Fri, 14 Nov 2003

A port primer Ruby
Port is one of the very few good things ever to come out of warfare. The origins of the trade in this sweet fortified wine date back to the 17th century, when wars with France deprived the British and Dutch of French wines and they were forced to find a new supply. The Portuguese were more than willing to oblige.

Wine, Carbohydrates and the Atkins Diet
I just started the Atkins diet myself, and one of the biggest hurdles I had to face is the initial 2-week induction period which says NO ALCOHOL and only 20g of carbohydrates a day. I could deal with the low carbs ... but no wine?

Wine, Beer or Alcohol Allergy
The common question is "Can I be allergic to alcohol?" Although alcohol can be the culprit, it usually is not. The culprits are usually the additives used in the manufacturing process.

Oremus Mandul's Tokaji Furmint 2001
The name Oremus is pregnant with historical significance in Tokaji and not a little confusion. Latin for "let us pray," Oremus is the name of the vineyard where the shrivelled grapes that made up the first Tokaji Aszu were picked. Legend is that the mellifluous prayers of the monks nearby wafted to the ears of the vineyard workers, who named it thus.

Early Frost Hits British Columbia, Kicking Off Ice Wine Harvest
British Columbia's Okanagan Valley welcomed an early ice wine harvest after an Arctic cold front delivered temperatures of minus 12 degrees C during the early hours of Nov. 5 and 6. A dozen wineries took advantage of the sudden frost, picking more than 160 tons of grapes.

UK: Sulphur problem for Lidl wine
European supermarket chain Lidl has recalled a line of Australian wine due to high levels of sulphur dioxide. The wine, Creston Bay Cabernet Shiraz 2002 (pictured) was withdrawn from sale last week. It had only been on sale for a month.

AUS: Grape quality 'not related to yield'
The widely held belief amongst winemakers that high yielding grape crops result in poor quality wine was challenged at the West Australian Wine Outlook Conference, yesterday.

Royal Caribbean International Expands Innovative Wine Program
Royal Caribbean International has partnered once again with some of the most prestigious names in wine to offer a week-long wine celebration at sea on its newest ship, Mariner of the Seas. The line has joined with Robert Mondavi, Beringer Blass Wine Estates and Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery to expand its popular VINTAGES wine bar, which first debuted in December 2002 on Navigator of the Seas.

Thurs, 13 Nov 2003

Wine chillers: Do you need one?
Wine chillers (also known as wine coolers or cellars) promise to keep bottles at the right temperature, whether for long-term storage (55 degrees F is considered ideal for whites and reds), or for serving.

Wine and semi-nudity - what more do you need?
Bernkastel-Wehlen, Germany - Late-harvest riesling grapes have set a new German record for sugar content, offering fresh confirmation that this season's vintage is likely to be one of the greatest, an online wine-industry newsletter said on Tuesday.

Warning over bottles of wine that could kill
A warning has been issued in the Lothians over potentially life-threatening bottles of wine sold from supermarkets. The bottles of Australian Creston Bay brand Cabernet Shiraz have up to 17 times the safe level of sulphur dioxide.

How Ripe is Ripe?
How do you measure optimal grape ripeness? It's something of a conundrum belied by the simplicity of the question, says Kobus Hunter, professor of vine physiology at the University of Stellenbosch, a specialist scientist with ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij and a pivotal player in a four-year research programme being funded by South African industry research body Winetech to determine just when is the best time to harvest red wine grapes.

US: Global warming affecting wine vintages
Research into the effects of global warming on wine vintages suggests the future is bright for some, gloomy for others. Researchers from three US universities found that, as temperatures have risen over the past 50 year, vintages in areas with cooler climates have improved while vineyards in warmer regions have suffered.

Australian expansion falters
New plantings in Australia are dropping, there will be more demand for white grapes than red - and this could lead to shortage, a conference heard this week.

NAPA: Reduced crush marks '03 wine harvest
Wild, wet weather marked the California wine grape harvest, but the forecast for state vintners might be a bit sunnier.

Canadian Oak Barrels Get the Nod From Winemakers
Two amateur winemakers in Canada have started the first company to manufacture wine barrels from rare Canadian oak, using trees grown in a small area of southern Ontario. They say the barrels impart different flavors than the oaks commonly used for winemaking.

Screw cap crusaders bury the cork
The wine cork is dead, long live the screw cap. So proclaimed John Belsham, John Forrest, John Stichbury and Ross Lawson at a formal cork burial ceremony at Marlborough's Clos Henri vineyard yesterday.

Tue, 11 Nov 2003

Fine Argentine Wine
There is a quiet but intense controversy raging in the wine world at the moment. It concerns the changes that are happening in much of the world's old wine regions as they move from quantity to quality, from making large amounts of bad, but in the purists' eyes, "authentic," plonk to smaller amounts of good but "international" wine.

