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Fri, 20 Feb 2004
- Antioxidants in Wine
On a recent visit to the DiGrazia winery, I had a long talk with its owner, Dr. DiGrazia.
Dr. DiGrazia is a medical doctor, and has been focusing in recent years on the health
problems of older people, especially menopausal women. He spent quite a bit of time
discussing how important wine is to the health of older people. He mentioned that
any woman over 30 should take a good look at her health and begin preparing her body
for this period.
Scientists give tomatoes the benefits
of red wine
Researchers have created purple-fruited tomatoes that include anthocyanins; the same
class of health-promoting pigments in red wine that function as antioxidants and
are believed to prevent heart disease. Domestic tomato varieties grown and consumed
in the United States do not normally produce fruit containing any anthocyanin, explained
the project's lead scientist.
Stuff
in wine isn't always a cancer fighter
A substance in red wine is not always the good guy it was made out to be about five
years ago in the fight against cancer. The same group of Singapore researchers who
found it good in 1998 has now found - in a ground-breaking study - that low amounts
of it can paradoxically stop chemotherapy from doing its job.
California, Australian
wineries try their own version of 'Trading Spaces'
What would you say to a California Syrah, branded and produced in the style of a
Shiraz from Australia, or to a new line of Australian Cabernets that taste like Robert
Mondavi Winery made them? The unusual joint venture of Robert Mondavi Winery and
Rosemount Estate to produce wine in each other's country is the wine world's version
of cable TV's "Trading Spaces" -- each is pursuing its own style in the
other's backyard, using each other's vineyards and expertise, and now the wines are
filtering into stores and restaurants in both countries.
US:
Wine making remains steady
While grape harvesting declines, winemakers are still doing well. Despite a statewide
decline in grape harvesting, Bay Area wine makers said production has remained steady
during the past year. The Wine Institute recently reported a 5 percent decline in
California grape harvesting in 2003.
US:
Pinot noir, pinot gris surge ahead in wine production
PORTLAND - Pinot noir, already the preeminent wine grape in Oregon, took another
large jump in production last year, according to new data released by the Oregon
Wine Board. Its white-graped cousin, pinot gris, also surged ahead in 2003.
New Glass Wine Stopper
Hopes to Oust Cork
Thought screw caps were the solution to cork taint? Now there's a new option. A division
of aluminum company Alcoa has invented a resealable glass stopper called Vino-Lok
that it says offers a screw cap's advantages, but is more appealing to consumers.
ITALY:
"Origine" Project created against danger of wine globalisation
A project worth 5 million euro over two years for the promotion of Italian indigenous
wines has been created. The "Origine" project was promoted and financed
by the Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), Vinitaly and Enoteca d'Italia, co-financed
by the regions and the wine-producing houses and its aim is to face up to the ever
fiercer international competition in the wine sector.
Thu, 19 Feb 2004
- Mondavi Winery Sees
Second Son Take Break From Duties
First Tim Mondavi went on leave last spring, and now his older brother, Michael,
has abruptly decided to go on sabbatical from Robert Mondavi Corp., the Napa Valley-based
winemaking empire founded by their father in 1966.
Red
Wine May Help Reduce Damage from Smoking, Study Finds
Sipping a glass of red wine while having a cigarette may help ease the damaging effects
of smoke on blood vessels, according to a study published in the February issue of
the American Heart Journal. While the researchers are not suggesting yet that drinking
is a good way to counter a serious smoking habit, the results from the early research
add to the medical community's knowledge of how moderate wine consumption may contribute
to improved cardiovascular health.
Wine with sushi
There are people out there who'd say that drinking wine with sushi instead of downing
Japanese beer or sake is nothing short of blasphemous. Of course, none of those people
is me. Sure, beer and sake are obvious choices at Japanese restaurants, where wine
lists are often notoriously lame or nonexistent. But what to drink when at home?
