April, 12, 2012 US: The Governor and The Donald Team Up for Wine

(WineSpectator) - Though even mighty California struggles to gain a foothold in the Chinese wine market (not if Yao Ming has anything to say about it), Virginia is already on the ground in Shanghai: "We did this little deal, 7,000 bottles of Barboursville wine going to this one province in China," G...

April, 12, 2012 US: Sonoma County Indian tribes getting into wine business

(PressDemocrat) - Two Sonoma County Indian tribes that own casinos are diversifying into the wine business after buying hundreds of acres of vineyards in Alexander Valley. In separate purchases, the Dry Creek Rancheria and the Lytton Rancheria are spending more than $37 million to acquire vineyar...

April, 12, 2012 NZ: Good wine tipped despite late harvest

(Stuff) - Wairarapa winemakers are breathing a sigh of relief after a sunny Easter finally allowed the harvest to get under way. Many Martinborough and Gladstone vineyards started picking grapes this week, much later than usual after a cool, wet summer meant the fruit was slow to ripen. But wh...

April, 12, 2012 Different Ways of Being Biodynamic: Five Winemakers’ Points of View

(PalatePress) - “How do we farm in such a way that we actually contribute to the expression and the nature of our products?” asked Paul Dolan. This was one of the questions taken up by an all-star cast of winemakers from around the globe during an event organized by Canadian wine agency Trialto,...

April, 12, 2012 US: Central Valley Calif. Grape Grower Sued By Workers

(InsuranceJournal) - A Hispanic advocacy group is suing a Central Valley grape grower to recover wages for Latino employees it claims were forced to work extra hours without pay. The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund filed the class-action lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fresno agains...

April, 11, 2012 Robert Parker report: 'Appearance of impropriety' in Campo/Miller arrangements

(Decanter) - The Wine Advocate's arrangements in Spain last year created 'inappropriate ambiguity' and fell short of the high standards the organisation sets itself, an investigation has found.Philadelphia legal firm Cozen O’Connor was appointed by Robert Parker in December to investigate allegati...

April, 11, 2012 US: Napa Interests Oppose Potential Casino

(Wines&Vines) - In response to the possibility of a Native American tribe gaining recognition and land in Napa County, where it could build a casino or other enterprise, an unprecedented coalition of organizations in the country have joined U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein and U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson in op...

April, 11, 2012 US: California ships 98 million boxes of grapes in 2011

(WesternFarmPress) - California shipped over 98 million boxes (97.4 million 19-pound box equivalents) of fresh California grapes during the 2011 season. With 39.6 million 19-pound box equivalents (41 percent of total volume) exported to more than 60 markets around the globe, 57.8 million 19-pound bo...