More news...

March 3, 2008

Global Demand is Bubbling for Champagne

French Champagne producers set a new record in 2007, exporting 150 million bottles of Champagne to 190 countries, a 7.3 percent increase from 2006. Overall, 338.7 million bottles of Champagne were sold worldwide. During 2007, France led the world in demand for Champagne, consuming 188 million bottles, followed by Great Britain, which consumed 38.9 million bottles. The European Union, which remains Champagne’s main market, consumed 91.4 million bottles last year. Sales in the E.U. are growing fastest in Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Also that year, sales soared 41 percent in Russia and 30 percent in China. Japan, with sales jumping 14.4 percent, is now the world’s sixth largest market with 9.1 million Champagne bottles sold there. Even the United Arab Emirates increased imports by 18 percent because of its growing hotel industry. While other parts of the world enjoyed booming demand for the bubbly, the U.S. market shrank more than 6 percent because of the weak dollar against the euro.

February 25, 2008

Only One Glass of Vino a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Canadian researchers recently discovered that drinking one alcoholic beverage per day has a beneficial impact on the heart, but two or more drinks are likely to have the opposite effect. Their findings were published in the February issue of the American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology. For the study, thirteen volunteers were given either 4 ounces of red wine, 1.5 ounces of ethanol or water at random during three different sessions over the course of two weeks.

The researchers found that with either red wine or ethanol, the heart’s blood vessels dilated, reducing the stress on the organ to pump blood through the body. After two drinks, however, the heart rate, quantity of blood passing through the heart, and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system all increased. This reaction did not coincide with further dilation of blood vessels, putting additional stress on the cardiovascular system. Researchers were surprised at wine and ethanol’s similarity in affecting the heart, but noted that long-term consumption may reveal differences. A previous study, with a different conclusion, suggested that women who drank one or more glasses of red wine a day improved their overall heart health.

February 19, 2008

The Half-a-Million Dollar Case of Wine Fraud

Imagine spending half-a-million dollars for a rare case of wine, only to find out later that the wine you bought is worthless. Billionaire William Koch did just this in 1985, when he purchased a case of 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux—wine he thought had once been owned by Thomas Jefferson. A decade later, when Koch discovered the wine was a fake, he sued Hardy Rodenstock, the antique wine dealer who had sold it to him.

Two movies, which are both slated for production, aim to tell this twisted tale of high-priced wine fraud. One of the prospective films, based on Benjamin Wallace’s book The Billionaire’s Vinegar, has been optioned by Escape Artists, the production company behind The Pursuit of Happyness. Also hoping to make a movie about the fraud is Ben Karlin, the creative force behind comedy shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

February 11, 2008

More Green for Washington's Reds and Whites

Watch out, California: according to a recently published study, the wine business is becoming a powerful economic force in the state of Washington. The study, organized by the Washington Wine Commission and the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers, found that Washington’s wine and grape industries annually contribute $3 billion to the state’s economy, and $4.7 billion to the economy of the United States overall. In 1999, there were only 160 wineries in Washington, a number which grew to 534 by 2006.

In the United States, Washington is now second only to California in the size and strength of its premium wine industry. Washington, as a related benefit to its growing prominence in wines, is also experiencing growth in wine-related tourism. During 2006, 1.7 million wine enthusiasts visited Washington, an increase from the 350,000 wine tourists who visited in 1999. The study also included statistical information about employment, agricultural growth, product revenues and taxes.

*Image from Washington Wine Commission

February 4, 2008

Wineries Aim to Leave Smaller Footprints

Winemakers in the Bordeaux region of France are participating in a study to measure the amount of carbon dioxide generated by their winemaking. The study, called “Bilan Carbone” or “Carbon Balance”, will examine the carbon dioxide output of Bordeaux area wineries, which produce 756 million bottles of wine each year and export 40 percent of that number. The goal of the study is to help establish future environmental guidelines for the industry so that the wineries can reduce their carbon footprints.

This project will examine every process of winemaking, including tending vineyards, making wine, bottling, shipping and waste management. Along with analyzing environmental impact, the study will help winemakers to reduce production costs through identifying ways to increase efficiency. This six-month project is administered by Le Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux and the French Environmental Agency, which will release the study’s results this September. A similar project is underway in the Champagne region.

*Image from Wikimedia Commons

January 28, 2008

Wine Production Sinks While Demand Soars

Global wine production numbers will be some of the lowest in ten years because of the negative influence of 2007’s weak grape harvests in Europe and Australia. While many wine regions are producing more grapes, Europe and Australia’s harvests continue to suffer from a combination of climatic and economic difficulties. Europe’s total grape harvest in 2007 was seven percent less than the prior year's harvest. In terms of millions of cases of wine later produced, France decreased production by five percent, Spain by twelve percent and Italy by nine percent. Australia’s decline is even more drastic, with its grape harvest in 2007 diminished by a quarter. Currently, Australia’s 2008 harvest is expected to yield even less.

