Daily News
Sydney Time
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008
Sunday 11 May
China to become leading wine producer?
Chinese wine will conquer the world in terms of volume and fine wine, a recent
study suggests. According to the Future of Wine report, drawn up by London-based
wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR), China, which is already the world's
sixth largest producer, will lead the world by the year 2058. The report, which
predicts the state of world of wine in 50 years, also says China will 'rival the
best of Bordeaux'.
Parker rebukes top properties over Bordeaux 2005 prices
Robert Parker has released his scores for the first tastings of the just-bottled 2005 Bordeaux – with another broadside at high prices from the 'museum pieces' that are the great wines. In his journal the Wine Advocate, and on erobertparker.com, the influential American critic leaves us in no doubt as to how good he considers the vintage – 'the greatest…produced during my 30-year career'. But he makes it clear where his loyalties lie: 'The real values are not found in the first growths or many of the classified growths' but in what he calls 'Bordeaux's big little wines.'
Friday 9 May
Two glasses of wine a day risks mouth cancer
Two glasses of wine a day can increase the risk of mouth cancer by up to 75 per cent, scientists warned. The research also showed two units of alcohol daily raises the risk of breast cancer by 22 per cent. It also found that men who drink four units of alcohol a day increase their risk of bowel cancer by 64 per cent.
China looms as wine growth market
The United States and the UK aren't importing as much Australian wine as they used to, but China's demand is growing. The latest export statistics from the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation shows the volume of exports fell 8.5 per cent to 730 million litres in the year to April, with the biggest fall coming from America.
Aussie value wines sell well in U.S., but future cloudy
In the past 12 years, Australian wine has sold better in the United States than even the most optimistic projections made in 1995, when a manifesto was being drawn up on how to market wine in the colonies. Americans quickly understood the generous fruit, soft and plush textures, and the ability of these wines to deliver more flavor for the dollar than most other wines. The reason was simple: Australia is technologically among the top wine nations in the world -- if not the top.
Tough times may cut sales of high-end wines
Tough economic times may put the squeeze on sales and profits for high-end wines - those above $15 a bottle - over the next 12 months, according to a report released Tuesday about the West Coast's wine industry. But the overall forecast by the Silicon Valley Bank's Wine Division, which surveyed nearly 500 wineries in California, Oregon and Washington, was largely positive. A weak dollar is expected to benefit local producers, and a balanced wine supply will keep demand high and prices afloat.
Wednesday 7 May
Climate pact for wine industry
An agreement is being signed by wine industry groups and the South Australian Government aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions in wine production. Emissions reports will be prepared by growers and producers during next year's vintage and used to develop reduction targets.
Tuesday 6 May
Soaring dollar punishing wine sales
THE soaring Australian dollar is costing major wine exporters millions of dollars and has caused a slowdown in bottled sales. While exports reached a record $3.02 billion last year, experts say a combination of drought, the high dollar and foreign competition means the industry now faces significant challenges. Bottled wine exports are still growing but at a declining rate and experts believe the growth may stop within two months.
Dry red: wine's withering future
CLIMATE change could wipe out up to 80 per cent of Australia's wine production as large parts of inland irrigation zones become too hot and dry to support grapevines, a US academic has warned. Visiting Australia on a fellowship with Melbourne University, environmental scientist Dr Greg Jones said winemakers in the US and Europe were buying up land at higher altitudes and in coastal regions where cooler conditions would provide a buffer to global warming. Similarly, in Australia, as higher temperatures reduce inland rainfall, horticultural zones reliant on irrigation, such as the Murray-Darling Basin, may no longer be productive.
Cafe admits serving detergent instead of wine
Two women had to be hospitalised after a cafe poured them a glass of dishwashing liquid instead of mulled wine, the Queenstown District Court was told yesterday. Chico's Restaurant Ltd admitted selling food containing an extraneous matter - sodium hydroxide - which caused injury, before Judge Alistair Garland, the Southland Times reported.
Sunday 4th May
Bordeaux 2007: Parker slams with faint praise
American wine critic Robert Parker has released his 2007 Bordeaux en primeur scores, and they aren't pretty. He has awarded only three wines up to 100 points - all of them white; among the reds, only four achieved up to a potential 95. Chateaux Pape Clement Blanc and Haut-Brion Blanc both earned 96-100, while Climens (tasted by Neal Martin) was awarded 98-100. The top possible mark for the any first growth was 94 - with Margaux earning 92-94; Haut-Brion, 91-94; and Mouton-Rothschild,90-94. Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild and Latour both earned 90-93.
