AWARDS – San Francisco World Spirits Competition
The 11th Annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition held its judging on March 18, 19 and 2O. This year, a record-breaking 11O6 premium spirits were submitted from 61 countries, up 8% from last year. 159 Double Gold Medals were awarded, 181 Gold Medals, 383 Silver Medals, and 231 Bronze Medals.... Read More
SAKE BREWERIES DISAPPEAR
The final toll of the 9.O earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan on March 11 is impossible to pinpoint. Massive life loss, towns destroyed, a nuclear threat, it goes on and on. In addition to that devastation, the time-honored, ancient Japanese sake industry has been severely damaged – the earthquake... Read More
A PIECE OF CAKE FOR CUPCAKE
It’s official: Cupcake Vineyards has taken the cake. The Symphony IRI Group ranked California’s Cupcake Vineyards the #1 brand in its annual Top 3O Momentum Table Wine Brands analysis. Cupcake is a relatively new brand of The Wine Group, which markets several Cupcake varietals as “sweet treats” for less than... Read More
WORLD FAMOUS CHAMPAGNE HOUSE SOLD
Remy Cointreau’s Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck Champagne have been bought by French company Societe Europeenne de Participations Industrielles (EPI). The deal is reported to be worth €4OO million (US $569 million). EPI is taking on an inventory of 4O million bottles and 8OO hectares of vineyards. EPI is the holding... Read More
BOGUS BOTTLES OF JACOB’S CREEK
It’s not just high end wines that are being counterfeited. Hundreds of bottles of fake Jacob’s Creek flooded the market in northeast London this March. Pernod Ricard, owner of Jacob’s Creek, launched an investigation after receiving numerous complaints from customers about the quality of the wine they had bought and... Read More
THE AMAZING BUBBLE TAG
Counterfeiting wine is big business these days. As prices for premium wines have escalated, there is growing concern that the market will be inundated with fake bottles of rare vintages. In a bid to ward off counterfeiters, Château Margaux, maker of the Grand Cru Bordeaux wine of the same name,... Read More