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First U.S. Winery to Release Cork-Free Pinot Noir Leading the response to the tainted cork controversy, WillaKenzie Estate announced today it is the first U.S. winery to release Pinot Noir with a screw-cap closure. The 2001 Pinot Noir Oregon Cork-Free will join last year's release of Cork-Free Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.....Fri, 28 Feb 2003 Bordeaux 2000 lives up to the hype Bordeaux 2000 vintage fully lives up to expectations, an expert panel of judges at a Decanter tasting has decided. In the first major tasting of the 2000 Médoc Crus Classes since they were bottled in September last year, January's panel handed out an unprecedented nine Decanter awards - but not to the first growths...Fri, 28 Feb 2003 Napa County unveils new sharpshooter campaign Agricultural Commissioner David Whitmer unveiled the Napa County's new glassy-winged sharpshooter ad campaign Tuesday to Napa County supervisors portraying the vineyard pest towering over two horrified people....Fri, 28 Feb 2003 Australia: Going Organic Back when Tasmanian vigneron Tony Scherer was farming in California, he had a problem with his green beans. The problem was a rot that just wouldn't go away. That is, until he consulted a neighbour, an old-timer, who simply said: "You've got 'em running the wrong way."....Fri, 28 Feb 2003 Just say "non." A Hollywood publicist on Tuesday launched a boycott against French wine in protest at France's opposition to a possible war against Iraq but declined to name names when it came to his celebrity supporters...Wed, 26 Feb 2003 U.S. Syrah's big buzz translates into sales surge It took only a few trips to France's Rhone Valley during the early 1980s to make Bill Easton a lifelong fan of syrah wines. At a time when zinfandel was springing up all around his winery in Amador County, about 40 miles east of Sacramento, Easton took a chance on syrah, investing half his vineyards in the little-known wine grape....Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Big cult following is swallowing $1.99 wine Two Bucks. Even a novice understands that's not much to pay for a bottle of wine. Not for a glass bottle with a genuine cork and real wine (as opposed to those flavored mystery liquids in a box)....Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Chateaux hire private muscle to combat thefts Saint-Emilion owners Beatrice Ondet and Marie-France Fevrier are hiring a private security company in a bid to fight back against gangs of well-organised wine thieves...Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Australia: Rain damages wine grapes Recent rains in South Australia's Barossa have caused significant damage to the region's wine grapes with one grower saying it is the worst damage he has seen in 53 years. Up to 50 per cent of grapes in some of the region's vineyards have split as a result of rains last week....Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Wine firms feel the squeeze It has been a tough year for Australia's wine companies, and industry players are pointing the finger of blame at Southcorp. While companies have sold more wine in Australia and overseas than in previous years, they have struggled to make more money from it....Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Uruguay needs to increase exports of wine In over 25 years, the Uruguayan wine sector received an investment of US$126mil to reconvert more than 75% of existing vineyards and add new technology in 100 wineries to produce premium wine. At the moment, 3mil litres of wine are exported and predictions are to reach 5mil in 4-5 years' time....Wed, 26 Feb 2003 Water dearer than house wine Londoners can pay more for a bottle of mineral water than a bottle of wine. In some bars and pubs, the price of mineral water equates to more than £9 a litre - while the average cost for a litre of house wine is around £6.25.....Tue, 25 Feb 2003 US online sales hit record levels US consumers might have stayed out of the shopping malls and department stores in the run-up to Christmas, but they spent plenty of time buying online. Department of Commerce figures show online sales grew by 28% in the three months to December compared to the same three-month period a year ago.....Tue, 25 Feb 2003 Australia: WGCA Warns Of Lower Grape Yields & Prices Rhett Marlowe, the Chief Executive Officer of the Winegrape Growers' Council of Australia, warned that: "Winegrape growers, especially those in the 3 major 'warm' regions are experiencing significantly lower yields and prices compared to last year. This is likely to have an impact on their ability and willingness to respond to future increases in demand for specific varieties."....Tue, 25 Feb 2003 Cold snap brings late B.C. Icewine harvest Temperatures fell below -8 C in the early hours of Monday in several parts of the Okanagan Valley, allowing many B.C. wineries to begin their annual Icewine harvest. "We've been waiting for the temperature to fall and Mother Nature finally came through," said Dawn Antle, marketing manager for the British Columbia Wine Institute. "This morning, B.C. Icewine makers couldn't be happier."