UK consumers appear quite open to experimenting with wines from non-traditional countries of origin and with wines using non-traditional varietals, according to a new piece of research conducted by Wine Intelligence.
Paul Hobbs, the consultant winemaker best known for developing Argentinian Malbec for the likes of Nicolas Catena, has warned that Argentina is in danger of concentrating too much of its effort on the Malbec grape variety.
Belgian beer Stella Artois has been voted as the coolest alcohol/drinks brand.
Diageo will stop releasing single malts under its Rare Malts brand next year, as the stocks from distilleries it closed in the 1980s start to run out.
Christian Seeley, head of AXA Millsimes, is placing the second wine from AXA's second-growth Bordeaux, Pichon Longueville Baron, with distributors around the world because the Bordeaux place, the traditional distribution route, is not very good at selling second wines'.
The first attempt to sell wines from Australia's Barossa Valley region to UK consumers en primeur' - before the wines is finally blended or bottled, as is common in Bordeaux and Burgundy - was judged a success by its organisers, DMT Wine Imports (part owned by Bordeaux Index).
Consumption patterns are becoming more fragmented and therefore more difficult to predict as people's choice of drink becomes increasingly occasion-based.
Louis Roederer is continuing its sponsorship of the International Wine Writers Awards - which it launched last year in response to Lanson's surprise decision to ends its own awards - and has decided to add a new category for 2006.
Christmas is coming. Festive aisles have sprung up in shops and supermarkets nationwide, while the drinks industry
is rubbing its hands together in glee at the thought of all the bottles flying off the shelves to play their part in the celebrations. This is a vital time of year for every member of the alcohol family but none more so than the oft-neglected liqueur. Beer, wine and spirits stoically remain the drinks of common choice, but Christmas has traditionally given
the liqueurs and specialities category a chance to show off in style.
Picture something quintessentially Canadian. For many people, that prompt either draws a complete blank or it connotes polar bears, the Inuit (formerly known as Eskimos) and perhaps ice hockey. But vineyards and barrel-lined cellars don't fit among those frosty symbols. Wine is not really a Canadian emblem. At least not in the public mind. Informed oenophiles and members of the drinks trade, however, recognise Canada as the world's largest source of, appropriately enough, Icewine.
Read more...What got you into wine?
The usual clich I say is that I did a history degree, so the only things I was qualified to do were eating and drinking; three hours of tutorials a week left a lot of time for other stuff. Me and a mate did the restaurant reviews for a newspaper, which was a bit of a farce really. We'd go along and ask for free food beforehand, so they knew we were coming. But my parents had always had an interest in wine, and my mum was PA to Ronald Avery for a couple of years when she started out, so she always says there's a link.
Malvern hotel The Cottage in the Wood was chosen as this year's overall winner of the Cond Nast Johansens Champagne Taittinger Wine List Award 2006.
Having made its name, and the front cover of Harpers, with the Full Monty wine trade striptease, the Women of Wine (WoW) organisation got down to more serious business last week, by debating sexism in the wine trade.
MMD has taken on the UK agency for Pio Cesare, a family-run producer of Piedmont wines.
Pio Cesare is managed by fourth generation, Pio Boffa, who commented: With our 52 hectares of vineyards in Barolo and Barbaresco, we embrace both traditional and more modern winemaking and also produce a range of single-vineyard wines from Barolo and Barbaresco.' A full range of Pio Cesare wines is now available from MMD, including Gavi, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo d'Alba, Barolo and Barbaresco.
Richard Burrows, the current joint director general of Pernod Ricard and fomer head of Irish Distillers, intends to retire in early 2006.
He will remain a member of the board as well as non-executive chairman of Irish Distillers. He will also be available to the group to carry out various projects.
After his retirement, the management of the group will be carried out by chairman and CEO Patrick Ricard, and director general Pierre Pringuet.
Leading Bulgarian producer Boyar Estates has denied rumours that it is planning to sell its Blueridge and Shumen wineries.
The company, which has 60% of Bulgaria's UK sales, has closed its London office and has transferred distribution to Ehrmanns. But Boyar CEO Margarit Todorov denied the rumours, and told Harpers that production was continuing at the two sites.
The managing director of the UK office of wine industry head-hunting firm Mondo Search is claiming that the unprecedented level of consolidation over the past 12 months' is leading to growing unrest among employees'.
Whyte & Mackay has appointed Richard Hayes to the position
of global marketing director as the company announces it is investing 100 million in relaunching its key brands worldwide. He will lead marketing for key brands Whyte & Mackay, Jura, Vladivar, The Dalmore, and Glayva.
Former Harpers deputy editor Paul Henry has landed the top job at promotional body Wine Australia following the retirement of current general manager Jonathan Scott. Henry, who currently heads up the UK office of Wine Australia, will be relocating to Australia with his family in the New Year.
The Languedoc's quality revolution of the past 20 years is one of the true good news' stories of the French wine industry. From the commercial success of its numerous vins de pays (VdP) varietal wines to the critical success of some of its AOC (and VdP) super-cuves, one of Europe's oldest wine regions this side of the Alps has finally come of age. However, it has also generated its fair share of bad news this year, with stories of the actions perpetrated by disgruntled vignerons - which include numerous public demonstrations, an attack on a tanker of Spanish wine and the destruction of public property - suggesting that not everyone has benefited from the revolution' and that some are increasingly struggling in a world that simply doesn't want their wines.
