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Fri, 30 May 2003
- Rosa Shows Promise
Amorim is in the final stages of testing a new treatment process that promises to
substantially reduce 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) contamination in wine corks. Known
as ROSA, the proprietary process developed by Amorim researchers has already been
introduced into two Amorim plants that make technical corks. Four other plants are
scheduled to begin using the ROSA process by year's end......
Australia: Wine,
juice exports with room to move
There was even more scope for Australian wine and fruit juice exports to grow, a
trade economist said on Thursday. Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt said even
though Australia was the world's fourth biggest exporter of wine, it could grab an
even larger share of international wine sales......
US: Bargain wine,
gas help Costco to 18% profit rise
Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse-club store chain, said Wednesday
that its quarterly profit climbed 18 percent after the Issaquah-based retailer lured
more customers with products ranging from imported wine to inexpensive gasoline......
Australia: Shareholder
revolt halts trading in wine fund
International Wine Investment Fund was suspended yesterday after a group of unit
holders - including convicted insider trader Rene Rivkin - demanded that the management
be dumped or the fund wound up......
US: Grape Growers Face Tumbling
Prices Due to Oversupply
California's bounty has become a curse, as growers find they can't recoup the cost
of growing grapes. A case in point is Greg Burns of Jessie's Grove Vineyards and
Winery. Burns needs to sell his grapes for $150 per ton, just to break even. The
price has dropped down to $85.....
Southern
Hemisphere Harvest 2003
While harvest is still months away in the United States and Europe, winemakers in
the Southern Hemisphere have some early results from their recently completed crush......
Cheap wine hangs over vintners
For California grape growers, a string of bumper crops has brought plunging prices,
forcing some growers to leave their crop withering on the vine. That's been great
news for wine drinkers, who have been harvesting big bargains as a result of the
grape glut. But if you're a wine lover, you'd better stock up......
Weak dollar hits
U.S. wine importers' profits
The weak US dollar may be a boon to automakers and exporters, but it is a burden
to small U.S. wine importers, who are being forced to raise their prices as the costs
of bringing European wine to U.S. drinkers rise.....
Natural
vs synthetic cork debate rages on
The battle between synthetic and natural closures is hotting up with UK Chain Tesco
announcing a new screw-topped Chablis and NuKorc spending AUS$2.3m on a new plant
near Adelaide.....
Thu, 29 May 2003
- US: Virginia ends
tight wine law
Starting July 1, it will be possible to obtain a case of California Merlot or a rare
French Bordeaux without ever leaving your home in Virginia. Gov. Mark Warner recently
signed a bill that makes direct shipments legal......
Missouri
Wineries Rate High in California Contest
Missouri wineries fared well in two wine competitions held recently in California.
Seven Missouri wineries received a total of 30 medals in the San Diego National Wine
Competition held April 26 and 27. This was the 20th anniversary of the competition,
which featured 2,733 wines from 577 wineries.....
70 percent of wine
sold in mainland China's cities fake
More than 70 percent of 'imported' wine sold in restaurants and hotels in four of
China's largest cities is fake, a report said Wednesday. An inspection of 50 hotels
and restaurants showed just 28.6 percent of bottles sold as quality, imported wine
were the real thing......
Target Practice
Having jettisoned the arrogance of Apartheid-era South African winemaking, Cape producers
have made significant inroads into the lower price points in the UK market. Now,
key exporters are targeting the higher price points, with greater emphasis on premium
wines.......
NZ:
Marlborough: land of milk and ... wine
Marlborough has become a region of milk and wine, with Census figures showing 150
percent more vines and 43 percent more cows since 1994...
US: Glassy Winged
Sharp Shooter Update May 2003
The industry assessment on winegrapes will remain at $2 per $1,000 of grape purchase
value for 2003, the same rate as in 2002. The decision on the annual assessment,
which is used to fund research for control of glassy-winged sharpshooter and find
a cure for Pierce's disease......
California Poly
to Offer Degree in Wine and Viticulture
California Polytechnic State University plans to offer its first degree program in
wine and viticulture starting in fall 2004. 'The new major will be called 'Wine and
Viticulture' rather than the traditional 'Viticulture and Enology' because of the
very strong marketing component in our program,' said Keith Patterson, associate
professor of viticulture.
Wed, 28 May 2003
- Australia:
Bulk wine producer's licence suspended
Australia's wine industry regulator fired a cautionary shot across bulk wine producers'
bows yesterday after suspending a Riverland company's export wine licence. Australian
Wine and Brandy Corporation chief executive Sam Tolley said yesterday it was investigating
the winemaking records of Monash-based Rivers Estate Wines after the suspension......
France: Provence
acquisition for Jeanjean
The French wine group, Jeanjean, is to acquire the Provence wine producer, Chateau
Baron Georges Gassier, from the Gassier family. No financial details of the deal
were published......
French Wine Sales
Continue Their Downward Slide in U.S.
U.S. consumers seem to have been turning their noses up at many French wines for
much of this spring. Sales of French table wines in the United States continued to
tumble in April, continuing their downward slide from late February and March......
Wine
Tasting Takes Brains, Italian Study Finds
Wine-tasting takes more than a perfect palate and a fruity vocabulary -- you have
to use your brains. That's the finding of a study undertaken by a team of researchers
at a Rome hospital.....
China
tightens wine standards
Sale of wine products made from grape juice mixture instead of 100-percent grape
juice will be banned in China from next June 30, and starting last Saturday these
mixture products can't be sold under the name of wine, according to a new regulation
to harmonize China's wine industry with international practice......
