In the UK wine market, where suppliers have been lashed by flat sales - and some countries have started to sink, New Zealand continues to ride a wave of success. But sea changes are already underway for 2007, as the States look set to overtake the UK as New Zealand's primary export destination - despite the Kiwis sending more wine to Britain than ever before.
Grapes grown at altitude taste different. As you go higher, temperatures drop and the fruit is exposed to more ultraviolet (UV) light. Higher UV leads to higher levels of anthocyanins (and therefore darker-coloured wines) as well as enhanced production of protective compounds - most notably the phytoalexin resveratrol.
Read more...Peter Nixson joined BOAC as cabin crew in 1973 after being thrown out of university for failing his first year exams. In 1986, Business Traveller magazine did a survey of the wine served on board airlines, and BA came 16th out of 16. The CEO wanted to see an improvement, so a secondment was created for someone to join the catering team. Peter joined the team in 1986, became BA's wine and beverage development manager in 1990, and has been there ever since.
Read more...Distribution for Australian producer McGuigan Simeon Wines has moved to WaverleyTBS, ending a 14-year partnership with Vinoceros.
Constellation Brands, which claims to be the world's largest producer of branded wines, has blamed poor performance in the UK for its disappointing third-quarter financial results.
Police in the Chinese capital, Beijing, put a stop to a winemaker's planned mass nude run' on Christmas Eve.
By EUNICE MURRISON
Wine retailers across the UK enjoyed a healthy Christmas trading period. Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR) and Lay & Wheeler both saw double-digit year-on-year growth, while Majestic's like-for-like sales rose by 4.4%.
UK wine drinkers will spend more on still and sparkling wine than any other European country by 2010, according to new research from Vinexpo.
Black Bottle was repackaged earlier in 2006, and now has a new website to complete its revamp: www.blackbottle.com.
The Women of Wine (WoW) Christmas party was held at the Met Hennessy HQ in London's Mayfair last month.
The newly formed northern branch of Buddies of the Benevolent (BOB) is celebrating Burns Night on 25 January from 7.30pm in Freemasons Hall, central Manchester.
We asked key figures in the UK wine trade for their predictions for 2007. This is what they said:
Three new Italian agencies have been added to the Matthew Clark portfolio: Ruffino, Fontana Candida and Bigi.
Diageo has taken a step forward in the Chinese market by entering a joint venture with Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing.
Blavod Extreme Spirits is continuing talks with an unidentified suitor about a potential takeover bid, but its latest financial results will not have increased its attractions.
The world could toast the success of athletes at London's 2012 Olympics with Bride Valley Brut English sparkling wine if a joint venture between Champagne Duval-Leroy and wine writer Steven Spurrier comes to fruition.
By RON EMLER
The Swedish government has effectively fired the starting gun in the race to buy Absolut vodka.
John E Fells will now be responsible for sales and distribution of wines for Jackson Wine Estates, whose portfolio includes Kendall-Jackson in California, Via Caline in Chile, and Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale, Australia.
Read more...Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), has warned that Finnish plans for health warnings on back labels would encourage other national governments to follow suit.
Jo Burzynska reporting from New Zealand
As one of the many Riesling lovers vainly holding out for the variety's long-prophesied but never-nigh renaissance, my heart sank a little with the news that plantings of the Germanic great had been overtaken by Pinot Gris in the vineyards of New Zealand.
