News STELLA ARTOIS GULPS DOWN BUDWEISER. A NEW BEER COLOSSAL IS BORN AFTER INBEV BUYS ANHEUSER-BUSCH FOR 70 DOLLARS PER SHARE 23 July 2008
News FOOD CRISIS: ITALIAN ONCOLOGIST AND EX MINISTER OF HEALTH CALLS FOR “LESS MEAT AND WATER CONSERVATION” 21 July 2008
News FROM LEADER OF FINE WINE DISTRIBUTORS TO PRODUCER: THE MEREGALLI GROUP TAKES OVER TOTAL OWNERSHIP OF THE TENUTA FERTUNA, A 150 HECTARE ESTATE IN THE MAREMMA AREA OF TUSCANY CREATED BY ENOLOGIST EZIO RIVELLA 21 July 2008
News BIODYNAMIC VITICULTURE? IT’S STILL A “MYSTERY” FOR CONSUMERS, OR AT LEAST AN ODDITY. BUT A MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE TUSCAN WINERY COSIMO MARIA MASINI HAS BROUGHT THE PHILOSOPHY AND EXPERIENCE OF BIODYNAMIC PRODUCERS INTO PUBLIC DISCUSSION 16 July 2008
News THE ESPRESSO AND PITTI IMMAGINE GUIDES RELAUNCH THE ‘FINE WINES AUCTION’. ORGANIZED BY PANDOLFINI, SET FOR 8 OCTOBER IN FLORENCE. 200 LOTS OF ITALIAN (SASSICAIA, TIGNANELLO, MONFORTINO, GRAN BUSSIA) AND FRENCH WINES (FROM ROMANEE CONTI TO YQUEM) 11 July 2008
News PIERO ANTINORI: “WE’RE BEING INVESTIGATED BY MISTAKE. BOTTLES BACK ON SALE BY JULY 1. DAMAGE TO OUR IMAGE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY… IN JUST A FEW HOURS WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ORDERS FOR HALF OF OUR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2003” 09 July 2008
News WHITE WINE IS ‘HEART FRIENDLY’ ACCORDING TO AN ITALIAN-AMERICAN STUDY. ALBERTO BERTELLI FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN CONFIRMS RESULTS 04 July 2008
News “AN EXTRAORDINARY PLAN FOR ITALIAN WINE”. A PROPOSAL BY ITALY’S VICE MINISTER AND DELEGATE ABROAD FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE U.S. MARKET 02 July 2008
News ITALIAN WINE EXPORTS STALL IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2008. A FALL IN VOLUME OF 3.9 MILLION HECTOLITERS (-9%), BUT VALUE INCREASES WITH A TOTAL OF 798 MILLION EUROS (+8%). 26 June 2008
News A TOAST FROM MOSCOW TO THE NEW DECREE FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, OR THE “SOLUTION” TO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH U.S. CUSTOMS OFFICIALS BY ITALY’S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. 23 June 2008
News A NEW “LAW” FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO: THE ITALIAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE HAS SIGNED A DECREE THAT REQUIRES THE INSTITUTION OF A GUARANTEE BOARD. THE MEMBERS ARE RICCARDO RICCI CURBASTRO, VASCO BOATTO, AND FULVIO MATTIVI 23 June 2008
News THE “BRUNELLO SCANDAL”: “THE DISCIPLINARY IS NOT AN IDEOLOGY”, ACCORDING TO ZAIA. BUT BIONDI SANTI THINKS, “SANGIOVESE 100%”. A CURIOSITY THAT AT ONE TIME BRUNELLO COULD BE MADE WITH OTHER GRAPES (10%). 20 June 2008
News THE TTB - BRUNELLO “SUMMIT”: “A USEFUL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON QUALITY AND CONTROLS”. BUT THE ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU HAD ACTUALLY PLANNED THEIR TRIP BEFORE THE NEWS OF THE MONTALCINO INVESTIGATION HAD EVEN BEEN LEAKED 19 June 2008
