Mon, 20 Oct 2003

US: Ohio Senator Tries to Eliminate Hefty Wine Markups
Bob Eppich is riding a fence. The owner of Colonial Wine and Beverage in Chesterland, Ohio, can't decide if a proposed bill calling for the end of Ohio's minimum markup on wine will boost his business or destroy it.

AUS: Car, wine markets win in trade deal
Australian car, processed food and wine makers will be the big winners from a free trade agreement between Australia and Thailand struck by the leaders of the two countries yesterday.

Allied hunts new wine target
British liquor giant Allied Domecq remains on the prowl for signature wine brands in Australia after losing a bitter battle for Peter Lehmann Wines. Allied folded its hand yesterday on the $148 million play for the winemaker, agreeing to sell its 14.5 per cent stake into a rival offer from the family-owned Swiss giant Hess.

US: A high time for vines
Clutching a translucent hose, Doug McCrea watches red juice turn the hose pink as it flows from a vat of crushed grapes into a French oak barrel. Like many vintners, McCrea is in the midst of the October crush.

Record Heat May Mean Great Iberian Wines
A freakish summer of record heat and little rain could bring a famous harvest for some of Iberia's best-known wines. The August heat wave shriveled some grapes, but also concentrated aromas and tannins in the skin. The sugar content is higher, meaning the alcohol level will be stronger and the best wines may age gracefully for years longer.

Italian porridge produces wine of unique vintage
In a matter of vine and punishment, the inmates of an Italian prison are to produce their own wine for sale across the country. The prisoners of Velletri jail, just south of Rome, are hoping the first batch will go on the shelves this November.

Sun, 19 Oct 2003

Tuck into Central Otago pinot noir
At last Burgundy has a serious New World rival. It used to be gospel that pinot noir could not be grown successfully beyond the Côte d'Or.

FRANCE: Laurent-Perrier to merge with Malakoff
Laurent-Perrier and Chateau Malakoff, the Champagne houses, are to merge following a deal that will be completed early next year, the companies have said.

US: Vineyard Hopes to Profit From Product
An ocean away from the vineyards of Burgundy and the Loire Valley, North Carolina grape growers have invested tens of thousands of dollars in search of profit from the "French Paradox."

US: Texas celebrates its maturing wine industry
Watch out California and move over imported wines! Texas is coming on strong in the vineyard and wine industry!

Wine group's directors toast a $1.15m sell-off
Five directors at Peter Lehmann Wines have followed their own advice to shareholders, selling their entire holdings into the $149 million takeover offer from Swiss wine group Hess.

UK: Australian wine up 13% after summer
Figures recently released by market research agency AC Nielsen show Australian wine has become the most popular wine in the UK off-trade, overtaking it's closest rival France in both volume and value.

Target, winery box-wine partners
The growing box-wine market is about to get a big bump from discount retail giant Target Stores, which is introducing four varietal boxed wines made mostly from grapes grown in the Lodi and Delta region.

Awaiting new wines
Do not plan to stay home on the third Thursday of November. It is an important day in wine-dom. All around the world, banners will proclaim: Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arive! (The New Beaujolais has arrived.) Wine lovers around the world will be celebrating with the first bottles of 2003 vintage wine from France.

Wine / A divine mix
Wine and mushrooms are sensual magic. Pheromones are the key, with Pinot Noir's mushroom, forest floor and musk odors, for example, mimicking the male pheromone androstenone.

Same grape, different wine
Every wine has limitations, and Pinot Grigio's limitation is seasonal. During spring and summer, Pinot Grigio from northern Italy is the quaffer of choice for throngs of Americans and, actually, has become the leading imported varietal wine in the United States.