Gloomy View from Australia

No this is not a recessionary new wine from Australia, but a summary of the economic outlook given by Fosters, the brewer that now owns the famous Australian names of Wolf Blass and Penfolds. It has announced that its global wine volumes are down 5%. It is scrapping 37 wine brands and disposing of 36 vineyards. It also has started selling its vineyards in California. The bright spot? Beer sales are strong... Penfolds Grange drinkers may be pleased that more potential investment is on its way from beer drinkers' profits..

You heard it here first..

Well actually no - we are indebted to 'The Guardian' for bringing this to our notice. Italian banks are likely to take wine as collateral for loans. And it is not as crazy as it at first sounds because they won't be accepting cases and cases of plonk de plonks so you can max out on the holiday money, but good wine that matures and improves. So it should be perfectly safe as long as they ensure they get repayment before it has turned into vinegar. Could put a whole new slant on the idea of taking the bank manager for a drink...

Drinking not smoking..

News reaches us from Canada's Niagara that old kilns once used for drying tobacco leaves are to be used by a winery to dry grapes so they can make their own version of Amarone - but not by drying the grapes over a couple of months or longer but just a fortnight! More intriguingly they are going to use another old kiln to blast the harvested grapes with humidity and botrytis cinerea, which is the mould responsible for the sweet concentration of Sauternes for example. But in European vineyards the mould attacks the grapes on the vine and they are late picked so the juice is highly concentrated. Although it will be an intriguing trial, factory kiln production is unlikely to be any great threat to Château Yqem just yet...

Drinking not smoking..

News reaches us from Canada's Niagara that old kilns once used for drying tobacco leaves are to be used by a winery to dry grapes so they can make their own version of Amarone - but not by drying the grapes over a couple of months or longer but just a fortnight! More intriguingly they are going to use another old kiln to blast the harvested grapes with humidity and botrytis cinerea, which is the mould responsible for the sweet concentration of Sauternes for example. But in European vineyards the mould attacks the grapes on the vine and they are late picked so the juice is highly concentrated. Although it will be an intriguing trial, factory kiln production is unlikely to be any great threat to Château Yqem just yet...

New Zealand feeling the squeeze

Gisborne grape growers are facing difficult times as Pernod Ricard, the French drinks conglomerate, seems to have cut back its grape requirements by as much as 25%. This is predominantly destined for its Montana label, New Zealand's biggest (but not its best) wine producer. Constellation - another conglomerate, this time American- has not helped by following a similar course for its Nobilo label. Chardonnay is the predominant grape of the area and the one most out of favour with the consumer now touched by the so called ABC view (Anything But Chardonnay). Some producers are vowing to go back to growing avocados... Certainly fashion and farming are uneasy bedfellows and probably it is also prudent to beware of exclusive supply to enormous conglomerate wine companies.

From Prohibition to McMerlot in less than 80 years

In what one American wag has christened the arrival of the McMerlot one fast food chain (not in fact that one) in North America has decided to sell wine with its burgers - in order to move up into "fast food premium" according to their spokesman. Whatever that means. Still don't they know that if there really is beef in those burgers McCabernet McSauvignon is likely to be a better choice?

Why We - along with an increasing number- no longer accept Maestro over the Internet

We can now take Maestro cards over the phone but not over the internet. Maestro will only now authorise an internet transaction undertaken with something called 3d secure, which is effectively yet another password to remember, which has certain minimum requirements – something like must be 10 digits, include at least two numbers, four capitals and four lower case letters and so it goes on...Such that it is an instantly forgettable password. (Apparently Google has – interestingly - recently stopped accepting Maestro.) This 'system' allegedly allows greater protection but it is ill conceived; if your computer is compromised then you are just as likely to have your 3d secure password stolen as you are to lose the rest of the card details. Then beware! you have a hell of a job telling the card issuer that it was not you who ‘authorised’ that transaction. It is also the case that most, if not all, remaining British Maestro cards will be rebranded within the next couple of years.

So if you prefer to keep using Maestro you’ll need to order by phone Free during office hours 0500 708 007.

Please Contain your excitement...

On the 1st August the EU introduced new Wine Regulations. Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée(AOC or AC) becomes AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protegée) and Vin de Pays wines, often referred to as Country Wines, will now be known as IGP (Indication Géographique Protegée). So that's allright then. At least any wine is now, legally, able to put its constituent grape varieties on its label, which is how most of us start to consider the style of wine that is likely to appeal to us. This should certainly help Europe to compete a little more easily against the New World. Money to subsidise distillation will now also be phased out to encourage wine producers to be more market orientated. However this writer laments that the addition of sucrose (one lump or two?) has at the last minute been permitted - concentrated grape must would be much more honest!