For me, that's where the wine and sushi combo makes the most sense. I just order
myself a mess of sushi from my favorite raw fish emporium and open up a bottle of
whatever I've got lying around the house. - www.wine.co.za
US:
In order to move more Merlot, winemakers tart it up
To suggest that Merlot is at a crossroads is hardly a radically new view of the world.
Merlot -- in this country and elsewhere, if the press is to be believed -- is both
overplanted and underperforming. It is, to the writers who cover it and to the retailers
whose shelves are overflowing with it, a wine whose time has come and gone -- even
though Merlot comprises about 50,000 acres of grapes in California alone and too
many more in places like Australia, Chile and the south of France.
SA:
Shock over increased wine tax
The wine and spirits industry expressed shock on Wednesday at the increased tax especially
on wine, announced by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in his Budget speech. Andre
Steyn, spokesperson for leading wine and spirits producer and marketer Distell, said
he was "speechless" after hearing of the 30,7 percent increase on wine.
The tax on spirits was raised with 13,5 percent.
Floods
reap terrible toll
Despite the devastation all is not lost for this year's Martinborough wine vintage.
Strat Canning, winemaker at the Margrain Vineyard, said the grapes still had enough
time to dry out before harvest. The rain was not ideal but the timing could have
been a lot worse.
UK: US wine sales
leapfrog Italy in 2003
US wine has overtaken Italian wine in poularity among UK consumers. Figures released
by analyst ACNielsen show that sales of wine from the US leapt by 20% to;441m last
year, while Italian varieties rose by only 1% to ;344m.
AUS:
Wine maker shows improved profits
Australian wine maker Southcorp reported a sharply improved half year net profit
on Wednesday, despite tough trading conditions and the rising Australian dollar.
The group reported a net profit of A$40.5 million for the six months to December
31, compared to a A$5.7 million net profit in the previous corresponding period.
US: Oregon Preview
2003 was one of Oregon's most unusual and challenging vintages;but it may also turn
out be one of the most highly acclaimed. Early samples of wines from some of Oregon's
leading producers show just how far Oregon's winemaking skills have advanced: despite
unusual conditions, the 2003 wines show surprising balance and power. Understanding
the challenges of the vintage is important in order to truly appreciating the high
level of quality Oregon's winemakers are capable of producing for consumers.
Wed, 18 Feb 2004
- Napa's
new pest threatens growers' organic credentials
First there was phylloxera, then the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Now a third sap-sucking
insect is menacing the fabulously valuable vineyards of the Napa Valley: the vine
mealybug. Like its predecessors, the mealybug is minute and easy to overlook -- until
vines start declining.
ITALY:
Confagricoltura, Wine Quality Defended by the Facts
Confagricoltura chairman Augusto Bocchini stated today that "the European Commission
has today a great opportunity to demonstrate that it really wants to create a policy
for quality, reconsidering its proposal to modify community regulations regarding
wine protection, presentation, labelling and designation. Bocchini was speaking with
regard to Agriculture Minister Alemanno, Commissioner Monti and the chairman of the
Commission Prodi.
BULGARIA: Alcohol
production laws tightened
The Bulgarian parliament have amended the country's Wine and Spirits Act this week,
according to local reports, as it tries to improve the quality of alcohol produced
and sold in the country. As a result of the changes all the bottles of quality wine
produced in the country will now have to bear a number on the bottle, identifying
the producer of the wine and the batch bottled.
Scientists look to physics to control ageing process
Scientists are working on ways of influencing the ageing of wine by controlling the
behaviour of tannins. Scientific studies into the complex subject of wine maturation
usually centre on chemistry, but a new study is focusing on the physics of the way
tannins behave. Tannins are one of the major factors determining ageing potential
in red wine.
Scientists invent
way to stop wine corking
German scientists say they have come up with a way to stop wine tasting of cork.
A team at Wiesbaden Polytechnic has found a special enzyme that prevents micro-organisms
growing on the cork. They say their findings will help replace current techniques
which involve treating corks with peroxide or chlorine brine which only kill off
some of the organisms responsible for corky taste.
