Obituary: Wine Australia’s Yvonne May

The wine trade is in mourning after Wine Australia’s UK/Europe Regional Director Yvonne May lost her battle against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and passed away on Friday, aged 53.

Maury Sec Mas Amiel 2012 released

Les Vignes Olivier Decelle has released the Maury Sec, Mas Amiel 2012.

Distell expands Nederburg portfolio

Distell has announced the addition of a new wine range - 56  Hundred - to its Nederburg wine portfolio. 

Ribera del Duero launches UK marketing campaign

The generic body for the Ribera del Duero wine-producing region of Spain has announced the launch of its first-ever major promotion in the UK.

Bonhams to auction methuselah of Pol Roger 2004

A methuselah of Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 2004 - estimated at £5,000-£10,000 - is to be auctioned at Bonhams, London on September 11, in aid of the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation. 

Harvest in Provence has begun

The harvest has begun, and the 2014 crop looks to be impressive in both size and quality, according to the Conseil des Vins de Provence.

Napa Valley Vintners announces earthquake fund

The Napa Valley Vintners has announced it will donate $10 million to create a disaster relief fund to help the immediate needs of local residents and businesses impacted by Sunday’s earthquake.

Americans spend more on wine

More than a quarter of Americans are spending more on wine in the off premise, according to a new report from Wine Intelligence.

Napa Valley earthquake

The damage from the earthquake that took place recently in California’s premium wine producing region, Napa Valley, is variously estimated at between US$500 million and $1 billion.

Treasury Wine Estates is in play

Treasury Wine Estates is the subject of a bidding war, according to reports from Australia.

Concerns expressed over contaminated wine

Recent research reveals that 59% of French wines analysed contained significant quantities of a particular form of phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and only 17% did not contain any detectable quantity of at least one of the reprotoxic phthalates.

Best sparkling wines in the world

The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships has announced its medal results of the 2014 competition.

New Porto Cruz facility opens

La Martiniquaise owner of the Gran Cruz, the world's largest producer of port, has announced the opening of a new site with a modern winery and centralised bulk storage.

Trivento to sponsor Premiership Rugby

Argentinean wine brand Trivento has signed an exclusive deal to be an ‘Official Supporter of Premiership Rugby’, in the UK.

Mainstream wine drinking is changing

Demand for wine is growing with a shift to new markets and consumers, according to Rabobank.

Cork advances in US and China

Two research studies into consumer closure preference in two of the world’s most dynamic wine markets, China and the US show that cork is the preferred wine stopper, according to Amorim the world leader in cork stopper products.

Napa harvest begins

The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) trade association has announced that the first of Napa Valley’s sparkling wine producers have begun picking grapes, two days earlier than the start of last year’s harvest.

Krug releases new vintage of Clos du Mesnil

Champagne house Krug has released of a new vintage of its rare single vineyard cuvée, the Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003.

HDN expands marketing and sales departments

UK distributor Hallgarten Druitt & Novum Wines has expanded its marketing and sales teams with Chris Wilson joining as communications manager and Clare Cutler as national accounts manager.

New Zealand premium wine sales soar in the UK

New Zealand wine has become the number two country of origin in the UK market for wine sold over £7, according to the latest Nielsen data (MAT June 21, 2014).

Campos to replace Pierre as Nicolas Feuillatte MD

Julie Campos will replace Dominique Pierre as managing director of the Centre Vinicole Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte in 2015.

Screw-caps dominate UK and Australian wine markets, says new report

Wines sealed with screw-caps dominate the UK and Australian wine markets, according to a new report published by Wine Intelligence yesterday.

Whisky-barrel finished Jacob's Creek to launch

Pernod Ricard Winemakers are about to launch Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel, a range of red wines finished in whisk(e)y barrels.

South East dominates UK wine comp

The English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition, the industry's annual national wine awards, has boasted an unprecedented number of medal winners, with vineyards in south east England dominating.

Benevolent Roof Gardens party raises over £10,000

UK drinks industry figures gathered for the Benevolent Roof Gardens Party last week to celebrate the end of the London Wine Fair 2014. They raised more than £10,000 for their trade charity.

Napa Valley auction nets $18.7m

Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) famous auction, the 34th, netted US$18.7 million this year.