First International Wine Tourism Conference
The world's wine tourism fraternity will travel to Australia's Margaret River region next year for a very special event. Margaret River, Western Australia's premier wine tourism area, will be a multi-national gathering place 2 - 5 May 2004 for the First International Wine Tourism Conference.(IWTC)

New Zealand Wine Act is passed
The New Zealand government has passed sweeping changes to the country's wine laws. The new legislation follows a review of wine legislation in 2000, which, in turn, was a response to the Coopers Creek and Lintz Estate scandals of the late 1990s. The wine law will be administered and enforced by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), instead of the Ministry of Health.

Winegrowers to Sue Weather Forecasters
According to a report in the UK newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, a group of French winegrowers is preparing to sue the French weather forecasting service, Meteo France, for failing to warn them of an approaching hailstorm. -- www.wine.co.za

US bioterror law threat to French wines
French wine and spirit exporters, already suffering a slide in their sales on the lucrative US market, face an ominous new hurdle next month when a law aimed at combating bioterrorism comes into effect in the United States.

AUS: Lion Nathan wine to bounce back
Lion Nathan boss Gordon Cairns said yesterday that the drinks group's wine sector is heading in the right direction in spite of a drop in earnings in the year 2002-2003.

US: Beer Distributor Buys Importer of Fine Australian Wine
One of the pioneer importers of Australian wine to the United States has sold his business to a Texas beer distributor. Rob McDonald, who was born in Australia, started Old Bridge Cellars in 1990, concentrating on high-end Australian wines before they had made much impact in the U.S. market.

Mon, 10 Nov 2003

The Japanese are buying less French wine
French wine exports are down, and the biggest single cause is that the Japanese are consuming a tenth less French wine. Total French wine exports for July were 2.7 percent below year-before levels, mainly because Japanese purchases of French wine were down 10.6 percent.

New wine bottles light and strong
What looks like glass, feels like glass, and is capable of cellaring a fine wine for up to a year? It's a pettle - and Air New Zealand believes it could become a big moneyspinner.

Lion Nathan confident wine division will improve
The head of Lion Nathan Gordon Cairns is confident the drinks group has the right strategy to turn around its troubled premium wine business. Cairns said while he was disappointed with the wine division's 80% plunge in earnings in 2002/03, he urged investors to be patient while the group worked to turn the business around.

AUS: Wine Profits Slump
There's been a significant fall in profits in the nation's wine industry. The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation says the industry's return on assets has slipped by 3.4 per cent over the last four years, due to an oversupply of red wine, a shift in consumer base, and last year's drought.

INDIA: In high spirits
It's celebration time for the Indian wine industry. Both Indian and imported wines are growing at an impressive rate of 20 per cent every year, according to a survey conducted by Rabo India Finance Private Ltd some time ago. Out of the 35 lakh bottles consumed, 28 lakh bottles are from Indian suppliers and the rest by imports, elaborates Sonal Shah, director, Food and Agri Business, Rabo India Finance.

Sun, 09 Nov 2003

CANADA: Bumper ice-wine harvest forecast
Okanagan winemakers are predicting "the best-ever" ice-wine year after taking advantage of this week's unseasonably cold weather to harvest frozen grapes.

Italian Sommeliers Vote Best Italian Wines on Saturday
Italy's best wines will be announced on Saturday at the Hotel Hilton in Rome. Franco Maria Ricci, Chairman of Italy's Sommeliers Association will announce the winners of the five "Grappoli d'Oro" from among candidate labels and producers. the jury will comprise a bench of Italian sommeliers, experts and academics.

FRANCE: Workers Ready to Destroy Masses of Champagne
Irate workers at a French champagne manufacturer threatened Thursday to dump large loads of bubbly down the drain in a protest over the uncertain future of their firm, Bricout-Delbeck.

NAPA: Harvest 2003 - Vintners call the year one wild ride
With all but a few tons of the hardiest grape varieties fermenting in area cellars, the enigmatic 2003 harvest is slowly coming to an end. Tonnage is down this year but quality is up compared to the most recent crops, maintain a cross-section of the valley's growers and winemakers.

SA: Wine beats the rugby gloom down under
Let's face it, there has been very little to make us South Africans living Down Under, hold up our heads (or flags!) with pride in recent weeks. Our Springbokkies have participated in the Rugby World Cup but there's not been too much to cheer about in their performances up to now.

CHILE: Wine exports up 7% in first Q3
Chilean wine exports rose 7% by value in the first three quarters of 2003 to total US$477.8m. Over the same period, exports by volume increased 10% to reach 284.5 million litres.