January, 22, 2015 Bandits Who Stole $300K In Wine From French Laundry Likely From Organized Ring Of Professionals

(CBSLocal) - Bottle bandits are targeting high-end wine around the Bay Area may be busier than originally thought. The thieves, who have acquired a taste for some of the rarest and most expensive wines, are planning heists focused on fine wines from France. At Prima Restaurant and Vino in Wal...

January, 22, 2015 Brutal War Can’t Stop Lebanon’s Wineries

(Munchies) - Although wine production was largely dormant during Islamic and Ottoman rule, the French mandate following World War I resurrected the industry, bringing new varieties of grapes and laying the foundation of the present-day wine industry in Lebanon. Still operated by the Jesuits, who ha...

January, 22, 2015 Cambodian Guards Drank Wine With Human Gallbladders, Says Genocide Survivor

(Time) - Horrific testimony made at atrocity trial In the 1970s, Khmer Rouge guards would drink wine infused with human gallbladders, according to a survivor of Cambodia’s infamous Killing Fields. Former detainee Meas Sokha told the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Khmer Rou...

January, 22, 2015 Euro Slides to 11-Year Low Against Dollar After ECB Move

(WSJ) - Stocks and bonds on both sides of the Atlantic rallied and the euro sank heavily Thursday after the European Central Bank delivered a bigger program of asset purchases than investors had expected. ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank would buy €60 billion ($69 billion) of ...

January, 22, 2015 Napa Valley: Shafer drops lawsuit over 'Hillside Select' name

(Decanter) - Napa Valley's Shafer winery has agreed to drop legal action against nearby rival Howell Mountain Vineyards over use of the Hillside Select name on wine labels. Shafer had filed a lawsuit against Howell Mountain in the Napa County Superior Court. When contacted by Decanter.com, Doug Sh...

January, 21, 2015 Italy: Montalcino Wineries Cover for Cocaine Ring

(Wine-Searcher) - Drug-related arrests in the Tuscan town of Montalcino include three winery workers and the general manager of a winery. A general manager of a Montalcino winery and three Albanian-born winery workers are among eight people arrested at dawn yesterday by police in the province of S...

January, 21, 2015 Marlborough to be 'fully planted in 5 to 10 years', says NZ wine chief

(Decanter) - Higher consumer demand for New Zealand wines has continued to put pressure on land space and some producers believe Marlborough will be fully planted in as little as five years. Winemakers and grape growers are running out of space in Marlborough, famous for Sauvignon Blanc and whic...

January, 21, 2015 Wine prices expected to rise

(PD) - Customers are likely to pay more for a bottle of fine wine this year as wine prices rise, the result of an improved economy and strong demand, according to a new survey by Silicon Valley Bank. The survey, based on responses from almost 600 West Coast wineries and ongoing research, found t...