Wine in the World

A good look at attitudes to cork by the BBC.

The launch of a new twist-out cork poses the question of what's better: cork or screw cap?

Yes, screwcap is a better seal, less prone to contmination and a more precise product, but it just doesn't have the "pop" of a cork. I wonder if most consumers care?

Moet from India? It's interesting to read that the driving force is price, rather than anything else.

At £71 for a local NV Champagne, it's hardly surprising that they're looking to celebrate with something a bit cheaper. However, it's going to be interesting to see if this is the answer.

Quite how they expect to grow any decent grapes in Nashik I have no idea. It doesn't get below 20 degrees at night for four months of the year, so you'd definitely have to call in a hot climate. Most wine regions lie between 28-50 degrees from the equator. This is at 20 degrees and only 600m above sea level.

I can't wait to taste it!

It's pretty unusual for the French to be volunteering an agricultural levy, so the recent vine uprootings must have some of the Beaune producers scared.

Let's hope they find a way of stopping this baceria (Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis) and the pesky leafhopper that carries it. Burgundy is expensive enough already.

I have to admit that I've got a passion for tea too, but does it really pair as well with food as wine?

I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

Is drinking the new smoking? It seems that Aussie authorities think so.

Moves are being considered to put graphic health warnings on wine to try and stave off "problem" drinking.

No Nanny State, no! A few graphic pictures aren't going to scare off people who simply want to get wrecked. I haven’t seen any evidence that this approach had any effect on smokers.

Whatever next. Will booze follow cigarettes and be banned from pubs too?

I haven't looked at the patents yet, but it sounds like Greg Jardine could be making a great step forward in making a glass a day a health requirement. Not that most of us need encouraging.

The most interesting nugget in this Smithsonian article is that wine critics seem to reserve a special vocabulary for the most expensive wines.

I've always advocated that there's no substitute for tasting a wine yourself and making up your own mind.

What do you think? Are wine critics' opinions little to do with your own personal taste?

How much choice does the US consumer really have when over half of all wine in the USA comes from just 3 companies? Or, should I be asking how much do consumers in the USA like the wines from 3 big companies?

If anyone has similar stats for the UK and Australian markets then I'd love to see them.

Is scoreflation killing wine ratings? Were they any use anyway? Read @GregoryDalPiaz at Snooth on this.

Wine in a can...again.

How long will it be before marketers realise that this doesn't work?

Aussies are pretty much getting boozed as much on wine as on beer. Long may they both survive.

Want to avoid being a wine wanker?

Nick Bhasin's articles highlights some of the warning signs.

Is that the dull thud of egos clashing I hear?

Wine power-house Robert Parker is suing his ex-contributor Antonio Galloni for withholding work. Galloni claims that it was incomplete when he left and wouldn't do justice to the region.

With the background of a multi-million dollar takeover of Parker's Wine Advocate publicastion, and Galloni moving on to set up his own competitor, there's a lot at stake here.

This article is well worth a read, providing background to the entertaining fight to follow. However it works out, I predict blood on the cellar floor.

Tim Atikin has written up his recent tasting of supermarket own-brand wines. It's interesting and might convince you to try a few.

What would be even more interesting would be to try the next levels up. I'd never expect the "value" or "kwality" wines to be that great, but the "special", "finest" and ones where we should "taste the difference" can represent really good value for money.

What do you think? Any wines that you'd add to Tim's drink or avoid lists?