Vranken-Pommery Monopole has spent a massive 20 million for 21 hectares (ha) of land in Champagne, a transaction the company claims is the biggest of its kind in the region within the past decade.
Arc International is unveiling a new range of stemware which, it claims, uses a new material that is the most transparent material to date, while also being resilient to breakage and fade-resistant.
Louis Latour has been appointed as exclusive agent for the on-trade and independent sectors by New Zealand producer Craggy Range.
Read more...The WSTA's long period of restructuring has finally come to end with the creation of the WSTA Wine Importers' Panel and the consequent abolition of eight Shippers' Committees.
New Zealand's Waipara Hills Wine Estate (WHWE) has bought Canterbury House, a major Waipara producer, taking WHWE's holding in the region to 500 hectares.
Premium South African producer Villiera Wines has become the first agency to leave Western Wines following its purchase by Constellation.
Chile's biggest wine exporter, Concha y Toro, has seen its profits hit hard by the continuing strength of the Chilean peso.
The Gallo family has dropped the Ernest & Julio in its name and introduced the name Gallo Family Vineyards, ahead of its 75th anniversary in 2008.
Read more...South African brand FirstCape is to get a home' for the first time when a 4.5 million-litre winery is built in the Breede Valley later this year.
Swedish giant V&S is to sell its Danish vodka brand, Danzka, and increase its focus on its core portfolio of Absolut vodka and Cruzan rum.
Asda's beers, wines and spirits team is back to full strength, following a host of internal appointments.
Download the Quality Drink Conference 2006 Sponsorship & Promotional Opportunities information pdf here
Read more...As a consumer, I readily to admit to being something of a Riedel convert. After all, I've done the tastings, seen the light and got the glasses (well, some of them). Wine really does seem to taste better in a Riedel glass - especially if it's the right' one. And yet, the journalist in me can't help but remain a tad agnostic about some of the proselytising in Riedel's sales pitch.
Cube Communications and Sensible Wine Services have teamed up to launch a new company, which focuses entirely on presenting wines, beers and spirits to consumers face to face.
The contenders to take over Taittinger Champagne have been whittled down to a short list from the 40 or so who expressed initial interest.
Fine wine merchant Mayfair Cellars has gone into administration after a scam whereby top Bordeaux and Burgundy was allegedly sold to other London wine merchants.
How did you get into this business?
I was in the RAF for seven years, in a catering squadron, and when I left I planned to go home to Sydney. But I had a house in Torquay that I wanted to sell first. In the interim, I needed a job and I spotted an ad for a general assistant at Gidleigh Park Hotel. I had never heard of Gidleigh and had no idea about Relais & Chateaux or Michelin stars. I remember driving down this narrow, winding road and coming round the last corner to see this mock-Tudor mansion embedded in the hillside. Paul Henderson, the owner at the time, is a former US marine, so we spent most of the interview discussing my time in the service. He took me on and I ended up staying until 2002.
Diageo is offering Smirnoff vodka drinkers the chance to wine one of 10 one-carat diamonds worth 10,000 each, in a promotion beginning next month.
Read more...A bottle of 1996 Dom Prignon - signed by all the surviving members of the victorious 1966 World Cup team - will go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London next month.
Read more...Majestic unveiled 70 new listings at a recent tasting of its summer collection - a larger addition to the range than usual. The two sectors to be given the most attention were Chile and Italy, with the former showing growth and the latter receiving a partial overhaul.
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