October, 11, 2010 Washington state liquor privatization proposition draws distributors' ire

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The battle over Washington state's two liquor privatization ballot measures has drawn millions of dollars from out of state, mostly from beer wholesalers opposed to efforts to shake up the current alcohol distribution system.Initiatives 1100 and 1105 would both abolish the state's ...

October, 11, 2010 China becomes 8th biggest wine market

China has become the eighth largest wine consumer market in the world, Popular Daily reports. China Food Association released the 2009-2010 Chinese wine industry market report on Oct. 10, saying that in 2009, Chinese production of liquor totaled nearly 7.1 million tons, beer output reached almost 42...

October, 11, 2010 Meet Brett: Why You Do or Don’t Want It In Your Wine

Have you met Brett? Brett is mentioned so often in the wine industry that you might think he’s Robert Parker’s protégé nephew. Not so, but the truth is just as controversial.Brett, known technically as Brettanomyces bruxellensis, is a yeast. That puts it into the same category as our old frien...

October, 11, 2010 Hall Wines Acquires Roessler Cellars

St. Helena, Calif.—Kathryn and Craig Hall’s 35,000-case Hall Wines of Rutherford and St. Helena is acquiring a substantial portion of 7,000-case Roessler Cellars, Sonoma. Owner Roger Roessler will retain partial ownership of the brand and will continue to be involved in the winery’s promotion....

October, 11, 2010 UK: Foster's Treasury Wine Estates readies TV push for Wolf Blass

The wine unit of Foster's Group, Treasury Wine Estates, has lined up a television advertising campaign in the UK for its Wolf Blass wine brand.The division confirmed today that the nationwide push will launch this month and will highlight the Ashes cricket series in Australia later this year, and tw...

October, 11, 2010 BANKING: Credit crunch threatens Temecula wine country expansion

TEMECULA ---- In Wine Country's field of dreams, growers say they can't even get to first base on scores of proposals to build wineries, or expand with hotels and other tourism pet projects. The reason: Banks won't lend. This year's wine grape harvest was enough of a headache. After contending with...

October, 11, 2010 Wine industry calls for recycling changes

The wine industry is calling for major changes to the way glass is recycled in New Zealand. Many of the bottles collected are being crushed into roads, rather than being made into new bottles. Until two years ago, a plant in Onehunga recycled 98 percent of collected glass – melting it down and tur...

October, 10, 2010 Lodi Vintners toasts new approach

The oldest winery in Lodi just installed the latest thing in winemaking technology: a nearly $1 million "flash détente" system that provides better control over flavor and color, particularly in red wine. "It's really exciting," said Barry Gnekow, a consulting winemaker working with Lodi Vintners a...