If you believe that you can trust a chart to get a fair impression of any vintage, then you must be somewhat naive; and if you think you can use one to understand an Italian vintage, then you are seriously out of touch.
Read more...When it's time for bottling, Enrico Drei Don wheels his lovingly restored Fiat 500 out of his family's winery and the rented bottling line is rolled in to take its place. As passionate a student of cars as he is of wine in all its dimensions, he is able to illuminate the inner workings of a carburettor with the same ease as he does the geopolitical boundaries of his native Emilia-Romagna, and in near-flawless English.
Read more...The controversial president of the Syndicate of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur has been tipped to take over the presidency of the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB).
Read more...Chairman:
Anthony Rose, The Independent
Panellists:
Alberto Antonini, producer and consultant; Tony Brown MW, product manager for Italy, Spain and Portugal, Meridian Wines; Peter McCombie MW, consultant; Simon Thorpe MW, purchasing director, Western Wines
Sponsor:
Claudio Gamberotto, CAVIT
A proposed 400,000 ha to be removed from production
Non-GI wines allowed vintage and variety on label
No more financial aid for crisis distillation
California wine legend Paul Dolan has been elected as the new chairman of the California Wine Institute.
Read more...The on-trade continues to lose out to the take-home market as the big night in' concept grows in popularity among consumers, a leading industry conference was told earlier this month (June).
Read more...Whisky has always tended to have a rather polarising effect; people either love it or hate it - there are very few who think it's just okay.
Read more...The most expensive case of wine ever sold at auction went for 93,500 ($175,032) at a sale held at Christie's, London, last week.
Read more...Once, whisky was such a simple affair. If you wanted a Scotch you went out and bought one. And it was a blend.
Read more...Look at the 12-month period from March 2005 to March 2006, and the number of nine-litre cases sold in the UK fell by nearly half a million to 8.23 million - a drop of more than 5%. Within these statistics, bottled malts fell by 4.9%, while blends saw a decrease of 5.7%.
Read more...The Douro was hit by a heavy hailstorm on the night of 14 June, with some vineyards stripped of grapes and the vines severely damaged. The hail damage hit the Pinho valley and the Rio Torto valley particularly badly.
Read more...Micro-brewery Islay Ales has teamed up with neighbouring distiller Bruichladdich to produce a powerful and heady' beer.
Read more...Wine brand Blue Nun is launching two major consumer sampling campaigns - with lingerie store Ann Summers and fashion retailer Dorothy Perkins. Both campaigns are targetted to reach 18- to 25-year-old females.
Read more...Susan Hulme MW is the latest winner of the Madame Bollinger tasting medal.
Read more...Majestic Wine's shares slumped last week after city gossip predicted that next week's full-year profits announcement will fall well short of analysts' 15 million prediction.
Read more...By Jack Hibberd
The European Commission (EC) has agreed to Spain and France's applications for the crisis distillation' of millions of hectolitres of wine - but has strongly hinted that the current situation is unsustainable and a massive uprooting programme is the only option to deal with oversupply.
Sainsbury's was the big winner at last week's Quality Drinks Awards 2006, scooping five trophies in all.
Read more...By Stuart Peskett
The new director of Wines of Argentina's inaugural UK office plans to double the country's market share in the UK.
James Forbes, senior buyer for Oddbins, will take up his new post at the end of July, and said he hopes that Argentina's UK market share will increase from 1.8% to 3.6% within three years.
Waterford Crystal, the Irish glassware maker part of Waterford Wedgwood plc, has launched a range of stemware aimed at lovers of fine wine.
Read more...