South Africa: High-Tech Exports
On Electronic Trail
'We aim to cut the time it takes to export wine down to 6 weeks', exclaims Dave Stanford,
finance director of Stellenbosch Vineyards. He explains, 'we're very excited about
the potential of our new logistics pipeline. The end-goal is transparency - wine
producers, distributors and retailers sharing data electronically through interactive
Internet portals .....
Mondavi dream coming
up short
Despite a $25 million gift from Winemaker Robert Mondavi, The University of California,
Davis, officials will be hard pressed to squeeze out enough donations to complete
a landmark wine and food science center as quickly as planned......
Canada:
Harsh winter takes toll on vines
The coldest winter in a decade is still being felt by Niagara grape growers. Farmers
are reporting severe vine damage, with sensitive Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
the hardest hit. 'I would call it major damage,' said Ray Duc, chairman of the Grape
Growers of Ontario. 'It's something most of us have never seen'.....
Tue, 27 May 2003
- Australia's finest
Australian wines are now regarded as some of the best in the world. But what of the
makers behind them? Who rates as the best of an extraordinarily gifted generation
of wine crafters? 50 Australian winemakers, educators, wine buyers and sommeliers
were asked to name their top three living wine makers......
Western Australia's
Grape Harvest Looking Good
Western Australia's wine industry has been buoyed by forecasts of a strong grape
harvest this year. Sarah Dent, from the Wine Industry Association, says this year's
harvest is expected to yield more than 60,000 tonnes, and most areas have been spared
the effects of significant weather-related problems.......
South
Africa: Wine industry boosts investment
South Africa's top four commercial banks and key role players in the country's wine
industry have joined together to create the Wine Industry Finance Forum in an effort
to promote investment, enhance competitiveness and boost black economic empowerment
(BEE) in the industry......
Something worthy
for the cellar
About nine out of every 10 bottles of wine we buy are drunk within 12 hours, but
what about the one we don't drink? This is the age of instant gratification and winemakers
worldwide have responded by deliberately fashioning softer, less tannic wines in
recent years.....
Mon, 26 May 2003
- Three
new wineries approved for Napa County
Napa County will be making room for three new wineries. The county conservation,
development and planning commission gave the go ahead to Arroyo Creek Vineyards,
Christina Vineyards and Biale Estate Winery at last Wednesday's meeting. The three
wineries will be located on the outskirts of the city of Napa......
Evans & Tate
wine announce excellent record harvest
Wine group Evans & Tate Ltd has declared 2003 an excellent vintage after a record
harvest of 40,838 tonnes of grapes. The company has four vineyards in Victoria, New
South Wales and Western Australia....
South Africa: Cape
Wine On A Roll
There is no way that any visitor at all to the world's premium wine showcase - where
more deals are done and more vino friendships forged than any other place - is going
to miss the South African presence......
US: New Appellation
Proposed in Monterey County
A California wine company is asking the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau to create a new appellation in Monterey County.......
US: FedEx planning
bold move into interstate wine shipping
FedEx is poised to announce that it will offer ground service for deliveries of wine
in 24 states effective June 1, giving consumers and wine producers an affordable
alternative to overnight delivery and a viable alternative to shipping via the United
Parcel Service......
Unexpected Spring
Frost Threatens Champagne Crop
An unseasonal spring frost in the Champagne region in France may have an adverse
effect on this season's crop. According to Don Ball from The Really Great Brand Company,
who distributes Moët & Chandon champagne in South Africa, the vineyards
experienced five consecutive nights of high intensity frost......
No damage reported
from temblor in California wine country
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 shook Santa Rosa wine -country, 55 miles north
of San Francisco, early Sunday morning. There were no immediate reports of damage
or injuries.....
Wine and vine: Power
of pinot noir
Cabernet Sauvignon, the great red of Bordeaux, is now successfully grown the wine
world over, in a wide range of styles. True, most of them never approach classic
top Bordeaux, but that's not the intention, particularly in the New World......
Sun, 25 May 2003
- NZ: Record Vintage
For Central Otago
The Central Otago harvest has been an extended one, with a long, dry autumn, characterised
by warm days and cool nights. Fruit has been of excellent quality, ripe, free of
rot and of average bunch size and weight. Winemakers throughout the region are agreed
that the grapes are providing them with the tools to produce another excellent vintage.......
NZ:
The best places to find that bottle of something special
About 30 years ago, Auckland was a wasteland when it came to hunting decent wine.
Now the city is stocked with fine wine shops. Tony Potter looks at some of the best.
Wine expert and Sunday Star-Times wine writer Michael Cooper says wine shops of the
1960s and '70s left a bad taste......
US: Vintner hopes
to repeat first label's runaway success
Just weeks after selling off one of the biggest wine companies in Sonoma County for
$140 million, vin-trepreneur Derek Benham was hard at work again writing up a business
plan for his next wine startup......
Why most wine collectors are also compulsive liars.
One of the wine world's dirty little secrets is the apparently vast number of wine
lovers who harbor dirty little secrets. Determined not to see their hobby cause friction
at home, many oenophiles keep the peace not by limiting their buying (an impossibility),
but by going to enormous lengths to conceal it.......
California
Grape Rush of 90's Withers
There is such a glut of wine grapes that the state's fastest-growing vintage wine
last year sold for $1.99 a bottle. And though table grapes seem to be faring the
best, there is no room in that family-dominated industry for new growers because
of rising costs and stiff foreign competition......
Alsace Gets A Spicy
Boost
Alsace Wines is launching its first consumer campaign in the UK by emphasising its
affinity with Asian food. Speaking at the campaign's launch, Richard Kannemaker of
the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d'Alsace said that while in France, Alsace
wines have the highest sales by value of any white wine region, in the UK they only
have a niche market.....
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