October, 14, 2011 US: Wine season turns sour for South Jersey grape growers due to rain, pest problems

(Pressofatlanticcity) - Jim Quarella never would describe a wine vintage as “bad.” Some grape varieties fare better than others in certain conditions, some wines improve with age, and others can be mixed to make more drinkable medleys. So, as he nears the end of this year’s harvest — h...

October, 14, 2011 US: Will California Grapes Rot on the Vine?

(WineSpectator) - Stormy days for California winemakers as heavy rains pound an already late vintage. The sun has returned for now to California wine country, but following a series of rainstorms that swept through the state in the past two weeks, growers and winemakers are scrambling to salvage wha...

October, 13, 2011 US: A late Oregon wine-grape harvest balances risks with rewards

(Oregonlive) - Vintners began trooping north from California to Oregon nearly 50 years ago, enticed by the prospect of making wine right along the climactic edge of where grapes can consistently ripen. Now, with the 2011 harvest poised to get underway, the risks and rewards that make up both side...

October, 13, 2011 New Nomacorc system tailors cork to wine

(Decanter) - Synthetic cork manufacturer Nomacorc has launched a software tool that claims to allows winemakers to tailor the closure to a specific wine. The NomaSelector chooses the ‘optimum closure’ for a wine based on factors such as grape variety, region, winemaking style, storage and distri...

October, 13, 2011 US: Huge forest-to-vine project near Annapolis threatened

(PressDemocrat) - The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the giant state workers pension fund, is severing its investment ties with a Napa-based vineyard management firm pushing one of Sonoma County's largest and most controversial land-use projects. The move threatens Preservation R...

October, 13, 2011 Wine Institute Hails Passage of U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

/PRNewswire/ - Congress approved the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) which eliminates tariffs and other barriers to trade in most goods and services within five years. The agreement immediately removes the 15% tariff on U.S. wines imported to Korea, and repeals the 45% tariff on grape juice...

October, 13, 2011 New Zealand wine producers assess wine loss on stricken ship

(Decanter) - The container ship that ran aground on a reef off New Zealand's North Island last week contained at least 4000 cases of wine. Marlborough producer Astrolabe confirmed it had 4000 cases of wine on board cargo ship, Rena, with a retail value of up to NZ$800,000 (£400,600). It is likely t...

October, 12, 2011 Napa, Okanagan Unite for Wine Venture

(Wines&Vines) - A cross-border partnership between vintners in two of North America’s premier wine regions has set its sights on opening a winery in California’s Napa Valley within the year. Plume Winery is the name of a new venture by West Coast Wine Partners LLC, a business backed by the Stewa...