Angry French wine makers clashed with riot police in Narbonne
yesterday, turning the city centre into a smoking battle zone in
protest at a lack of government support for their ailing industry,
reports Chris Mercer from Narbonne.
The EU's main wine-producing countries, led by France and Italy,
this week torpedoed discussions to raise the minimum excise duty on
all alcoholic drinks, fearing a domestic backlash from vintners,
reports Chris Mercer.
Tetra Pak has launched wine packaged in the firm's Tetra Brik
aseptic package, a move that could redefine how vintners and
retailers position and merchandise wine.
One of Southeast Asia's leading food and beverage companies San
Miguel said yesterday that it was planning to establish a presence
in Thailand's growing beer market.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has launched the
latest edition of its code of practice for the dispense of beer by
pressure systems in licensed premises, aimed at helping designers,
engineers, contractors, suppliers,...
Wineries are getting bigger and their businesses are therefore
exposed to greater risk. In a bid to help producers achieve greater
consistency, Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen has created blended
yeasts, writes Philippa Nuttall.
Ochakovo, one of Russia's best known brewers, has launched itself
into the wine market in an ambitious move to revive the flagging
fortunes of the country's wine industry, writes Angela
Drujinina.
Southcorp, the Australian winery being stalked by compatriot
Foster's, has made a bold suggestion to its would-be acquirer - a
merger with the Mildara Blass wine division which would create the
country's biggest wine group....
South African winemakers are keen to capitalise on growing interest
in their wines from US consumers - and on the predicted growth in
the market there. Their US counterparts, meanwhile, continue to
focus on Europe, where sales have...
The maximum concentrations of compounds transferred to wine from
wood is reached after 10 to 12 months of the wine being stored in
wooden casks, according to a Spanish scientist.
A substantial drop in organic sales growth in Asia and continued
problems with its eponymous anis brands were the only low points in
an otherwise impressive set of financial results for Pernod Ricard
in 2004, writes Chris Jones.
The French authorities have come up with a €70 million rescue
package for ailing wine producers, but as Kim Hunter Gordon and
Chris Jones report, they have once again failed to tackle the
principal problem - massive overproduction...
Twelve bottles of prestigious French wines will be kept for six
months on the bottom of Russia's Lake Baikal by a group of people
looking to push the boundaries of wine consumption and production.
writes Angela Drujinina.
Trawling through the mounting investigations into the impact of
wine-drinking on heart health, Danish researchers confirm ongoing
findings that drinkers of wine benefit from its cardio-protective
effects, more so than those who drink...
Moldovan wine producer Asconi Corporation is launching 14 new wine
ranges as the company seeks to build on a recent sales increase and
recover Moldovan wine's lost export markets in Russia, writes
Chris Mercer.
Wine grape production is projected to increase by over 5 per cent
to 1.93 million tonnes over the two years to 2006-07, according to
a new report that goes against industry opinion that slowing
exports could lead to a red wine glut.
In the last two years Spain, France and Italy's wine production has
increased by over 8 million hectolitres each. In the face of a
global glut, the French wine confederation is calling on the EU to
fund a crisis distillation,...
In the US, Alcoa Closure Systems International has begun the
commerciallaunch of VinTegra, its new closure system for wine
bottles as an alternative tocorks and synthetic stoppers.
As a weak dollar encourages the ever growing number of American
wine drinkers to stick to home-grown varieties, a survey has
reassured the rest of the viticultural world that they would still
be willing to try other things, writes...
Moldovan wine producer Asconi Corporation has announced that its
2004 case sales increased by 20 per cent on 2003 to almost 2
million cases. The news comes at the same time as the inclusion of
10 of the company's wine in a list...
Tsingtao, China's leading domestic brewer, and one of the few home
beer brands to make it on to the international market, has
announced that it is about to start marketing a low-end beer in
Beijing. The move is significant as...
Foster's has bought an 18.8 percent share in Australia's third
biggest winemaker, Southcorp, preventing rival bidders from taking
it over and keeping it in Aussie hands.
A drop in export growth and the strength of this year's crop has
meant that the addition of the 2005 vintage will cause a surplus of
red wine in Australia, reports Kim Hunter Gordon.
Panic reports of the demise of beer in the US and Germany are a
part of the trend for convergence that will see beer sales decline
in traditional beer drinking countries but continue to grow
globally, writes Kim Hunter Gordon.
A study published in the International Journal of Cancer this month
has provided evidence that red wine could reduce the risk of
prostate cancer, and that general alcohol consumtion has no
negative effect.
Predictions of an excellent vintage will help Swiss winemakers
regain their domestic market, while focusing on the country's
traditional white wine varieties could help build up exports,
writes Kim Hunter Gordon.
A hi-tech way of preserving open bottles of wine from oxygen
contact could prevent consumers and restaurants from being afraid
to open better bottles of wine.
EU Advocate General Francis Jacobs has said that the ban on the use
of the name 'Tocai' for Italian wine should be upheld. The
announcement reignites arguments surrounding Geographical
Indications (GIs) and the right to...
A dot.ru company has opened an online wine store in Russia in
anticipation of the coming electronic shopping craze, despite what
sceptics might say, writes Angela Drujinina.
A hi-tech way of preserving open bottles of wine from oxygen
contact could prevent consumers and restaurants from being afraid
to open better bottles of wine, reports Kim Hunter Gordon.
Dutch Brewer Heineken is expecting beer sales in China to far
exceed its own forecast market growth expectations in the next few
years. Indeed, sales of its flagship brand are expected to increase
by 25 per cent next year.
Small vineyards claim that US wholesalers are fighting against
direct shipping in order to preserve the "monopoly" they hold. If
not this, then what exactly does the wholesaler fear? asks Kim
Hunter Gordon.
Following conflicting rulings in lower courts, the US Supreme court
in Washington will rule on the legality over state restrictions for
shipping wines, reports Kim Hunter Gordon.
A key compound in red wine could have a direct beneficial effect on
heart cells, report researchers from the US, building on a raft of
science that suggests this popular beverage could play a role in
preventing heart disease.
After seven years of development, Swiss company Cybox unveiled its
square oak barrel, which triples barrel storage capacity, at the
Vinitech exhibition in Bordeaux last week, reports Kim Hunter
Gordon.
Cape Town wine business KWV has revealed that two of its winemakers
added illegal flavourants to their 2004 vintages. The company will
stand to lose an estimated €130,000 from the lost wine but the
damage to its reputation could cost...
The Irish government's 2005 budget, which halves the alcohol
products tax for microbreweries, comes at a time when Europeans are
drinking more beer from small breweries than ever before, writes
Kim Hunter Gordon.
Archeologists believe that wine was first fermented in the now
Republic of Georgia 9,000 years ago. But, the opening of a new
hi-tech wine testing laboratory has given Georgian winemakers a
reason to look to the future, writes Kim...
Australian beer giant Foster's has teamed up with Russia's leading
brewer to become the latest contender for riches in the Russian
beer market gold mine, but the competition is strong, writes
Chris Mercer.
The Russian Union of Grapes and Wine Producers is launching an
annual exhibition and conference to address the challenges of
inadequate raw material supplies that have decimated the Russian
wine industry in recent years, writes Angela...
US-based Scholle has acquired all of the shares of Flextainer,
aFrench packaging company. The move is expected to increase
Scholle's presence in the European boxed-wine packaging category.
A US wine maker is packaging its Vendange product in 500ml Tetra
Prisma containers, in a bid to break out of the confines of
traditional wine packaging.