News AN APPEAL IN DEFENSE OF THE TYPICALNESS AND INTEGRITY OF ITALIAN WINE BY JOURNALISTS MARCO ARTURI AND SANDRO SANGIORGI. SUSTAINERS: “VINI VERI”, “VINNATUR” (ANGIOLINO MAULE), “TRIPLE A”, “RENAISSANCE DES AOC ITALIA”… 16 June 2008
News KOSHER WINE PRODUCERS ON THE RISE IN ITALY: EVEN FEUDI DI SAN GREGORIO LAUNCHES TWO LABELS BASED ON FIANO D’AVELLINO AND AGLIANICO VARIETALS 14 June 2008
News WINE CRITICISM IN THE MIDDLE AGES? ACCORDING TO HISTORIAN YANN GRAPPE, METHODS FOR ANALYZING WINES AND DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES EXISTED EVEN IN THE SO-CALLED DARK AGES 13 June 2008
News THE ITALIAN WINE WORLD MAKES A GUINNESS WORLD RECORS: A TOAST WITH THE LARGEST GLASS OF WINE (16.5 LITERS) 11 June 2008
News THE “WINE OSCARS” GOES TO GIACOSA FOR THE “MYTHICAL” BAROLO ROCCHE DEL FALLETTO. THE OTHER WINES AWARDED: MASTROBERARDINO, LES CRÊTES, ZERBINA, AND MONTE ROSSA. BEST PRICE-QUALITY RELATION: ZONIN. WINENEWS AMONG THE NOMINEES 10 June 2008
News BRUNELLO: CONTROL MEASURES AND UNPRECEDENTED PROCEDURES. A ‘GUARANTEE BOARD’ CREATED AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITALY, PRODUCERS OF MONTALCINO INTRODUCE ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS TO GUARANTEE DOCG QUALITY. SALES OK: UP 16% OVER 2007 SALES 06 June 2008
News POSSIBLE OK FOR THE USE OF BAG-IN-BOX CONTAINERS FOR ITALIAN DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN WINES 04 June 2008
News THE “EXTENDED” ITALIAN WINE INDUSTRY IS WORTH 47.5 MILLION EUROS, EMPLOYS 200,000 PEOPLE, AND PRODUCES 4.7 BILLION EUROS IN EARNINGS. A REPORT BY THE UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA AND THE UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY, SPONSORED BY FEDERVINI 03 June 2008
News ROMANÉE CONTI IS THE PROTAGONIST AT THE GELARDINI & ROMANI WINE AUCTION IN ROME: 9,786 EUROS FOR A 2005 VINTAGE AND 1,916 FOR A MONTRACHET 1994. TOP BIDS FOR OTHER CULT NAMES LIKE CRISTAL ROEDERER, KRUG, AND DOM PERIGNON 02 June 2008
News WINE AND ANALYSIS ACCORDING TO THE LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE ITALIAN WINE UNION, FRANCESCO PAVANELLO: “UNDERSTANDING ORIGINS AND VARIETALS BY ANALYZING A BOTTLE IS POSSIBILE WITH A SUFFICIENT DATABASE TO COMPARE WITH, BUT TODAY THIS DOES NOT EXIST 26 May 2008
News THE “FUTURE OF WINE” REPORT BY BERRY BROS & RUDD OF LONDON: CHINA THE TOP WINE PRODUCERS WORLDWIDE BY 2058; CLIMATE CHANGE WILL MOVE WINE REGIONS TO MORE TEMPERATE AREAS; THE “BRAND” FACTOR WILL INCREASE; WINES GENETICALLY MODIFIED 23 May 2008
News ITALY’S LEADERS WORKING HARD TO DEFEND BRUNELLO’S REPUTATION ON THE U.S. MARKET, WHICH CURRENTLY CONSUMES 25% OF BRUNELLO PRODUCTION 20 May 2008
News ITALY’S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRARIAN ECONOMICS (INEA) IS PRISON BOUND: “AGRICULTURE IN PRISONS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INMATES” 19 May 2008