Edmunds St. John
From time to time - indeed, just about every time I taste one of its wines - I proclaim
Edmunds St. John the California producer whose wines I consistently like best. Edmunds
St. John - named after the winery's owner-wine maker Steve Edmunds and his wife Cornelia
St. John - is not located in traditional wine country but in an industrial building
in Berkeley.
Wine Column - It's
the contents that count
If you can afford a bottle of one of the world's finest wines, Chateau Petrus, which,
according to the vintage you buy, could set you back 1000 leva or more, you will
find yourself with a very ordinary-looking Bordeaux bottle with a very tersely worded,
conservatively designed label. There is no nonsense about 'terroir', the skill of
the winemakers, the picking of the grapes at the right second, the blending or the
ageing on oak. What the producer has to tell you is in the bottle.
AUS: Boot Camp for the Wine Industry
Selling wine has never been harder and all competitors want every edge they can get.
Now, for the first time in Australia, Sales and Marketing employees have the opportunity
to attend an intensive residential program designed exclusively for the Wine Industry.
SA:
No word on wine mixes until July
Whether any local wine producers have added illegal flavourants to their sauvignon
blancs will not be known before about July. Sauvignon blanc is a variety of grape
typically used to produce a crisp and dry white wine. South African versions of sauvignon
blanc are said to be less complex than European counterparts, with less of the green
pepper qualities that experts look for.
Mon, 16 Feb 2004
- There's
no question that a good rating sells wine, but what do the numbers really mean?
Go into any wine shop and you'll see signs posted next to wines saying "92 --
Wine Spectator" or "Robert Parker -- 90." That's the proprietor's
way of saying that the wine received a good score in a tasting by that publication
or individual and that you should buy it.
2000
Louis M. Martini Napa
Martini is one of the oldest winemakers in California's Napa Valley, but in recent
decades it had been in a prolonged decline even as its neighbors' reputations soared.
AUS: Budget wines to stall recovery
The wine industry can expect to do it tough for at least another two years, says
Chris Day, the chief executive of Berren Asset Management, which handles the International
Wine Investment Fund.
Indians
Acquire New Taste for Wine
India's fledgling wine industry is growing rapidly as upwardly mobile Indians acquire
a taste for drinking wine. Traditionally, Indians who drink alcohol have chosen whisky,
rum and other locally-distilled spirits. But with globalization, times and tastes
are changing - at least in more sophisticated circles. Not only are middle-class
Indians drinking more grape wine, they are mostly drinking wine produced in India.
Bulgarian Quality
Wine Detected by Control Sign
Bulgaria-made quality wine, produced in a certain region, will be supplied with a
control number, the amended Wine and Alcohol Drinks Act says after being approved
by the Parliament on Thursday.
US:
Direct Wine Sale Ban Upheld
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld New York state's ban on direct interstate
shipment of wines to consumers, overturning a lower court ruling that the ban was
unconstitutional.
Final Week to Register
for MKF's Luxury Conference
Time is running out to register for MKF's Luxury Wine Trends Annual Conference to
be held at COPIA in Napa on February 23rd and 24th. The goal of the conference is
to shed new light on how to market luxury wine in the era of super value wines, big
box retailing, and increased competition from domestic and imported luxury brands.
Sun, 15 Feb 2004
- Tough time for Foster's
Beringer
Australia's Foster's Group Ltd faces a tough time ahead for its US wine operations,
with a flood of cheap wine and the strong local dollar to continue to provide difficult
hurdles for local producers. Foster's marched into the US wine sector more than three
years ago with its $2.6 billion purchase of American company Beringer Blass.
US takes number
three spot
The Californian wine industry was celebrating this week, after the latest AC Nielsen
statistics revealed that the US has eclipsed Italy as the off-trade's third-biggest
wine supplier.
SA:
Wine police will not uncork chemical mix
Teams of inspectors from the Wine and Spirits Board are carrying out surprise inspections
at South African wineries, looking for chemicals that can be used to enhance the
greenpepper and herbaceous flavours of Sauvignon Blancs.
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