....Tue, 25 Feb 2003 Company finds cure for Pierce's disease A UK-based chemical company, Ximed Group, is claiming to have found a natural formulation that can successfully eradicate Pierce's disease, the debilitating vine infection that has caused millions of dollars of damage to the US wine industry in recent years....Tue, 25 Feb 2003 Disastrous result for wine giant Southcorp shares plunged today after Australia's biggest wine maker reported a massive drop in first half profit and revealed it would not meet its already downgraded annual earnings forecast. Southcorp's first half net profit fell 97 per cent to just $5.706 million...Tue, 25 Feb 2003 New York unveils new wine grape, a 'working man's red' A new wine grape more than 50 years in the making was introduced Thursday as a healthy and hardy 'working man's red.' "The grape's time came," said Bruce Reisch, who helped breed the new Abundance variety at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, a world-renowned fruit-breeding center in the Finger Lakes....Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Growers To Find Good Things in Abundance with New Wine Grape It's not every day that you discover a new grape variety. But Cornell University grape breeder Bruce Reisch has come out with a new red-wine grape hardy enough to thrive in cool growing regions, such as New York....Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Champenois Take Action Over US Semi-Generics Champagne is mounting a major campaign, 'Origin Matters', to protect the identity and integrity of its AOC and prohibit the use of 'Champagne'' as a semi-generic in the US. The attack is being launched on two fronts....Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Australia: Wine giant turns sour Southcorp's credibility was in tatters yesterday after the embattled wine giant warned that its earnings forecast, revised down just last month, could be worse again as its UK business battles a vicious price war....Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Cork Company Settles Taint Claims Filed by 4 U.S. Wineries French firm Sabaté, one of the world's largest cork manufacturers, and four U.S. wineries have decided to settle a suit alleging that the company's popular Altec cork-composite stopper tainted thousands of cases of wines. But Sabaté's legal problems aren't over, as it still faces another suit and complaints from other clients...Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Ripeness Is All A new technique for mechanically sorting ripe from unripe and rotten grapes has been pioneered by Philippe Bardet, owner of Châteaux Val d'Or (St Emilion Grand Cru) and Picoron (Côtes de Castillon), and one of two suppliers for Yvon Mau's top Bordeaux cuvée Exigence....Sun, 23 Feb 2003 Grape Britain Britain made its name as the land of warm beer and Babycham. Now we're knocking back chardonnay and shiraz and like there's no tomorrow. According to new research, Britain has become the world's biggest importer of wine - and it seems the love affair is only set to grow and grow....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 U.S. : Silly wine laws are all around us This is an historic day in the wine world -- the 70th anniversary of Congress' repeal of Prohibition. While this failed social experiment ended long ago, the list of stringent and arbitrary laws that regulate wine as if it were kryptonite remains endless....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 Champagne makers get that heady feeling again The champagne market is fizzing again, with an almost 10 per cent increase in the number of bottles sold last year, helped by the end of the post-millennium stock hangover and a strong recovery in the US. But sales could quickly go flat amid fears over war in Iraq and the gloomy economy....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 Boom in Singapore wine imports Recent statistics* released by the Singapore government suggest that the country is fast becoming a nation of wine lovers. France is the market leader with imports valued at SG$151,090,000 in 2002. Australia holds second position (SG$28,923,000) with the US ranking third, Italy fourth and the UK fifth....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 E-commerce in wine, beer and spirits Since early February, the Societe des alcools du Quebec (SAQ) can rightfully claim to be a pioneer in the field of electronic commerce in alcoholic beverages. Indeed, it now makes all of its wine, beer and spirit purchases on-line through two portals, i.e. the public Global Wine & Spirits portal and its private SAQ B2B portal, and suppliers reacted positively....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 Taming The Tannins Realizing that the impatient American public wants wines that taste good on release, winemakers now talk about tannin-management, with university research now close to giving them a tool they've never had - a quantifiable way to measure tannin in wine.... Irish wine market shows rapid expansion, says survey Ireland is one of the fastest growing markets for wine consumption in the world and experts say the level of wine drinkers here is set to soar in the next three to five years....Fri, 21 Feb 2003 U.S. Winery Defends Use Of 'Juice' The owner of the Haight Vineyard is defending the use of grape concentrate from Chile for making his Connecticut wines. It is more than a question of taste or pleasure to the palate. It is a matter of some controversy within the wine community and of some concern at state agencies....Wed, 19 Feb 2003 Australian Winemakers urged to boost marketing efforts Western Australia's wine producers are being encouraged to develop strong marketing techniques to avoid being squeezed out of the market by overseas competitors. