1998 Dom Prignon
The latest Dom Prignon vintage, 1998, was offered to a group of UK journalists at Chteau Saran on 28 June by chef de caves Richard Geoffroy. This most metaphysical of winemakers used the opportunity to expound the philosophy behind both Dom Prignon and the recently disgorged mature vintages in the OEnothque range.
A new report on the Australian wine industry has painted a gloomy picture for mid- and small-sized Australian wineries, with almost one in two wineries reporting a loss in 2004'.
Read more...English sparkling wine producers Nyetimber and Ridgeview both scooped prestigious awards last week.
They came, they saw, they screamed. More than 150 female members of the wine trade raised the roof last week while watching eight of the industry's leading male members do (almost) The Full Monty' for the benefit of Prostate Cancer.
Read more...Mot & Chandon is set to sue Vinexpo for loss of business, image and credibility' after not being allowed to occupy its contracted stand space at last month's exhibition in Bordeaux.
Read more...David Hohnen, the man behind Cloudy Bay and Cape Mentelle, has launched a new range of Margaret River wines with the help of his daughter and brother-in-law.
Read more...Pernod Ricard is on the verge of acquiring Allied Domecq after its shareholders approved a move to increase the group's share capital.
Read more...Some 104 people could be made redundant from South African producer KWV.
Read more...In a statement that will surprise many of this year's visitors to Vinexpo, the organisers of the biennial trade fair in Bordeaux have declared last week's five-day event an unexpected' success, with an increase in visitor numbers on the previous show in 2003, and a record number of non-French visitors.
Read more...Australian wine pioneer Brian Croser, Lynch-Bages's Jean-Michel Cazes and Bollinger's Arnould d'Hautefeuille brought the first samples from Tapanappa, their new Australian joint venture in Wrattonbully, South Australia, to London last month.
Read more...Joo Costa, the public face of Portuguese wine promotion in the UK, is to leave the country's trade and tourism office (ICEP) after six years.
Read more...New Zealand wine family The Twelve came to London last Monday hot on the heels from similar events in San Francisco and New York, to explain their initiative and show their wines.
Read more...Life for wine buffs just got a whole lot more complicated. As well as having to memorise the best-performing clones and the various training techniques, pruning styles, fermentation temperatures, barrel types and the rest, it is becoming increasingly clear they will have to learn the names of numerous commercial strains of yeast as well. And with names like VL3, BM45 and Lavin 31, it probably won't be that fun doing so.
Read more...Champagne GH Mumm has announced that Mumm is to be the official Champagne of the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team for the next three years.
Read more...Cockburn & Campbell has been appointed sole agent for the wine of Chilean producer Terra Mater.
Read more...Constellation's Australian wine brand, Banrock Station, has announced it is teaming up with The Eden Project, the Cornish visitor attraction and environmental initiative.
Read more...In his opening speech at Vinexpo 2005, Dominique Bussereau, the French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, promised robust measures to defend [France's] position in international markets' but stopped short of outlining any new initiatives.
Read more...A conference organised by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), held in Bordeaux at Vinexpo on 22 June as part of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the first French AOC, at once highlighted the desirability of a global system and the difficulty of reaching it. INAO president Ren Renou emphasised, We don't want a French system, we want a global system, and the more we all respect each other, the more positive the result will be'; while Alexander Tilgenkamp, deputy director-general of the Directorate-General for Agriculture at the European Commission, explained the administrative burden on EC institutions and the impasse in WTO negotiations on TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights).
Read more...They're not shouting from the rooftops, but it seems highly likely that the major southern hemisphere generic bodies are to unite and organise a show to rival Vinexpo and the LIWSF.
Read more...Having already made it to the front of the admittedly meagre field of wine television programmes, the daytime TV husband-and-wife team that hosts the eponymous Richard & Judy show is to venture into the world of wine publishing with a new guide book, the Richard & Judy Wine Guide.
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