August, 11, 2016 Wine Packaging Designer Encourages Innovation

(Wines&Vines) - Designer Kevin Shaw is not afraid to shake the tree and see what falls out. As founder of the design firm Stranger & Stranger, he’s created a wine bottle made of cardboard and packaged rum inside a ceramic killer octopus. Come Aug. 17, he’ll be sharing his vision...

August, 11, 2016 Premier Cru Staffer Spills Beans About Ponzi Scheme

(Wine-Searcher) - The disgraced former owner of the bankrupt store is facing 20 years in prison. "I can't believe he's finally going to prison!" That was an excited text sent between former employees of bankrupt Berkeley, California wine retailer, Premier Cru on Wednesday. John Fox, co-own...

August, 11, 2016 Vineyard Deals: Williams Selyem Buys Sonoma History, While Sea Smoke Buys a Neighbor

(WineSpectator) - Sonoma Pinot producer acquires old-vine Zinfandel property Saitone Vineyard; Sea Smoke purchases Rita's Crown. Two leading California wineries announced vineyard purchases yesterday. In Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, Williams Selyem has bought the 33-acre Saitone Vineyard...

August, 10, 2016 Scientists Find Promise Treating Alzheimer's with a Mix of Wine Compounds

(WineSpectator) -  Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found in red wine, chocolate, berries and other foods, has yet to live up to its reputation as a wonder drug. The chemical has shown promise in lab studies for treating several maladies, but it's unclear how the body metabolizes it, and m...

August, 10, 2016 Experts renew calls for UK to rejoin OIV

(TDB) - Leading wine academics have echoed wine critic and expert Jancis Robinson MW’s call for the UK to rejoin the OIV, saying they represent the views of producers, traders and retailers across the UK wine sector. Posting an open letter on Robinson’s website, three senior wine e...

August, 10, 2016 Wine fraud increasingly difficult to detect, prevent

(Inforum) - Wine fraud: Is it something new? Even Thomas Jefferson was aware of it, and checked it by being among the first to have his wine bottled on site at the winery and sealed with a wax plug to prevent adulteration in shipment. The common practice back then was to ship in bulk to be...

August, 10, 2016 Giant corkscrew on sale at Christie’s for £25k

(TDB) - A self-pouring wine machine and corkscrew made from 300 pieces of scrap metal is to go on sale at Christie’s for £25,000. The enormous mechanical corkscrew and self-pouring wine machine was built by Rob Higgs in 2006 from scrap metal and items including drills, spanners, cann...

August, 10, 2016 Owner of Bankrupt Wine Store Premier Cru Will Plead Guilty to Fraud

(WineSpectator) - John Fox, the man behind troubled wine retailer Premier Cru, will plead guilty this week to criminal charges that will likely send him to federal prison, Wine Spectator has learned. During a sealed proceeding in June, federal prosecutors charged Fox with one count of wire fraud. A...