January, 31, 2012 US: State cuts affecting Texas wine industry

(WOAI) - When you think of fine wines, your first thought might not be Texas, but you would be wrong. The Texas wine industry is growing at an amazing rate, and a lot of that growth is in the Hill Country just north of San Antonio. While it's growing, the industry's future growth is in jeopardy b...

January, 31, 2012 AUS: Wine industry unfazed by smoke threat

(ABC) - The Western Australian wine industry says it is not too concerned about smoke taint from fires over recent days in the south-west. Some grape crops are nearing the harvesting stage slightly earlier than usual because of warm weather accelerating the ripening process. It is a high risk ...

January, 30, 2012 US: CA: Nano-brewers on the rise in the North Bay

(Petaluma360) - Beer is downsizing. Following the arc of small-scale artisan salumi, cheese, bread, olive oil and garagiste winemakers, now micro-batched, regionally-sourced, hand-crafted beer is the hottest thing in brewing. And the North Bay has a growing stake in the trend.Somewhere between home-...

January, 30, 2012 Banker Toasts Wine Award, Pours Money Into South African Farm

(Bloomberg) -- Banker Michael Jordaan is off duty and about to enjoy the fruits of his second job: wine farming. Jordaan, 43 -- head of FirstRand Ltd.’s retail banking unit, First National Bank -- arrives for dinner at La Cucina Di Ciro, a popular Italian restaurant in Johannesburg’s leafy Pa...

January, 30, 2012 Distilled spirits, wine make gains at beers' expense

(ChicagoTribune) - U.S. sales of spirits rose 2.7 percent in 2011, an industry trade group said on Monday, citing new products and consumers' thirst for high-end libations such as super-premium vodka. On a revenue basis, sales rose 4 percent, to $19.9 billion, restoring the industry to pre-reces...

January, 30, 2012 US: Washington Wine Licenses: No Change Yet

(Wines&Vines) - An executive session of the Washington State Legislature’s House Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs this afternoon set back efforts to create two classes of wineries in Washington state. The proposed legislation—House Bill 1641—was originally introduced last year, a...

January, 30, 2012 Bordeaux 2011: Calls for price drop after 'arrogant' 2010s

(Decanter) - Bordeaux was 'arrogant' in its pricing last year, the managing director of Chateau Lafite has told Decanter.com as merchants call on Bordeaux to come down in price on the 2011s.After two acclaimed vintages, it is generally accepted 2011 is going to be fine but not stellar – and mercha...

January, 30, 2012 US: Liquor store run by Supreme Court nominee's family settles with U.S. authorities over $2M in deposits

(NJ) - A wine and liquor store run by the family of state Supreme Court nominee Phillip Kwon forfeited nearly $160,000 to federal authorities last month to settle civil charges that more than $2 million was deposited into the business’s bank account illegally, court records show. The case, file...