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Fri, 09 Jan 2004
- An affordable taste of Italy
There are few people in the wine trade more colorful than Angelo Gaja, for even though
his top-level wines are considered among the finest of Italy, he is not especially
fond of drinking wine. Despite that, since he took over the family winery in 1970,
Angelo Gaja has caused a mini-revolution in Piedmont.
New
Zealand is more than pinot noir, sauvignon blanc
Until recently, New Zealand was thought of as mostly a white-wine country. Since
the late 1980s, its sauvignon blancs have had an international reputation. And, until
2002, chardonnay was the country's most widely planted grape variety.
Winery
cycle tour runs into controversy
Visitors to some of Marlborough's vineyards have a sour taste in their mouths as
wineries juggle the demands of production with tourism. Concerns about service at
some wineries and a perceived reluctance to provide wine tastings to visitors who
appear unwilling to buy have surfaced among tourists and locals.
Americans
to buy grape land
Americans are buying a chunk of an old Central Otago sheep station's land to grow
premium pinot noir grapes to make premium wine. Owner of Mt Pisa Station near Cromwell,
Murray MacMillan, said he had got to know the American buyers John and Roberta Montero
pretty well during the past year.
AUS: Tight US import
rules affect small Tas winemakers
Tasmania's wine exports to the United States have been caught up in tighter security
rules for imports into the country. New laws under the US Bio-terrorism Act require
all exporters to pay a fee and register as a recognised food producer. Vineyards
Association of Tasmania spokesman Stuart Bryce says the cost has to be borne by small
winemakers.
US: Two old wine
families hook up, stage comeback
Back in the 1940s and '50s, before Robert Mondavi, before Rodney Strong, before Jess
Jackson of Kendall-Jackson, the fine-wine business in California had five big names:
Martini, Beaulieu, Beringer, Charles Krug and Inglenook.
US:
Grape growers fear damage
This week's freeze could be a crusher for the fall wine grape harvest. Or maybe not.
Grape growers around Eastern Washington had mixed fears about the extent of bud damage
caused by a spell of sub-zero temperatures this week, but the consensus was that
it's too early to tell.
Moldova
sells more wine to Russian, other CIS countries
Moldova has increased by one-third its sales of wine to Russia and other CIS member-countries,
a source in the national Moldova-Vin Company told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.
Thu, 08 Jan 2004
- Pinot
noir finding greater favour
New Zealand pinot noir deserves the high praise it has received from Australian wine
writer and judge James Halliday, say top Marlborough producers. "What I have
seen over a long period of time is that when it comes to pinot noir, New Zealand
is right up there with the best in the world," he said this week.
Some doubt wine
ratings exist to serve the consumer
In a recent Wine Spectator review, Lindemans Chardonnay Bin 65 won a coveted "Best
Value" designation with a respectable 85 score on a 100-point scale.
Wine, Carbohydrates
and Blood Sugar Levels
Part of my investigations while I was writing about Wine, Carbohydrates and the Atkins
Diet was to figure out just how alcohol was related to carbohydrates. For example,
even though a glass of wine normally has under 3g of carbohydrates, Atkins advises
you do NOT drink any during the first 2 weeks of the diet. This is NOT because of
the carbs! It is because of another trait of wine and alcohol - that it affects your
blood sugar level.
Red
Wine Ingredient May Extend Life
The fountain of youth may spring from a glass of red wine -- at least for yeast,
the toast of human aging research.
Australian vineyards face shake-out
in U.S.
A decade-long surge in U.S. wine imports could come to an end this year with the
decline of the dollar and a glut of Californian wine, crimping the sales of Australian
vineyards. Winemakers, such as Southcorp, Australia's biggest producer, have sharply
raised output in the last 10 years as U.S. wine imports doubled in volume and almost
tripled in value.
Wines from Argentina:
taste great, less pricey
When the winter skies turn gray, temperatures drop and my holiday Visa bill arrives,
I resolve to find new ways to boost my spirits without breaking the bank. Wine from
Argentina is the perfect potion for what ails me this time of year. It's summer in
Argentina, and the 2004 vintage is progressing nicely under the hot, dry South American
sun.
SA: A timely gift
for Cape wine farmers
Cape wine farmers received respite on Christmas Day, with timely rains falling in
most districts. But dry land vineyards are still in need of additional moisture if
the crop estimates for this year are to be realised.
Wine niche marketing
aimed at gay community
Merryvale Vineyards had a well-regarded product but a slim advertising budget. So
it decided to try something different ó reach out to gay consumers. Strategically,
that makes sense for a winery, experts say. Going after gay and lesbian consumers
could help chase away the doldrums of a world wine glut.
US:
Boxed wine and snobbish notions
Ryan Sproule wants American wine consumers to think outside the bottle. The 41-year-old
president and founder of Black Box Wines is betting that the fiercely snobbish U.S.
wine market is ready to take a new look at an old technology: the bag in a box.
CANADA:
Icewine harvest begins
The romance of icewine is only in sipping that honey-sweet liquid in front of a cozy
fireplace. It's certainly not in making the valued beverage.
