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Fri, 07 May 2004
- Preuillac to be re-examined for Cru
Bourgeois status
Bordeaux Chateau Preuillac has been readmitted to the Cru Bourgeois listing after
a court ruling. The new classification of Medoc Crus Bourgeois has been dogged by
controversy since it was announced in June 2003.
Argentina
Bans Use of Hemoglobin in Winemaking
Argentina's National Institute of Viticulture (INV) has forbidden the country's wine
producers to use hemoglobin to clarify wines -- a practice that is no longer common.
The law was published on April 15, and winemakers have 60 days to comply and remove
any hemoglobin from their winemaking processes. Products that were made with hemoglobin
before the decree was issued are exempt from the sanction.
EUROPE: Wine co's
combine to challenge New World
Two of Europe's wine producers have formed a strategic partnership. Italy's largest
winemaker Caviro has teamed up with Groupe Val d'Orbieu in an agreement, which falls
short of a full merger, aimed at battling against New World companies in emerging
wine markets.
French
government tries to lift wine industry out of slump
PARIS - French senators have backed moves to relax a ban on wine advertising as part
of a campaign to encourage the French to drink the industry out of a sales slump.
Two
Top Chilean Wineries Expand Vineyards
Two of Chile's best wineries, Odfjell and Miguel Torres, are continuing to develop
their vineyard base. Odfjell, located in the Padre Hurtado section of the Maipo Valley,
has purchased 160 acres of land in the Maule Valley, to the south. The land currently
includes 10 acres of old-vine Carignane whose fruit Odfjell has been purchasing over
the past few years.
Thu, 06 May 2004
- Grape
growers all smiles at record harvest
Wine companies in Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and Marlborough are delighted with the 2004
vintage, with almost all grapes in their regions now harvested.
AUS: Wine Tax will
boost Regional Investment
The Winemakers' Federation of Australia has urged the Treasurer, Mr Costello, to
include a threshold removal of the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) in his plans to deliver
tax cuts in next week's Federal Budget.
AUS: Small wineries
may get WET relief
Australia's legion of small wineries will get tax relief in the federal government
next week, according to government sources in Canberra.
French,
Italian Winemakers Join Forces
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Two of Europe's leading wine producers announced a strategic
partnership Wednesday to take on U.S. and Australian competitors in a global battle
for emerging markets.
US:
Wine Lines by Bob Johnson
When the topic of "American wine" comes up, most people think of the famous
Napa Valley, or simply of California. And while it's true that the Golden State produces
a vast majority of the country's wine, it should be noted that there's at least one
bonded winery in each of the 50 states.
Wed, 05 May 2004
- US: High-End Wine
Sales Rebound in Restaurants
If restaurant wine sales are any indication, the U.S. economy may have turned a corner.
Sommeliers around the country report that wine sales are up, and even bottles priced
at $100 or more are increasingly being opened at their tables.
SA:
Corks are best, winemakers say
Leading South African wine producers have reaffirmed their confidence in cork as
a quality closure for bottles following trials aimed at reducing the incidence of
TCA and the release of results that significantly strengthen cork's role as the wine
stopper of choice for quality wine producers in South Africa.
AUSTRIA: Total wine
exports rise in 2003
The Austrian wine industry exported more wine in 2003 than in the previous year,
according to figures released over the weekend. Preliminary data from the Austrian
statistics office shows that exports for last year hit 80.98m litres of wine, worth
euro 65.66m (US$78.54m).
AUS: Swimming in it
It's hard to get your mind around a figure as impressive as 1.58 billion. Harder
still when it happens to be 1.58 billion litres of wine. That's quite a few swimming
pools, if not a small lake. For the wine industry it's 1.58 billion litres of trouble,
because that's the amount sitting around in tanks and taking up space in wineries,
which cannot move them out or sell them.
The Bacchus Report: Wonders from down
under
Vintners from the island-continent Australia have the ambition to become the largest
wine producers in the world. And their plans aren't unrealistic.
SA:
Local wine producers clear cellars of old stock
CAPE TOWN A number of wine producers have started to offer wine to retailers at discounted
prices as they clear their cellars of the past few years' stock to make way for another
bumper harvest. Mark Norrish, wine consultant to the Picardi Rebel Liquors group
of retailers, said that in the past three to five months the chain had been offered
a lot of parcels of wine at discounted prices, more so than in previous years. This
is not just stock from last year, which was a larger than usual harvest, but also
from 2002, 2001 and 2000.
Tue, 04 May 2004
- US: New York grocers
make push to sell wine
Shoppers in Massachusetts can pick up bottles of cabernet sauvignon along with their
laundry detergent. In Vermont, grocers stock Australian shiraz a few aisles down
from the Frosted Flakes.
US:
Vintage Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has turned the retail industry on its head since it invaded
Canada a decade ago, may be about to shake up the way Canadians buy wine.
Turkish Pamukkale
Wine Company Exports 750 Thousand Lt Of Wine To Europe
DENIZLI - Pamukkale Wine Industry and Trade Corp, a Turkish wine production company
in Aegean Denizli province, exported 750 thousand liters of wine to European countries
annually, Yasin Tokat, the Chairman of Executive Board of the company said on Monday.
Kiwis
underestimate amount they drink
Many New Zealand drinkers are actually consuming much more alcohol than they realise
according to new research released by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand
(ALAC).
Sauternes
Opens the Futures Campaign for Bordeaux 2003
For only the second time in its long history, Chateau d'Yquem will release its wine
en primeur, thus joining other Sauternes estates that have enjoyed a strong futures
market for their outstanding 2003s.
