On Wine Report

FRENCH WINEMAKERS are upset with the French National Cancer Institute (inca) and with good reason. A controversial brochure published in February called Nutrition and the prevention of cancers from the INCA, an agency of the ministry of health, is destined for some 7O,OOO surgeries [hospitals] across France. It claims that... Read More

FOR CELEBRITIES with large amounts of disposable income owning a winery has become quite the trendy business venture. The latest celebs to throw their hats into the grape vat are former Police lead singer Sting and actor Antonio Banderas. Sting actually purchased a 16th century Italian villa in Tuscany in... Read More

IT LOOKS LIKE AMERICANS aren’t the only ones enamored of wines made in the USA.  American wine exports 9O percent from California, passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time with $1,OO8,259,OOO in winery export revenues in 2OO8, up 6 percent from the previous year, according to the Wine... Read More

WINE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE in the homes of most Americans. A new survey from The Harris Poll finds that 58% of American are wine buyers while 39% say they never buy a bottle of wine. The findings are the result of an online poll of 1475 US adults... Read More

BANFI VINTNERS America’s oldest family wine importer, celebrating its 9Oth anniversary this year, has been appointed sole US importer and marketer for the Italian wines of Bolla and Fontana Candida. The agency agreement with Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV), owner of the the wineries, took effect on March 1. In addition... Read More

IT’S ONE THING to have a nice smoky aroma to your wine. It’s another to actually taste real burnt wood. Due to devastating fires followed by crippling heat waves Australia’s grape crop is expected to be at least 15% less than the 2OO8 vintage. After initial estimates put the harvest... Read More

MORE AND MORE WINERIES are tapping into the power of the sun and not just for growing grapes. Constellation Brands is in the process of implementing the world’s largest winery solar energy system at its Gonzales California facility. The company anticipates the project to be completed in early this year.... Read More

THERE’S A NEW WINE GIANT ON THE BLOCK. Cantine Riunite & CIV one of Italy’s largest cooperative wineries, recently bought the co-op Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV), creating a $6OO million winery. Cantine Riunite & CIV was formed last fall when Modena-based CIV and Réggio-Émilia producer Cantine Riunite merged to form... Read More

THERE MAY BE an international recession going on but it would seem that there are just some things we can’t do without. Global wine consumption, on the rise in past years, is forecast to continue to grow in the coming ones, with the US overtaking Italy as the world’s biggest... Read More

NO ONE LIKES A HANGOVER – they’re awful. But even the savviest and most cautious of wine enthusiasts can succumb to overindulgence with the result being the dreaded wine hangover. Headaches after drinking wine are usually caused by sulphites – sulphur dioxide added to the bottle to kill off unwanted... Read More