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See full tasting notes on Purple pages .   California wine can be frustrating for those of us who live outside the United States. Thanks to recent swollen crops and plummeting sales of California’s many ambitiously priced wines, there is a glut of good wine – much of. More...

13 Mar - See this thread  on the forum. I am indebted to Liv-ex for the graphic below that shows quite convincingly how closely their index of fine wine prices follows the total number of billionaires in the world.  (Such a shame that someone told billionaires about the. More...

You may remember our article Cape winelands under threat about the mining prospecting proposed in some of South Africa's most beautiful wine country published on Thursday last week. We have just received this very heartening message from Gary Jordan of Jordan wine estate, who was. More...

The Russian wine market continues to be an unpredictable concoction of local producers', bottlers' and importers' interests, mixed with ever-changing state regulations, weak distribution channels and local and global crises that trigger drastic changes every now and then. You never know what will. More...

Canadian wine producers are getting very bold, planning a major tasting of what they reckon are the best Ontario Chardonnays at Canada House in London the day before the start of this year’s London wine trade far at Excel. Bill Redelmeier, owner of Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake,. More...

There are just three more weeks for applications for the Geoffrey Roberts Award 2010 , a   £3,000/$4,500 travel grant in search of a potential achiever in food or drink who can convince us judges that they will spend the money wisely on a worthwhile travel project. Please spread the word.. More...

'Japan, wine exporter' has a somewhat unlikely ring to it, but that is the aim of a new organisation, Koshu of Japan, that would very much like to shine an international spotlight on a grape variety that is often dismissed within its native country. I have just made my second visit in 12. More...

I hope that as this is published I am high above the Atlantic flying home after a whirlwind two-week tour of Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing in mainland China, and northern California. It was a delightful bonus to be able to travel with Nick, now that our youngest has - boo, hoo - left. More...

South Africa's wine producers, whose generic campaign is founded on the special nature of the Cape ecosystem ('a natural environment exceptional in its biodiversity'), are up in arms at the sudden proposal by the state-owned African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) to start. More...

Angelo Gaja sends the following. Although 2009 was a black year for Italian exports overall, down 20% according to the official government statistics, for Italian wine it was an all-time record year with an increase in the overall volume of wine exported which was close to 10%, even. More...