Another Italian red wine is being investigated by Italian authorities for possible fraudulent grape mixing. U.S. trade authorities are again stopping the import of some wine until the Italian authorities have concluded their investigations.
The possible fraud is the second case in a year of Italian producers mixing wines with the wrong grapes. Earlier this year Italian authorities questioned whether some Brunello producers in Montalcino were blending their wines rather than using 100 percent Sangiovese grapes, as required.
Now two producers of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano are being investigated for possibly using grapes from outside the region. Italian standards say the wine must be made from 70 percent Sangiovese grapes and the remaining grapes must come from the same region.
The U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau, have stopped issuing new labels to wine produced from June onwards until the Italian authorities can prove their has been no mixing up of the grape.
"We are waiting to ensure the label claims and for confirmation from Italian authorities," Gail Davis, the bureau's international trade division director, said. Davis said the bureau was also reviewing labeling of French wines from St. Emilion, based on media reports of a dispute over wine classification in France.
Showing posts with label Maison du Vin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maison du Vin. Show all posts
Monday, 18 August 2008
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Robotic wine taster
A new robotic wine taster has been invented by scientists. Designed for quality control in the field, the device is made up of six sensors which detect substances characteristic of a certain wine variety. Components such as acid, sugar and alcohol can be measured by this detection, and from these parameters it can determine the age and variety of the wine.
The tongue was invented by scientists at the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics, Spain, and is reported in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal The Analyst.
Wine industry specialists told the researchers they lacked a fast way to assess quality of wines – it takes a long time to send samples to a central laboratory for processing.
Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera one of the inventors said: "This new tongue is not only swift, but also portable, cheap to manufacture, and can be trained to taste new varieties as required. The device could be used to detect frauds committed regarding the vintage year of the wine, or the grape varieties used."
The tongue was invented by scientists at the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics, Spain, and is reported in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal The Analyst.
Wine industry specialists told the researchers they lacked a fast way to assess quality of wines – it takes a long time to send samples to a central laboratory for processing.
Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera one of the inventors said: "This new tongue is not only swift, but also portable, cheap to manufacture, and can be trained to taste new varieties as required. The device could be used to detect frauds committed regarding the vintage year of the wine, or the grape varieties used."
Monday, 28 July 2008
Holy Wine
A nun from rural Mahlabathini in South Africa who makes her own wine from beetroot, Is set to turn it into a commercial venture thanks to the help of the South African health minister who was left speechless when she tasted the wine at an agricultural expo and promised to help her produce the wine commercially.
69-year-old Sister Lydia Ngema from the Order of Saint Benedict joined the Thwasana mission at the age of 14 and started making wine in 1977 as a hobby. But has never actually tasted her wine as alcohol consumption is not permitted by the Order of Saint Benedict.
Sister Ngema said "her wine-making had been controversial because people assumed she drank what she made. I don't touch it. None of us drink here, here; we are not allowed to drink any form of alcohol. I don't taste my own wine."
She added "almost any fruit or vegetable could be used to make wine. I make seven types - from beetroot, plums, carrots, oranges, grapes, grapefruit, and mixed-fruit wine. Virtually anything can be turned into wine."
According to Sister Ngema, it takes five years to make a good wine, but she said big companies had a way of speeding up the process. "Which is what makes my wine so unique - it's made from ordinary fruit and matures on its own."
It is hoped the new business venture will provide jobs for the local community and any profits will go back to helping the local community
.
69-year-old Sister Lydia Ngema from the Order of Saint Benedict joined the Thwasana mission at the age of 14 and started making wine in 1977 as a hobby. But has never actually tasted her wine as alcohol consumption is not permitted by the Order of Saint Benedict.
Sister Ngema said "her wine-making had been controversial because people assumed she drank what she made. I don't touch it. None of us drink here, here; we are not allowed to drink any form of alcohol. I don't taste my own wine."
She added "almost any fruit or vegetable could be used to make wine. I make seven types - from beetroot, plums, carrots, oranges, grapes, grapefruit, and mixed-fruit wine. Virtually anything can be turned into wine."
According to Sister Ngema, it takes five years to make a good wine, but she said big companies had a way of speeding up the process. "Which is what makes my wine so unique - it's made from ordinary fruit and matures on its own."
It is hoped the new business venture will provide jobs for the local community and any profits will go back to helping the local community
.
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Great news for white lovers!