Wine company fined $60,000 over slasher injury
Evans and Tate Pty Ltd was today fined $60,000 in Perth Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to maintain a safe workplace. Safety watchdog WorkSafe WA said an experienced vineyard worker had her foot dragged into the moving parts of a slasher while cutting long grass at the company's Karridale vineyard in November 2005.
Wine industry structure under review
The Winemakers Federation of Australia says its role should be limited to advocacy and lobbying, and relocated to Canberra. Chief executive, Stephen Strachan, says all the other national industry activities could then be handled by one organisation, controlled by winemakers.
Wine group urges more research before boosting alcohol tax
The Upper Hunter Winemakers Association believes more research needs to be done before the Federal Government increases taxes on wine to curb binge drinking. A 300 per cent increase in beer and wine taxes is being proposed by the Rudd Government's new preventive health task force.
Cask wine the binger's new favourite
THEY'RE not as sexy as alcopops but cask wine and port could be the new choice for teenagers trying to get drunk quickly after the Government yesterday ruled out further alcohol tax reform. Cask wine is taxed at just 6c a glass and port at just 14c under a wildly inconsistent tax system Treasurer Wayne Swan signalled would stay in place yesterday. The Government has closed a loophole that gave alcopops like Bacardi Breezers a tax advantage in a bid to stamp out teenage binge drinking.
Latest Grange release excites buyers' palates
SALES of luxury yachts and Bentleys may be on the slide, but Penfolds is expecting cashed-up wine lovers to snap up the latest vintage of its blockbuster Grange red when it goes on sale today. Priced at about $550, the 2003 vintage of Australia's most famous wine is a blend of 96.5 per cent shiraz and 3.5 per cent cabernet sauvignon, described by Penfolds' chief winemaker Peter Gago as "solid and stoic". "In hard times like this, people turn away from gold and buy wine," Mr Gago said. "You can always rely on Grange."
Wednesday 30 April
WA battle over smoke taint in wine
Curtin University and Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food have solid evidence that smoke can affect grapes with a resulting wine taint. The WA Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) – the body responsible for the management of forests and prescribed burning – is not ready to roll over yet, despite the fact that the taint has been recognised by 99pc of a tasting panel.
Bordeaux must fight anti-alcohol lobby
'We are in an absurd situation where we have to defend the place of wine in French society.' Lambasting the recent threats to the industry from anti-alcohol groups, Tarby noted in particular the rulings against newspaper editorials and websites - such as Heineken - that mention alcohol.
Allegations of glass price fixing spark EU enquiry
A member of the European Parliament has requested an enquiry into illegal price fixing by glass bottle makers in Europe. German MEP Werner Langen has written to the European Commission asking for an investigation into possible price fixing by the dominant glass producers - none are named in his request - as well as excessive bottle price hikes of up to 30% in 2007.
Tuesday 29 April
New appointments to boost wine industry
The Australian wine industry will benefit from two new senior appointments aimed at helping the industry extract maximum value from its investment in research and development by improving the communication between information providers and the wine industry. The Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) and the National Wine Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at Wagga Wagga have appointed Duncan Farquhar as National Extension Coordinator based at the NWGIC, and Mark Krstic has been appointed by GWRDC as its Innovation / Program Manager based in Melbourne.
Rosemount gets back in vogue with fashion push
THEY HAVE changed the shape of the bottle, added a sophisticated sauvignon to their mainstay cheeky chardie and are even marketing the idea that wine should be served on the rocks. But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Fosters's marketers is convincing a younger generation that Rosemount is the tipple of the trendies.
Wednesday 23 April
Once hugely popular, chateau cardboard is on the wane. Jeni Port explains why. THE trouble with growing up is all the things you out-grow. Things that no longer suit your needs are discarded - thrown on a pile with all of life's other training wheels - which is why, after 40 years of faithful service, we are discarding the wine cask. The Australian wine drinker is growing up. We don't rely on the four and five-litre cask the way we once did, although we are still deeply attached to the two-litre bag-in-the-box.
