May, 17, 2011 US: Small Winery Succeeds in China

Napa Valley,CA—On the heels of the Napa Valley Vintners’ eighth trade mission to China, Wines & Vines talked with Marc Cohen, owner of 1,000-cases Howell at the Moon Winery, Angwin, about his successful penetration of the desirable Chinese market. It was, he said, a slow process. You may reme...

May, 17, 2011 The power of yeast hulls!

In the aftermath of the Southern hemisphere harvest, some poor unfortunates are still struggling with stuck fermentations. In most cases when looking at the facts one can pinpoint why the stuck occurred, but on the odd occasion the reason is not very clear. I had a situation last week where the win...

May, 17, 2011 California: Wine Grape Growers Concerned About Stormy Weather

SONOMA, Calif. -- Monday evening brought the kind of cold, wet weather grape growers don't want to see in the middle of May when millions of acres of vines are developing fruit clusters.Grapes need warm weather to grow, and the current stretch of wet and chilly weather wasn't proving it for Napa Cou...

May, 17, 2011 11 million UK regular wine drinkers go online for wine info

Almost 40% of regular wine drinkers in the UK , or 11 million people, search for wine information online - that's according to Wine Intelligence. Statistics also show that 28% of regular UK wine drinkers, or 8 million people, have bought wine online in the past three months. Wine Intelligence's Juan...

May, 17, 2011 South African Wineries Will Face Grape Shortage in 5 Years, Producer Says

The South African wine industry will face a shortage of grapes within five years as growers reduce the acreage they cultivate, according to Distell Group Ltd. (DST), the country’s biggest wine and liquor producer. The country’s industry has oversupplied the market, particularly with red grape...

May, 16, 2011 US: Bernie Madoff's wine collection to be auctioned off to raise funds for Ponzi scheme victims

While the disgraced American financier Bernard Madoff languishes in Butner Medium jail, North Carolina, authorities have announced they will be auctioning off his extensive wine and spirits collection. The 73-year-old, who is serving a 150-year sentence for his Ponzi scheme, will not see a penny ...

May, 16, 2011 Moet Chinese wine deal will 'educate' public

Moet Hennessy has signed a joint venture deal with a Chinese company to make high-end sparkling wine on the Chinese mainland. The deal will expand the country’s wine market by educating the public and wine producers in sparkling wine, observers said. Moet signed the deal earlier this month with...

May, 16, 2011 US: Winemaking and Grapegrowing Have a Field Day

Davis, Calif.—The Viticulture & Enology Department at the University of California, Davis, hosted a field day May 13 to update the industry about department facilities, programs and extension resources—most notably, the introduction of a new cooperative extension enology specialist, Dr. Anita Ob...