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Some of the bigest stories
from the year.
Click Here for
current News.
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December
2016
November
2016
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Earthquake
Damages NZ Wine Regions
(Wine-Searcher) Waipara and Marlborough
regions take the brunt of the 7.8 Magnitude
quake with potentially billions of dollars
worth of damage.
-
2015 North
Rhône reds - best in 55 years?
(Jancis Robinson.com) ....'never, ever
have we tasted such quality of juice. The
wines are both dense and fresh: the
perfection of their balance is astonishing.'
Luscious and tannic, they may need a few
years to soften.
-
Barolo the
Likely Star of Italy's 2016 Harvest
(Wine-Searcher) Sicily and Piedmont look to
have produced excellent quality wines from
2016, unlike many other regions where rain
at harvest time has given a "classic"
vintage.
October
2016
September
2016
July
2016
-
France Wine
Output Drops as Hail, Frost Hit Champagne,
Burgundy
(Bloomberg) France’s wine production may
decline to its lowest level in three years
after spring frost and hailstorms wiped out
grapes from Champagne to Burgundy and the
Loire River valley.
-
El Niño sees
Argentine harvest drop 25%
(The Drinks Business) A cool spring and
wetter summer have led to reduced yeilds,
but producers claim quality is up with more
freshness and less alcohol..."a harvest to
remember!"
-
Paul Draper
retires at Ridge Vineyards
(Decanter) After 50 years in winemaking,
Ridge's Paul Draper retires at 80.
-
What will an EU
exit mean for the wine trade?
(Harpers) Tim Atkin looks at consequences of
Brexit. "Unless the pound recovers,
prices for European and American wines ...
will increase. If we enter a recession,
there will be ... an increase in demand for
cheaper, bulk-shipped lines. In a market
where discounters are gaining in importance,
margins will be squeezed further."
-
All change on
Austrian wine labels
(Jancis Robinson.com) Several long-discussed
amendments to Austrian wine names have at
last been incorporated into official wine
law, a "good day for label designers and
printers. ".
In: Ried (single
vineyard), Vulkanland & stricter Sparkling
rules. Out: Neusiedlersee-Hügelland and
Süd-Oststeiermark.
June
2016
-
Doug Pike's
Funny Old Wine World
(Wine-Searcher) American Doug Pike has
managed to combine two unlikely passions –
wine and cartooning – to carve out a niche
for himself as the one of wine world's
leading cartoonists. He now joins
Wine-Searcher, where he will be contributing
weekly cartoons to lighten the mood.
-
Winemakers Warn
of a Coming Burgundy ‘Apocalypse’
(Bloomberg) Rain, floods, and hailstorms
have decimated vineyards since 2010 and many
businesses are facing a crisis of how to
survive.
-
Brexit for wine
lovers updated
(Jancis Robinson.com) Now that the Leave
vote has won and the UK is set to exit the
EU nobody knows what it means for wine
lovers, but it seems that there will be
short- to medium-term pain for wine lovers
before there is any gain.
-
Southern
Hemisphere Vintage a Mixed Blessing
(Wine-Searcher) In South America the El Niño
weather cycle had a widespread effect, with
most regions cooler and wetter leading to a
25% harvest reduction in some areas. In
South Africa it was the driest vintage on
record in the Cape, following on from a very
dry winter. Heat proved a challenge,
reducing total crop, but grapes were healthy
and promise good quality wines.
-
France made a
wine theme park that puts Disneyland to
shame
(Business Insider) A theme park free of
screaming children and filled with alcohol!
La Cité du Vin, which translates to "the
city of wine" is a full-blown wine theme
park.
-
Archaeological
Dig Confirms Georgia's Wine Heritage
(Wine-Searcher) Grape seeds and vine dust
dating back to 6000 BC had been discovered
at an archaeological site just south of
Tblisi.
-
Māori wine:
Indigenous culture conquering the world with
non-indigenous grapes
(Harpers) The world’s first Māori-owned wine
company has its sights set on breaking into
the UK market with a 500-year plan to
promote its wines and preserve the land.
May
2016
April
2016
March
2016
-
Arsenic in Wine
Lawsuit Thrown Out
(Wine-Searcher) In a suprising show of
common sense a judge in California's
Superior Court has dismissed a lawsuit
claiming dangerously high levels of arsenic
in wines, even though there is no U.S. legal
standard and the levels were much lower than
neighbouring Canada applies. An appeal is
expected.
-
CIVC Send in
the Clowns Against Champín
(Wine-Searcher) The trigger happy
litigiousness of the Comité
Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)
took a well-deserved hit when Spanish
lawyers pointed out that the average
consumer with both eyes and tastebuds was
unlikely to confuse clown-adorned berry soda
with actual Champagne.
The CICV
lost again in England after a claim
against "Champale" a proposed sparkling Ale
by Essex producer Mersea Island Brewery was
dismissed.
-
Assyrtiko Finds
a Home in Oz
(Wine Spectator) After a Greek holiday in
2007 Clare Valley's Jim Barry imported
Assyrtiko which is now starting to produce
wines, though not yet commercially.
-
How Montlouis
and Vouvray Became a Chenin Blanc
Battleground
(Punch) Jacky Blot and François Chidaine,
based in Montlouis, can no longer call their
wine Vouvray, even though it's grown in the
town's vineyards. The history of tge 2
town's wine history makes fascinating
reading.
-
UK Government
to take £4BN from wine drinkers
(The Drinks Business) Record collection is
the result of British wine drinkers having
to pay 55% of the price of an average bottle
in taxes, with Britains paying two-thirds of
all wine tax gathered in the EU. The
situation hasn't been helped by the increase
in taxation
announced in the 2016 budget.
-
Actors Matthew
Goode and Matthew Rhys star in new wine show
(Decanter) Actors Matthew Goode and Matthew
Rhys, along with wine experts Joe Fattorini
and Amelia Singer, will visit 12 countries
during 13 hour-long programmes of
The Wine
Show on ITV this Spring.
February
2016
January
2016
For 2015's wine news
click
here
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