Bordeaux 2015: White wine harvest to start next week
The first white grapes of the Bordeaux 2015 wine harvest are set to be picked next week for the earliest ripening areas of Pessac Leognan. Chateau Haut-Brion said it was likely to begin its Bordeaux 2015 harvest for Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris at the end of...
Cocktail dispenser aims to eliminate bar queues
The burgeoning "robot bartender" category is set to expand if a new Kickstarter campaign succeeds in raising US$260,000 to launch the Foxtender cocktail dispenser. Said to be the "world's first automatic bar station" which can "eliminate the concept of waiting in line...
California fires rage but vineyards safe, says Napa Vintners
Napa Valley Vintners has tried to calm concerns that the 2015 Napa wine harvest is under threat from wildfires that have seen California fire crews working day and night to control blazes. Hot and hazy conditions lingered over parts of Napa Valley last weekend as...
US now largest export market for New Zealand wine
The US has overtaken Australia to become New Zealand wine's largest export market by value, according to the 2015 annual report of New Zealand Winegrowers. Now valued at $372 million, up 13%, the US market accounted for around one quarter of wine exports in year ended...
Top 10 craft spirits descriptions
A lack of clarity around the meaning of "craft" in spirits is proving meddlesome for producers big and small - here are some enlightening descriptions offered by leading members of the trade. Over the past year or so, the prevailing topic of debate across the spirits...
The Aperitif for Every Season
IT'S TIME TO GET REAL about sherry. Let's not pretend we're eating tapas in an expensively tiled bar every night, ordering a single-vineyard aged Manzanilla with a sharing plate of potted crab and Ibérico ham. Let's not get too hung up on its past, either. Yes, in...
7 Tips to Work Successfully with Wine Distributors
With more than 90,000 wine brands in the US market, wineries need to be very sophisticated in their strategic marketing if they want to be represented in top retail establishments. However this generally requires finding and developing a positive working relationship...
The Rise of Female Sommeliers
If you walked into an upscale restaurant a decade ago and asked to speak to the sommelier, the individual arriving at your table would have likely conformed to a familiar stereotype: an older gentleman with a big knotted tie, a pin on his lapel and a tastevin around...
Big spirits brands struggle against rise of craft
Established spirits brands are "struggling to compete" with craft players and face "fragmentation" in the market, new research has found. According to the IWSR's Global Spirits Trends Report 2015, the overriding trend in the international spirits market in 2014...