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Fri, 05 Mar 2004
- Red
Wine's Polyphenol Concentrate Isolated
A novel polyphenol concentrate has been isolated from red wine and characterized.
"Moderate consumption of red wine is associated with a decreased risk for coronary
heart disease. Apart from alcohol, an additive role for wine polyphenols has been
suggested," scientists in the Netherlands explained. "However, the real
contribution of these compounds can only be studied when available without the alcohol
component."
FRANCE: 2003 Champagne
sales up, but only just
Champagne sales last year rose slightly, according to figures released earlier this
week, Les Echos reported today. The French inter-professional committee for Champagne
has announced an increase in the number of bottles sold in 2003 of 2% compared with
2002. Over 293.3m bottles were sold last year.
GERMANY: A sugar-water
flood
Good German wines have suffered, sadly, because of a veritable lake of cheapo Liebfraumilch.
Ask the average supermarket shopper about Rhine whites, and they're likely to mention
the bottles, which sell at around 3 pounds or so, popularly known in Deutschland
as "zueckerwasser" - sugar-water.
Drinking
wine industry out of a slump
The French Government is to review advertising restrictions on wine producers to
encourage the French to drink the industry out of a sales slump. The wine industry,
a bastion of French life that employs 75,000, has been hit by competition from cheap
non-European rivals and a change in drinking habits - France is becoming increasingly
health-conscious.
CANADA: Screw caps
gaining respect among vintners
TORONTO - Screw cap wine bottles are moving up in the world. Ontario's Vintners Quality
Alliance now says the province's premium wine producers can seal their product with
a twist cap.
Reaction to alcohol
research
An alcohol watchdog is challenging New Zealanders to change their drinking behaviour.
New research has been released by the Alcohol Advisory Council suggesting New Zealand
is becoming a country of binge drinkers.
New
World International Wine Competition Announces 2004 Winners -- 2,178 Wines Judged
More than 2,178 wines were judged Sunday, February 29th and March 1, 2004 at the
Fourteenth Annual Jerry D. Mead New World International Wine Competition held in
Ontario California. The competition is limited to wines produced in the "New
World," that is, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Thu, 04 Mar 2004
- Polyphenols in Red Wine help Fight Heart
Disease
It has long been known that red wine helps keep arteries clean. The question has
always been, how? Was it the antioxidants in the red wine? New research at the William
Harvey Research Institute, published in Nature magazine, points to the polyphenols
which come from the skins of red grapes.
Rich white men binge
drink most
Binge drinkers are most likely to be white men, who live in cities and have a household
income of over $70,000, new research commissioned by the Alcohol Advisory Council
(ALAC) says.
Wine's
boy wonder
What makes a wine truly one of the greats, lifted into the pantheon of the gods?
Sure, it's a unique combination of the planet's and season's elements that magically
conspire. A perfect blend of ripening sun, soil and terroir, the right amount of
rain or irrigation, all sculpting grapes that can rise to stardom. Oh, you also need
a very talented winemaker. Wine, despite what the French are prone to say, is not
entirely made in the vineyard.
I'll name that wine
in one
The story of La Pamelita sounds too good to be true. How a woman from Bridge of Allan
introduced the first sparkling red wine to Spain is a heady mix of the Protestant
work ethic in a Mediterranean milieu, and New World get up and go.
Wine Guide Review
: The Wine List 2004
The Wine List 2004: The Top 250 wines of the year by Matthew Jukes. Published by
Headline, London.
New Zealand Stokes Its Wine Ambitions
It was visions of southern warmth during northern winters that first made the American
winemaker Reginald B. Oliver explore New Zealand wineries. "Endless summer was
my initial thought," he said. But it was the strong parallels that Mr. Oliver,
owner of El Molino Winery in Napa Valley, Calif., found to the early American wine
industry that convinced him to invest recently in two New Zealand wineries. "This
place is evolving like Napa," he said. "They have the basics down."
France
says to review wine advertising ban
France said on Wednesday it was ready to review advertising restrictions on wine
producers to encourage the French to drink the industry out of a sales slump.
Australia's
wine sales falling off
Australia's domestic wine sales slipped 2.5 per cent in January, the Australian Bureau
of Statistics said today. In its monthly wine figures, the bureau said sales fell
to 33 million litres. It was 5.2 per cent down on the same period last year.
AUS: Foster's head
set to fix wine
Having spent the best part of two years overhauling the Foster's Group's beer operations,
Trevor O'Hoy has been given the more difficult job of restoring market confidence
in its troubled wine business.
US:
Organic practices turn out red, white and green wine
Clos du Bois viticulturist Douglas Price breaks open an owl pellet, the matted brown
material regurgitated post-meal by the big-eyed bird, and pulls out a curved strip
of bone. "Gopher jaw," he says happily. Bad day for the ex-gopher, good
news for Clos du Bois, which like many wineries is trying to subdue vineyard pests
without chemicals in a quest for greener wine that is becoming increasingly popular
in California
US:
Will the next president be a friend of the wine industry?
Congressman Mike Thompson was in Vietnam a couple of years ago with John Kerry. Our
representative tells me that he brought some wine with him from California. Thompson
wouldn't reveal which wine he took to Southeast Asia, only that it was a "1st
congressional district wine." Did Kerry drink the wine?
