September, 07, 2011 US: Inertia Beverage buys 1-800-Flowers.com wine unit

Inertia Beverage Group of Napa announced a deal Tuesday to acquire the wine shipping division of 1-800-Flowers.com, known as WTN Services. Financial terms were not disclosed. The companies said they will form a joint venture to sell wine online. The new company, WineDirect, will be headquarter...

September, 06, 2011 Diageo Submits Highest Offer for Ethiopia’s Meta Brewery, Fortune Reports

Diageo Plc (DGE), the world’s biggest liquor maker, submitted the highest bid for Ethiopia’s state- owned Meta Abo Brewery, the Addis Fortune reported. Diageo offered $225 million, SABMiller Plc with SouthWest Development bid $190 million, and Amsterdam-based Heineken NV (HEIA) offered $188 m...

September, 06, 2011 US: The Magnificent 7

With seven wines tied for first place, this year's 10-year cabernet sauvignon retrospective tasting created its own version of “Bottle Shock.”The final tally was unprecedented in the Press Democrat's 16 years of conducting the tasting. The retrospective tasting has become a tradition because ...

September, 06, 2011 Ethiopia uncorks a new export with French wine-making partnership

Making wine in Ethiopia, when the whole world has seen pictures of famine there, may seem absurd, if not indecent. But that would be to forget that this country of 88 million people is twice the size of France and that malnutrition is mainly in the far south, in the region bordering Kenya and Somali...

September, 06, 2011 Bordeaux exports up 26%, but Alsace, Languedoc, Loire down

In a difficult economic environment, French wine exports have risen dramatically so far in 2011. From January to June 2011, there has been a 5% volume increase and a 15% value increase compared to the same period in 2010, Ubifrance, the French trade commission, reports. France exported some 6.6m ...

September, 05, 2011 Bordeaux 2011: Crop damaged as hail hits northern Medoc

Chateau Cos d'Estournel and Cos Labory have lost vines to hail as storms swept Bordeaux - with more predicted for the weekend. Although the storms were localised, Saint Estephe and Pauillac were particularly badly hit, with estimates of up to 900 hectares of vines damaged following a short storm aro...

September, 05, 2011 AUS: Wine tax reform plan to hit purse but help the body

TAXING wine in the same way as beer would cut overall alcohol consumption by 9 per cent, according to economic modelling to be presented today. It would cut sales of cask wine by 61 per cent, increase sales of beer and net the government an extra $1.5 billion. The plan, tested in economic modelli...

September, 05, 2011 Why Cork Is the Most Amazing Material in the World to Keep Your Wine Tasty

There's a reason the screw cap hasn't dominated the wine stopper industry: Cork still kicks the ass of stamped aluminum for the good stuff-and not just for nostalgia's sake. This is what keeps our evening libations from turning sour. Cork is an unbeatable bottle stopper. It's compressed by machin...