US: Atlanta-based African American Wine
Tasting Society uncorks a new interest in wine
There's a certain level of intimidation that comes with drinking wineóand
quite often, some overly affected attitudes, says Reneé Rowe, president
and founder of the African American Wine Tasting Society. "There really is a
lot of pretentiousness about wine," she says. Furthermore, Rowe believes that
those who perpetuate this elitist mindset "need to get over themselves."
Weds, 07 Jan 2004
- US:
Times they are a changin' for vintners
Many of the founders of the modern American wine industry are dead -- people like
Julio Gallo, Andre Tchelistcheff, Maynard Amerine and the original Franzia brothers.
A handful remain, including Ernest Gallo, Brother Timothy, Lou Foppiano, Robert Mondavi.
These are the people who took an industry that had been devastated by Prohibition,
and resurrected and redefined it.
California's Best of 2003
In contrast to the hoopla surrounding the 2000 Bordeaux vintage - touted by critics
on both sides of the Atlantic as the best since 1961, a "vintage that comes
along once in a lifetime" - California's first vintage of the new millennium
(or the last one of the old) came saddled with doubts about quality and quibbles
concerning the wines' depth and concentration.
Glut sours global
wine sales
A decade-long surge in US wine imports may come to an end this year due to the US
dollar's decline and a glut of Californian wine, hurting sales at vineyards from
Australia to the Andes.
GERMANY: Wine prices to rise in 2004
- report
German wines will increase in price this year, according to the president of the
country's wine grower's federation in south-west Germany. Herman Hohl, leader of
Weinbauverband Wurttemberg, estimates that prices will rise by between 5% and 10%
in 2004. He blames the fact that the harvested volume lags behind the potential sales
volume.
Argentina
Has A Plan
The Argentine wine industry, taking a page from Australia's Strategy 2025, has developed
a Strategic Plan for Viticulture designed to increase the value of exports to $2
billion by the year 2020. The Australian plan is generally credited with helping
that country become one of the most powerful of the wine exporting nations.
Tue, 06 Jan 2004
- Don't
forget all that wine you have
A few weeks ago, we dusted off a 1996 pinot noir by a Willamette Valley producer.
We opened, poured... and gasped. The color was a vibrant copper. On the nose and
palate, it was distinctly sherrylike. It was poured down the sink.
Wine in the Fridge
- Wine on the Counter
Does leaving a wine out at room temperature, or storing it at room temperature, damage
the wine? How about keeping wine in the fridge for months?
Market for champagne fails to fizz
Investors can crack open all the champagne they have been given over Christmas and
New Year with a clear conscience. Champagne has, with reason, become the symbol of
high fashion and instant consumerism. It doesn't pay to keep it.
Wine
triumphs and tragedies of 2003
Screwcaps, frost and Fistonich hogged the headlines last year, and in the words of
one Charles Dickens, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times".
Counterfeit
wine tough to swallow
$10 Rolexes don't fool you. You know a pair of Faux-klies when you see them. But
could you tell a vin de pays from a classified-growth Bordeaux? That's what keeps
wine counterfeiters in business.
AUS: Star shines bright for Constellation
After four trips in eight weeks to the US in a rushed end to an already hectic 12
months, Constellation Wines boss Stephen Millar was looking forward to a few restful
days over the festive period at his new beach house at Carrickalinga, an hour's drive
south of Adelaide.
US: Pesticide use
grew in 2002
Ron Macedo checks the weather a final time, mixes his material, feeds coordinates
into his global positioning satellite unit and scans the field for pets or people.
The pesticide applicator then climbs atop his tractor, slips it into gear and begins
to spray herbicides across 100 acres of oats.
US: Sparkling-wine
market benefits at year's end
New Year's Eve is the biggest sparkling-wine sales and consumption day of the year,
and some of this year's revelers got it from Oregon wineries. While Oregon's love
of its signature grape, pinot noir, continues a steady climb, drinkers' desire to
seek out offerings from a growing number of sparkling-wine makers has left the market
bubbly with enthusiasm.
Western
wine importers making inroads in China
One night in 1995, Sam Featherston, an American who had just begun selling imported
wine in Beijing, delivered 12 bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild worth $200 (U.S.)
each to a group of Chinese businessmen at a karaoke bar. They opened the bottles,
poured the wine into 12 pitchers, mixed it with Sprite and tossed in watermelon and
orange slices.
AUS: Australian
wine export sales up, profits down
Australia's wine industry was sobering up, with price wars and a grape glut leading
to a sustained drop in profit, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation said on
Wednesday.
SA: Wine growers
expect superior 2004 vintage
Western Cape wine farmers were expecting a large and good quality crop that could
result in an above-average 2004 vintage, said Stellenbosch American Express Wine
Routes, a body representing cellars and growers in the region.
AUS: WA wine growers
look forward to top drop
The Western Australian Wine Industry Association says it is looking forward to a
spectacular 2004 vintage. Association president John Griffiths says the industry
worked hard throughout 2003 to promote WA wine internationally in the face of rising
US and Australian dollars and a general downturn in confidence in the world economy
related to the war in Iraq.
AUS:
Wine tycoon fights to save home
Embattled winemaker Andrew Garrett has lodged a Supreme Court appeal in a last-ditch
attempt to avoid compulsory eviction from his multimillion-dollar Adelaide Hills
home.
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