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed Western Australia as the fastest growing wine state....Wed, 19 Feb 2003 U.K. Wine sales 'soaring' WINE consumption in the UK is expected to soar by one fifth over the next four years. Most wine drunk in the UK is imported, producing a market worth £5.76bn in 2001, a report from wine exhibition experts Vinexpo says....Wed, 19 Feb 2003 New Zealand: Look beyond savvy, winegrowers advised New Zealand wine will always have a niche market in the United States, but wineries should be looking to varieties beyond sauvignon blanc. That was one of the messages from the New Zealand Trade Commissioner in New York responsible for the wine industry....Wed, 19 Feb 2003 U.S.A. Wine grape glut pushed county prices down 5 percent For the first time in 10 years, Sonoma County grape prices have decreased, dropping 5 percent last year as a huge supply of California grapes overwhelmed limited demand for wine. Wine industry experts predict it may be two to three years before grape supply and wine demand come into balance, with prices continuing to drop for over-planted North Coast varietals such as cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir....Wed, 12 Feb 2003 NZ: Successful Bird protection for local grower Colin and Chris Fletcher have successfully trialled Bird Gard acoustical bird control products. These units repel starlings, waxeyes, sparrows, blackbirds and thrushes, which had previously been a problem in parts of their vineyard adjacent to shelter belts and the house garden with its trees...Wed, 12 Feb 2003 Oz winemakers face a flat market Australia's winemakers are feeling the squeeze as a flat domestic market and a glut in production force the industry to rationalize. The Winemakers Federation of Australia says many smaller wineries could be forced out of business by heavy discounting....Wed, 12 Feb 2003 Australia: Wine Exports Continue To Surge Australian wine exports reached new highs in value and value for the year ended January 2003, according to latest figures from Wine and Brandy Corporation....Wed, 12 Feb 2003 New Federal Bureau Takes Over Regulating Wine Industry One of the lesser-known side effects of the new Homeland Security Act is that the government agency that has regulated alcohol for the past three decades has been split in two....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Most Reverse Osmosis In The EU Is Illegal Most of the reverse osmosis practised in the EU is illegal as well as unnatural, according to maverick new-wave Chianti Classico superstar Sebastiano Castiglioni of Agricola Querciabella....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Australia: Winemakers want tax relief Australian winemakers are lobbying the Federal Government for a $100 million tax relief package for smaller operators in this year's Budget. Under the plan, wineries would be exempt from the red tape imposed by the wine equalisation tax system until they produced more than 600,000 litres....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Corkscrew alternative is easy on the wrist Modern wine makers insist corks are rotten. But it's hard to imagine screw top wines will ever catch on with pretentious traditionalists. Now, to the rescue, comes MetaCork....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 South Africa ups UK wine market share South Africa has moved up from sixth to fourth position in the UK retail wine sector and increased its share of the market in 2002 Tue, 11 Feb 2003to 9.5% from 7.9% in 2001, according to Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Liquid Gold: The Story of Australian Wine and its Makers For years, British wine writers turned their attention to the obvious fountainheads of great wine: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal. But Australia rarely featured on the list until about 1985 when 34 British wine writers and buyers careened around the country to discover for themselves, en masse, the real depth of Aussie wines....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Wine Bars Are New Rage in Argentina While the history of Argentine winemaking dates back centuries, the wine bar is something new in a country whose bountiful grape harvest has long languished in the shadows of fabled vineyards abroad, even though this vast South American nation has long been the world's fifth-largest wine-producing country....Tue, 11 Feb 2003 Cuba could have a future as wine country Cuba may be renowned for rum, but that's not stopping joint-venture wineries and self-taught winemakers from eking out a market for homegrown chardonnays and cabernets here....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 Pakistan: Four die in shooting at wine shop Four people were gunned down and two others were critically injured when four unknown armed men opened indiscriminate fire inside a wine shop at Petal Bagh, on Saturday evening....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 Bulgaria's First Cask-Rolling Contest Gets Ovation Eight Bulgarians and five Frenchmen impressed the visitors of the Vinaria international wine exhibition with a cask-rolling contest. They went for 200 m sprint on Saturday. Such contest takes place for the first time in Bulgaria....