Why
do some glasses of sparkling wine fizz more than others?
You may have noticed this last time you drank sparkling wine -- wine poured from
the same bottle will sparkle like crazy in one glass but look rather flat in another.
The answer is there in your glass, but to find it, you'd need a microscope.
US:
Screw caps replacing corks at more wineries
More winemakers are using metal screw caps to seal their bottles. But popping a cork
on a good red or white is far from headed the way of the dinosaurs. Used for decades
on soft drinks and cheap wines, twist-off caps may well be the best technical device
to preserve bottled wine, Monterey County wine industry officials say.
Glass of wine for
longer life
A study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology last
week in the US
Mon, 03 May 2004
- Americans
fall for Riesling
Things were tough for those trying to sell Riesling to Americans in the early 1990s.
The most literate and passionate US importer of German wine, Terry Theise, now with
Michael Skurnik Wines, had to devise cunning stratagems to persuade wine drinkers
to even try them.
US:
Wine trails give tourists chance to sample vintages, towns and more
As Michigan wines grow in quality and quantity, auto tours along the four designated
"wine trails" have become a popular way to spend an afternoon or a weekend.
Bordeaux in Name Only
I suspect there has always been -- long before Messrs. Parker and Coates got into
the act -- a tendency for Bordeaux winemakers and others elsewhere to produce a special
batch, or a cask or two, that showed well when the gates opened and the wines were
first put on the market: glossy and seductive barrel samples that would earn good
notes and produce large orders. Such wines display impressive colors, large amounts
of almost over-ripe fruit, soft tannins and low acidities.
AUS:
Fleurieu finesse
Undulating green hills, dramatic coastline and fine food and wine; the Fleurieu Peninsula
has enough of everything to ensure a relaxing, picturesque holiday or weekend break.
Alcohol's Deadly Triple Threat
Women get addicted faster, seek help less often and are more likely to die from the
bottle.
A bottle of wine
The practice of drinking wine and then finding something to say about it has always
had a certain national character. English wine writers, for example, are fusty and
understated; Americans, democratic and exuberant (Europeans might say bombastic);
and the Frenchóneed it be said?óhave a penchant for lustily
anthropomorphic descriptions that involve big-boned ladies and dancing girls.
JAPAN: A winery
with a special mission
The winery is owned by the mentally disabled adult students of Cocoromi Gakuen, who
built the vineyard and winery from scratch. Its production is over 200,000 bottles
a year, and their winemaker is Bruce Gutlove, an innovative American with a master's
degree in wine making.
SA: Paarl wine farm's
label are expected to blast off into space
Cape Town - Wine bottle labels from a Paarl wine farm in the Cape are expected to
blast off into space when the world's third space tourist embarks on a trip of a
lifetime.
Sun, 02 May 2004
- Champagne' for kids
sparks anger
Grape juice packaged as "kiddy champagne" has angered health groups who
claim they are fighting a losing battle against a barrage of products glamourising
booze. Teddy Bear, a "party drink for children", packaged in a wine bottle
with a champagne-like pop-top, has come under attack for its colourful cartoon images
of bears playing.
California 2003 well-received
California producers are pleased by critics' reception of the 2003 vintage at the
annual tasting of new wines sponsored by the California Cabernet Society. It is now
clear there's little likelihood of a repeat of the poorlyñreceived 1998
and 2000 ñ and the devastating affect on sales of those vintages.
World Wine Market
Announces Winners of 2004 International Wine Competition
World Wine Market LLC has announced the winners of the 2004 World Wine Market International
Wine Competition recently coordinated and conducted by Affairs of the Vine. Wineries
from five continents participating in the World Wine Market Exhibition were eligible
to submit entries for awards.
AUS:
Festival will provide major tourism boost
Organisers of this year's Grampians Grape Escape Festival in Halls Gap are predicting
records to tumble, with crowd numbers in excess of 4000 expected over the two days.
Can
putting old wine into new bottles help France?
France's winemakers are planning to create a premier league of wines as part of revolutionary
changes designed to haul the country's most emblematic industry out of its deepest
crisis in nearly 150 years.
Alleged cocaine smuggling in wine
Two British men have been arrested in Argentina for an alleged scheme to smuggle
$10 million of cocaine inside wine bottle, officials said.
Red wine leads UT
scientists to juice up potency of solar cells
Red wine, what can beat it? It reduces your risk of heart disease. It's full of cancer-fighting
compounds. And now, researchers at the University of Toledo reveal yet another use
for the juice of the grape. It makes better solar cells.
Printing for aluminium
wine closures
APEX Printer has developed an inline printing system for the decoration of aluminium
wine closures. It is available from HBM Packaging Technologies.
Southcorp
eyes restaurant sales
Southcorp chief executive John Ballard says he wants to sell more wine at restaurants
such as Melbourne's Circa, where the cheapest bottle of the company's Penfolds red
is a Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon that sells for A$195 ($228).
SA Chenin pricing
low in the UK
Chenin Blanc pricing in the UK market is amongst the lowest but the upside is that
the quality message is spreading. This was the strongest message received from local
and international commentators at the Chenin Blanc seminar at Cape Wine 2004. The
success of raising the profile of South African Chenin Blanc in the local market
has not spilled over to England, it seems.
US: Screw-on caps
uncork a trend in wine industry
Two years ago, the announcement that a well-known winery, or a little-known winery
for that matter, was switching to screw caps for its bottles was news. Winemakers
were divided on the subject. "Right on," said the younger vintners. "Waste
of time," said older and presumably wiser types. Or "Money down the drain."
Or, more often, "The consumer will never accept it."
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