Tue, 02 Mar 2004
- Light Drinking Linked
to Better Cardiovascular Health in Elderly, Study Finds
Light drinkers in their 70s may be keeping their blood vessels healthier than their
nondrinking peers, according to a new study published in the Feb. 10 issue of the
medical journal Circulation.
German
wine thief soured by bottled surprise
Rather than give up his prize, a German wine thief cornered in a bar gulped down
the contents of a stolen bottle, only to vomit repeatedly as the landlady had switched
the wine with vinegar, authorities said on Monday.
AUS: Wine exports
tipped to break $3b mark
The world's love affair with Australian wines is tipped to continue with exports
set to break the $3 billion mark. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource
Economics, in its annual forecasts, said today the total area under grape is expected
to climb 10,000 hectares to 166,000 hectares in 2004-05.
Plied with wine,
yet women don't fall for sweet talk
Defining what women really want from wine has proved a difficult task. Almost every
time the male-dominated wine industry has come up with a product to woo the female
palate it has flopped. BRL Hardy's Wicked Wines range, launched in 2000 featuring
garish bottles, sexy marketing, fruity flavours and reduced alcohol, is an example.
US:
Consumer Groups Push for Alcohol Facts Labels
Two national consumer groups are pushing the federal government to require greater
detail on alcohol labels, including such information as calories, serving size, ingredients,
and dietary guidelines, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Feb. 26.
'Wine Trust's Devco Has R20m in Honey
Pot'
In another twist to the saga involving the South African Wine Industry Trust (Sawit)
it has emerged the trust's development company (Devco) has accumulated R20 m in unspent
funds in the past four years.
China's growing
thirst for foreign wine
With China's rapid growth and increased domestic wealth, Chinese consumers are developing
a taste for imported wines. According to statistics compiled by China's General Administration
of Customs (GAC), the country imported 32.3 million litres of wine worth US$32.3
million up to September last year. These figures grew a massive 39.2 percent and
45.5 percent respectively compared with 2002.
Mon, 01 Mar 2004
- What
is an organic wine?
As is the case with many other foods and beverages, the wine world is seeing a surge
in organic products. Organic wines are no longer hidden on the back shelf of your
local wine shop. Unfortunately, there is currently some debate as to what exactly
are the rules and methods for producing organic grapes and wine. The answer usually
depends on the country of origin and the various governing organizations involved.
France, for example, legally defined organic farming, in 1981, as "farming which
uses no synthetic chemical products."
Red Wine Maintains Immune System
According to a study published in 1999 by the University of Florida, red wine does
not supress the immune system like other alcoholic beverages.
French vintners
protest ad law
PARIS -- For French winemakers, what they bottle isn't to be confused with mere spirits
like vodka or brews like beer. So they say they deserve exemption from a tough law
on liquor advertising that they say is hurting sales of the national drink. Wine,
they argue, isn't just alcohol but a product of French culture.
How
Do They Live With Themselves?
The guy who brought the wines was generous indeed. But he got shafted, big-time.
It wasn't by the restaurant, though. It was by the wines or, more specifically, the
corks. My host, who brought the wines, first pulls out a magnum of 1985 Dom Perignon
rose (cost: $500). As soon as the wine was poured, I knew it wasn't right.
World wine harvest
down for 2003
Australian wine from the 2003 vintage could be in short supply, with the announcement
of a big drop in production in a year where record temperatures and drought brought
a smaller crush in countries all over the world. Australian statistics show that
the country's grape harvest for 2003 was down by 15 per cent on the previous year,
the first time the country has seen a drop in production since 1997.
Sun, 29 Feb 2004
- Wine
Labels, Coldiretti: New WTO Rules against counterfeiting
The new rules of international trade must prevent the spreading of counterfeited
products, which damage producers and the consumers of the global market. Europe must
stay on the alert in its struggle against international counterfeiting of special
European foodstuffs, which have to maintain their priority in the WTO.
AUS:
Reassurance a relief for winery
Two years of uncertainty disappeared at Peter Lehmann Wines yesterday with the arrival
of new Swiss boss Max Lienhard. Dr Lienhard, chief executive of new owners Hess Group,
set workers' minds at ease as he addressed staff for the first time.
US:
Oregon Crush Up 19 Percent
Statistics released this week by the Oregon Wine Board showed that 10,072 tons of
Pinot Noir were crushed in 2003, a 19 percent increase from 2002. Pinot Gris, which
in 2002 moved ahead of Chardonnay in tons crushed, came in at 4,689 tons, a 17 percent
jump over 2002.
French
wine makers seek marketing freedoms
An ongoing decline in sales of French wines has driven Gaullic vinteners to demand
more freedom in marketing their once dominant beverages.
Introducing Burgundy:
Generic to grand cru
From the low end to the high, in Burgundy as in real estate, the three things that
count are location, location, and location. Well, maybe with a nod to the producer.
And vintage. But to understand this confusing region most clearly, it helps to get
a grasp on its geography.
Wine-growers
march to defend way of life
On a float leading 2,500 angry winemakers through a Burgundy town yesterday lay a
dummy bottle of Chablis, its neck beneath the blade of a guillotine.
Strong rand, cheap wine
With the rand continuing to maintain its strength against major international currencies,
local prices of bottled wines should fall in line with decreasing input costs, and
those wine producers who opt to hike the prices of their brands are liable to lose
market share to other wines, Colin Collard, managing director of Cape-based direct
wine marketer the Wine-of-the-Month Club, warned on Thursday.
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