidity of its infamous whites.
To add to this, Italy has one of the most diverse collections of grape varieties in the world, and they are discovering more all the time.
Including Italy in our legacy collection is a no-brainer. It produces some of the finest, most unique, and collectible wines, Barolo, Amarone, Chianti Classico being prime examples. Adding these to your NFT wine portfolio will make an excellent addition to both your wine collecting prowess as well as your returns.
Spain & Portugal
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- Spain: Rioja, Ribera Del Duero, Portugal: Douro.
Spain completes the trifecta of the old world wine powerhouses, and our legacy collection will be focussing on two regions from Spain. Rioja and Ribera Del Duero, the home of Tempranillo. Much like the previous two countries, Spain harbours many of the features required for excellent wine growing, and by implication, it is an amazing place for fine wines.
The one difficulty in Spain is that it has a slightly more challenging climate for growing grapes than other regions and countries in Europe. The climate is much warmer which means that certain grapes grow better there than others. However, in regions like Rioja, there are ways around this. Rioja Alta is an excellent place for growing Tempranillo due to the altitude which helps cool the grapes in the night and slow down their ripening. This has the effect of increasing the complexity of flavors that develop in the grape, an excellent trait for Fine wines.
The Douro in Portugal meanwhile is an extension of the same river that runs through the Ribera Del Duero. The effect of this river on the surrounding climate in both regions is the major factor that contributes to the quality of the grapes, and cannot be understated. Imagine if you will, the heat retaining capacity of water compared to land. And the effect sunlight might have as it reflects off the surface of the river and up in to the vine leaves. All of this contributes to extremely ripe grapes, which allows the wine grower to concentrate on low yields and super intense concentrated grapes.
America
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- California, Oregon: Willamette Valley.
Have you seen the film Bottleshock? If you haven’t, I won’t go into too much detail and spoil it for you, but suffice to say, American wine is a real competitor for the title of best fine wine producer globally. Despite growing wine in both the east and the west, most of the particularly well-known wines are grown in the west, across California, Oregon & Washington state.
All three of these regions have an incredible amount of nuance and that is something we can explore in later articles. However, Napa in California is particularly interesting and displays all of the elements that have been mentioned already, except for one. Napa, by comparison, is an incredibly new wine region that has only been making wine in a meaningful way since the ’60s. Before that, it was better known for prunes and cattle. What a change!
Aside from being very quick to learn how to make incredibly good wines, the climate and landscape are a goldilocks zone for making Bordeaux-style blends. The valley is temperate, but also has regular sea breezes and fogs that come in from the ocean and funnel up the valley to cool the grapes down. Much like other regions, this cooling influence slows down the grape ripening process and allows them to develop a lot more complexity.
Coupled with their newfound prestige, Napa valley wines, along with other east coast regions have become a wine lovers paradise and exist in the upper echelons of fine wine production.
South America
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- Argentina: Mendoza, Chile: Colchagua Valley, Maipo Valley.
South America is quickly becoming one of the hottest wine-growing continents in the world. I don’t mean in temperature either, though their diverse range of climates certainly has a profound effect on their wine making too. From Patagonia in the far south of Chile and Argentina, all the way to Uruguay, Brazil, and Peru, South America is creating a rich tradition of excellent wines. Argentina and Chile are the most prominent producers in this part of the world, with both countries producing excellent age-worthy wines that have great market value and are highly sought after.
Chile is the poster child of unusual climates and amazing aspects for growing Grapes, particularly in places such as Colchagua Valley, and Maipo Valley, whereas Argentina, being slightly warmer, uses the altitude of the Andes mountains to its full advantage in slowing down the grape ripening process in order to create the complexity of flavour indicative of an investment grade wine. Areas such as Mendoza and others are all excellent for this.
To sum it up, these regions are on the cusp of being some of the greatest wine-growing environments in the world and they are already producing some of the most fascinating, complex, and age-worthy fine wines on the market. This is a region to keep a close eye on in the future.
Central Europe
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- Germany, Austria: Wachau Valley, Croatia: Istria
Central Europe is another area of the world where winemaking is prevalent. But few places have achieved the lofty heights of refinement as you find in Germany and Austria. Germany creates some of the most elegant and refined Rieslings anywhere in the world. It has a fascinating classification system for the wine which bases its scoring on quality and levels of residual sugar. Ranging from bone dry, crisp Riesling, to super sweet, almost dessert wine styles. They also produce excellent examples of Pinot Noir, which they call Spätburgunder. And a very deep intense red wine called Blaufränkisch. Which has all the makings of excellent investment wine as per the traits mentioned in previous countries.
Likewise the Wachau Valley in Austria, aside from being an incredibly beautiful place to visit, also make exceptional local and international wines. Of particular note are their Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Zweigelt. The latter is a red wine that finds itself similar to something like a Pinot Noir or a Gamay. Light, but elegant and with the capacity to display extreme complexity on the nose and palate.
Australia & New Zealand
Principle regions that will feature in our legacy collections:
- New Zealand: Marlborough, Australia: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale.
And finally we travel to the far reaches of the pacific, and for me at least, being UK based. The lands down under!
Australia and New Zealand have both carved out an exceptional name for themselves in the wine world. Both exhibiting near perfect climates and landscapes for wine growing. Coupled with a passion and craft for wine that is on par with the best in the world. We have selected regions of particular note that are currently producing wine that is highly sought after, and of course delicious. McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley both produce wonderful red and white wines. Ranging from deep Intense Shiraz, (also known as Syrah in France) and on the other end of the spectrum, Riesling made in the Dry style. With a characteristic petroleum aroma on the nose as it ages, that admittedly sounds weird and unappealing. But don't knock it till you have tried it. Both of these regions use the cooling influences of either the ocean, or altitude to manage the complexity and ripeness of their grapes. Allowing them to produce incredible nuance. And Barossa in particular is famous worldwide for its incredibly old vines. Some living beyond a century. These old vines produce grapes of low yield, but unparalleled concentration.
New Zealand in the mean time has more or less become the poster child for exuberant Pinot noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The fruitiness and ripeness of these wines is almost the complete counter to Frances more subtle and elegant varieties. But that is no bad thing. These wines have become famous for a reason, and that's simply because the world adores these styles. The finest examples have great market liquidity and some of the best potential in the world for age-worthiness.
To conclude:
The Legacy collection we are going to be releasing over the next year and a bit is going to be extensive, intelligent, and most of all for you - our buyers - lucrative. We have written up this article, both to give you a small taster of what to expect in the coming months. But also to reassure you that when we curate our wine selections. We are looking at every aspect of what makes a wine great. From previous market performance and liquidity, to the basics of what happens in the vineyard as the Grapes ripen in the light of our sun.
We want you to know and understand what you are buying, and have confidence that we are finding the best selection of wines available for you to grow your investment portfolio.
As each collection drops, we will be doing a deep dive in to one or two particular regions and wines so that you can have a deep knowledge of, and feel excited for what is to come.
So until then, happy drinking! And we will catch up with you again soon.
Socials
For more updates, news, information and wine chatter please follow us on our socials and check out our website:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/wivteam
Discord: https://discord.gg/znkRDJDXvr
Telegram: https://t.me/WIVADigital
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wiv/
Instagram: WIVA by WiV Technology (@wiv.io) • Instagram photos and videos
