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Sun, 22 Aug 2004
- Can anything save French wine?
First, a rash of competitors
-- Australia, Chile and South Africa, plus Italy and Spain -- showed dramatic gains
in quality and quantity. Next, a soaring Euro soared made France's already pricey
bottles cost even more in the United States, the world's biggest wine market.
Mon, 23 Aug 2004
- FRANCE: GM Wines Rejected
An organization of wine
producers called Terre et Vin du Monde has declared its opposition to the testing
of genetically modified vines. The group includes Château Latour, Pichon Longueville,
Cos d'Estournel, Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Château
de Beaucastel in France, Spain's Vega Sicilia, Egon Müller in Germany, And other
important producers.
US: California harvest kicks off - winemakers
bullish
One of the earliest harvests
on record has started in California with winemakers predicting an excellent vintage.
Kendall-Jackson took in its first bins of Sauvignon Blanc at the end of July ? the
result of less-than-normal winter rainfall and a mild spring on the north coast.
After one or two heat spikes in May and June, grape maturation benefitted from a
cool July and ? so far ? a cooler than normal August.
French wine output to rise by 20%
French wine production
should rise by 20% in 2004, according to statistics from the French Ministry of Agriculture.
AUS: Jitters
as wine giant wakes up
Southcorp chief executive
John Ballard sent a shiver through parts of the Australian wine industry last week
when he declared: "We are aiming to grow our market share."
Korea: French wine sales up 58%
Despite seeing a marked
downturn in sales across the globe, French wines are bucking the trend in South Korea.
New anti-fraud system 'reads' wine in the bottle
Spanish scientists have
just announced a new test which can detect if the wine in the bottle is genuine or
not. Researchers at the University of Seville have developed the technique using
a method known as atomic spectrometry, which measures trace metals in the wine -
which come from the soil of origin - and then compares the findings to a databank
of the wine?s known ?fingerprints?.
US: Olympics
bode well for Greek wine distributor
Though he is not a sommelier,
John Koutsulis often recommends what he knows best - wines from his native Greece.
Koutsulis is owner of Lionsbridge Arizona, a wine distribution company based in Fountain
Hills that specializes in rare vintages from around the world.
Tue, 24 Aug 2004
- Climate change affecting
Italy's Chianti wine
The globe's rising temperatures are threatening Europe's premier wine-producing regions
and could change them irrevocably within decades, three American climatologists have
warned, the Italian daily La Repubblica reported Monday.
FRANCE: Rich grape harvest worries Bordeaux
wine makers
The rich grape harvest
in the Bordeaux wine district this year that would normally have been a cause for
celebration for any wine producer has turned into a cause for worry, reports UPI.
Why global warming
is worth whining about...
Florence, Italy - Wine
lovers may one day find themselves buying British champagne or German Chianti as
global warming threatens to produce dramatic changes in viticulture, scientists meeting
in Italy have warned. Gregory Jones, Michael White and Owen Cooper, three United
States experts attending an August 20-28 International Geological Congress in Florence,
have studied the effects of climate change on 27 of the world's top wine producing
regions.
Wed, 25 Aug 2004
- History of Glass Wine Bottles
When did the wine industry start using glass bottles, and how did they settle on
their current size of 750ml? For the answer to these questions, you have to go back
in time - back thousands of years to when wine was first cultivated and enjoyed.
History of Wine:
Egypt and Mesopotamia
In the story of mankind, wine has a long and distinguished history. Traces of wine
were first found in Sumeria, the lower regions of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia held the
land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and is often called the "cradle
of civilization". Wine is mentioned as far back as 2750BC, but existence of
wine goes further - now dated at 5400BC.
Deciphering
Greek wines poses timely challenge
The Greeks have been making wine since the beginning of time, but until recently
they only made curiosities such as old-fashioned dry wines, sweet wines that were
delicious but obscure, or the white Retsina, with its marked pine-resin aroma and
taste.
AUS:
Corks popping for sparkling wine
An Orange winery will be among the first in Australia to release a new sparkling
wine. Indigo Ridge Wines has created a sauvignon blanc sparkling wine, which will
be available in about six months. Sparkling wines are usually made from pinot noir
or chardonnay grapes.
Italian winemakers
expect good vintage
Italian winemakers are
expecting a small but high-quality harvest this year, a farmers' association said
Tuesday. "Quality, however, will be excellent, thanks to good weather conditions,"
the organization said in a statement.
France's wine
harvest starts amid worries of over-production
France's wine harvest
got underway Monday in the south-eastern Provence region as the country's growers
struggle to beat back competition from abroad, the Provence wine industry association
announced.
AUS: Wine's not
fine in the US
The latest Foster's profit
announcement lays bare the two major problems facing new chief executive Trevor O'Hoy.
But it also shows where he has been blessed with good fortune.
US: Project Shows
Promise for Grape Growers
Since the discovery five
years ago that a ravenous insect was spreading grape-killing Pierce's Disease in
California, grape growers have contributed millions of dollars to fund research projects
they hope can end the scourge.
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