News on Vineyards and Winemakers

Fess Parker, 1950s TV Davy Crockett, dead at 85

2010-03-18T15:16:17Z

<div><p>Fess Parker, who brought Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone to life in 1950s and 1960s TV series, died Thursday at his home and vineyard in California, his family said in a statement. He was 85.</p><p>The actor, developer and vintner died at his home 2...

What is it about Sonoma and wine and women?

2010-03-16T08:45:43Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - There must be something in the air. Maybe it's the fog? Maybe it's the soil? But there has to be something that has led so many women to make wine in Sonoma, California.</p><p>There is, of course, Helen Turley. America's an...

Chile's wines spilled, production delayed by quake

2010-03-04T15:16:11Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some 125 million liters of Chilean wines worth roughly $250 million were spilled during the 8.8 magnitude earthquake last Saturday that killed more than 800 people and demolished cities and towns, a U.S. importer said on Thursday.</p><p>"They estimated that they lost 12 percent of the 2009 vintage," which had been in now-overturned stainless steel vats, broken oak barrels and bo...

Chile quake wrecks vineyards, wine stocks

2010-03-04T10:18:03Z

<div><p>Chile's famous grape-growing region, which has helped propel the country into ninth place among the world's top wine producers, is soberly counting the cost of the massive earthquake.</p><p>Growers believe some 12.5 percent of Chile's current production, just coming into the fall early harvest in this southern hemisphere nation, was destroyed by Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake.</p><p>Some 70 percent of the count...

US wine drinkers file lawsuit over fake Pinot Noir

2010-03-03T20:15:58Z

<div><p>A California lawyer has filed a class action lawsuit against French wine producers and a US importer over the sale of millions of bottles of wine falsely passed off as Pinot Noir.</p><p>"A class action complaint has been filed seeking to represent all California consumers who purchased falsely labeled wine," said Brian Levine, an attorney with Californ...

Quake damages Chile's wineries, production delayed

2010-03-02T14:00:28Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - As the death toll in Chile climbs to near 800, the toll from the 8.8-magnitude earthquake on one of its largest exports, wine, was still being assessed on Tuesday.</p><p>"The impact on the infrastructure was considerable as the earthquake severely affected the heart of the Chilean wine industry: Maipo, Cachapoal, Colchagua, Maule a...

Quake stops production for biggest Chile winemaker

2010-03-01T18:45:14Z

<div id="subtitle">Chile's biggest winemaker suspends production to assess damage to operations from earthquake</div><div><p>Chile's biggest winemaker said Monday that is stopping production for at least a week because the mammoth earthquake hit the nation's wine-growing heartland hard, damaging wineries and the transportation network.</p><p>Several of Concha y Toro...

Paso Robles: The best wine region you may not know

2010-02-26T06:45:27Z

<div id="subtitle">Paso Robles transforms from sleepy cow town to one of the world's most vibrant wine regions</div><div><p>The February issue of a respected wine industry trade publication gives only one of the world's wines both a rarefied 98 score and the top spot in the "highly recommended" section.</p><p>Near perfection came from Saxum, a well-regarded but obscure winery in Paso Robles, a one-time

New booze on the block -- 'natural' wines

2010-02-25T00:17:00Z

<div><p>When Marcel Lapierre took over the family vineyard in Burgundy decades ago, the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals used in farming had made the wine "simply horrid".</p><p>"I couldn't drink the wine on the table," said Lapierre, an easy-going man who goes about in a worn, country-style corduroy and hat. "So I decided to rethink the whole process to produce the kind of wine my father ...

Foster's urges Australia vine clearing to counter wine glut

2010-02-21T00:15:35Z

<div><p>Australian drinks giant Foster's Sunday warned one quarter of the nation's grape vines needed to be pulled up to reverse a damaging wine glut forcing growers to let their fruit wither on the vine.</p><p>Chief executive Ian Johnston said global wine growers were experiencing a "very painful period" due to the global economic downturn, and a significant amount of Au...

World's top wine group hit by French scam: officials

2010-02-22T08:38:21Z

<div><p>Constellation Brands, the world's biggest wine group, was another recipient of some of the 18 million bottles of fake pinot noir sold by French winemakers, US officials confirmed Thursday.</p><p>Constellation's involvement in the massive transatlantic swindle emerged in court documents seen by AFP after 12 wine-makers and dealers were convicted on Wedn...

Court convicts 12 in Pinot Noir fraud scheme

2010-02-22T08:50:01Z

<div id="subtitle">Court convicts 12 in Pinot Noir fraud scheme that victimized Gallo; wine merchant may appeal</div><div><p>A French court has convicted a dozen people, from wine growers to a wine merchant, in a scheme that exported fake Pinot Noir from southwestern France to the United States, duping TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - FEBRUARY 09: A winemaker discusses his wares at the 2010 Israeli wine exposition February 9, 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Wine has been produced in the Holy Land since biblical times. Today, Israeli wine is made by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique enterprises to large companies, altogether producing some 30 million bottles annually. (Photo by California wines down; imports fuel strapped drinkers' desire for cheaper bottles</div><div><p>The wine industry received sobering news this week: California wine shipments dropped in 2009 for the first time in 16 years.</p><p>Analyst Jon Fredrikson says wine consumption is u...

NY again mulls sale of wine in grocery stores

2010-02-22T17:27:00Z

<div id="subtitle">Wine, liquor industry takes sides on NY governor's plan to allow vino sales in grocery stores</div><div><p>New Yorkers could pick up wine and dinner at their local grocery store and buy mixers, cigars and snacks along with their booze at the neighborhood liquor store, under a new proposal from Gov. David Paterson.</p><p>Paterson's plan...

What Are New World Wines?

2010-02-22T18:09:37Z

New World wines is the term that is used to refer to wines made anywhere other than in the countries of Europe. The classic, traditional wine making regions of Europe, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, are known a...

Get the Perfect 2003 M. Marengo Barolo Brunate

2010-02-22T19:13:23Z

Barolo<br><br>The Birth of Barolo<br><br>Back in the 1970?s, a group of innovative and high-quality minded wine vintners in the Tuscany region of Italy with the intention of producing wines that would become the standard in the industry and offset the many ?spaghetti chiantis? that had ruled the market for so long. Procuring what most considered the w...

Court: Mass. law on wine shipping unconstitutional

2010-02-22T19:55:03Z

<div id="subtitle">US Appeals court says Massachusetts law restricting direct wine shipments unconstitutional</div><div><p>A Massachusetts law that sharply restricts out-of-state winemakers from shipping their products directly to consumers in the state is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled.</p><p>Thursday's decision by the California wine easily can tell a red cabernet from a white chardonnay, and soon they will have a tool to determine whether it's green.</p><p>Winemakers and grape growers who forgo pesticides, sow cover crops, reduce waste an...

In world of wine, accidents can sometimes be good

2010-02-23T00:03:35Z

<div id="subtitle">For wine connoisseurs, an accident waiting to happen can sometimes be a very good thing</div><div><p>Accidents happen, the people at the Accidental Wine Company like to say. Good thing for them that they do, too, or the Accidental Wine Company would be out of business.</p><p>Every time a delivery person, a vintner or ...