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Fri, 18 Jun
- Wine
fund manager forecasts industry shake-up
The International Wine Investment Fund expects prices of potential wine acquisitions
to come down, signalling another wave of consolidation for the industry.
Wine lovers lift Majestic
The British public's renewed love affair with the vine has helped wine warehouse
chain Majestic post its eleventh consecutive year of record profits.
Wine
Enthusiast Guide in your palm
I'm probably one of the last people to jump on the Palm bandwagon. But while some
of my friends have ceased to find ways to incorporate a handheld into their daily
life, I've found plenty.
Grassy notes make Verdejo good Sauv
Blanc alternative
These days, Spain is turning out some of the world's most interesting and versatile
wines at highly affordable prices, and its white Verdejo is one of the best-kept
secrets.
Bottle
of Penfolds 1951 Grange Wine Sold for Record A$50,200
A bottle of Penfolds Bin 1 Grange shiraz from the 1951 vintage sold at auction last
night for A$50,200 (US$35,000), a record price for an Australian wine, according
to auction house Oddbins.
French
show how to make wine food
Wine is to be reclassified as a natural food rather than an alcoholic drink under
French law, if the combined forces of the country's wine industry and a majority
of its MPs have their way.
Wed, 16 Jun
- Increased
production may cause bottlenecks, wineries warned
Careful planning will be required to stop New Zealand wineries becoming production
bottlenecks, wine engineers have been told. New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive
Philip Gregan told the Wine Engineering Association conference in Blenheim that there
were challenges and opportunities ahead for wineries.
AUS: Wine grape
growers to form pricing policy lobby group
More than 75 McGuigan Simeon wine grape growers last night voted to set up a formal
lobby group in attempts to change the pricing policy used by the company this harvest.
Growers say the colour scheme, used to work out how much they get paid for their
grapes is unfair, and they are being paid less money for producing better quality
grapes.
AUS:
Beringer Blass bottling coup
Employment prospects in the Barossa are set to soar, with a $50 million expansion
of the Wolf Blass winery announced last week. The project is part of a review of
Beringer Blass Wine Estates released last week by chief executive officer Trevor
O'Hoy, encompassing a five-year restructure of the multi-national company.
AUS:
Wine glut crushes industry profits
The profitability of the Australian wine industry continues to plummet, with a report
claiming at least half of small winemakers suffered a loss in the 2002-03 financial
year. The results from the fifth Deloitte Financial Benchmarking Survey, released
yesterday, make bleak reading as the sector is pummelled by a glut of red wine, consolidation
of retailers and too many wineries, whose numbers have ballooned to 1798.
AUS:
Wineries face an uncertain future
UP to half of Australia's 1500 smaller wineries are facing financial extinction,
a new industry report has forecast. This year's record national vintage, projected
at 1.86 million tonnes, also puts pressure on supply levels already struggling to
find markets, the 2003 Annual Financial Benchmarking Survey says.
Top 100 Wine Brands
in USA Restaurants Unveiled by Restaurant Wine Magazine
What wines are Americans drinking in restaurants? That question has just been answered,
in an exclusive article in the May/June issue of the trade journal, Restaurant Wine.
AUS:
Record vintage will flood shelves
Wine drinkers searching for a bargain drop will benefit from this year's record-volume
vintage. But the best value is more likely to come from the expanding cleanskin sector
rather than our favourite labels, according to Winemakers' Federation of Australia
chief executive Stephen Strachan.
SA: Wine Industry
bids to wipe-out 'papsakke' and inferior plastic wine containers
In one of the most profound steps to curb alcohol abuse in South Africa, the South
African Wine and Brandy Company announced plans to outlaw the selling of cheap, low-quality
wine in foil bags ('papsakke') and inferior plastic containers on 15 June.
Tue, 15 Jun 2004
- AUS: 2004 wine vintage a record
The 2004 wine vintage in Australia produced a record in terms of numbers of wine
grapes crushed, the Winemakers' Federation of Australia said. Federation chief executive
Stephen Strachan said the 2004 vintage had an estimated crush of 1.86 million tonnes
- surpassing the 2002 record of 1.51m tonnes.
AUS:
No bottling a wine maker
It's eight months since legendary vintner Deen De Bortoli died suddenly. But true
to his spirit, the family business he turned into a household name - steering it
from an annual crush of just 2000 tonnes to 84,000 tonnes - is powering along. While
other sizeable producers are grappling with a red wine glut, ferocious local competition
and squeezed export margins - not helped by a strong Aussie dollar - De Bortoli is
expanding.
Majestic
Wine posts corking £148m sales
Majestic Wine uncorked its eleventh year of record results as it said demand for
wine continued to grow. Majestic, which has 115 stores in the UK, said sales rose
18pc to 148m pounds last year from 126m pounds the year before. Pre-tax profit rose
more than a third to 10.7m pounds from 7.97m pounds the year before.
ITALY: Wine exports
to US hit 822m euro
Italian wine exports to the US last year reached 822m euro, according to figures
released last week. A report from the Italian association of wine producers, Unione
Italiana Vini (UIV), showed that Italian wine accounted for 32% of the US wine market
in 2003.
