China, South America and Europe combined to offset disappointing
performances in North America and South Africa during brewer
SABMiller's third quarter.
Slow progress of plans to radically reform Europe's wine sector
threatens to undermine many of the benefits they may bring, a
French wine industry leader told BeverageDaily.com
Not everyone jostling for space on the UK wine market is going to
survive over the next five years, but those who do are set to
become some of the industry's biggest earners.
Just as an alcohol-fuelled Christmas period has many people
reaching for the vegetable juice this month, a new diet book is
here to explain exactly why the corks should keep popping.
Violence around southern France's vineyards could worsen next year
as more radical groups of winemakers emerge, angry at the region's
ongoing economic problems, one source has warned.
Cider sales have shot up 12 per cent in the UK this year,
provisional figures reveal, taking advantage of a stagnant beer
market with new varieties and a bigger promotion push.
Plans to unite France's Languedoc wine region behind one
Appellation Contrôlée banner are set to be officially adopted at a
regional industry conference Friday.
Australia's biggest soft drinks maker Coca-Cola Amatil has expanded
its alcoholic beverages portfolio through a new agreement with
premium spirits distributor Maxxium.
Diageo, the world's largest alcoholic drinks firm, denied it
planned to launch sparkling spirit drinks in the UK in the near
future after filing a patent for a new way of adding fizz to hard
spirits.
Poor consumer confidence across Western Europe dented growth at UK
brewer Scottish & Newcastle in the third quarter and is likely
to continue into next year, worsened by a pub smoking ban in
Britain.
Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in red wine, extended survival
rates of mice and prevented the negative effects of high-calorie
diets, says a new study published in Nature.
French wine authorities have laid down plans to ban the
controversial use of wood chips in higher quality appellation
contrôlée wine, after the practice was approved by the European
Commission.
Drinking more than three glasses of red wine a week could cut the
risk of colorectal cancer by almost 70 per cent, researchers told
the 71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of
Gastroenterology in Las Vegas.
More disappointment in the mainstream US beer sector was offset by
the World Cup effect in Europe and continued gains in emerging
markets, brewer SABMiller has announced.
Premium spirits brands have kept Pernod Ricard moving forward over
the last year, offsetting difficulties in Europe to lift the
group's organic sales by seven per cent.
Winemakers across Europe were a step closer to ripping out their
vines last night after European agriculture ministers agreed in
principle to radical reform of the wine sector.
Importing wine to Britain in bulk and bottling it in lighter glass
would save money and help the environment, says a recycling agency,
which has signed up supermarkets and wine firms to trial the idea.
French wine authorities have been criticised for creating three
more appellation contrôlée wine areas at a time when France is
trying to simplify its wine offering to consumers.
Dutch brewer Grolsch defended its stand against supermarket price
cuts on beer in the Netherlands, despite losing market share in the
first half of 2006.
China's biggest wine producer Changyu has set up an alliance with
Canadian ice wine maker Aolos to build what is expected to be the
largest ice wine estate in the world.
In a bid to capitalise on the booming South American wine industry,
Saint-Gobain has purchased control of one of the regions largest
wine bottling companies.
Sales of Guinness have slipped in the beer's Irish homeland over
the past year, its maker Diageo has announced, taking the shine off
a solid sales rise for the drinks firm.
As French winemakers prepare for the annual rush to pull in this
year's grape harvest, anyone who does not own a Chateau is looking
cautiously ahead at another year of problems.
Packaging giant Rexam has gained its first foothold in India,
signing a local joint venture that plans to supply cans to the
country's promising beer market.
Scientists in Australia will harness the sensory ability of insects
and worms to improve the electronic noses used by the food and
beverage industry, particularly in the wine industry.
Carlsberg raised its profit prediction for the year after beer
sales rose eight per cent in the first half of 2006, thanks to a
limited recovery in Western Europe and more gains in the East.
Australian wine and beer group Foster's will exit the Asian brewing
business with the US$225 million sale of its operations in Vietnam
and India, it announced on Friday.
Beer swilling England football fans helped Scottish & Newcastle
to a six per cent sales rise for the first half of the year,
continuing the brewer's new momentum in the UK.
Britain's ale brewers are looking to reconnect with consumers by
providing tasting notes alongside pints of their beer, a tactic
they say has already worked wonders for wine.
UK supermarkets are failing to promote responsible drinking by
selling too much cheap alcohol, the brewer Scottish & Newcastle
has told a Competition Commission investigation.
Anheuser Busch managed to stop the rot on the troublesome American
beer market during the first half of 2006, but hopes of a
sector-wide recovery were dashed by a sales slip from rival
SABMiller.
The 'South of France' wine brand, covering thousands of producers
in France's biggest wine region, is set to hit supermarkets next
year as winemakers look to regroup against the New World onslaught.
Heineken has said profits this year were likely to be better than
it thought, thanks to surprisingly good beer sales in both Eastern
Europe and the more stagnant US market.
Plans for radical reform of Europe's ailing wine sector will be
debated openly by EU member states for the first time Tuesday, with
opposing blocs already emerging.
A new brewing science degree in the UK aims to help beer firms
around the world improve their businesses, from sustainable
production to the perfect pint.
Huge swathes of California's wine areas may disappear by 2050 if
world temperatures continue to rise at their current rate, warn two
separate studies on wine and global warming.
Once derided as a poor relation of real wine, sales of rosé have
rocketed across Britain and France over the last few years as
consumers look to expand their taste experiences.
As French, Italian and Spanish winemakers debate life without wine
lakes, producers in one of Europe's smallest wine nations say they
should not foot the bill for others' mistakes.
Australian beer and wine group Foster's has said it will sell off
one French and two Australian wineries as part of its plan to
integrate the Southcorp wine business.
A new lager served at below freezing temperature, developed by beer
firm Coors, looks to target an emerging trend for colder beer on
the troublesome UK beer market.
Commission plans to sort out Europe's ailing wine sector hit their
first road block within hours of being unveiled, after the French
government rejected key proposals as too destructive.
The explosive debate on what to do about Europe's troubled wine
sector will begin in earnest today as the European Commission
outlines several options for member countries.
The flavonoid xanthohumol found in hops could help prevent prostate
cancer, but the scientists suggest supplements rather than beer for
exploiting the potential benefits.
