March, 17, 2015 Tuscany Faces Ban on New Plantings

(Wine-Searcher) - Proposed laws could stop new vineyards in Italian wine's spiritual home. Tuscan winemakers are bracing for a vote that could effectively halt the construction of any new buildings and stop them from planting vines – even in currently authorized vineyard sites. The proposed...

March, 17, 2015 Wine Sales, Hiring Strong in February

(Wines&Vines) - All of the key industry metrics tracked by Wines Vines Analytics exhibited positive growth in February. Direct-to-consumer shipments for the month were 4% higher than during the same time last year. Rebounding from the typical post-holidays slump seen in January, DtC shipment...

March, 15, 2015 California has about one year of water left. Will you ration now?

(LATimes) - Given the historic low temperatures and snowfalls that pummeled the eastern U.S. this winter, it might be easy to overlook how devastating California's winter was as well. As our “wet” season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost...

March, 15, 2015 Matching Wine with Bugs … Yes, Bugs

(Wine-Searcher) - With insects crawling into the menus of the western world, we bugged Adam Lechmere to buzz out to try some wine matches. Forgive the pun, but there's been a bit of a buzz about insects recently. For a while it seemed that not a day could go by without an article appearing de...

March, 15, 2015 What does an award-winning wine mean to you? Looking for answers to the competition mentality

(PennLive) - I'm spending time this weekend reporting on wine competitions and the impetus behind entering. Some regional wineries enter a half-dozen contests every year; others don't bother entering any. So why do wineries enter their wines, how do they pick the wines and contests that they do ent...

March, 14, 2015 Wine harvest starts early across eastern Australia but growers exit industry as many grapple with economic squeeze

(ABC) - Harvesting is in full swing in almost every vineyard across eastern Australia and this year, more than ever, it is a race to get ripened grapes picked in time. An early spring and erratic summer weather meant harvesting in some regions began a month earlier than usual. In most wine re...

March, 13, 2015 How Climate Change is Impacting Wine Production

(EatDrinkBetter) - Climate change and wine production are so delicately intertwined. What is the future of the wine industry in a warming world? Truthfully, I had not thought too much about climate change and wine production: what the effects might be, how the availability might change. Head into ...

March, 13, 2015 California: Campaign launched for fee to fight grape pests, disease

(PD) - A coalition has been launched to persuade California grape growers to vote to continue an assessment on their crop that has been in place since 2001. The money is used to fund research by scientists combating Pierce’s disease, the glassy-winged sharpshooter and other pests that can des...