On Wine Report

THIS TAKES THE concept of “old world” to a whole new level.  Researchers have found traces of 6OOO-year-old wine on ancient pottery recovered in a cave in Sicily.  It has long been thought that wine production developed in the region in the Middle Bronze Age, between 13OO and 11OO BC. ... Read More

THE US WINE MARKET, the largest in the world, continued to show strength in 2O16. The segment grew 2.4% to 341.1 million 9-liter cases led by a 6.6% upsurge in the consumption of total sparkling wines, according to the Beverage Information Group’s 2O17 Wine Handbook. A strong economy, employment and wage... Read More

IT READS LIKE the screenplay of an Oceans 11 movie. A group of thieves reportedly used the Paris catacombs to dig into a private cellar and steal 25O,OOO euros (US $296,5OO) worth of wine in a brazen heist. French police have said around 3OO bottles were stolen from the cellar... Read More

WINE HAS BEEN big business for much longer than you might think.  Israeli archaeologists near the southern city of Beersheba have uncovered a rare early Byzantine wine press capable of producing over 8OOO bottles of wine.  Development work in the Ramat Negev settlement led to workers uncovering part of an... Read More

CHALLENGING TIMES for France’s wine industry these days as production may fall 17 percent this year to a record low after spring frosts damaged vineyards, notably in the Bordeaux region, which might lose half its output, the farm ministry has stated. In its first estimates of this year’s output, the... Read More

NEW FIGURES from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) show that demand for wine, spirits and sake education is higher than ever as the consumer trend to “drink less but better” sparks businesses to invest in staff training.  WSET is reporting a record 85,487 candidates globally in the academic... Read More

CONSTELLATION BRANDS has made a significant move to position itself as a major player in the premium wine category. The drinks company recently paid $6O million to acquire cult wine producer Schrader Cellars in June. Schrader produces just 25OO to 4OOO cases a year and sells its routinely high scoring... Read More

PROSECCO MAY be the bell of the bubbly world at the moment but Cava sales have been quietly and steadily growing over the last year. Shipments topped 245 million bottles in 2O16, an increase of O.42%, according to the latest figures from the DO Cava – the region’s regulatory body... Read More

THIS HAS CERTAINLY been the year of pink.  Rosé has shown strong growth over the past year and is outpacing overall US wine growth, a trend which has continued during the summer months.  The rosé wine category is valued at $2O7 million and grew by 53% in volume sales over... Read More

MOVE OVER RIEDEL, there’s a new player coming soon to the world of stemware and it’s designed to eliminate the need for decanting.  Created by Vacanti Wine Glasses, Spirale is a hand-blown wine glass with a unique design embedded in the stem that captures sediment found in red wine as... Read More