Fri, 24 Oct 2003

Red grape grown in Sicily produces some tasty wines
Because Greek city states other than Athens had long ago established colonies such as Siracusa -- Syracuse -- on the Sicilian shores, Greek cultural influences, most particularly the cultivation of grape vines and winemaking, had already taken firm hold in Sicily. In fact, the Greeks referred to Sicily and the toe of Italy as "Oenotria" or "Land of the Vines."

Overpriced Wine - Put A Cork in It
There seems to be an unwritten rule in Britain that people do not complain - even when they are charged £800 for a bottle of wine.

US: Wineries aim new offerings at minorities
Rarely does the California wine industry create products and promotions to appeal to specific minorities. But these are unusual times, calling for novel approaches in the making and selling of wine.

Benign spring for vines
Benign spring weather is raising confidence that the wine industry will produce a record 160,000 tonnes of grapes this year - though Peter Hubscher, managing director of Montana, the country's biggest wine company, says things can still go wrong.

Allied Domecq ponders Aussie wine play
Drinks giant Allied Domecq is to consider launching its own Australian wine brand after failing to capture Peter Lehmann wines.

AUS: US Wine Executive to address Trade and Market Access
The Australian wine industry is eagerly anticipating the outcomes of the US Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the Bush administration - expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

Thu, 23 Oct 2003

Allied sinks as results lose fizz
Shares in Allied Domecq, the world's second biggest drinks firm after Diageo, were the FTSE 100's second biggest faller yesterday after flattish annual results and a bleak statement on trading in mainland Europe.

Argentina Tops Growth Tables
The AC Nielsen figures for the year to September (MATs) show a 28% increase in volume sales compared to the year to September 2002. Value was up by a slightly lower percentage (21.4%, from £42 million to £53 million).

AUS: 25% of corks rejected after analysis by maker
An Australian cork manufacturer is rejecting a quarter of all corks after analysis by its revolutionary new TCA detection equipment.

Lovely wine is out there for under $10
The most consistent feedback I get on this column is on price. Overwhelmingly, readers tell me they want to pay no more than $10 for a bottle of wine. And this is certainly a reasonable request.

The right glass is important for enjoying wine
A German-US study has proved wine connoisseurs to be correct, indicating that the shape of a glass does have a significant effect on the odour and therefore enjoyment of a wine.

Wine labels offer clues to quality of what's inside
Reading the label on a wine bottle can be confusing. Each word reveals what is to come when the cork is pulled and the wine poured. Usually, the more information on the label means a better bottle.

A great wine means finding right balance
Winemakers sample their wine right from the barrels. Christian Butzke's all-stainless lot is frightfully austere with an icy nerve. He refers to this as his "Chablis," because of stylistic similarities it bears to wines from the most northerly of Burgundy vineyards.

Tue, 21 Oct 2003
Europe's weird summer yields wine
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.

Spanish wine prices out of step with EU
The 2003 wine harvest in the EU is likely to be the lowest in 10 years, with the summer heat wave having a devastating effect on vineyards in most of the major producing countries.

Thailand to enjoy Bulgarian wine
Bulgaria will export 36 000 bottles of wine to Thailand by the end of the month, it was agreed between President Georgi Purvanov and Thailand's trade representative for Europe, Kantati Supamongkhon, at a meeting in Sofia last Sunday.

Wine group comes out against GE
New Zealand's wine industry has strongly rejected the release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment. New Zealand Winegrowers has released a statement claiming the release of GMOs into the New Zealand food chain could undermine its clean green marketing edge.

FRANCE: Boisset acquires two Marie Brizard brands
Burgundy trader Boisset has strengthened its position in sparkling wines and in the US distribution market with the acquisition of two Marie Brizard subsidiaries. The Loire-based Les Caves de la Bouvraie specialises in traditional method production of sparkling wines with two-thirds of its main Grandin brand bound for export.

Fri, 17 Oct 2003

US: Trying to lift wine restrictions
A former official of the Reagan administration, some Scottsdale residents and a public interest law firm are teaming up to send a message to Arizona: Don't mess with our wine preferences.

Chile and Argentina - Old Europe grapes
Among the fascinating aspects of South American wine - and here we're mainly talking about Chile and Argentina - are the Old Europe grapes, now firmly established in the New World, but largely neglected in their homelands.

The World's Original Vineland
The newest wines from Italy are its oldest wines of all. In fact, its brightest, most fashionable production zone is what one winemaker calls "the world's first DOC." Wines that had their last moment of glory under such dubious epicures as Caligula and Nero are now back in the spotlight.

Thu, 16 Oct 2003

2nd Annual Miami International Wine Fair
The 2nd Annual Miami International Wine Fair, the largest wine trade and consumer showcase in Florida, featured 1,000 wines from 19 different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the U.S. and others.

Vino-speak: a primer on words wine columnists use
One of this column's goals is to demystify wine and wine writing, and wine reviews often use terms that are unfamiliar and confusing. Want to know how something works? Tear it apart.

Aussie wine majors slip in the US
Southcorp and its rival Foster's are continuing to lose market share in the US to smaller players, according to the latest supermarket figures. The latest ACNielsen figures show that sales of Southcorp wines in the US are growing but well below the overall Australian wine category.

High-Tech Scarecrow is for the Vineyard Birds
Grapegrowers around the world soon may be able to put away those old-fashioned straw scarecrows, shimmering pie plates, plaster-cast owls, predatory falcons and gas-powered bird bangers. High tech is about to save their grapes.

