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Fri, 16 Jul 2004
- The
sauvignons of South Africa
One of the bigger stories in the wine world for the past decade has been the rise
of South Africa as a source of excellent, high-value wines. I'm at work on more than
300 current releases and am finding that South Africa can compete, with wines ranging
from reds to whites to sparklers to stickies (dessert wines), and can do it at entry-level
prices and at the high end.
America's
most unusual and one of its most expensive wines
It was an idea born of a discussion about aged Cabernet Sauvignons that two brothers
came up with a plan to make what might very well be one of the most unusual table
wines in the U.S.; and most certainly, one of the most expensive. If nothing else,
the wine they call "Abacus," could propel their 35-year-old winery -- one
which is best known only to wine aficionados -- onto the pages of American cultural
iconography not unlike what Two Buck Chuck enjoyed at the opposite end of the spectrum.
South Africa's most
uniquely situated wine estate
This family estate has leapt into prominence into the South African wine scene with
an impressive repertoire of awards including the coveted Veritas Double Gold Medal
- South Africa's top accolade.
New
York Restaurant Adopts Three-Dimensional Wine List
Selecting wine at Manhattan's Park Avenue Café is now more akin to shopping
at a liquor store or browsing the dessert cart: Just point and pick a bottle. The
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence-winning restaurant has ditched its paper wine
list and is now displaying its portfolio on tables located in the dining room, where
130 different bottles are arranged by region and type of wine.
Napa
Valley Travel
Come for the wine. Stay for the food. Live the wine country life. That's the allure
of Napa Valley in a nutshell. No matter what you might think about America's most
famous winegrowing region -- critics claim that it's too crowded, too expensive or
too ostentatious -- this is still a fantasyland for wine lovers.
Wine
punters watch cellars slide into red
A wine investment - like the good wine itself - is believed to age well and gracefully.
That's the theory. Two years ago, when people were putting their money into bottles
of Grange and Hill of Grace and other top Australian reds, it certainly seemed like
a good idea.
New
Appellation Approved for Washington and Oregon
As of July 10, Oregon and Washington will have a new appellation, the Columbia Gorge
American Viticultural Area, which straddles the two states' borders. The U.S. Alcohol
and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the designation in May.
2004
Southern Hemisphere Harvest
While U.S. and European winemakers can enjoy most of their summer before they have
to start worrying about harvest, their Southern Hemisphere counterparts have had
time to do a preliminary evaluation of their recently completed crush.
US: Gallo takes
Tuscan approach
Wine giant E&J Gallo is rolling out four Tuscan wines this summer under its new
Da Vinci label, adding to a line-up of Italian imports that already includes Ecco
Domani and Bella Sera. Two of the wines, the Chianti Classico and Chianti Riserva,
are 100% Sangiovese. The Chianti DOCG is a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah
grapes, while Gallo's S.to Ippolito is a Merlot-Sangiovese blend.
FRANCE: Two cases of Margaux's Pavillon
in screwcap experiment
Chateau Margaux director Paul Pontallier has said he's ëready to use anything'
as a closure ëif it works.' Pontallier is putting two cases of the 2002
vintage of Margaux's second wine Pavillon Rouge under screwcap as part of an experiment
into the two different closures, natural cork and screwcap.
Thu, 15 Jul 2004
- AUS:
Penfolds plumps for screwcap
Penfolds is to put its entire Koonunga Hill range in screwcap bottles. Two new Koonunga
Hill wines, a 2004 semillon sauvignon blanc and a 2002 shiraz, will switch from cork
to screwcap next month, followed by the shiraz cabernet, cabernet merlot, semillon
chardonnay and chardonnay.
Red
wine "holds secret to long life"
The compound that makes red wine a healthy drink may also hold the secret to a longer
life, according to scientists. A study on Resveratrol shows it acts on fruit flies
and worms in the same way as a method known to extend the life of animals - sharply
restricting how much they eat.
Top French wine
companies try to halt GM vine trials
Already in ill-humour from a weakening economic position, it was hardly surprising
therefore to see much of France's wine industry up in arms over the issue yesterday
- an issue they see as yet another threat to their well-being.
Professional pH
kit for winemaking
HANNA Instruments has introduced the HI222 professional pH kit for winemaking. The
HI222 is a meter dedicated to wine measurement. The bench meter allows a two point
calibration using buffers 7 and 3. Since wine analysis occurs ideally in the range
2.5 to 3.6 pH, errors due to calibration are greatly minimised.
Australian wines
dominate rivals in Britain
Australia now produces six of the top 10 wines in Britain, according to the latest
ACNielsen figures. Last year, Australia accounted for five of the top-selling wine
brands in Britain's off-trade market, but it has moved up one notch this year.
