• FRENCH WINEMAKERS SEEK ELUSIVE CHINESE BLENDS

    par | Oct 25, 2013

    AFP-JIJI — PENGLAI, CHINA — Oct 20, 2013

    The world’s fine winemakers have exacting standards for soil, climate and cultivation to produce the perfect grape. And they are looking to re-create that unlikely blend in China, which is better known for cheap mass production. The potential harvest will be more drinkers in the world’s most populous country, where wine consumption more than doubled in the four years to 2011 and is set to rise another 40% by 2016 (*).

    France’s Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), maker of the renowned Château Lafite red wines, is planting roots in China with an initial 15 hectares in Penglai.

    The estate is situated on a hilly green peninsula dotted with vineyards on the east coast of Shandong province with a century-long history of winemaking.

    DBR is associated with CITIC, the first Chinese State Investment Bank.

    (suite…)

  • LE PATRIMOINE GÉNÉTIQUE DE LA VIGNE MENACÉ ?

    par | Oct 17, 2013

    PHILIPPE MEYER, TOUTOLOGUE

    Auditeurs sachant auditer,

    les Français boivent moins de vin mais du meilleur.
    C’est une évolution réjouissante et que l’on observe partout dans le monde.

     

    S’il y a un domaine dans lequel on peut parler de progrès c’est bien celui de la vigne.

    L’arrivée de vignerons décidés à exprimer leur terroir et d’œnologues soucieux de les y aider, l’élévation du niveau de vie global depuis une demi-siècle, le rejet du productivisme qui conduisait certains viticulteurs à charger les ceps de grappes toujours plus nombreuses et toujours plus pesantes, les effets d’une meilleure éducation et d’une plus grande ouverture sur le monde, autant de facteurs qui ont contribué à nous faire boire avec plaisir aujourd’hui des vins dont la seule provenance provoquait hier une rejet moqueur. (suite…)

  • HISTOIRE : COCA-COLA AU PAYS DU VIN

    par | Oct 13, 2013

    D’après RICHARD F. KUISEL — THE HUFFINGTON POST — 05.08.13 06h00

    En 1949, sur fond de guerre froide et de difficultés économiques en Europe, les États-Unis lançaient un défi aux traditions françaises : la Coca-Cola Company, symbole de l’ « impérialisme américain », orchestrait une entrée dans l’Hexagone.
    Une affaire     Coca-Cola éclata comme une tempête, subite, bruyante, chargée d’électricité mais rapidement dissipée, illustrant deux phénomènes : l’intensification de la guerre froide, et la résistance à l’ « Americanization. »
    Retour sur cette polémique.

    L’essence du capitalisme

    De tous les produits, le Coca-Cola est sans doute celui qu’on identifie le plus parfaitement à l’Amérique. Inventée à Atlanta dans les années 1880, non alcoolisée et quasiment médicamenteuse, cette boisson était présentée comme rafraîchissante. Dès son apparition, elle fut associée à la société de consommation, au capitalisme et à la publicité de masse : enseignes, camions de livraison spéciaux, publicités telles que calendriers et lampes portant le logo sur l’abat-jour, annonces-radio, et slogans comme « La pause qui rafraîchit » . (suite…)

  • IS THE BOOM OVER FOR BORDEAUX IN CHINA?

    par | Oct 12, 2013

    From JEANNIE CHO LEE — THE WINE SEARCHER Newsletter. Posted Monday, 06-May-2013

    The figures for French wine in China certainly look impressive: 53% of the market by value and 48% by volume in 2012. Last year, the entire market was subdued, but even so there was little sign of French imports slowing down.
    Next most popular wine sources, Australia, Chile, Italy and Spain, are distant runners-up, posing little threat to French dominance     — which in China means Bordeaux reds…

     

    Jeannie Cho Lee, casts a skeptical eye over the market for French wine in the People’s Republic and sees that building the consumer base is only beginning.

    It’s been a glorious ride to the top. In the decade to 2009, French wines enjoyed a 40–45 % share of the Chinese market. Then sales really took off, shooting past the 50 % mark as revenue rocketed from $182 million in 2009 to $714 million in 2011. The majority of this gain was achieved from sales of Bordeaux wines. If consumption follows wine-import trends, roughly one out of every four bottles of imported wine consumed in China should be a red from Bordeaux. However, the figures and the reality are two different stories. (suite…)

  • IS FRENCH WINE UNDER ATTACK?

    par | Oct 9, 2013

    By SUZANNE MUSTACICH — THE WINE SPECTATOR — Posted: October 7, 2013

    In France, is wine a part of national identity and a valuable contributor to the economy, or a danger to public health?

    A new bill before the French Senate claims the latter, calling for higher taxes on alcoholic beverages, stronger health warnings on labels and new restrictions on advertising and marketing.

    A proposed law calls wine a public danger

    The proposal has angered French vignerons, and they have organized a lobbying campaign to fight back. “We will not accept being treated like drug dealers when wine is part of the same French gastronomic meal that was classified as an intangible heritage by UNESCO,” said Bernard Farges, president of the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux). “The 500,000 people from the vineyards and wine trade are launching a national campaign to mobilize against this moral and financial pressure.” (suite…)

  • EROTIC AUTHOR MAKES MOVE ON WINE

    par | Oct 8, 2013

    By DIANA GOODMAN | WINE SEARCHER Newsletter | Posted Tuesday, 24-Sep-2013

    Wines inspired by best-selling trilogy.
    First came the novel, then casting for the upcoming film.  Now the     Fifty Shades of Grey marketing roller coaster has been extended to include wine, being sold with the tag line « You. Are. Mine. »
    Initially, author E. L. James has launched two wines,     Red Satin and White Silk.  They have been « personally blended by E.L. James, along with winemakers in California’s premium North Coast appellation, » a press statement said.

    The company responsible for producing the wines is the Mendocino Wine Co., which also makes a number of celebrity wines, including the Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead ranges.

     

    Erotic Author Makes Move On Wine
    © Fifty Shades of Grey (suite…)