Wed, 15 Oct 2003

Italian prison turns convicts into connoisseurs
After months of scorching hot summer temperatures, winemakers across Italy are looking forward to their best vintage in decades ó and so are the inmates of an Italian prison.

SA: The rise of Robertson Valley's wines
Sounding more like a poet breaking into tender verse before his rapt audience, Abrie Bruwer, the owner/winemaker of Springfield Estate in the Robertson Valley, describes in almost emotional terms the harshness of the terrain where he and his fellow winemakers battle against the elements as they go about the business of producing their award-winning wines.

Heavy drinkers at higher risk of colorectal cancer
A new study shows people who are long term, heavy drinkers are at a much greater risk of developing colorectal cancer. Researchers studied 2000 people who had no symptoms, but were coming into clinics for colorectal cancer screening.

Vin De Pay! Couple's £800 Wine Shocker
A couple enjoying an anniversary meal had a shock when the bill arrived for an £800 bottle of wine - several times the price of the one they first ordered.

Shareholders see red at Southcorp
It was a reasonably full day for Southcorp chairman Brian Finn yesterday: he denied the embattled wine maker paid too much for the disastrous Rosemount acquisition, defended a generous payout to a sacked chief executive and an options package to a new CEO, and confirmed that a dividend was unlikely this financial year.

GERMANY: Wine consumption on the wane
The consumption of wine in Germany fell 3.1% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the German Wine Institute (DWI), reaching 533m litres.

Fine-Wine Imports Could Be Hurt by New Regulations
What do wine and national security have to do with each other? A lot more than you'd think. New federal regulations intended to prevent bioterrorism may inadvertently make it harder for American consumers to buy many high-end foreign wines.

Reign of terror is stalking our wine
Australia's largest wine maker, Southcorp, has been mismanaged and shareholders are entitled to be angry. But behind the dispute between shareholders and the board is a bigger battle: trying to prevent the local industry becoming a mere bubble in a sea of globalised wine.

JAPAN: Meiji vineyard back in business after 120 years
Although Hokkaido, and Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures have long enjoyed reputations as producers of highly drinkable wine, Inamicho, a rural town of about 33,000 people in southern Hyogo Prefecture, is home to one of the country's oldest vineyards, having once been run by the central government during the Meiji era (1868-1912).

Tue, 14 Oct 2003

Hard Alcohol Ups Risk of Colon Cancer
If you've given up wine in favor of martinis, you might want to give wine another chance.

'One of world's finest wines'
Chateau Margaux is described by Andrew Catchpole, The Daily Telegraph wine correspondent, as one of the finest wines in the world.

Allied bows out of bids for winemaker
Allied Domecq bowed out of the battle for Peter Lehmann (PLW) yesterday, leaving the way clear for rival Hess of Switzerland to acquire the Australian winemaker in a £62m deal.

Allied soured by Lehmann battle
Allied Domecq was struggling yesterday to put a positive gloss on its failure to win a slug of the Australian wine business after the failure of its A$149m (£65m) bid for Peter Lehmann Wines.

Australia's Southcorp: Shares Down 3.1%
The group's Australian operations are "a little ahead at this stage, reflecting our significantly strengthened sales and marketing operations, and a substantial improvement in our relationships with key customers," Chief Executive John Ballard told shareholders at the company's annual meeting.

Mon, 13 Oct 2003

There could be wealth in wine for Europe's poorest country
Deep in Moldova's vast underground wine city, near the intersection of Cabernet Street and Pinot Boulevard, the first man in space had a cosmic experience popping corks and emptying bottles.

French Wines Still Facing Hard Times in U.S. Market
Sales of French wines have been suffering in the United States ever since March, when some American consumers threatened boycotts to show their displeasure over France's opposition the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. But with the passage of time and changes in the global political situation, have French wines been recovering in the market?

Grape to grape, brother to brother
Wine merchants used to snub them and wine writers would not give them the time of day. Even big wine importers had refused to give them appointments. Today, those Aussie winemakers only need to uncork a vintage to get noticed.

US: Local wine industry forecasts record harvest
Oregon's 200 million dollar a year wine industry is forecasting a record harvest this year. The Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service expects 25,000 tons of grapes to be picked this year.

New Book Provides Pronunciation Guide to European Wines
Often stumble over those lengthy German wine names, such as Dr. Loosen Riesling Urzinger Würzgarten Trockenbeernauselese? Even if you're familiar with the rudiments of French wine terminology, how do you say Château d'Auguilhue? Ignorant of Italian, or shy about your Spanish? A new book may help.

Research Finds Drinking May Not Lead to Weight Gain
Going on a diet may be called for now and then, but giving up the occasional glass of wine or beer as part of a new health kick may not be necessary, according to two new studies focusing on the relationship between alcohol consumption and body fat.

Winemaker's worldly vision
Kerri Thompson certainly knows a good drop. One of the nation's most gifted winemakers, Ms Thompson, 29, of Clare, continues to forge a distinguished career in the once male-dominated industry.

Joint tasting rooms take the whine out of sipping wine
For visitors to such wine areas as the Napa Valley, collective tasting rooms offer an opportunity to taste the wines of 10 or so individual producers without hopping in and out of the car to get from one winery to another.

Wine appreciation in a whole new light
Want to see your investment improve with age? An expert who looks after the Queen of England's wine cellar has a tip for Thai investors - buy wine rather than shares if you want to see your money grow dramatically.