December, 28, 2011 Some France makers of wine go natural, and fight the system

( LATimes) - Many natural winemakers have been ejected from the French regulatory system; others leave because they believe certification methods reward low-standard industrially and chemically produced wine. Standing by the wood-burning oven in their kitchen, Claire Cousin rips apart the frame ar...

December, 28, 2011 Waiting for the ice

(Thespec) - NIAGARA The making of icewine, says Daniel Speck, requires the art and science of imposing order on nature. In other words, it comes down to trying to manage the weather. This year, however, is proving a bit more challenging than some. With the unusually mild weather, the grapes ar...

December, 28, 2011 Bulgaria’s Cabinet approves new bill on wine and spirits

(Sofiaecho) - Bulgaria’s Cabinet, meeting on December 28 2011, approved a new Wine and Spirits Bill that sets out minimum proportions of alcohol in certain drinks and imposes a ban – with steep fines – for falsely labelling drinks as wine.   The bill is intended to bring Bulgaria into line ...

December, 28, 2011 Wine sales robust in 2011, may drop more in 2012

(Reuters) - It was a good year for fine wine in 2011 with auction houses reporting solid sales but the bubble has burst in the Bordeaux market and prices are expected to fall further in 2012. Wine sales at auction house Acker Merrall & Condit topped $110 million this year. Christie's estimated it...

December, 28, 2011 US:  TTB Wraps End-of-Year Wine Business

(Wines&Vines) - After a year of relative quietude on the grape and wine front, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued a flurry of news in the past two months, establishing new AVAs and posting other AVA petitions for public comment. Perhaps the most notable, and certainly the most...

December, 27, 2011 Is French champagne reall the best

(Adelaidenow) - WATCHING lazy bubbles wend their way to the surface, hearing them pop and fizz, feeling them tickle the tastebuds and roll down the tongue, is an intoxicating sensual feast. Lovers of fine sparkling wine often say there's something special about the bubbles, known as "the bead", i...

December, 27, 2011 We Don’t Want the Funk (in our Wine)

(KQED) - Wine sometimes tastes a bit funky because it was contaminated during fermentation with a yeast called Brettanomyces bruxellensis. This yeast can give wine a variety of interesting flavors like “…horse sweat, Band Aid, barnyard, and burnt plastic…” Winemakers usually keep this from ...

December, 27, 2011 US: Wine Signs Needed for the Final Mile

(Wines&Vines) - Wine country along the West Coast is defined by mountains and rivers: The ranges that create the arid interiors of British Columbia and Washington state, and the rivers that name and give life to the Okanagan, Columbia and Willamette valleys are part of local landscape and language. ...