Western Wines MD and Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) board member Mike Paul has defended the association against accusations that it has lost its way in the wake of its protracted hunt for a new chief executive.
Read more...Michel Laroche, the Chablis-based producer with interests that span the globe, has bought high-profile South African estate L'Avenir.
Read more...London West End nightclub Umbaba has launched what it claims is the world's most expensive cocktail.
Cristin Lpez, managing director of Concha y Toro UK, is the first Chilean to complete the Wine MBA and pass with distinction.
Read more...Following the success of The Benevolent's Christie's wine auction in 2003, the second Benevolent auction will take place at Christie's from 10.30am on 17 November. Many special and rare-bottling wines and spirits will be on sale, all having been donated by companies in the trade.
Read more...Jameson Irish Whiskey has outlined its most expensive advertising campaign ever - with the main message to serve it mixed with ginger ale/beer.
Read more...Cambridge wine educator Anthony Stockbridge has become the first ever UK finalist selected to represent the country in a competition to find the European ambassador for Champagne.
Read more...The 20th edition of Salon des Vins de Loire will be held 6-8 February 2006 at Angers Parc Expo - not 30 January-
1 February as previously advertised by the organisers.
Portugal must play to its strengths - indigenous
grape varieties and regional differences - if it is to
succeed as an exporting wine nation, according to Salvador Guedes, president of the country's largest producer, Vinhos Sogrape.
The most exciting grape grown in South Tyrol, at least among its reds, is the Lagrein, a variety found only there and in the adjacent hills of northern Trentino. Scholars differ about the area where the Lagrein grape originated. Some say it comes from the Vallagarina area, which is a valley south of Trento. This theory finds some support in the name of the variety, since Lagarino is the Italian name for Lagrein. Others believe it first appeared near Gries in the area of Bozen, where Benedictine friars of the Muri convent have cultivated it since 1600. But most scholars agree that the real origin
is Lagaria, a Roman coastal area near the Ionic Sea, or Greece, where lagaros means hanging grape, which in south Italy became lagarinum.
What is it about RTDs that people seem to have such a problem with? It's been a good 10 years since the Hooch and Two Dogs alcopop' stigma hit the category, and yet the blame for any alcohol-related problems is still often placed at the RTD door. On top of this criticism, the sector has had to contend with a year-on-year decline and a constant assertion from the trade that RTDs have had their day. Is this really fair? In spite of all the negativity, new brands and alternative versions of established brands are continuing to hit the shelves at speed - there's even talk of Diageo introducing a whole new range of RTDs to the UK market. Are these the activities of an industry that's about to pop its clogs?
John Hoskins MW owns the Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon, a large, red-brick building on the edge of town. The A14 clatters by noisily at the foot of the garden, but poplars are beginning to cover up the concrete girders, and the south-facing terrace looks instead in the direction of the River Ouse, which flows gently by. It's a pleasant place to sit on a summer's day, and people are attracted by the wine list, too, in a part of the country bereft of decent selections. Hoskins has five major suppliers - Liberty, Noel Young, Morris & Verdin, Amps Fine Wines and Lay & Wheeler - and has remained loyal to them. So you'd think these merchants would be falling over themselves to conduct business properly with Hoskins, especially since he also has three pubs in the area.
Read more...Of the two million hectolitres (hl) of wine that Italy was allowed to submit for crisis distillation' by EC regulation number 1530 (dated 21 September 2005), Sicily has put in a request for more than half the total, or 1.1 million hl.
Read more...Steve Best has joined United Wineries as a UK national account manager.
Overall, 2005 has been a difficult vintage from north to south,' stressed Alberto Antonini, winemaker of the Matura group. The key factor to getting the best out of this vintage was good vineyard management.'
Read more...HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has signed a memorandum of understanding' (MOA) with the two leading UK spirits trade associations designed to cement cooperation in dealing with spirits fraud.
Read more...Diageo surprised both the wine trade and city analysts last week by declining its option to buy Pernod Ricard's New Zealand brand Montana for 320 million.
Read more...The sale of Groupe Lanson, formerly known as Marne
& Champagne, has moved another step closer with the 15 companies originally declaring an interest now whittled down to a short list of five.
Beyers Truter, the owner and winemaker of South Africa's Beyerskloof winery, has lent his name and support to a new initiative that aims to tackle one of the Cape's most serious issues - alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
Read more...Pencil-thin novelty act The Cheeky Girls livened up the Nicolas Feuillatte One Fo(u)r launch party at hot London club Movida last week. The Romanian twins (real names Monica & Gabriela Irimia) were more than happy to pose for photographers to mark the launch of the range, which comprises a Brut NV and a ros, both in 200ml bottles. Meanwhile, the great and the good of AOR turned out for the Q Awards at London's Grosvenor House Hotel, sponsored by Chilean brand PKNT. Bands such as Coldplay and The Charlatans were at the ceremony, and all the guests received goodie bags containing PKNT wristbands and yo-yos.
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