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 U.K. Government wine cellar worth £1.5million Harlow MP Bill Rammell, a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been called on to explain the value and contents of the Government wine cellar. And he revealed that much of the £1.5m stock are wines that are bought early, allowing time for them to mature....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 Slumping wine prices lead to industry shakeout First it was the tech bust. Is California now in the midst of a 'grape crush?' Just as the tech bust led to 'For Sale' shingles on many Silicon Valley assets, more and more vintners are being forced to put California vineyards and brands on the block to keep their wineries afloat in a flooded market....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 More Singaporeans take to wine drinking Times may be bad but when it comes to wine, Singaporeans have been drinking up to about 7 million litres a year, according to recent figures....Mon, 10 Feb 2003 Plastic is practical, even in wine industry Mark Noel believes that synthetic wine corks are finally passing the taste test among wineries. The Nomacorc plant in Zebulon, where he is chief executive, makes 500 million artificial corks per year. That's a sharp increase from the 10 million it produced during its first year of production in 1999...Mon, 10 Feb 2003 Australia: Wine industry unfazed by domestic sales fall A drop in domestic sales of Australian produced wine is not concerning Western Australia's wine industry. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says $36 million of Australian wine was sold domestically last December, a 4.4 per cent drop from the same period last year.... Fri, 07 Feb 2003 Vincor International Reports Record profits Vincor International Inc. (TSX:VN), One of North America's largest producers of wine and related products, today reported record third quarter financial results. For the three-month period ended December 31, 2002, Vincor reported an 11.5% increase in net sales and a 17.7% increase in net income over the corresponding period in the previous year....Fri, 07 Feb 2003 New Zealand: Mechanical pruning proves good value After a year trialing a machine that pre-prunes vines and cuts back on labour costs, Villa Maria winery is more convinced than ever that mechanising vineyards is the future....Fri, 07 Feb 2003 ATF ruling expected to boost BC VQA Icewine exports In a decision experts say will boost British Columbia VQA Icewine exports, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has ruled that only wines made from grapes naturally frozen on the vine can be labelled as Icewine....Fri, 07 Feb 2003 Trouble in Aust's wine industry Premium Australian wine has been selling at bargain prices for months now as the top wine makers compete aggressively for market share. But the days of the cheap drop may be numbered following the sacking of Southcorp's Chief Executive, Keith Lambert....Wed, 05 Feb 2003 Red-Wine Extract Extends Shelf Life of Fruit Apples that turn mushy a few days after being purchased from your local grocery may one day become a thing of the past -- thanks to a natural preservative found in grapes. Researchers in Spain have found that dipping fruit in trans-resveratrol, a chemical compound in red wine, keeps it fresh longer....Wed, 05 Feb 2003 Lacoste refuses to be made ward of court Lily Lacoste, the 96-year-old former owner of Château Pétrus in Pomerol, last week resisted efforts to place her under the legal guardianship of the local court of protection....Wed, 05 Feb 2003 Cabernet Franc now charging ahead as its own varietal Cabernet Franc is known primarily as a grape to blend with one of the four other Bordeaux red varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Now Cabernet Franc is making a bid in California to become a significant stand-alone varietal wine....Tue, 04 Feb 2003 French Scientists Develop White Wine That Acts Like a Red Finally, a promising innovation for those who don't drink red wine. A team of French scientists has developed a Chardonnay that, at least as indicated in tests on diabetic rats, could have the same health benefits associated with red wine....Tue, 04 Feb 2003 Wining and Dining, the Bordeaux Way The wise old men of Bordeaux, whoever they were 60 or 70 years ago, made a remarkable discovery: the press. Not the kind that crushes grapes; the Romans knew about those presses. I mean the press that tells the world about Bordeaux wine. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that few business groups anywhere are as astute as the Bordelais when it comes to presenting their image to the rest of the world.....Tue, 04 Feb 2003 Baja wine industry aims to showcase its 'Grape Corridor' California has the Napa Valley, and France its Bordeaux region. Now, Baja California wants to create a "Grape Corridor" to showcase its growing wine industry.....Tue, 04 Feb 2003 Bulk wine blenders emerge in Oregon Nowadays, technology and globalization have made it possible for France's village winemakers to market their own products. And the big negociant houses now make their own wines. But in Oregon, the era of negociants is just beginning.....Tue, 04 Feb 2003 |
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