Trapan's sharply designed winery, complete with Super Mario-style tubes plumbed into the ceiling of the tasting room (one plugged with a clock), felt too clean and too new to spit in. Besides, Bruno Trapan's well-made wines were hard not to swallow, particularly the completely delicious, un-macerated, oak-free Malvasia, drawn from tank.
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The debate around the proposed minimum price of alcohol appears to have split the trade in two.
When Steve Hilton, David Cameron's so called policy advisor, packed his man bag to head to California many thought he had taken all of the Prime Minister's big policy ideas with him.
Well think again.
Itseemed like the world, its wife and extended family had turned up at Prowein, the German wine fair early this month. Over 40,000 members of the global wine family had made the trek to Dusseldorf by plane, car and winnebago to take advantage of what is increasingly being seen as the most commercially important trade fair in the world.
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There are wine press trips and there are spirits press trips and both are very different affairs. But never in my experience do you get a wine and spirits trip all mixed up in one.
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David Cameron's warning last week that his government is looking to introduce much tighter drinks legislation, including potentially a minimum price for alcohol, resulted in the industry taking another beating from the national media.
Yet other than the obligatory responses from our much called upon drinks trade associations, where was the reply from our major drinks companies?
David Cameron's warning last week that his government is looking to introduce much tighter drinks legislation, including potentially a minimum price for alcohol, resulted in the industry taking another beating from the national media.
Yet other than the obligatory responses from our much called upon drinks trade associations, where was the reply from our major drinks companies?
It says something of how far the power of brands are now so embedded in our lives that the adverts during this week's Super Bowl had more of an impact than the game itself.
As the industry takes a collective intake of breath for us all to plan our respective budgets for the financial year ahead, who better to guide us in our efforts than the collective thoughts of the BWS chiefs at each of our major supermarkets. The Famous Five if you like.
Read more...Considering the viticultural stats of New Zealand - there were merely 238 wineries and 6610 hectares of vineyard in 1996, now there are 698 wineries and 33,600 hectares - and their constantly growing trend, David Cox, European Director of New Zealand Wines does not think that this will continue. "We've had our big vintage years in 2008 and 2009 and we are back in balance now, pretty much. I don't think we are going to see very many plantings, not for the next couple of years," Cox said at yesterday's Annual Trade Tasting at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.
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"It is just important to give the trade the opportunity to taste, to show how good and versatile these wines are," said Iris Ellmann, MD of German specialist merchant The Wine Barn at yesterday's Annual Trade Tasting.
Wandering past the lines of discarded Christmas trees outside people's homes this week certainly helped draw a line under the Christmas, New Year festivities.
If you did believe all you read in the papers then you would not get out of bed in the morning. If the economic predictions for the year ahead were not enough to get you reaching for a bottle of the strong stuff, we're now being told by a TV retail celebrity that if you did pop down to your local high street you would not be able to find a shop with a bottle to sell you.
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When's the last time you had a Chinese takeaway? Last week? A fortnight ago? If the pundits are right we'll soon be asking the same question about the last Chinese wine you had.
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The old idiom a problem shared is a problem halved certainly came to mind whilst listening to, and taking part in, three days of Wine Future Hong Kong 2011 event last month. Near on 1,000 wine professionals from 45 different countries made the effort to fly to what has now been dubbed the wine capital of the world to hopefully take a few pearls of wisdom back to their home markets.
Read more...While still leading the UK wine market by volume and value, Australia is at pains to explain that it has more to offer than simple quaffing wines.
Read more...Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. They've not had a pay rise in two years, they're worried about their job, they live on a tight budget and are forever searching the internet to find voucher discount codes and only eat out if they can get a family deal. But they are also really into their food and will shop around to buy local or authentic products. They give money to charity and are actively walking away from businesses with big profits that don't do anything for the environment.
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When temperatures nudge past 80 degrees we are normally in the midst of what the national media refer to as the silly season. The months of July and August when the politicians disappear off to Tuscany and there is nothing to fill the papers than stories of ducks being stuck down chimneys or similar tales of animal derring do.
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I'm not sure how the other participants felt turning up at last week's inaugural Harpers independents and suppliers meeting but I was apprehensive how it might go. Chairing a debate when you know you have strongly opposing views on either side might make for good viewing, but would it actually achieve anything?
"Hi darling, I'm just popping out to get a bottle of wine. Anything you fancy?" "Ooh yes, could you get one of those 5.9% strong wines. I've got a big meeting tomorrow and need a clear head."
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