The big news this week was that celebrated wine manga series, The Drops of God is set to be released as a television series on Apple TV. According to reports, the series was filmed in France, Italy and Japan and is due to come out on Apple TV+ next weekend.

Meanwhile, with Bordeaux's En Primeur season just around the corner (the celebrated barrel tastings are set to take place in the last week of April) and the seemingly endless supply of news stories on what artificial intelligence (AI) bot ChatGPT can do, the obvious starting point for this week's news roundup would be to ask ChatGPT which wines are likely to score the highest points at the tastings.

Related stories:

10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Château Pavie

Rioja Wary of Barolo Trap

France's Hybrid Wine Future

Interestingly, the AI bot wasn't keen on predicting the top-scoring wines this year, pointing out that scores can "vary wildly", but when pushed to generalize about successful En Primeur estates, we got this:

"In terms of the types of wines that tend to score highly at En Primeur tastings, the top Bordeaux estates, known as the "First Growths", including Château Margaux, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Château Haut-Brion, typically produce some of the most sought-after and highly-rated wines. Other top estates in Bordeaux, such as Château Cheval Blanc and Château [sic] Petrus in the Right Bank region, also tend to receive high scores and critical acclaim."

Let's see if AI really is all it is cracked up to be.

Meanwhile, here are some of the headlines you might have missed this week:

Burglary at Château Pavie

French police have opened an investigation into an alleged break-in at Château Pavie, the renowned Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé estate. The break-in, reported to the local gendarmerie in Libourne on Friday morning, saw numerous cases of wine stolen from the site.

According to regional newspaper Sud-Ouest, around 30 cases, each containing six bottles, were stolen following the break-in. The newspaper added that the potential damages are understood to be "considerable".

Although, so far, little more about the break-in has been revealed, the theft comes at a bad time for the estate with wine critics, merchants and buyers beginning to descend on Bordeaux for the annual en primeur barrel tastings.

Spanish pair launch 16th Century wine

Ostensibly to mark the 500th anniversary of Magellan and Elcano's first recorded circumnavigation of the globe, two Seville-based friends have released a €400 ($444) wine packaged as it might have been back in the 16th Century.

Dubbed Terra Ignota Vinum and produced by the Da8 company (a reference to the Spanish dollar, the "Real de a ocho", or a "piece of eight" for anglophones – considered the first international currency), the wine comes in a modern, hand-thrown jar that reproduces the form of the so-called Botija Perulera Trianera – a locally made, small amphora as would have been used to transport wine in Magellan's time and whose general form likely dates back to Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman trading eras.

The interior of the jar has been waterproofed by a patented mix of resin and wax. The wine inside is a sweet, fortified white wine in an Oloroso style made from a blend of 70 percent Palomino and 30 percent Moscatel, and produced by the Lebrija-based Bodegas González Palacios.

Da8 was founded by friends Germán Trujillo and Gabriel Carvajal, who met during their time in the hospitality industry and now work as restorer and historian, respectively. According to Spanish media outlet Nius Diario, the pair "are both wine lovers".

The jars come in a wooden box, bearing "epigraphs from texts taken from the Archivo de Indias and related to the voyage of Magallanes and Elcano," Germán told Nius Diario.

The jars retail at €395 each and only 300 have been produced. An extra virgin olive oil is also available in similar packaging.

Viñedos de Alava title banned by court

The latest in the long-running Rioja denomination saga (see Spanish Wine Industry Gets Political and news item #4: Splinter Rioja wineries granted interim “Álava” title), has seen the interim "Viñedos de Álava" title (proposed last year for winemakers in Rioja Álavesa looking to differentiate themselves from the wider Rioja wine region) quashed by the region's superior court.

According to Efe-Agro, a news agency specialising in the agri-food sector, the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country (or TSJPV) has banned the use of the Viñedos de Álava title until the EU has ruled on the affair.

In its ruling, the court underlined "the high risk of confusion that would be caused to the consumer by allowing the marketing of wines with the new denomination, as they would be presented with two wines under two different protected denominations of origin, although both would be covered by the same geographical area”.

According to Spanish wine news website Vinetur, the court added that "this would cause reputational and economic damage to the RiojaDOCa, recognized for more than 97 years and comprising 14,139 viticulturists and 570 wineries, which would be irreversible or, at least, very difficult to repair".

