Worldwide wine production in 2011 remained stable (+ 0.4%), according to newly published figures from the Office International du Vin (OIV). France takes the number one spot for the first time in five years, with production of fifty million hectoliters on a worldwide total of 270 million hectoliters, of which just over 158 million hectoliters in the EU. French production > Read more …
Olivier Cousin, a small biodynamic wine producer in the AOC Anjou in the French Loire area, faces a sentence of two years because he labeled one of his wines incorrectly out of protest. Cousin left the AOC in 2005 and his wines have since been released as Vin de Table (VDT). He left the AOC in protest because the rules are too lax and for example allowed producers in the warm 2003 vintage to both acidify and chaptalize (add sugar to) their wines. But > Read more …
Belgium is the third largest importer of Bordeaux wines in the world by volume, after China and Germany. According to figures from the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) Belgium imported two percent more Bordeaux from July 2010 to July 2011, compared with the same period last year. Calculated by value, Belgium is the fifth largest market for Bordeaux > Read more …
INAO, the French government agency which regulates the appellations d’origine, has rearranged the geographic vineyard areas in Burgundy after a regulating process that took three years to complete. From vintage 2011 onwards, 43 municipalities in Beaujolais lose the right to sell wines under the Burgundy appellation which they had since 1937. Henceforth, 43 municipalities in Beaujolais are no longer allowed > Read more …
There’s a big change for Sunday service at Catholic churches in Phoenix. Wine will no longer be used for communion. Read more
Every year on the third Sunday of November the wine auction at the Hospice de Beaune in France takes place. This year’s the 151st auction will be held on Sunday, November 20th. Like last year, it will led by the famous British auction house Christie’s. Last year on November 21 during the 150th auction 543 barrels of red and 100 barrels of white Burgundy wines werd sold to the highest bidder for a total of 5,000,000 euros. Each barrel contains 228 liters. 400,000 euros was payed for the “pièce du President”, a barrel of 500 liters of Beaune Premier Cru Cuvée Nicolas Rolin, sold > Read more …
A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemns the living and working conditions of workers in the vineyards of South Africa’s Western Cape Province. The report Ripe with Abuse: Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries describes the poor housing, unsafe working conditions and illegal treatment of black vineyard-workers. The workers often lack access to toilets or drinking water > Read more …
The Organisme de défense et de gestion (ODG) of Pommard in Burgundy (the association of wine growers) wants the premier crus Rugiens and Epenots recognized as grand crus. The ODG will file a request with the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine), the French institute that regulates appellations of origin. The Burgundy classification of 1936 recognized only premier cru vineyards > Read more …
A team of American and Albanian archeologists found a well preserved Roman ship wreck off the Albanian coast with 300, unfortunately empty wine jugs, reports Associated Press. The thirty meters long ship wreck dates from the first century BC. The ship transported wine from vineyards in southern Albania to European markets, perhaps in Gaul (France). Albania was part of ancient > Read more …
Belgian topchef Peter Goossens launches four wines with his name, signature and photo on the label: two whites, one rosé and one red. They will be sold in Belgian supermarkets and are a licensed product of Goossens’ Belgian satellite food channel Njam! The wines cost 6,85 euro. On the labels there is almost no information on what is in the > Read more …
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