December, 06, 2013 California: Groups reach agreement on managing Paso Robles groundwater basin

(SLO) -  Two North County groups working toward a solution to stabilize the Paso Robles groundwater basin have reached a compromise on managing the aquifer. PRO Water Equity and Paso Robles Agricultural Alliance for Groundwater Solutions, also known as PRAAGS, have proposed forming a special ...

December, 06, 2013 Napa Valley’s lesser known grape grows up

(TDB) - California’s Petite Sirah has gone through some growing pains. Planted in the state in the late 1800s, it started off as a well-behaved child, appreciated for its good yields, dark colour, and fragrance. Even after vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera, the grape was replanted and...

December, 06, 2013 FRANCE: Bordeaux wine city to be "whole wine universe under one roof"

(Just-Drinks) - Bordeaux's planned EUR63m (US$86m) "wine city" will mark the first time "the whole wine universe will be housed under roof", according to the project's president. Speaking to just-drinks today (6 December) Sylvie Cazes said 'La Cité des Civilisations du Vin', scheduled to o...

December, 06, 2013 UK: Wine duty could rise 54% in six years

(Offlicencenews) - Duty will rise 54% on wine and 31% on spirits in the next six years if the Chancellor does not scrap the duty escalator, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. George Osborne became the toast of the beer world when he ended the duty escalator on beer earlier this yea...

December, 06, 2013 Blizzard wrecks vines in Italy's Abruzzo wine region

(Decanter) - A heavy storm has destroyed thousands of hectares of vines in Italy's Abruzzo wine region, including those belonging to celebrated producer Valentini. Rain, snow and strong winds swept through Abruzzo last weekend, causing 2,000ha of the region's 32,000ha of vines to be lost. Most ...

December, 05, 2013 UNESCO grants special status to ancient Georgian wine making method

(AzerNews) - The ancient Georgian traditional wine-making method in large clay containers (kvevri) has been approved for inclusion into UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. "Inclusion of kvevri in the list will promote the popularization of Georgian wine on the international market,...

December, 05, 2013 Drinking wine leads to stronger sperm

(TDB) - As reported by the Wine Spectator, the study, carried out by researchers at the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz, Poland, found that sperm were stronger and had more powerful necks when men drank wine in moderation regularly. Stronger sperm are better swimmers, thus increa...

December, 05, 2013 California: Wineries Complete Shared Cave Project

(Wines&Vines) - It’s taken 8.5 years, but the wineries in the Caves at Soda Canyon crushed their first wine grapes this year. The four wine companies that inhabit the unusual shared-cave winery crushed 195.4 tons of fruit Sept. 3, the day they finished construction. They still don&rsquo...