By Larry Walker
According to a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, global warming could wipe out most of the premium wine grapes in California by the close of the century.
Vinopolis - the City of Wine' visitor attraction on London's South Bank that opened in 1999 - has announced that it has increased its annual revenue from corporate events to 4.6 million, more than three times the amount generated after Vinopolis's first year in business.
Retailers and wholesalers are being warned to be aware of a scam involving Laurent-Perrier Ros Champagne.
Plymouth Gin has been relaunched with new packaging and market positioning - backed by a 15 million five-year budget from brand owner V&S, the Swedish company behind Absolut vodka.
BY BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
Innovative ideas on how the wine business should market to today's consumer were suggested from industry outsider Terry McBride last week.
The 14th Vinexpo exhibition will take place from 17 to 21 June next year, at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) is to lobby the Government after a number of wine educators have been told that they need a licence to run educational courses.
The chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has reiterated that wine companies are not complying with the Packaging Waste Regulations and are therefore opening themselves up to the possibility of prosecution, fines and backdated payments.
New Zealand has celebrated its largest-ever vintage - 185,000 tonnes with predictions of area under vine rising from 22,000 hectares to 30,000 by 2007/8 and a 300,000 tonne vintage by 2010/11.
Beaujolais producer Georges Duboeuf and his UK agent Berkmann Wine Cellars continue to stand defiant after the court ruling on 4 July 2006 which fined Duboeuf 30,000 (21,000) for illegally blending over 200,000 hectolitres of wine, mixing grapes from different appellations.
South African wine producer Boschendal has introduced a new range of premium wines for the off-trade made up of three single varietals and two dual varietals.
The Edrington Group has revealed a growth in both group turnover (up 3.7% to 263.4 million) and operating profits
(up 6.5% to 71.9 million) following the recent announcement of its financial results for the year ending 31 March.
The most important feature of a wine closure is the ease of use, a new survey has shown. The survey, conducted by Skalli & Rein in May, and featuring 1,000 responses from 55 countries, showed that simplicity' was the key feature of any wine closure.
The director general of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL) has come out against the European Commission's proposals to uproot 400,000 hectares of vineyards over the next five years (see Harpers, 31 June).
Read more...Werner White has been appointed as managing director of the newly formed Kuehne + Nagel division, KN Drinks Logistics.
Read more...British pensioners could soon be entitled to a complementary case of wine as part of a government initiative to help mop up the European Union wine lake, which is currently approaching
800 million gallons.
Corney & Barrow has appointed three new sales personnel to its on-trade team, as it looks to expand its national on-trade presence.
Read more...The UK arm of Sherry producer Gonzalez Byass has created
three new roles at the St Albans-based company.
Lay & Wheeler has recruited four new staff to its team.
Read more...Wine+, the new on-trade wine event, has appointed Luchford APM as its PR agency.
Read more...