FRANCE:
Hot competition for 2003 vintage
Competition for the best wines of 2003 is becoming as overheated as the summer was
itself. In France, temperatures last summer were the highest on record, resulting
in the deaths of about 20,000 people. In Bordeaux, however, the high temperatures
have resulted in a vintage that goes from "erratic to ecstatic", says John
Derrick, of the British wine seller Bibendum.
SA:
Deloitte & Touche starts harvesting global wine benchmarking statistics
Cape Town - Wineries, wine farms, co-ops and private estates will be able to monitor
their performances against their peers at the conclusion of a global wine industry
benchmarking survey to be undertaken by Deloitte & Touche.
Tue, 15 Jun 2004
- UK: Wine glass size doubles, says new
research
The typical size of a glass of wine served in pubs has doubled, according to a new
survey. The research of 1,100 restaurants, hotels and pubs found that 90 per cent
of pubs were using a 250ml glass as standard. Two years ago, according to the survey
by wine wholesaler King UK, only 29 per cent were using the larger glasses with the
majority using 125ml glasses.
What
is a "cooked" wine?
Oxygen and heat are bitter enemies of anyone who wants to age a wine to perfection.
In the unfortunate instance of a wine becoming exposed to excessive heat, it takes
on "cooked" characteristics.
For
a strong and aggressive wine, try petite syrah
Petite syrahs are not for the faint of heart. Other masculine vs. feminine comparisons
apply. As the wine cliché goes, there is nothing petite about a petite
syrah.
Grateful Dead's
Garcia didn't drink, but his wine is popular
LOS ANGELES -- The late Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was many things: musician,
artist, writer, composer. Wine connoisseur wasn't really one of them, even though
J. Garcia wine, released last year, sold out its first shipment of 22,000 cases in
just 30 days, according to the Clos du Bois winery, which is producing it with the
approval of Garcia's estate. A second batch of wines, more than 30,000 cases of merlot,
zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon, recently arrived in stores.
WALES:
Sending the wine back...
ESCAPING the rat race to run a French vineyard must be one of the ultimate "get
away from it all" fantasies. But for one Welshman and his family the distant
dream became a reality six years ago - and now his son is trying to sell the wine
back to the land of his fathers.
Australian wine
export values reach $2.5b
The wine industry might be battling an oversupply of red wine grapes, but the value
of Australian wine exports has jumped to more than $2.5 billion over the past year.
Growth in the Canadian and American markets fuelled the rise, and the volume of wine
exported also lifted by 14 per cent, to 575 million litres.
FRANCE: Vineyard
"inspectors" to check on yields
The Cotes de Rhone trade association has hired around ten vineyard inspectors to
verify that grape yields are in line with authorised limits. The move is part of
a crackdown on the perceived non-respect of regulations governing the production
of AOCs. It is also seen as helping to restore faith in the quality of wines in the
eyes of importers at a time when Cote de Rhone exports are on the slide.
US:
Sharpshooters found in Vacaville called 'way too close'
Sap-sucking bugs that spread a disease lethal to grapevines have been found in Vacaville,
striking fear into the heart of California's premium wine-producing region in nearby
Napa Valley. A colony of glassy-winged sharpshooters -- half-inch-long insects that
subsist on the fluids of various plants, including vines and fruit trees -- were
discovered by Solano County agricultural agents near a Lowe's hardware store east
of Interstate 80 early this week.
US: Constellation
appoints grape management boss
Constellation Wines US today announced the appointment of Bill Wilden to the newly
created position of vice president for grape management of Constellation Wines US.
Wilden will be responsible for overseeing grape management for the company, including
grower relations, contract management, and procurement. He will also establish and
maintain the company's focus on quality in all grape management operations.
US:
Software project saving vineyard soil
For the past two years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Templeton has
been implementing a software program that can help grape growers estimate and prevent
soil loss from their sites.
Sun, 13 June
- AUS:
French wine boom to hit our exports
Australia's wine industry suffered a further blow yesterday with confirmation of
a bumper year for many French producers. Record temperatures across the Bordeaux
region last year are said to have resulted in a vintage that has been variously described
as "extraordinary" and "ecstatic".
Aussie
changes the regimen at Chandon
Four years ago, when the sparkling wine market here was going under -- as did the
climate at Domaine Chandon -- the suits at Louis Vuitton Moot Hennessey (LVMH) went
down under to pluck a bloke from their Australian sparkling wine house who they thought
could rescue them. What they got was a hulking handsome man who would not only give
a goose to their sparkling wines, but one who would fashion a line of still wines
so good, that it just may have saved the French-owned company.
Reforming
of French Wine
The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) and the Office National Interprofessionnels
des Vins (ONIVINS) is setting up a joint working party on the segmentation of French
wines.
As
Beringer Blass Continues Restructuring, Managing Director Walt Klenz to Retire
Walt Klenz, managing director of Beringer Blass Wine Estates, will retire at the
end of 2004 after 28 years with the company. The change comes as Beringer Blass,
the global wine division of Australia-based Foster's Group, continues a major restructuring.
SA: Vinfruco, Stellenbosch
discuss merger
Vinfruco and Stellenbosch Vineyards are in talks to merge the two companies. In a
notice issued on Monday, the two wine companies said that their boards of directors
were discussing a merger that would create a group with combined annual sales of
around ZAR500m (US$76m).
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