September, 16, 2010 Foster's Wine Business Worth $3.3 Billion to Buyout Firms, Merrill Lynch Says

Foster’s Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest brewer, may attract bids from buyout firms for its wine business worth A$3.5 billion ($3.3 billion), according to analysts at Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit. Private equity would get a business that generates A$550 million in annual free ...

September, 15, 2010 Major merger for wine trade

Gilbey’s, the wine wing of multinational Diageo, has been sold to Tipperary based drinks distributor, Gleeson Group. The move was notified to the Competition Authority on 30 July, and, following examination by that body, the transaction is likely to be completed by the autumn.Gilbey’s is believe...

September, 15, 2010 Fill ‘er up: self-serve tanks bring wine to French supermarkets

Fill ‘er up: self-serve tanks bring wine to French supermarkets Keg wine and wine vending machines just got supersized: 500 and one-thousand liter tanks have landed in French supermarkets. Bring your own resealable bottles, Poland Spring containers, jerrycans, whatever. Or you can get one at...

September, 15, 2010 Washington Wineries Debate Privatization Proposal

Woodinville,Wash. -- The debate about the potential privatization of the Washington state liquor trade is highlighting fault lines in the state’s fast-growing wine industry. Controversy triggered by I-1100, a November ballot initiative spearheaded by Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco Wholesale Corp. an...

September, 15, 2010 Aussie wines face Asian growth curbs

HIGH taxes in Asia's key markets that lift wine prices by up to 500 per cent are curbing growth for Australian wine exports, says the chief executive officer of Western Australian-based Sandalford Wines."A focus on Asia's market potential by wine exporters comes against the economic downturn in trad...

September, 14, 2010 New Zealand Wine Sales to Asia Forecast to Surge

New Zealand’s annual wine exports to Asia are forecast to surge as the number of consumers across the region increases, the Dominion Post reported today. Exports could reach NZ$100 million ($73.4 million) by late next year, from around NZ$60 million this year, the Wellington- based newspaper re...

September, 14, 2010 Auction houses look to please Asian wine investors

(Reuters) - More than $15 million worth of first-growth Bordeaux and Burgundies will be going under the hammer in the coming weeks as the wine auction season kicks off in Hong Kong. There will also be sales in New York, London, Paris, Geneva and Chicago, but the Asian auctions will set the tone. ...

September, 14, 2010 Italy set for smaller wine output,good quality seen

(Reuters) - Italian wine quality is expected to improve as volume falls slightly this year after farmers dug up vines, encouraged by incentives from the European Union, research showed. Italy's wine output is expected to fall 1 percent to just above 4.5 billion litres, farmers' research centre IS...