October, 29, 2010 Lafite Sets Auction Wine Record at $230,000 a Bottle

(Bloomberg) -- Three bottles of Chateau Lafite’s 1869 vintage each sold for a record price of HK$1.8 million ($230,000) at a sale in Hong Kong last night, underlining Asia’s dominance of the auction market for trophy label wines. All three were bought by the same Asian telephone bidder, said So...

October, 29, 2010 Portugal's New Twist on the Cork Industry

The axes that can be heard in the summer months throughout the cork-oak woodlands, or montados, of Portugal's Alentejo region have long fallen silent. The annual harvest is over, and the trees that have yielded their bark are beginning the decadelong process of regenerating their corky cladding. Acr...

October, 29, 2010 Penfolds Grange vineyard up for sale

Clarendon Vineyard and Winery is up for sale for more than A$10m. The Australian vineyard, at the northern end of McLaren Vale, has supplied fruit for some of Australia’s most lauded wines, including Penfolds Grange and Eileen Hardy Shiraz. Also the source of the Clarendon Hills and Hickinbotha...

October, 28, 2010 On Wine: What is purity in wine?

During a recent winery visit, the winemaker noted that he had reduced the alcohol in one wine through a process called reverse osmosis. The wine was lively and well-balanced, and I suspect the additional step did improve the wine, which was also affordably priced. A representative for the winery sub...

October, 28, 2010 The Sulphur debate (part 1 of 3)

At the recent launch of South African icon wine producer, Kanonkop’s prestigious “Black Label” Pinotage, owner Johann Krige pulled out a few older vintages to show the maturation potential of these wines. The chemical analysis of all the wines were proudly presented and the different sulphur l...

October, 27, 2010 Pennsylvania: First wine kiosk in area opens

ROBINSON TWP. — Grocery-store sales of wine have finally arrived in western Pennsylvania. The state’s fourth wine kiosk — and first in the region — opened Wednesday at the Giant Eagle Market District store in Robinson Township. The polished wood and glass kiosk allows customers to buy single...

October, 27, 2010 Lafite 2008 price rises 20% following Chinese symbol announcement

Demand for Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2008 shot up overnight yesterday, following the announcement that its bottles will be etched with the Chinese figure eight. UK merchants are reporting selling out of the wine following the news, broken yesterday by Decanter.com, that the bottles will carry the sy...

October, 27, 2010 California vineyard water ban 'will cost economy $2bn a year'

Plans to restrict water use in vineyards across California's Sonoma and Mendocino counties could cost the local economy up to US$2bn a year, according to a new report. The report, commissioned by Williams Selyem winery, said up to 8,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the move by California’s St...