European harvests are diminishing because of erratic temperatures and climate changes that prolong dry periods in places like southern Italy. Old World wineries, in addition, continue to face stiff competition from upstart New World wineries, which affects profitability and production. Australian wine grape harvests are diminishing because of a prolonged drought in the Murray Darling basin, which many wine regions rely on heavily for water. As the drought continues, many Australian vintners may be forced out of business. According to a study produced by Vitisphere.com, worldwide wine demand may soon exceed 67-100 million cases. With diminishing production in the face of soaring demand, your favorite Australian and European vino may start costing you more.

January 21, 2008

Does Price Affect Taste?

Like the caveat “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” you may think it silly to judge a wine’s quality by the price of the bottle. However, researchers from Stanford University and California Institute of Technology discovered that by simply increasing the price of a wine, people will believe that this wine tastes better. The study was published last week in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The experiment involved using a special Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to analyze the brain’s medial orbitofrontal cortex, where humans process their enjoyment of odors, taste and music. In the study, twenty people ranked their enjoyment of variously priced wines while undergoing a scan from the MRI. Without the subjects knowing, one wine was given twice, once priced high, the other time low. This particular test was also repeated with a different wine during the samplings. Despite being the same wine, when people thought it was “expensive,” the MRI detected increased activity in the brain’s perception of enjoyment. These findings may result in more marketers subverting the better judgment of wine enthusiasts by raising prices for certain wines, in spite of the wine’s actual quality.

January 14, 2008

California Winemakers Take a Lighter Approach

Numerous California vintners are responding to growing demand from sommeliers to reduce the alcohol content of their wines. Like most New World wines, California wines are strong because the grapes grow in a hot climate and growers leave these grapes on the vine longer than Old World wine regions. Generally, these wines contain 15 to 17 percent vol. alcohol. An increasing number of U.S. restaurants have European-trained sommeliers, and they are insisting on lighter, more balanced wines like those found in Europe, which contain around 13 percent alcohol.

Wineries may succumb to the temptation to create the brawny wines beloved by influential wine critics in order to garner high scores and positive reviews. Wines with higher alcohol content have bolder flavors and more body, but as some sommeliers now contend, these wines sacrifice their balance and make it harder to enjoy more than a glass or two before being overwhelmed by the alcohol. Some ways winegrowers are reducing alcohol content while preserving flavor consist of picking the grapes sooner, adding water during fermentation and subjecting the wine to a technological de-alcoholization process. Some California wineries that have reduced alcohol content to create better balance in their wines include Astrale e Terra, Rudd Vineyards and Frog’s Leap.

January 7, 2008

It's a Bird...It's a Plane... It's "Supervine"

Oenophiles who have resolved to be healthier in '08 may get a little help from a team of scientists in China. Led by Yejin Wang, researchers at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling, Shaanxi province, have developed a way to grow genetically engineered grapes. These grapes contain six times the usual amount of resveratrol, which, among other health benefits, helps fight cancer, high blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease.

Wang and team created the "supervine" by arming a regular vine with the stilbene synthase gene they retrieved from Vitus pseudoreticulata, a wild Chinese vine. The gene triggers resveratrol production, which results in the higher level found in the new grapes. Though the main goal of the research is to create grapevines that produce more resveratrol in order to fight off harmful fungus, the team will also make wine with the genetically engineered grapes, meaning both plants and imbibers should be healthier thanks to these "supervines."

January 2, 2008

How Many Carbs Are in Your Cabernet?

As Americans become increasingly health-conscious, legislators have responded, legally requiring many industries to include nutrition facts on their product labels. The Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB), which governs the wine industry, may soon follow, having proposed a bill that would call for all wine labels to feature serving size and nutrition information. The proposition is receiving mixed reviews from winemakers, not only because they don’t want to reveal their techniques, but also for aesthetic reasons.

The inclusion of the facts means other aspects of the label will have to change dramatically. In addition to the required government alcohol warnings, labels often feature stories about the vineyard or other promotional information, which may soon have to take a back seat to nutrition facts. If the proposition is passed, winemakers will be given a grace period of three years to transition their labels. To gain a better understanding of public opinion, the TTB is accepting comments until the end of January. To weigh in on the matter, send an e-mail to ttbquestions@ttb.treas.gov.

Do you think wine labels should be required to include nutritional information? Share your thoughts with us and other readers on our forum!