Fri, 10 Oct 2003

US market leads the way as Australian wine exports surge 19%
Wine sales to the US drove global growth in Australian wine exports 19 per cent higher to 522 million litres in the year to September 2003. Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation figures released yesterday show that sales to the US grew 46 million litres, up 44 per cent, to 151 million litres.

AUS: Wine fight hots up
Deft manoeuvring by Peter Lehmann Wine's suitors last night has loaded more tension into the nasty takeover fight. After 8pm last night, the Swiss-based Hess Group upped its bid again from $3.85 to $4, matching rival Allied Domecq

The autumn wine rush
The rentrée has recently become marked across France by elaborate wine fairs in hypermarkets and high street stores prompting a flurry of yearly buying guides.

Thu, 09 Oct 2003

French wine harvest lowest in decade
France's wine harvest this year is the smallest in a decade after violent storms and a summer heatwave battered vines, industry figures show. Moreover, the exceptional 2003 vintage that some hoped would compensate for the lack of quantity may not materialise, the national Onivins agency said after consultations with producers.
New Zealand Pinot Noir on the world stage
Pinot Noir is the rising star of the New Zealand wine industry. Latest figures show that Pinot Noir exports have more than trebled in three years with 1.3 million litres exported in the year to June 2003, compared with 0.3 million litres in 2000.


US: Wine industry braces for the new bioterror law
New reporting regulations designed to protect the nation from bioterrorism will soon hit home for the North Bay wine industry. Although the regulations are scheduled to go into effect December 12, the extent to which the industry will be hampered by the new rules is yet to be determined, because the details haven't been released.

Today's wines: Huge flavors but little future?
Here is a truism that many people often forget: Most wine doesn't get better with age. That has long been true for cheaper wines, but even expensive wines may be "drink now" propositions.

Wed, 08 Oct 2003

Frost battle fought with cold cash
Hawke's Bay fruit and wine growers have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past three nights mobilising helicopters to fight off frosts.

Frosts seen as continuing threat in vineyards, orchards
Orchardists as far north as the Bay of Plenty say they are bracing for several more days of frosts posing dangers for their crops.

Young, female, master sommelier
On paper, Alpana Singh can be a very intimidating character. At 21, she was the youngest American ever to pass the rigorous advanced sommelier exam, an internationally recognized credential of wine knowledge.

Frost-fighting proves fruitful
Grape growers and orchardists' "full-on effort" fighting a second successive night of frost appears to have paid off, with no reports of damaged crops.

There's Aged Wine...
Archaeologists digging in Western China have found what is believed to be the world's oldest bottle of wine. - www.wine.co.za

Bitter battle for Aussie winemaker
The intriguing battle for Australia's Peter Lehmann Wines (PLW) has yet to run its course as British giant Allied Domecq slugs it out with Switzerland's Hess Group for control of the Barossa Valley company. Investors clearly believe a higher bid could yet emerge.

UK: Wine maker streamlines UK sales operations
McGuigan Simeon Wines (MGW) is set to get its high-margin branded wines on to supermarket shelves in the United Kingdom by acquiring its UK distributor Vinoceros Australia Ltd (VAL) for $3 million in cash and scrip.

Wine Without Barrels? Sacre Bleu!
In the future, will wine still be put in oak, or will the oak be put into the wine? That is no idle question here in Saint-Romain, population 300, in the heart of Burgundy wine country.

Tue, 07 Oct 2003

Swiss take lead in Australian wine battle
The Bern-based food and wine group, Hess, looks set to swallow a big part of one of Australia's best-known wine companies.

Helicopters join fight to save vines from frost
Frost-fighting helicopters were expected to be out in force in Marlborough before dawn again this morning as viticulturists try to save their vines.

Target Stores Introduces the Wine Cube
Target Stores, along with partner Master Sommelier Andrea Immer and Trinchero Family Estates, thought outside of the bottle to develop a new kind of box-the Wine Cube.

Mon, 06 Oct 2003

AUS: Chardonnay crop devastated
Cowra's Chardonnay crop has been devastated by frost for the second time in three years. Cowra Region Vineyards Association President Mark Ward said damage to the crop varied across the region from 100 per cent "wipe-out" downwards

AUS: Nats agree wine tax hard to swallow
The National Party has backed Western Australian wineries fighting for the relaxation of the Wine Equalisation Tax. The tax is based on wine quality rather than quantity, which means wineries are paying $4.13 cents a litre, compared to just over $1 a litre for cask wine.

Don't be intimidated by wine
Thousands of Americans who like wine and wish they could enjoy it more frequently and understand it more thoroughly are blocked by wine intimidation.

Key to health: Peanuts, red wine?
Going by a recent study published by "Nature" magazine, drinking a glass of red wine and munching some peanuts may be the secret why certain persons who are regulars at Malta's traditional bars live longer and healthier than others.

Sun, 05 Oct 2003

AUS: Fresh twist in battle for winemaker
Independent directors of Peter Lehmann Wines yesterday recommended a A$143.6 million ($164 million) takeover offer from Hess Group over a higher offer from Allied Domecq.
AUS: Wine - many a slip twixt home and overseas
Despite tough overseas markets, particularly in the United Kingdom, Australia's wine exports continued to surge over the past year. But domestic sales softened as both bottled red and white wines fell from favour, as did red wine casks.

Wine - just one important German export commodity
The German wine industry is investing significantly in quality. The introduction of two new classification terms (Classic and Selection) with the 2000 vintage has seen the industry taking steps to simplify its labeling and become much more consumer-driven.

Vintners court young wine drinkers
In the wine business, age has long been considered a good thing, but now some wine producers are seeking younger vintages among their customers.