UK
cheers Aussie wine
French vineyards could be excused for having sour grapes, as Australian wines have
muscled French bottles out of the top 10 brands sold in Britain, according to a survey.
Australian wines claim six of the top 10 places in the British market in a list dominated
by new world wines, analysts AC Nielsen's research said.
RUSSIA:
Black Sea vineyards seek a wider market
Gelendjik, Russia - Along the temperate Black Sea coast, ancient vineyards are enjoying
a period of renewal as Russians turn increasingly to wine and away from vodka. Local
wines with names like "Ochi Chernye" (Black Eyes), "Smile" and
"Gelendjik Cat's Eye" have a certain charm, but their reputation has long
been limited to the immediate region.
Tue, 13 Jul 2004
- SA wines making their mark overseas
Following the successes in the 2004 International Wine Challenge, where South African
wines won 10 gold medals, the country clinched another 57 medals at the Concours
Mondial de Bruxelles competition in Belgium, including three Grand Gold and 26 Gold
medals, reports Wine-of-the-Month Club, the Cape-based direct wine marketer.
In China, lax labeling sours image of
local wine
As an increasingly prosperous China develops a taste for wine, the local market has
turned into a tale of two industries: one where strict rules apply, and another where
practically anything goes.
Mon, 12 Jul 2004
- A few myths about
wine
As much as writers try to cut through all the bull perpetuated by wine snobs, there's
still a lot of misleading info out there. Take the story about sniffing corks. This
age-old ritual only yields a snootful of cork and no revelation, yet lots of people
still think they're supposed to do it. Myths about everything from wine storage to
wine pairings abound, and people go on believing them because nobody tells them otherwise,
so consider this myth-busting:
Beaujolais:
Light wine, serious beauty
Driving along the rural French roads from Villefranche-sur-Saone to Macon is like
browsing the Beaujolais aisle at your local wine shop. The familiar labels (that
is, villages) pop up one after the other: Morgon, Brouilly, Chiroubles, Chenas, Fleurie,
Julienas, Saint-Amour.
US: How Wine Tasters
Influence Buyer Preferences
Ever wonder what those gold and silver medals on wine bottles mean, and how they
got there? NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates talks with judges at America's largest wine
competition to discover how they influence what ends up in your shopping cart.
US: Chalone Wine
sale a step closer
The US winemaker Chalone Wine Group said on Friday that it has entered into confidentiality
and standstill agreements with each of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), Huneeus
Vintners and Constellation Brands, three vintners who have entered into a joint venture
to try and buy Chalone. The agreements relate to DBR's proposed acquisition of all
of Chalone's outstanding publicly held shares of common stock at US$9.25 per share
in cash.
Sun, 11 Jul 2004
- Australian
Giants sell off assets
Two of the biggest names in the Australian wine industry ñ Southcorp and
Beringer Blass ñ are selling wineries and distribution centres in their
twin drives to cut costs in the face of falling profits.
AUS: Wine export
growth starting to slow
While the volume of Australian wine exports reached a new record of 580 million litres
in the year to June 30, up 14% of 2002-03, the financial year was a slowing down
period, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation reported today.
US:
Growers eye early grape harvest
Cool nights and morning fog may have tapped the brakes on Sonoma Valley grape growth,
but local producers are still preparing for what could be an early harvest this year.
Chardonnay and pinot noir grapes are running about three weeks ahead of their average,
said Ned Hill, president of Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers.
FRANCE: Winegrowers
Balk at Modified Grapes
French vintners are sounding the alarm about what they see as another threat to their
centuries-old winegrowing traditions - genetically modified grapes. Earth and Wine
of the World, an association that includes nearly 400 French winegrowers, is worried
about a government research project to tinker with grape genes. It's a serious concern
in a land where the average person over 14 drinks a quarter-bottle of wine a day,
and where genetically modified crops are often derided as "Frankenfoods."
AUS: Wine punters watch cellars slide
into red
A wine investment - like the good wine itself - is believed to age well and gracefully.
That's the theory. Two years ago, when people were putting their money into bottles
of Grange and Hill of Grace and other top Australian reds, it certainly seemed like
a good idea.
First
Screw Caps Appear in Bordeaux
Andre Lurton has just released three of his white wines sealed in screw caps, making
him the first Bordeaux producer to do so. The three Bordeaux Blancs sealed this way
are from the 2003 vintage: Château Couhins-Lurton (Cru classé
de Graves), Château La Louvière (Pessac-Léognan),
and Château Bonnet (Entre-Deux-Mers).
Low-carb wines, sure, but how do they
taste?
Even among the carb-conscious, wine has not been a major enemy. After all, any dry
wine contains perhaps 3 or 4 grams of carbs per five-ounce glass. That's a small
fraction of the 50 or 60 grams recommended during an ongoing Atkins-like routine,
and certainly less than a regular beer or most mixed drinks.
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