It also added that "the Basque Government [...] had not sufficiently refuted the arguments and reports presented by the Rioja DOCa [...and] had not provided any expert opinion or discredited the risk of confusion for the consumer [...]".

The Viñedos de Alava title had been given the temporary go-ahead by the Basque Government following a proposal from the Rioja Alavesa Winery Association (or ABRA) last summer. Winemakers in Álava have long been pushing for recognition of their subregion on their labels.

The Viñedos de Álava title was officially ratified by the Basque Government in October last year althrough, as numerous commentators have pointed out, the affair has become something of a political football within the wider Basque/Spain political rift.

The ruling has met with approval from the Rioja wine trade body but the ABRA and the associated Álava/Arabako Mahastiak Vineyard Regulatory Council have announced that they will appeal the ruling. The case is set to move onto the Basque High Court with later rulings expected from the EU.

France to sponsor China's bid to join OIV

China is set to become the International Organisation of Vine and Wine's (OIV) 50th member state with French president Emmanuel Macron agreeing to support its bid to join the Burgundy-based organization.

According to French wine news website Vitisphere.com, the move comes as part of a deal hatched between Macron and his opposite number, Xi Jinping, to bring their two countries closer together across a range of issues. In the wine sphere, China will also recognise Burgundy's Geographical Indications (it has previously recognized numerous other appellations).

"France will support China's forthcoming request to join the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) as soon as possible," said a joint statement.

China currently boasts the world's third-biggest vineyard area, although much of its grape production is geared towards table grapes and raisins.

Wine and dressage festival in Mexico

Not the most obvious of pairings but Mexico City is readying itself for its second (and now presumably annual) Wine and Dressage Festival, being held just in the Campo Militar No. 1, in the western suburbs of the city next month. Despite its on-paper status as a military zone, the locale is perhaps better-known for hosting the equestrian and running portion of the pentathlon at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

The fair itself will be held opposite the Hipódromo de las Américas racing track which lies opposite the eastern end of the military area.

According to reports, as well as wine tastings and sales, the fair will also feature a high-level equestrian show and attendees will be able to meet members of the Mexican dressage squad.

The fair is also set to host range of exhibitors including charcuterie and cheese stands and a gourmet food area with live music provided throughout the event.

Wine and Dressage is set for 13 and 14 May from 11am to 7pm on both days. Entrance is free although a "welcome kit" will be available for purchase, including a commemorative glass and a coupon for five wine tastings.

Suspected wine fraud in Catalonia

Still more news from Spain this week, where Catalan regional countryside union Unió de Pagesos posted a video on Twitter showing five tankers on the road in Catalonia, reportedly carrying wine from La Mancha. The tankers were "presumably waiting to enter wineries that could register the wine as Penedès or Catalunya", according to the tweet.

"Then viticulturists get a low price for their grapes," it added.

The accusations have yet to be investigated, with replies on the social media platform ranging from a lack of surprise to outrage. Still others have pointed out that the tankers' presence could be innocuous (transporting local wine for bottling or even the storage of wine from La Mancha to be bottled as such or on-sold).

"This case has caused concern among many," said Spanish wine news site Vinetur on Friday. "If true, it must be the competent authorities, as well as the Regulatory Councils themselves, who are be responsible for investigating and clarifying what has been reported."

"Rebel wine fair" celebrates hybrids

A small wine fair in the town of Boisset-Saint-Priest, roughly 90km (55 miles) southwest of Lyon, France, comes to a close this Sunday with 25 exhibitors showcasing France's formerly banned hybrid grape varieties. The Salon des Vins Rebelles (the Rebel Wine Fair) will feature producers from across France and Italy with a vineyard walk and a wine competition.

Hybrid grape cultivation exploded in France at the same time as phylloxera devastated the nation's vitis vinifera varieties. Despite a later clampdown by authorities (after it was put about by detractors that wine from hybrid varieties had higher methanol content and could drive drinkers crazy), smallholders and amateurs continued to cultivate the likes of Noah, Jacquez, Herbemont. Isabelle, Clinton and Othello, despite their being outlawed in 1934.

"The fair is really an opportunity to discover original wines, with different flavors to those we are used to," Daniel Mondon, president of the Boisset-Saint-Priest enology club, retired winemaker and organiser of the event told local newspaper l'Essor Loire. "They often have more acidity. Furthermore, these vines are never treated with pesticides, which makes them very hardy."

This is the second installment of the fair (the first was in 2022).

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