January, 14, 2015 Is Japanese Whisky Better Than Scotch?

(WSJ) - IT WAS A BRIGHT, clear morning as we took off from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. A few minutes into our flight, the captain announced that for those on the right side of the plane, Mt. Fuji would soon be coming into view. I was on the left, but a few of us got up anyway to catch a glimpse o...

January, 14, 2015 Italy: Prosecco Continues to Create Confusion

(Wine-Searcher) - Poor information about Prosecco means consumers care less and less about quality differences between the DOC and DOCG wines, argues Jeremy Parzen. "We craft this wine using only the best Glera grapes, the official grape of Prosecco, from our vineyards in Italy," writes Cupcake ...

January, 14, 2015 California still needs a ridiculous amount of rain to end its drought

(VOX) - Over the last three years, California has been in the grips of the worst drought in at least 1,200 years. Reservoirs are shriveling. Crops are wilting in the fields. Cattle herds are thinning out. Then, in December, the rain came: A weather phenomenon known as the "Pineapple Express" bro...

January, 14, 2015 Sweet Or Dry, Red Blends Continue To Show Growth

(SND) - A new breed of red blends have made major inroads in the U.S. market in recent years—many of them sweeter blends including Jam Jar, Barefoot Sweet Red, Yellow Tail Sweet Red Roo and others. Some brands simply hint at their sweeter side, such as Constellation’s Pop Crush, as well...

January, 14, 2015 Idaho's wine industry sees double digit growth

(JRN) - Idaho’s wine industry is booming. According to research by the Idaho Wine Commission, 2013 was the most productive year for the industry. Since 2012, the industry has seen a 76% increase in the number of wine cases bottled. In a news release, the Idaho Wine Commission said 234,000 ca...

January, 14, 2015 Graphic: California leads global vineyard price rises

(Decanter) - Data from estate agency Knight Frank shows that Sonoma in California has seen some of the steepest rises in vineyard prices. See the charts below for more details. Napa Valley might have spearheaded California's emergence on the world wine scene in the past 40 years, but it is neighb...

January, 14, 2015 10 of the world’s most futuristic bars

(TDB) -  While many bar owners are retreating into the past opening 1920s-style speakeasies, others are pushing into the future dreaming up bars that embrace cutting-edge technology. Propping up at a bar and ordering your gin & tonic from a well-trained bartender might be the convention...

January, 14, 2015 Mosel Bridge fails to meet EU standards, says expert

(Decanter) - Plans for the controversial Mosel bridge that would carry traffic through Germany's Riesling vineyards don't meet European Union building standards, according to an independent expert. Professor Rafig Azzam, a geology engineer at Aachen University, warned that building work on the Mo...