Wining & dining in vineyards
Gourmet winery restaurants are popping up all over Italy, making the touring of vineyards less hard work. So get packing for a truly gastronomic break, says Kerin O’Keefe��
-
-
Phylloxera: The great escape
It is rare today to find vines that have not been grafted to American rootstock to counter phylloxera, which destroyed so many of the world’s vines. Until recently, few people had any idea of how this had affected the wines’ flavours, but a few producers are now making wines from ungrafted vines and have discovered a taste of yesteryear, writes KERIN O’KEEFE
-
Castello di Ama rejoins Consorzio
Premier Chianti Classico estate Castello di Ama will rejoin the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico – and will have the right to put the Black Rooster symbol on its bottles.
-
Antinori hires top architect for new cellar
Lodovico Antinori has just announced that his projected avant-garde wine cellar at the Campo di Sasso estate near Bogheri will be designed by Milanese architect Gae Aulenti.
-
Talking wine label to be released this autumn
Italian label manufacturer Modulgraf has just announced its latest venture – the talking wine label.
-
Union calls for Gallo boycott
The United Farm Workers union is appealing to the public to stop buying Gallo wine.
-
Mondavi brothers plan 'other joint ventures'
Peter and Robert Mondavi are planning more joint ventures after the success of their recent collaboration which ended a 40-year estrangement.
-
Sassicaia launches Mini version
Top Italian wine producer Sassicaia has resprayed the Mini Cooper S sportscar to produce 12 limited-edition ‘Mini Sassicaias’.
-
Tuscan producers outraged by wind turbine development
The building of ten giant wind turbines in one of Italy’s most fashionable wine regions has just been approved – to the outrage of local wine producers.
-
Frescobaldi investigated for fraud
Half a million litres of red wine from two Frescobaldi properties have been confiscated and 12 members of the company are under investigation for alleged fraud.
-
Frescobaldi now in full control of Ornellaia
Tuscan producer Frescobaldi has bought the remaining 50% shares of Ornellaia from Constellation and now owns the elite Bolgheri estate outright.
-
Italian and other producers turn back to large casks
Orders for traditional large wooden barrels are sharply increasing in Italy and abroad, as barrique imports fall dramatically, according major cooperage Garbellotto.
-
Michael Mondavi creates new luxury wine company
Former Mondavi CEO and chairman Michael Mondavi has just launched his own luxury wine business, with the aim of eventually setting up a new winery.
-
Mondavi brothers unite
Robert Mondavi, 92, and his brother Peter, 90, have surprised wine lovers by announcing their first collaboration in 40 years.
-
Bollinger buys Ayala
Champagne Bollinger announced yesterday that it has just purchased smaller Champagne house Ayala.
-
Italian wine culture in danger of outsiders and 'vultures': Tachis
Giacomo Tachis, the most celebrated Italian winemaker, has outlined a bleak future for corporate-owned Italian wines – and says those who inflate the price of the top wines are ‘vultures.’
-
Constellation buys 40% of Ruffino
A month after its purchase of the Robert Mondavi Corporation, drinks giant Constellation Brands has just bought 40% of Tuscan Chianti icon Ruffino for approximately US$80m.
-
California cooper to close
A leading California coopers has just announced it is closing in March next year – because of the increasing popularity of oak staves.
-
'Pioneer' Veronelli dies
Italy’s most celebrated wine and food critic Luigi Veronelli died at his home in Bergamo yesterday after a long illness. He was 78.
-
Thieves steal award-winning Amarone
Technically advanced thieves struck top Amarone producer Masi last weekend, stealing 12,000 bottles of the cult classic Vaio Amaron 1999.
-
Italian police smash wine-trafficking ring
Italian police in Puglia last week broke up an illegal wine trafficking ring in the province of Lecce.
-
New anti-fraud system 'reads' wine in the bottle
Spanish scientists have just announced a new test which can detect if the wine in the bottle is genuine or not.
-
Massive AOC shake-up proposed
Appellations president Rene Renou is planning revolutionary changes to the French wine laws as a cure for the ‘hangover’ winemakers are suffering from.
-
Antinoris buy Marlborough vineyards
Tuscan producers Lodovico and Piero Antinori have just bought a major tract of vineland in New Zealand.
-
Mendocino bans GM crops
Mendocino has become the first county in California – and the USA - to ban the cultivation of genetically modified organisms.
-
Gaja 'cold and soulless': Gambero Rosso
One of Italy’s most esteemed producers has been described as ‘cold and soulless’ by the editor of the Guide which has honored him more than any other Italian producer.
-
Nebbiolo is viognier cousin, conference hears
Nebbiolo, one of Italy’s most famous black grape varieties, is related to the aromatic viognier, DNA boffins have found.
-
Thousands of hectolitres of fraudulent Pinot Grigio seized in Italy
One of Italy’s biggest fraudulent wine rings has been smashed by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Services.