Buyer found for Palandri Wine group assets
Deloitte partner Gary Doran said Global Wine Holdings had been selected from 14 short-listed parties that had “expressed an interest in acquiring the assets”. Palandri Wines went into voluntary administration in February with millions of dollars in debts to 2,500 creditors, many thought to be from financial planner client investments in debentures in Palandri Finance. Global Wine Holdings is a newly-formed private company controlled by Chinese entrepreneur Xibo Ma – who was formerly the second largest shareholder of Palandri and has considerable industry interests in China.
Jancis Robinson: critics should show more humility
Wine critic Jancis Robinson MW has called wine critics 'parasitical' and has urged them to be more humble and honest. Speaking at the WineCreator conference in Ronda, Spain, conference president Robinson said, 'We must always remember that we are parasites on the business of winemaking.' Robinson further exhorted journalists to be more honest.
Sunday 20 April
Australian Vintage 08 wine crush up
Winemaker Australian Vintage Ltd (formerly McGuigan Simeon) said Thursday that its wine crush for the 2008 vintage was 183,000 tonnes - 15 per cent above last year. Chief executive Dane Hudson said the crush was in line with the company's internal estimate and well above last year, which was pleasing given challenging weather.
Drunk man fails to notice knife in back
Russians have long used drink to take the edge off workplace stress: lately one man's senses were so dulled he failed to notice a knife stuck in his back by a colleague, newspapers reported. The newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda and Gazeta both reported the case of a factory electrician in the town of Vologda, north of Moscow, who was stabbed by the building's security guard as they were having a drunken argument.
Record $500,000 paid for 27 bottles of red wine
While the global credit crunch has forced many consumers to rein in spending, one Beijing-based billionaire has splashed out a record $500,000 on 27 bottles of red wine, London-based Antique Wine Company said on Saturday. The anonymous Chinese entrepreneur bought a mix of vintages of Romanee Conti, a Burgundy wine and considered to be among the world's most exclusive with only 450 cases produced each year.
Price more important than taste: Caltech study reinforced
The price of a wine is far more important than taste when it comes to the amount of pleasure the wine gives you, a study has found. Most people prefer inexpensive to expensive wines when served them blind. But if they are given a price tag, even a false one, they will find the apparently costlier one more enjoyable.
Wednesday 16 April
Allegrini abandons DOC over screwcap ban
Italian producer Allegrini has pulled out of the Valpolicella Classico
denomination over frustration at not being allowed to bottle its wines under
screwcap. The estate's Valpolicella Classico will now be known simply as
Valpolicella because it wants to use the closure known as Stelvin. 'We have been
waiting for the regulations in Valpolicella Classico to be amended so that we
could use screwcaps on this wine,' said winemaker Franco Allegrini.
Friday 11 April
SA wine vintage 'one to forget' for some
This year's wine vintage has ended almost a month earlier than usual in South Australia, with many in the industry saying it is one to forget. A record heatwave in Adelaide and many other parts of South Australia in March has cost wine grape growers tens of thousands of dollars. They say hot weather ripened grapes too quickly and forced wineries to condense a two-month vintage into just two weeks.
ECONOMIC woes in the U.S. are taking a bite from Australia's wine exports, with bottled wine sales to our second-biggest market falling almost 10 per cent in value in the year to March. The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation wine export approval report yesterday showed a 2 per cent fall in the value of Australia's wine exports to $2.85 billion in the year to March, with most of the volume falls coming from the U.S.
Aussie wine producers are on the increase
The number of Australian wine producers is on the increase despite all the recent concerns over drought and water restrictions. Even taking closures and mergers into account, this year’s Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory showed over 150 more wine producers, bringing the total to 2,299.
India the big export market for Aussie wine
Australian wine companies are starting to make solid inroads into India, with Australian wine now filling more than 20 per cent of India's wine market. Victoria Angove, from Angove Wines, says her company and more than 20 other Australian wine companies are exporting to India with the expectation that it will boom.
Australian wine: drawing a blanc
Despite his best efforts, Edward Bishop never quite gets to the truth about Australian wine. But with research like this, who needs conclusions?
Wednesday April 2
Big losses may end wine investment fund
The International Wine Investment Fund (IWIF) has announced it will consider winding up by the middle of 2009 because of heavy losses. Riverland shareholders say they will not be surprised to see the end of the fund.
Parker to be immortalised on film (As this was dated ! April, I can't help wondering....)
A new film about Robert Parker has been given the green light, decanter.com has
learned. The biopic, with the working title 'The First Emperor', will deal with
the life of the world's most celebrated wine critic, from his Maryland childhood
to the present day.