En primeur debate at LWF

Wine investors would have lost £35,000 last Friday if they sold one case of each Bordeaux’s first growth chateaux for the five years from 2009, The Wall Street Journal's Will Lyons said at a debate on the future of Bordeaux en primeur, at the London Wine Fair last Monday (June 2).

Campo Viejo to launch white Tempranillos

Pernod Ricard’s winemaking team behind Campo Viejo will launch their first Tempranillo Blanco wines next month, following trials at the Rioja brand’s new Experimental Winery.

WSET Dent at TerraVina

Two of Britain’s leading wine experts have joined forces to offer a WSET entry-level wine award in a beautiful setting in southern England.

Russia gets taste for imported wines

Russian consumers are turning to imported wines, especially sparkling wines, as traditional beverages such as vodka and beer decline in popularity, according to Wine Intelligence.

Moët UK Sommelier of the Year semi finalists

The Academy of Food & Wine Service (AFWS) has announced the names of the sommeliers going through to the semi-finals of the Moët UK Sommelier of the Year 2014 following the regional finals held earlier this week in Bristol, two London venues and Stafford.

CA Grands Crus presents its 2013 en primeur Bordeaux wines

CA Grands Crus says it has succeeded in making exceptional terroir-focused wines across its portfolio of Bordeaux estates in the region’s most prestigious appellations, despite a challenging growing season in 2013.

Michael Jordaan to chair WOSA

Michael Jordaan, a 46-year-old venture capitalist and former CEO of South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB), has been appointed chairman of Wines of South Africa (WOSA).

South African wine harvest report

The South African wine industry expects an average sized, good quality wine grape harvest, with exceptional harvests especially in the coastal regions.

Azerbaijan to debut at LWF

Brintex has announced Azerbaijan will exhibit at the London Wine Fair for the first time, joining other debutants English Wine Producers and The Douro and Estrela.

Kingsland and Legacy become Kingsland

Kingsland Wine & Spirits and Legacy Wines will now be known simply as ‘Kingsland’, the Manchester-based company has announced.

Pernod buys Kenwood vineyards

Pernod Ricard has announced the purchase of Kenwood Vineyards in California’s Sonoma Valley from F. Korbel & Bros.

LWF drops DISTIL in direction change

UK show organiser Brintex has dropped the spirits exhibition Distil from the 2014 London Wine Fair as part of a set of changes and a renewed focus on wine and the UK market.

Champagne down in top market

Champagne sales to the UK were down 5.1% in volume and 3.8% in value last year.

English Wine Week

English Wine Producers (EWP) has launched new branding for this year’s English Wine Week which takes place from May 24 to June 1.

Accolade finalises Mud House deal

Accolade Wines has annoucned that it has finalised the purchase of Mud House and Waipara Hills and their assets, from the Mud House Wine Group.

Martini returns to offshore powerboat racing

Martini has announced that the brand is to sponsor Vector, the British powerboat racing team and global manufacturer of high performance powerboats and performance yachts.

Australian wine industry hits the wall

Australia’s wine industry hit the wall in 2013, after 30 years of surging growth, according to the The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory (WID).

New competition to be sparkling wine's "Oscars”

Sparkling wine specialist Tom Stevenson has said his new tasting event will become “the Oscars” of the Champagne and sparkling wine category when medals are awarded in September 2014.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild appoints Stevens Garnier

Baron Philippe de Rothschild has appointed Stevens Garnier UK off-trade distributor for its Mouton Cadet and wines from Bordeaux and the Languedoc.

Kingsland appoints Guy Young

Kingsland Wine & Spirits has appointed former HwCg md Guy Young as commercial director.

Consumers like aluminium closure, claims report

An survey of 6,000 consumers, by IPSOS* to discover consumer preferences on wine and spirit closures claims the majority prefer an aluminium closure, over other closure options.

ProWein preview

Drinks International has teamed up with show organiser Messe Düsseldorf to publish an extensive preview magazine of ProWein 2014, the German wine and spirits show that is now in its 20th year.

Torres voted World's Most Admired Wine Brand

Torres has been voted the World's Most Admired Wine Brand for 2014.

Italian wine becomes Scandinavia's favourite

Scandinavians are now drinking more Italian wine then wine from any other country, according to Wine Intelligence.