February, 03, 2015 California Wine Industry Questions B.C.'s New Wine Regulations

(KelownaNow) - There has been some debate around whether or not B.C.'s new wine legislation will affect international trade regulations. The recent announcement that wine can soon be sold in B.C. supermarkets prompted the California Wine industry to address potential gaps in trade regulations, howe...

February, 03, 2015 Is South Africa’s Wine Industry Overlooking The Africa Market?

(Afkinsider) - South African wineries are overlooking opportunities elsewhere on the continent where there’s a huge and growing demand for alcoholic beverages as the population becomes more affluent, according to a blog in BlouinNews. Whitey Basson, CEO of Shoprite, said in 2013 that its s...

February, 03, 2015 California Vineyards Report Early Bud Break

(Wines&Vines) - Wine grape grower Jennifer Thomson ordered pruning of her family’s Napa vineyards in January. But driving through Napa’s back roads this weekend, the fourth-generation grower saw several unpruned grapevines showing signs of bud break. Thomson’s family has fa...

February, 03, 2015 Russian government to introduce minimum price for wine

(Decanter) - The Russian government is set to introduce a minimum price for wine in a bid to make grape growing more profitable and reduce the volume of counterfeits in the country's wine market. The legislation, which was recently signed by the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, will allow...

February, 03, 2015 DRINKING BEER COULD WARD OFF ALZHEIMER’S

(TDB) - Scientists in China have claimed that drinking beer could help protect the brain from a number of degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s. A study published by researchers at Lanzhou University claims that xanthohumol, a flavonoid found in hops, could help protect t...

February, 03, 2015 Vintner unveils plan for large winery outside Santa Rosa

(PD) - A Napa County vintner looking for additional production space is laying plans for a large-scale winery and distillery on a pastoral stretch of Highway 12 between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. The facility, which would be capable of producing up to 500,000 cases of wine and 250,000 gallon...

February, 02, 2015 Do Wine Clubs Really Deliver on Their Promises?

(WSJ) - WINE LOVERS often act in irrational ways. They chase after wines they’ve never tasted based entirely on numerical scores, spend vast sums of money to store those very same bottles and, at a time when great wine can be purchased in almost every part of the world, they join a wine club....

February, 02, 2015 Paul Hobbs winery says it will pay $100,000 to Sonoma County in settlement

(PD) - Sebastopol winemaker Paul Hobbs will pay $100,000 to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Sonoma County prosecutors last year that alleged environmental and land-use violations in three vineyard conversion projects, his company said Friday. Among other things, Hobbs was accused of causing soil...