Bordeaux to launch first global marketing campaign to address falling sales

The Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) is launching its first global marketing campaign to help counter falls in sales by both volume and value. Its seven priority markets - China, USA, UK, Japan, Germany,  Belgium and France - will soon be flooded with new atmospheric images drawn up by leading British advertising agency, Isobel.

Geoffrey Dean on the Malbec "revolution" taking place in Argentina

Whisper it gently - certainly to those lovers of big, heavily extracted, super-ripe, sweet-fruited, oaky Mendoza Malbecs  - but a revolution in Argentina is nearing completion. Nothing of course to do with economic or social issues, but rather a quest by many of the country's leading winemakers to reinvent the style of the country's flagship varietal.

Geoffrey Dean is blown away by beauty and quality of Switzerland's Lavaux wine region

When Patrick Fonjallaz's grandfather bought a 32,000-litre foudre at the Geneva Exposition of 1897, he got home to find it was too big to fit into his cellar on the northern shore of Lake Geneva. So he built another one, where the magnificently ornate foudre is still housed. It is not used for wine maturation any more, but stands sentinel-like in the winery, a reminder of the canton of Vaud's distinguished winemaking history.

Christian Seely shows the quality of the Douro with a vertical tasting of Quinta do Noval

Christian Seely's contention that the Quinta do Noval vineyards are producing outstanding dry red table wines was vindicated at a mid-summer vertical tasting in London. The flamboyant, bow-tie- wearing managing director of the leading port house has always believed that unfortified wines from the Douro had the potential to express Noval's terroir. A look at the estate's three dry reds - Quinta do Noval Douro DOC,  Cedro do Noval and Quinta do Noval Touriga Nacional - between the period 2004-11 supported that view.

Geoffrey Dean celebrates South Africa's two hero grape varieties: Chenin Blanc and Pinotage

Not even the Loire comes close to matching the amount of South Africa's old-vine Chenin Blanc, plantings which span over 3,000 hectares, three times as much as is found in France's best region for the grape. In their continuing quest to market how varied, and how good, their twin calling cards of Chenin Blanc and Pinotage can be, Wines of South Africa laid on a special tutored vertical tasting recently of both cultivars in the London.

Geoffrey Dean discovers the hidden wonders of Swiss wine

One of the impediments to drinking Swiss wine is that you struggle to find it outside Switzerland, even in London. Swiss people not only love consuming their national wines, but are also happy to pay what are often high prices for them, and who, therefore, can blame Swiss winemakers for sticking to their domestic market? A paltry 5% or so of Swiss wine is exported, leaving very little for foreign consumers to get their hands on.

Geoffrey Dean reveals his 12 wine discoveries at "best ever" ProWein

"It was the best Prowein ever...we had four people working on our stand and we were swamped. A lot of new countries and companies wanted to do business, and we hardly had time to go to the bathroom." Those were the words of Raimund Prum, owner/winemaker of leading Mosel producer, S.A. Prum, following another hugely successful three days of Prowein in Dusseldorf. Move over Vinexpo, he could have added, for Prowein has now displaced it as the premier global wine fair.

Jeff Clarke of Ara in Marlborough on New Zealand's 2014 vintage and plans for the UK

Geoffrey Dean talks to Jeff Clarke of Ara in Marlborough about the prospects for the 2014 vintage and how winemaking is evolving in New Zealand.

Up to 40 wineries look to be granted the new Cape Vintner Classification in South Africa

Between 30 and 40 South African wineries are expected to be granted the prestigious new Cape Vintner Classification, launched last December, after the disbandment of the old Cape Wine Producers' Association.

Restaurant Review: ?Zuma

Geoffrey Dean on how Australia's future could well be Orange

When Stephen Doyle, the renowned winemaker at Bloodwood in the Orange region of New South Wales, received a complementary message purportedly from an England cricket team official in early January, he was not sure if it was genuine. An avid cricket fan, Doyle sent a witty response, writing that his wine's "deceptively spicy aromatic movement through the air is likely to bowl you sweetly over". He was pleased to hear from your Harpers correspondent that the individual in question, Colin Gibson, is indeed the ECB's director of communications. 

Geoffrey Dean basks amongst the vines and winemakers of Margaret River

After the desert-like 40-degree heat of Perth for the Test match, it was quite a relief to encounter Margaret River's Mediterranean climate with temperatures in the mid-20s. World-class Chardonnays abound there, of course, but Voyager Estate has raised the bar to new heights with its expressions of the varietal.

Amorim enjoys record year as it produces over 4 billion corks in 2013

Amorim, the largest cork producer in the world, has broken its own production record after manufacturing more than 4 billion mark cork stoppers this calendar year.  The news represents a major boost for cork, which continues its comeback after strong challenges from alternative closures.

Amorim enjoys record year as it produces over 4 billion corks in 2013

Amorim, the largest cork producer in the world, has broken its own production record after manufacturing more than four billion mark cork stoppers this calendar year.  The news represents a major boost for cork, which continues its comeback after strong challenges from alternative closures.

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Geoffrey Dean mixes with Australia's wine royalty at Ashes test in Adelaide

Wine and cricket are so inextricably interwoven in South Australia that the number of winemakers and vineyard managers, who will be descending upon the Adelaide Oval for the second Ashes Test from December 5-9, should number not two but three figures. Those coming reads like a Who's Who of the South Australian wine industry.

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Black frost devastates South East Australian vines

Australia's 2014 vintage is likely to be significantly affected by a severe "black" frost that has caused devastating damage to a number of regions in the south east of the country.

Q&A: Sandrine Garbay, cellar master at Chateau d'Yquem

How is the 2013 vintage looking for d'Yquem?