Since 2008, two dozen French wine estates fell under Chinese control, like the Château de Viaud acquired by the food group Cofco, or the Château Grand Mouëys purchased by NingXia. As if vineyards, domains and châteaux weren’t enough, Chinese investors are now interested in the French wine trading industry. Last year, …
As Steve Jacobson said in his Wine Facts post, wine is a growing industry. Wine Communications Group, Inc. published their annual metrics for the year 2012 which indicate a steady increase in all related facets of wine and wine production. Off-premise sales, direct-to-consumer sales, flash sales, and the Winery Job Index …
According to the LA TIMES, Robert Parker is stepping down from his position as Editor-In-Chief for The Wine Advocate. As I referenced in a previous post, Parker was very much responsible for utilizing the 100-point tasting system that rated what was in the bottle and, in turn, ended up being …
It’s like a game of world domination, except the main commodity is wine, and China is on a roll! Another Saint-Emilion Grand Cru has been sold to a Chinese investor. After being on the market for quite some time, the 32 acre Château Bellefont-Belcier is the latest property to fall into …
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about wine and its effortless ability to reunite people for a good time. Well, this couldn’t be more accurate when describing a popular event that originates in France on the 3rd Thursday of November, every year: the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau… …
It’s official! Amazon launched their online wine marketplace last Thursday. From A to Z and now one more W, they just added wine to the myriad of products they already sell. It took the internet retail giant just a few weeks to get enough winemakers (domestic for now) interested in …
Meet your new wine merchant: amazon.com A recent report suggests that in a matter of weeks Amazon will launch a wine marketplace. I bet you didn’t see that one coming, or perhaps you did. The U.S. wine industry rakes anywhere between 18 to 22 billion dollars in annual sales revenues, so …
“Château” is a no go for American winemakers! At least, temporarily. The Bordeaux Wine Federation has obtained a respite from the possible deal to give American wine producers the right to use the venerated “château” label. The European Committee has decided to table this important decision, which France remains the …
Vin du Château, Mis en Bouteille au Château, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, etc… Why do some wine labels mention the term “château”, and what does it mean? The term “château” is a guaranty that the wine is from the actual domain, and bottled at the property. It also means that the …
A few days ago, I wrote a news article about the acquisition of the Gevrey-Chambertin château and its vineyard by the Chinese. It is the first time that a Burgundy Vineyard falls into the powerful hands of Chinese investors. However, that phenomenon isn’t new in the Bordeaux region of France. A growing Chinese …
