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Capetown 2OOO South Africa’s wine world, like the country itself, is just getting back on its feet after Apartheid’s end (1994), Nelson Mandela’s mandate, and the promise of black partnership in reviving the economy. Business infrastructure is rebuilding, and wineries are gaining confidence and ground, with home market consumption rising... Read More

Portugal’s physical position on the planet has turned it into literally a nation of exportation that constantly has to look outside itself for success. What you see on the map is a narrow strip of a nation seemingly pushed west hard up against the ocean, a nation of many good... Read More

ROBIN BACK • 47 • US Public Relations & Marketing Manager • The Wines of Charles Back • Paarl South Africa FAMILY HISTORY Fairview Winery was established in 1693; it’s one of South Africa’s original wine estates, where vines were planted in 1655 and the first wines made in 1659. ... Read More

Means “craftsman” in Catalan the language of Penedès, the home in northeastern Spain of Artesa’s owner, Codorníu. I imagine that “artisan” comes from the same root. (In Spanish, artesa means “kneading trough”.) The former definition applies here: at the Artesa Winery in Napa’s Carneros, fine wines are crafted from the... Read More

So said Lloyd Foster Marketing Manager at Classic Wine Imports. “We’ve been selling saké since 1992 and now it’s a $1 million a year business for us.” Many people look at saké and see it only as a niche product for sushi bars, Japanese restaurants and Asian grocery stores, but... Read More

It’s as easy as ABC…You don’t have to be an economist to predict that the holiday season of 2OO8 is going to go down in history as a period of aerobic bargain hunting.  But as we approach New Year’s Eve wine lovers have a choice to make: buy up-market bubbly... Read More

SERGIO MIONETTO • 7O • Owner/Vintner • Mionetto Prosecco • Valdobbiadene Italy Master vintner and connoisseur Mionetto personally presides over his family’s sizeable winery, producers of Prosecco since 1887.  The forthright, fiery septuagenarian eagle-eyes every step of the process – from harvest to bottling – to ensure quality standards that... Read More

Flashback . . . It’s midsummer tourists line up outside the well-stocked gift shop at Truro Vineyards, and Dave Roberts is at the ready.  He squires people – with alacrity, a glad hand and a wide smile – outdoors to the tasting tent, where cheerful well-informed staffers guide consumers through... Read More

Dropping the banner on its twenty-seventh year . . .the annual Great American Beer Festival celebrated another eventful run in Denver. The festival again gave attendees especially those in the beer industry, an unparalleled opportunity to hob-knob with other beer lovers, brewers and pub owners – and this year did... Read More