May, 01, 2010 Show Stopper: How Plastic Popped the Cork Monopoly

ZEBULON, N.C.—In a nondescript factory in this small, wooded town, 10 giant machines worked around the clock last year to churn out 1.4 billion plastic corks, enough to circle the earth 1.33 times if laid end-to-end.Unknown to most American wine drinkers, the plant's owner, Nomacorc LLC, has quiet...

May, 01, 2010 California wine sales up last year, but revenue declined

California vintners shipped 467.7 million gallons (196.7 million cases) of California wine to the U.S. wine market in 2009, up a modest 0.2 percent compared to the previous year’s volume. The estimated retail value of these sales was $17.9 billion, down 3 percent from 2008 as consumers traded down...

April, 30, 2010 Mondavi: Many California wineries will be sold under duress

Former Mondavi CEO Michael Mondavi has admitted that a large number of non-profitable California wineries will change hands 'under duress' this year.Speaking at the Fine Wine 2010 conference in Ribera del Duero, Spain, Mondavi told decanter.com that he had seen several prestigious Napa wineries 'dro...

April, 30, 2010 Taking Advantage of the Wine Glut

There is a glut of wine all over the world—an oversupply so significant that it's compelled Australian winemakers to plow up their vineyards, forced French producers to turn wines into ethanol and brought wealthy Napa vintners if not to their knees then to their bankers in search of refinance. The...

April, 30, 2010 Grapevine moth found in Mendocino County

Area quarantine likely. The Agriculture Department confirmed the existence of the European Grapevine Moth in Ukiah when 13 moths from traps set in 12 acres of Chardonnay near Ukiah tested positive this week.European Grapevine Moth is a pest new to United States and now Mendocino County."The only wa...

April, 30, 2010 English wine gets serious

As May Day is celebrated and England is looking its most delightful, awash with blossom, it is also awash with its very own wine. All over the world – most notably in Australia, New Zealand, California and Chile – there is a grape glut, causing a fall in the prices paid by wine producers for gra...

April, 30, 2010 'Cheap wine' ads did not deliver

Hundreds of people are thought to have lost money after responding to two national newspaper adverts for consignments of cheap wine.The ads for SurplusWines.co.uk promised "huge savings on fine wines and champagnes". The half-page adverts appeared in both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail on ...

April, 29, 2010 SA law change will make wine promotion easier

South Australian wine producers are welcoming a change to state liquor licensing laws.The new legislation, effective from May 3, will allow wineries to show their wines at markets, promotional activities and cellar doors without having to obtain a new liquor licence each time. Michelle Stehbens, pr...