October, 22, 2011 US: Project seeks to expand South Dakota wine industry

(Businessweek) - South Dakota State University is taking part in a project aimed at stimulating the grape and wine industry in South Dakota and a dozen other northern states with cold climates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide funding for the project that will examine the wine-maki...

October, 22, 2011 US: Oregon growers trying several tricks to salvage wine grape growing season

(Statesmanjournal) - Threats of migratory birds, destructive mold and fall weather make it a tough time to be a wine grape in the Willamette Valley. Area growers are on pins and needles as they deal with another delayed harvest — the result of heavy spring rains and a cool growing season. Simil...

October, 22, 2011 Cleaning up the Cape

(JancisRobinson) - Bidding is always fierce for the most distinctive lot in the annual Cape Winemakers Guild auction, the giant 18-litre bottle filled with a special blend of the best wines of the most recent vintage produced by members of this elite club of South Africa's top vintners. At this year...

October, 21, 2011 Getting to the Bottom of Bordeaux

(WSJ) - With thousand-dollar bottles, complex classifications and a dizzying number of estates, this great French wine region is difficult to comprehend. Here, a simplified guide to the territoire—plus some surprisingly affordable offerings. There are only a handful of wine regions that manage to ...

October, 21, 2011 Chinese interest in lower-ranking chateaux increasing, say Bordeaux negociants

(Decanter) - While the market for the very top end of Bordeaux is correcting itself in China, interest in the lower end is increasing, Bordeaux negociants say. Both CVBG Grands Crus and Vintex have told Decanter.com they are seeing ‘very strong interest’ in the 5th growth and Cru Bourgeois wines...

October, 21, 2011 Mexico lifts 20 percent tariff on Golden State wine

(Bizjournals) - Mexico has eliminated what the San Francisco-based Wine Institute called “retaliatory tariffs” on 99 U.S. products, including a 20 percent tariff on California and other U.S. wines, after a trucking dispute between the two North American neighbors was resolved. Golden State wi...

October, 21, 2011 Karl Lagerfeld's Latest Design Project: Wine Labels

(Huffingtonpost) - Karl Lagerfeld recently told Style.com he has little interest in imbibing alcohol, along with engaging in various other vices. But that didn't stop the Kaiser from designing wine labels to commemorate the Chateau Rauzan-Segla vineyard's 350th anniversary (the winery was acquire...

October, 21, 2011 Wine: Organic Is Better, Right?

(NewWorldWinemaker) - There is no word for winemaker in French, Spanish, Italian or German, pointing to the ingrained belief that wine is made by nature, not by man. The conviction has been held for centuries in the Old World-that wine is, at its core, the reflection of a place. While there is no s...