Appointments

NZ winery cleared of sample wrongdoing

by Jo Burzynska
Marlborough winery Wither Hills has been cleared of any malpractice in the wake of one of its wines being disqualified from a key wine competition in New Zealand.

Own-label fizz beats big Champagne brands

Sainsbury's and Somerfield own-label Champagnes have taken top spot in a Which? magazine sparkling wine tasting.

Phylloxera strikes in Yarra Valley

By Max Allen
For the first time in its 170-year viticultural history, phylloxera has arrived slap bang in the centre of the Yarra Valley, one of Australia's leading cool-climate wine regions. And it's the last thing the Yarra's grape growers and winemakers needed to hear.

Moldovan wine set for return to Russian market

President Voronin of Moldova and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have announced that Moldovan wine will be allowed to return to the Russian market, subject to new controls over quality.

Changes to Roederer awards

Announcement of the winners at the wine writers' awards sponsored by Louis Roederer have been moved to early September. The move has been instigated in order to have publication of the results in wine magazines before the Christmas shopping period.

Geronimo group to double in size

London-based Geronimo pub group is to double in size in the next three years after receiving funds of nearly 25 million.

Wither Hills admits error in competition samples

Marlborough wine producer Wither Hills has defended its reputation after a competition judge claimed that one of the wines submitted by the winery was not representative of its usual style.

New year, new show

Sweet & sour

Say no to oak - help put the fruit back in wine.' This sign, posted up behind the tasting bar at Trimbach, is a neat summation of the charms of Alsace. Wines with great poise, a good structure of acidity and, of course, some of the best food wines you'll ever taste. Why, then, does it appear to be an underappreciated wine region, one that never grabs the headlines?

The Interview: Gianpiero Colucci, Manager, Spaghetti House, Marble Arch branch

The Marble Arch branch is the most recent Spaghetti House restaurant to open (in mid-2005) and the first trialling a more modern look. Spaghetti House has nine venues in London, the first of which opened in 1955.
A native of Bari in Puglia, Gianpiero Colucci worked at Pescatori in London and at the Cranbourn Street branch of Spaghetti House before becoming one of the chain's youngest restaurant managers. This branch was a finalist in the Best Italian Restaurant category of The Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Industry Awards 2006 (www.papa.org.uk).
Suppliers include Berkmann, Vinum
and Alivini.

Gluck's new wine texting service

Malcolm Gluck has written his last edition of Superplonk, and will now provide weekly recommendations by text message in his new service, The Glug Report.

Terroir alert

As part of its campaign to increase awareness of Chile's potential for diversity in making premium wine, last week Wines of Chile hosted a visual presentation that included dramatic photographs of 10 Chilean wine-producing valleys, as well as scores of photographs of the different soil types and climatic conditions that can be found in the country.

INAO permits yield increase in Champagne

By Giles Fallowfield
Production in Champagne could increase by as much as 70 million bottles from the next (2007) harvest. L'Institut National de l'Appellation d'Origine (INAO) has decided to allow the maximum permitted yield in the appellation to rise from 13,000 to 15,500 kilos per hectare.

2004 Burgundies stolen in transit

Several cases of top-end Burgundy were stolen from lorries en route to Richards Walford in the UK, in two unrelated incidents last week. The wines, which have a total market value of more than 5,000 and are all from the 2004 vintage, went missing some time between Tuesday and Wednesday last week (28 and 29 November).

Takeover rumours surround Blavod

Blavod Extreme Spirits, the producer of flavoured vodkas, is discussing being taken over by an unidentified American company. If an offer is made, it will value Blavod at no less than 12.8 million.

Chile needs to improve image

The message at the launch of The Wines of Chile, a new book by Peter Richards, was clear: Chile must overcome its cheap and cheerful image.

Good times back for Burgundy

By Rebecca Gibb
After five lean years, sales of Burgundy are back to levels not seen since the 2001 campaign.

New Difford guide

Edition number six of former Class editor Simon Difford's cocktail books, known as the diffordsguide' has been launched. Sponsored by Beefeater gin, it comes in a hardback format to resist splashes on the backbar and runs to 2,000 mixes. Difford has also released a guide to bars around the world, with an abbrievated list of cocktails, plus a Time Out-style pubs and bars guide to London.

Pommery GILT range

The new GILT Champagne Lounge at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge, designed on a Champagne theme by Hirsch Bedner Associates and opened earlier this month, is to offer a full range of Pommery cuves. Chandeliers and the walls of the Lounge are lined with hand-blown Murano glass bubbles and the golden colour of the floor is intended to echo aged Vintage Champagne. Vranken Pommery Monopole UK manager Sara Hicks said: Designers wanted to give guests the impression that they're actually sitting in a glass of Champagne'.