Bordeaux prices could be approaching a reality check in 2012, according to experts. A Reuters report predicts that prices will stabilise or even fall in the coming year, partly because Asian buyers will moderate their spending, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit. James Ritchie of Sotheby’s said: “I think generally speaking demand in Asia has changed from ‘buy at any price’ to ‘buy at what I consider a reasonable price’.”
Young binge drinkers have simply switched to cheaper booze to beat the Federal Government’s controversial “alcopop” tax. New research shows 15 to 29-year-olds have dodged the 70 per cent tax on popular pre-mixed drinks by changing their drink of choice. The University of Queensland study found no significant reduction in binge drinking-related hospital admissions since the tax was introduced in 2008. It has prompted fresh calls for a minimum price on alcohol. And it follows moves this week by the United Kingdom to crack down on cheap alcohol sales, reports News.com.au.
It may be Coonawarra’s new kid on the block, but the Raidis Estate family winery is fast gaining a loyal following; and a swag of awards. Steven Raidis and fiancée Emma Graney run the winery along with Steven’s parents Chris and Fran. The family has lived and worked at Coonawarra for more than 40 years. Steven, 29, had always wanted to create his own wine label. After a couple of years playing football with the Glenelg Football Club in Adelaide, he returned to his hometown and began to give shape to his dreams, reports the Stock Journal.
Plans to develop coal mining in Australia’s Margaret River wine region have been rejected – but campaigners fear their fight is not yet over. Bill Marmion, Environment Minister for Western Australia, dismissed an application from LD Operations, acting on behalf of partners Vasse Coal and South West Coal, for the black coal operation. The announcement follows more than a year of campaigning from local groups, who feared the Vasse Coal project at a site 15km from Margaret River might threaten local water resources, reports Decanter.
So you think you’ve got this drinking business licked. If you’re on a long-term fitness program, you also might be following the Australian government’s national guidelines for alcohol consumption: no more than two standard drinks a day for healthy men and women. While those basic rules may help judge the amount of alcohol you should be drinking during the festive season – from beer to spirits – the task for wine drinkers is far more difficult due to a confusing array of labelling anomalies allowed under Australian law, reports News.com.au.
Americans are drinking more bubbly these days. Total consumption of sparkling wine in the United States will approach 15 million cases by the end of this year, almost eclipsing the 20-year high recorded in 1999, when sparkling sales surged in anticipation of millennial celebrations.
Georgian winemakers plan to keep their products out of the Russian market, where they have been a hit since Soviet times, as officials warn their neighbor’s World Trade Organization membership may not guarantee fair treatment. Georgia is striving to recapture the 10 percent or more economic growth it achieved before losing a five-day war with Russia in 2008 and may benefit from renewed wine sales to a market that previously bought four-fifths of its annual output. Still, the government is warning against reigniting dependence on Russia and producers aren’t in a hurry to resume shipments, having diversified their export markets to countries as far afield as China.
Technology and the Internet have not yet infiltrated the dining room or the wine cellar the way they have the living room. But Gary Vaynerchuk, the online wine reviewer, recommends a few online gifts for wine lovers this season. “A gadget that’s Internet-connected in the wine industry doesn’t really exist at this point,” Mr. Vaynerchuk said. “Any gadget that makes wine more complicated than it already is scares people.” But there are a few apps and online publications that he recommends.
The Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association says lower yields are boosting prices for quality grapes. Prices for red winegrapes have increased slightly in the lead-up to next year’s vintage.
The strong Australian dollar has sent sales of French champagne soaring up to 25 percent in Australia in the past year. And for the first time, many Australian ‘methode champenoise’ sparkling wines are now more expensive than the prized French fizz. Imported Moet, which makes up more than 40% of Australian champagne sales, is now selling in liquor barns around the nation for $49 a bottle. As the sound of popping corks explodes across the nation in the lead-up to Christmas and New Year, Australians have developed a love of champagne, said Elizabeth Drysdale, from the Champagne Bureau of Australia.