A white wine which is as beneficial to health as red wine has been developed by scientists.
The Israeli wine contains enhanced levels of plant chemicals which are believed to fight heart disease.
Researchers from Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology, found that they were able to fortify white wine with health-giving polyphenol compounds.
Red wine is naturally fortified with the compounds, which are concentrated in grape skins.
The fermentation process releases the polyphenols, giving red wine its colour and its antioxidant properties.
So how do you solve the moral dilemma - is it a glass of white or a glass of red the doctor ordered??
The Israeli wine contains enhanced levels of plant chemicals which are believed to fight heart disease.
Researchers from Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology, found that they were able to fortify white wine with health-giving polyphenol compounds.
Red wine is naturally fortified with the compounds, which are concentrated in grape skins.
The fermentation process releases the polyphenols, giving red wine its colour and its antioxidant properties.
So how do you solve the moral dilemma - is it a glass of white or a glass of red the doctor ordered??
Monday, 2 June 2008
The all blacks are coming
There's trouble brewing in the New World!
Australian wine makers have been warned to expect a lot more competition from neighbours New Zealand over the next year. New Zealand has just recorded its biggest ever vintage, with yields up almost 40 per cent on last season.
Philip Gregan, from the New Zealand Wine Growers, says more pinot noir, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc will be exported to Australia.
"We think we're in for quite a challenging marketing year, because the vintage came in that much bigger than we expected," he says.
"Having said that, we are seeing very strong demand in Australia, in the United Kingdom, the United States and a number of other markets as well, so I think we can say it's going to be a very interesting year, we'll just see how strong that demand is."
Australian wine makers have been warned to expect a lot more competition from neighbours New Zealand over the next year. New Zealand has just recorded its biggest ever vintage, with yields up almost 40 per cent on last season.
Philip Gregan, from the New Zealand Wine Growers, says more pinot noir, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc will be exported to Australia.
"We think we're in for quite a challenging marketing year, because the vintage came in that much bigger than we expected," he says.
"Having said that, we are seeing very strong demand in Australia, in the United Kingdom, the United States and a number of other markets as well, so I think we can say it's going to be a very interesting year, we'll just see how strong that demand is."
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Tragedy of wine producer
A wine producer was killed in a freak accident at his vineyard when he was crushed by hundreds of bottles.
George Musgrave, 66, who ran Polmassick Vineyard in St Ewe, Cornwall, with his wife Barbara, 62, was killed when half a tonne of empty bottles fell on the father of two.
He was airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, but later died from his injuries.
Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
George Musgrave, 66, who ran Polmassick Vineyard in St Ewe, Cornwall, with his wife Barbara, 62, was killed when half a tonne of empty bottles fell on the father of two.
He was airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, but later died from his injuries.
Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
China will be leading wine producer by 2058
China will come to the fore in the next half-century and emerge as the leading wine producing country. This is according to a new document out from Berry Bros & Rudd entitled 'The Future of Wine Report'.
Two significant areas are set for change in the next fifty years, it says. Firstly, the rise of wine brands will lead to massive changes in the marketing and packaging of wine products and secondly New World wine countries will see radical changes as climate change sets in.
China especially (curr
ently the world's sixth largest wine producer and number four in terms of area under vine) will come to prominence as the leading producer by 2058.
The report says Cabernets and Chardonnays, in particular, will be in demand.
Alun Griffiths MW said: "China has the vineyards, but not the technical expertise, however, if good people from wine producing countries think there is opportunity to make wine in China, they will go there and invest."
China will come to the fore in the next half-century and emerge as the leading wine producing country. This is according to a new document out from Berry Bros & Rudd entitled 'The Future of Wine Report'.
Two significant areas are set for change in the next fifty years, it says. Firstly, the rise of wine brands will lead to massive changes in the marketing and packaging of wine products and secondly New World wine countries will see radical changes as climate change sets in.
China especially (curr
ently the world's sixth largest wine producer and number four in terms of area under vine) will come to prominence as the leading producer by 2058.The report says Cabernets and Chardonnays, in particular, will be in demand.
Alun Griffiths MW said: "China has the vineyards, but not the technical expertise, however, if good people from wine producing countries think there is opportunity to make wine in China, they will go there and invest."
Friday, 9 May 2008
Women hospitalised after cafe mistakes washing up liquid for wine
Two women have been taken to hospital after a New Zealand cafe mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine.