News NEW BERLUSCONI GOVERNMENT HAS CHOSEN LUCA ZAIA FOR MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. COLDIRETTI: “GOOD JOB”. VALENTINI (CITTA DEL VINO): “WORKING TOGETHER TO SAFEGUARD THE RURAL PATRIMONY AND INNOVATION IN WINE TERRITORIES”. CONFAGRICOLTURA: “WORK IN COMMON” 16 May 2008
News DOM PERIGNON 1959, BOLLINGER RD 1990, ROMANÉE-CONTI LA TACHE 1981, AND ROMANÉE-CONTI ECHEZEAUX 1971 ARE SOME OF THE “GEMS” OF THE GELARDINI & ROMANI WINE AUCTION SET FOR MAY 22. AN AUCTION DEDICATED TO THE ENOLOGICAL DELIGHTS OF FRANCE 15 May 2008
News EVEN THE ROLLING STONES ARE MAKING WINE: “SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL” IS THE CANADIAN ICEWINE PRODUCED BY THE EX NIHILO VINEYARDS THAT HAS ADDED THE BRITISH ROCK BAND’S CLASSIC TONGUE SYMBOL TO ITS LABEL 12 May 2008
News EVEN GELATO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF IT’S A MIX OF INTERCULTURAL INGREDIENTS AND RECIPES. “LOVE RECIPE” IS A PROJECT BY ARTIST MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO THAT UNITES ART AND SWEETS FOR A MESSAGE OF PEACE BETWEEN COUNTRIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN 10 May 2008
News AND THE STARS AREN’T JUST WATCHING OVER – THEY’RE COOKING! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, ALL OF ITALY’S MICHELIN THREE-STAR CHEFS WILL REUNITE FOR THE BENEFIT LUNCH “NOON WITH STARS” ON JUNE 8, HOSTED BY CA’ DEL BOSCO IN ERBUSCO 07 May 2008
News “TODAY I THINK I’LL PICK MINT AND CLEMATIS VITALBA”. ITALIANS FIND A RENEWED ENTHUSIASM FOR PICKING WILD HERBS AND PLANTS 07 May 2008
News CONFAGRICOLTURA PRESIDENT, FEDERICO VECCHIONI, BELIEVES “THE NEW GOVERNMENT SHOULD RE-INITIATE GMO EXPERIMENTS” 06 May 2008
News THE PROJECT TO ELECT THE “MEDITERRANEAN DIET” AS A UNESCO IMMATERIAL WORLD HERITAGE HAS BEEN INITIATED 02 May 2008
News THE ITALIAN WINE UNION DEFENDS ITS PRODUCTS: “IN ITALY, CONTROLS WORK”, BUT THERE MUST BE A REFLECTION ON, “THE RPESENCE ON THE MARKET OF PRODUCTS SOLD AT UNJUSTIFIABLE PRICES”, AND A WAY TO, “NOT COMPROMISE A SERIOUS SECTOR WITH A GOOD IMAGE” 30 April 2008
News “RECENT EVENTS WILL NOT DISSUADE ME FROM BEING A CONVINCED BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DRINKER…”: THE PRESIDENT OF ITALY, GIORGIO NAPOLITANO, DEFENDS ONE OF HIS PREFERRED WINES 29 April 2008
News THE CMO WINE REFORM DOES NOT CHANGE THE STATUS QUO FOR EU VITICULTURE, BUT THE HISTORIC ORDER OF ITALIAN WINES RISKS BEING CANCELLED. THE ADDITION OF VARIETAL NAME AND VINTAGE ON TABLE WINE LABELS COULD CAUSE CONFUSION FOR THE “QUALITY PYRAMID” 28 April 2008
News “INFORMATION IN ITALY IS BULIMIC, THERE IS A LOT OF QUANTITY TO THE DETRIMENT OF, AT TIMES, QUALITY”: LORENZO DEL BOCA, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS, COMMENTS ON THE HANDLING OF NEWS ON ITALY’S FOOD INDUSTRY 24 April 2008
News FOCUS USA – WOMEN, THE YOUNG, AND THE CULTURE OF WINE ARE THE MOTIVATING FACTORS BEHIND ITALIAN WINE’S CONTINUED SUCCESS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE WEAK DOLLAR DOESN’T STOP IMPORTS AND DEMAND AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE GROWING. 23 April 2008
