February, 16, 2011 India: Moet high on Nashik grapes

MUMBAI: There was a surprise buyer for grapes just as the crushing season began in India's wine heartland Nashik this month. Global luxury group LVMH's company Moet Hennessy, in a first-time move, has crushed about 150 tonne of grapes as it looks to come out with locally produced sparkling wines som...

February, 16, 2011 AUS: Wine grapes wasted by the weather

Weather damage could wipe out 20 per cent of Australia's wine grape crop this year. Excess rain has hurt nearly every wine producing area, with Sunraysia the hardest hit. Some Victorian growers could lose a third of their crop due to vine stress and disease. Mark McKenzie, from Murray Valley Wine...

February, 16, 2011 Owl Boxes Perch in Lodi Vineyards

Lodi,CA — More than 100 new barn owl nest boxes will be placed in Lodi vineyards as a result of a $25,000 grant from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) to assist grape-growers in removing existing boxes from utility poles. The new boxes are made from more durable plastic and designed by barn owl re...

February, 16, 2011 Distell Faces Increasing Competition From SABMiller

(Bloomberg) -- Distell Group Ltd., South Africa’s biggest wine and liquor producer, is facing greater competition from brewers such as SABMiller Plc and Diageo Plc as price- conscious consumers switch to beer, Managing Director Jan Scannell said. “In the alcoholic beverage industry, people mo...

February, 16, 2011 UK: HMRC seizes over one million litres of wine

More than 1.8 million litres of illicit wine have been seized by HMRC and the UK Borders Authority since the 'Tackling Alcohol Fraud' strategy was introduced in April 2010, the Government has revealed, but it says it does not know the total volume of wine sold in the UK on which UK duty and VAT had ...

February, 16, 2011 Wine Comes and Goes (to China, e.g.)

The California wine-grape harvest for 2010, according to figures released last week, was only 3% below the previous year’s bountiful crop, which in turn was exceeded only by 2005’s bumper year. Long and short: there’s still plenty of exportable wine coming from this key New World source. A dr...

February, 15, 2011 Dan Berger: Millennials changing wine's alcohol levels

Wine is a simple beverage, primarily composed of the juice from grapes; the alcohol comes from the sugars in those grapes. Basically, that’s it. Sure, yeast is added to create the fermentation (something Louis Pasteur discovered in 1857), but it’s removed before you buy a bottle. And ye...

February, 15, 2011 US: Arizona wine leaders look to grow industry

The Arizona Wine Growers Association elected new officers at its quarterly membership meeting held Feb. 1, 2011, in Willcox, Ariz.Peggy Fiandaca, new president, said, “Arizona wineries have shown they can compete with big-name wineries and continue to impress wine critics. I am excited to be leadi...