Archive for the ‘Wine News’ Category
We’ve all known it would happen some time. Thirty years hence is as good a time as any, I suppose. Yet, I can’t help but think it’s being undertaken as a form of vengeance, rather than what it’s being called: "A Celebration". Decanter Magazine reports that the famed Paris Tasting of 1976 will be recreated, this time simultaneously on two continents and hooked together via video link. The original tasting, when French tasters choose California wines over French wines in…
The "three tier system" can be a complicated beast invested and stuffed with a myriad of regulations and special interest mandates. However, at it’s most basic the three tier system mandates that producers sell to distributors, distributors sell to retailers and restaurants and the retailer and restaurants sell to the consumer. The three tier system is in fact the most efficient way move large quantities of products across state lines from producers to consumers. However, the fact that such a…
"Satellites Unravel the Secrets of Terroir" The headline might be a tad misleading (hopeful?), but the idea is interesting. European Space Agency satellites focused in on the Italian Frascati region during last year’s harvest in an attempt to glean data about vineyard conditions that might affect quality and yield. The article in Beverage Daily notes: "The results should help the researchers understand more about the factors affecting wine ‘terroir’; a somewhat mystical term that loosely translates into the environmental conditions…
Fine Wine Press‘ "Blog au Vin has been bringing the blogosphere some of the best wine writing over the past few months. They’ve attracted a number of interesting and very well informed wine insiders who, in addition to regular contributor Fabian Cobb, have been writing great stuff. The latest marvel at Blog Au Vin is an entry by John Kapon, Director of New York wine auction house Acker Merrall. Kapon describes his inspection of what he consider to be the…
Howard Goldberg writing for Decanter has the compilation of auction income for 2005. It appears that auction proceeds are up in 2005 over 2004. Worldwide Wine Auction Sales Figures for 2005 (with difference over 2004 totals) Christies: $42.2 Million (+16%) Zackys: $33.8 Million (+30%) Sothebys: $29.1 Million (+40%) Acker Merrall & Condit: $20.9 Million (+9%) Winebid.com: $20 Million (+25%) Hart Davis Hart: $9.5 Million (no figure for 2004) Bonhams & Butterfields: $5.6 Million (+4%) Morrell & Company: $3.9 Million (even)…