Chico's Restaurant in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter — the chemical sodium hydroxide — that caused injury
Customer Sarah Ferguson had ordered a glass of "Mountain Thunder" mulled wine from the cafe and spat out the liquid when she experienced a burning sensation on her lips and mouth.
Cafe worker Bethany Sim then offered to test the drink and suffered a similar reaction.
I can think of some so-called popular wines over here that may struggle to pass the dishwasher test!!
Chico's Restaurant in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter — the chemical sodium hydroxide — that caused injury
Customer Sarah Ferguson had ordered a glass of "Mountain Thunder" mulled wine from the cafe and spat out the liquid when she experienced a burning sensation on her lips and mouth.
Cafe worker Bethany Sim then offered to test the drink and suffered a similar reaction.
I can think of some so-called popular wines over here that may struggle to pass the dishwasher test!!
Monday, 14 April 2008
Same wine - different lable
Have you ever wondered if you are continually drinking the same wine but with a different label?
Well your concerns may not be unfounded.
A recent industry report flagged up a frightening statistic - there are currently an estimated 3000 second la
bels floating around the worlds wine racks.
So what is a second label? Lets be clear, it is not a second wine. Merely a bottle with a differently designed label to disguise the fact that there are thousands of wines on sale in the high street that are exactly the same in every detail. Except for the name and the price - yep, the price.
Second labels are a valuable, cost effective tool for the the majors to make more money without over stocking. It enables them to widen their range of wines and spread it out around different stores, without actually having to buy new wines from different growers. There are many growers that will quite happily label many of their wines to suite your requirements. Therefore if you have a chain of shops you can label the same wines to suite the expectations of your clientele. For example if you have two shops, one in a fairly affluent area and one in an area where the customers are a bit more price sensitive. You can label the same wine differently to appeal to both sets of customers.
It also enables you to charge a £1 or so extra depending on what you think it will bear.
It is a useful tool for the majors who stock their wine departments according to the demographic of each particular stores customer base. It also enables the producers or their agents to sell the same wine to different companies without conflicting overlaps.
Is it illegal? No it certainly is not. There are strict EU laws governing the labeling of wine.
According to the Food standards Agency these are the legal requirements.
'Specific mandatory items must be shown, in one field of vision. These include nominal volume (eg 75cl), alcoholic strength (eg 11.5% vol), bottler's details, country of origin, type of wine. In addition a statement about the sulphur dioxide content will be required on any label when this exceeds 10mg/litre.'
That is all you legally need to have on the wine label and it doesn't even need to be on the front label. It is perfectly OK to print all this info on a back label.
Well your concerns may not be unfounded.
A recent industry report flagged up a frightening statistic - there are currently an estimated 3000 second la
bels floating around the worlds wine racks.So what is a second label? Lets be clear, it is not a second wine. Merely a bottle with a differently designed label to disguise the fact that there are thousands of wines on sale in the high street that are exactly the same in every detail. Except for the name and the price - yep, the price.
Second labels are a valuable, cost effective tool for the the majors to make more money without over stocking. It enables them to widen their range of wines and spread it out around different stores, without actually having to buy new wines from different growers. There are many growers that will quite happily label many of their wines to suite your requirements. Therefore if you have a chain of shops you can label the same wines to suite the expectations of your clientele. For example if you have two shops, one in a fairly affluent area and one in an area where the customers are a bit more price sensitive. You can label the same wine differently to appeal to both sets of customers.
It also enables you to charge a £1 or so extra depending on what you think it will bear.
It is a useful tool for the majors who stock their wine departments according to the demographic of each particular stores customer base. It also enables the producers or their agents to sell the same wine to different companies without conflicting overlaps.
Is it illegal? No it certainly is not. There are strict EU laws governing the labeling of wine.
According to the Food standards Agency these are the legal requirements.
'Specific mandatory items must be shown, in one field of vision. These include nominal volume (eg 75cl), alcoholic strength (eg 11.5% vol), bottler's details, country of origin, type of wine. In addition a statement about the sulphur dioxide content will be required on any label when this exceeds 10mg/litre.'
That is all you legally need to have on the wine label and it doesn't even need to be on the front label. It is perfectly OK to print all this info on a back label.
You may now feel as though you've been had but is this any different than buying cheaper own brand products rather paying more for the leading brand that is made by the same manufacturer? You may well be paying more for the same product because of the way it is dressed up?
