Overseas tour operators sample NZ's wine trails
"Tourism New Zealand is hosting 20 top international tour companies this weekend to encourage them to take visitors on the country's wine trails."
On Wine News
Learn about wine online
"Take your wine education to the next level with one of Spectator Magazine's on-line courses. Through interactive classes with videos and tutored tastings, you'll visit the world's great growing regions, meet fascinating winemakers and develop a deeper appreciation for wine."
On Wine News
In high spirits over alcohol-free wine
"McGuigan Simeon Wines has turned to wine-flavoured drinks and silver packaging to fuel its growth in the domestic market, hoping to position itself as a group that can offer a kind of wine - or something approaching it - for every occasion."
On Wine News
NZ: Hawke's Bay's vineyard growth continues
"Hawke's Bay's producing vineyard area is expected to increase from 3375 to 3813 hectares in the next two years. On that basis, Hawke's Bay will remain the second-largest wine region in the country, behind Marlborough and ahead of Gisborne."
On Wine News
Call for Canterbury winegrowers to export
"North Canterbury winegrowers are producing quality wine, but now need to increase their marketing to boost export sales, says Waipara Winegrowers chair Kym Rayner."
On Wine News
A Cold Observation about Wine (with recipe)
"Show this story to your boss, and she might just offer you a glass or two of wine. After all, downing this beverage - especially the red varieties - appears to help ward off the common cold, according to a new study."
On Wine News
Oktoberfest at Onetangi Road Vineyard
"From 18-20 October Onetangi Road Vineyard, home of Waiheke's boutique brewery and award winning Baroona beers, will be transformed into an Oktoberfest."
On Wine News
WineThingies
"WineThingies wine glass charms are the fashionable way to keep track of wine glasses. They are the latest buzz for wine lovers and party hostesses alike!"
On Wine News
The Ultimate Island Experience
"A warm and sunny climate, idyllic vineyard surroundings and pure Pacific Ocean deliver the perfect environment for the ultimate island experience. The inaugural Waiheke Island Wine Festival, being held on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd February 2003, offers an opportunity to celebrate fine wine, food and entertainment in a unique, maritime location."
On Wine News
A wine with a sense of occasion
"Bubbles, bubbly, champers - no matter what you call it, a flute of your favourite "fizz" seems to epitomise a celebration. Unfortunately, with the success of New World wines, European nations such as France have clamped down on what we can actually call wine made in the same way, but outside the original region. Consequently, unless a wine is made in Champagne, it can?t be given that name."
On Wine News
Caro's Case Club Plan
"Wouldn't it be great to know you always have a superb selection of wines on hand - without having to stock up yourself? The Caro's Best Buys plan is a convenient way to enjoy a constant supply of excellent yet affordable wines."
On Wine News
The Sexist Restaurant Waiter
"The letters page of the Guardian on August 10 provided ample evidence that The Sexist Restaurant Waiter is still lurking. Ms Mitchell of Cambridge and Dr Childs of London both rightly beefed about waiters who assume that it is the man, or the men, in the party who must be handed the wine list and the first glass to taste, and cough up the wherewithal at the end of the meal."
On Wine News
Bobbing Through Portugal on Boat Made of Wine Corks
"This summer, John Pollack and Garth Goldstein took an old trade (shipbuilding), a basic principle (buoyancy), and created an ingenious, two-ton, 27-foot craft made of (what else) 165,321 corks. Confident that their vessel was of sound design, the two set sail from the northern Portuguese city of Barca d'Alva, near the Spanish border, where hundreds of Portuguese gathered to watch them embark upon an improbable, 17-day journey on the Douro River."
On Wine News
Professional Wine Tasting Tips
"Entire books have been written on wine tasting. The best single work remains Emile Peynaud's The Taste of Wine. While you may never earn your living tasting wine, there are techniques that can increase the pleasure of everyday drinking."
On Wine News
A Competition For Back Labels - Both Good and Bad
"Given the limited space for communication on a wine bottle, it's sometimes surprising what people choose to put (or not put) on their labels - particularly the rather overlooked one on the back. Some of them are fantastic, some of them are humorous, some of them are delightful ñ and some of them are Ö well, a bit strange."
On Wine News
The State Of The Fourth Estate
"Wine writers spend much of the time lobbing verbal hand grenades and garlands from the safety of their PCs. Are they making and breaking the reputations of wines, or is their scribbling merely a self-indulgent irrelevance?..."
On Wine News
Is Terroir Dead?
"It is a small fact, but one that speaks volumes: There is no word for winemaker in French (or in Spanish, Italian or German). The word the French use is vigneron, meaning vine grower."
On Wine News
Making chardonnay is a cool process
"Good chardonnay has a luxurious creaminess to it. When balanced by adequate acidity, which imparts an appealing tartness, the charm and complexity of the wine is impossible to resist - one reason, perhaps, that chardonnay remains America's favorite white wine."
On Wine News
On the prowl for wine labels, corks
"I'm not a wine drinker, so it's hard to explain why I find myself drawn to the bottles, corks and labels...."
On Wine News
NZ: No bull - Spanish like our white wine
"The rain may fall on the plains in Spain, but in the homes they'll be drinking sauvignon blanc created on the plains of Marlborough."
On Wine News
Allied Domecq predicts another record harvest in California
"Allied Domecq, the UK-based wine and spirits group, has reported a good start to harvesting at its various Californian vineyards and is predicting a bumper harvest in 2002."
On Wine News
Milk makes wine fine
"Milk could be used to make organic wine. Sprayed on grapevines once a fortnight, milky water seems to control powdery mildew as effectively as sulphur and copper fungicides, without tainting the grapes' taste."
On Wine News
Drink (grape juice) to your health
"It's not quite the "French Paradox," that widely touted theory of the last decade that suggested that the French habit of drinking red wine may prevent heart disease in a population that also favors cigarettes, cheese, cream and other animal fats..."
On Wine News
Portugese Cork Assn Calls For Recycling & Better Labelling
"APCOR, the Portuguese Cork Association, has called on UK retailers to take part in a national cork recycling scheme and also to improve labelling about closures."
On Wine News
Mellowing Southern Highlands toasted as a new red centre
"One of Australia's newest declared wine regions will almost certainly produce the nation's best bottle of red within 15 years..."
On Wine News
NZ: Testing a few imports
"Well-known Australian winery Banrock Station has a varietal range in the under NZ$15 per bottle bracket that is readily available at the supermarket."
On Wine News
NZ: Wine quality excellent but output goes down
"Nelson's wine production in 2002 was down against the national trend, but growers report the quality has been exceptional, especially in the pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and riesling varieties."
On Wine News
Chateau Latour sets record for Christie's first Paris sale
"A rare imperial of Château Latour 1961 has made nearly twice the expected price at Christie's' first Paris wine auction..."
On Wine News