A case of 'The King's new clothes' maybe?
Monday, 7 April 2008
New contender for the world's most expensive wine
Champagne house Krug has announced the release of it's new 1995 Clos d'Ambonnay. This is their first new release since launching their Rose 25 years ago. It's also the House's first 'Blanc de Noirs' - meaning that it is made entirely from Red grapes, in this case Pinot Noir.But the real headline grabber is the price which is £1500 - £2000 - per bottle, not per case! This phenomenal price puts it above the price of other heavyweights such as Dommaine de Rommane Conti and Chateau Petrus.
So how do Krug justify such a price? Well at the risk of sounding glib, they won't have to. The fact's are it was produced from one tiny walled vineyard the Clos d'Ambonnay which is just 0.6 of a ha. In 1995 it yielded a paultry 250 cases. So it is inevitable that demand will outstrip supply - even at such an exorbitant price. One London merchant is reputed to have claimed that he could sell the whole lot with one phone call.
But never mind the price, does it taste any good? Well according to Serena Sutcliffe MW who tasted the wine last year "It is quite sensational" and more then worthy of the Krug name.
The question is "could you tell the difference between the Clos d'Ambonnay and a glass of traditional Moet et Chandon? I think the answer has to be an emphatic 'Yes!' But, could you justify the price?
Hmmmm ....... better sleep on that one!
Read more about super expensive wines http://thewineword.blogspot.com/2008/02/worlds-most-expensive-wines.html
Friday, 4 April 2008
Italian officials block shipment of Brunello di Montalcino wines
Italian officials have blocked the shipment of Brunello di Montalcino's wines.
The magistrate of Siena, an appointed judicial authority, has questioned the controls exercised by the consortium of Brunello di Montalcino, which governs the stipulations of how the wine is made in both the vineyard and the cellar.
Authorities are scanning thousands of documents, including winemaker notes, harvest and bottling records, Consorzio registrations and DOCG stamps.
If the slightest discrepancy is found, even if subject to interpretation and explanation, the existing stocks of the 2003 vintage Brunello, the year in question, will be sequestered from distribution, the company said in a statement.
Stocks already on store shelves and restaurant cellars will not be affected.
"The situation has quickly become political and threatens the commerce of innumerable small businesses and the pleasure of millions of consumers around the world,” Marc Goodrich, chief operating officer of Banfi Vintners, a US importer of the wines, said.
“The promise of Brunello to the consumer remains valid and unquestioned, but has been caught in crossfire between warring factions in what amounts to a political disgrace.”
Goodrich claims the majority of Brunello producers are likely to come under scrutiny. This could lead to the sale of the 2003 vintage suspended, potentially for several months if not longer.
“We will not know what really happened until all the political dust settles and the authorities retreat,” he said. "But in the meantime, they have put at risk the commercial, social and governmental reputation of all Italy.”
The magistrate of Siena, an appointed judicial authority, has questioned the controls exercised by the consortium of Brunello di Montalcino, which governs the stipulations of how the wine is made in both the vineyard and the cellar.
Authorities are scanning thousands of documents, including winemaker notes, harvest and bottling records, Consorzio registrations and DOCG stamps.
If the slightest discrepancy is found, even if subject to interpretation and explanation, the existing stocks of the 2003 vintage Brunello, the year in question, will be sequestered from distribution, the company said in a statement.
Stocks already on store shelves and restaurant cellars will not be affected.
"The situation has quickly become political and threatens the commerce of innumerable small businesses and the pleasure of millions of consumers around the world,” Marc Goodrich, chief operating officer of Banfi Vintners, a US importer of the wines, said.
“The promise of Brunello to the consumer remains valid and unquestioned, but has been caught in crossfire between warring factions in what amounts to a political disgrace.”
Goodrich claims the majority of Brunello producers are likely to come under scrutiny. This could lead to the sale of the 2003 vintage suspended, potentially for several months if not longer.
“We will not know what really happened until all the political dust settles and the authorities retreat,” he said. "But in the meantime, they have put at risk the commercial, social and governmental reputation of all Italy.”
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Clarke names Maison in top list
For the third year running Maison du Vin has been named in top wine expert Oz Clarke's list of top UK Wine Merchants!Oz also lists our Rolle – Chateau Coujan as one of his best 250 wines in the UK.
The wine is now available on line from our shop at only £6.99 per bottle.
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