Wine Drinkers Pick the Pink

Industry pushes President Sarkozy for carbon emission cut

(NEWSER) - A warming world has French winemakers sweating more than a little, experts tell the Financial Times. “Current research suggests that by the end of the 21st century, one summer out of two will be at least as hot as 2003,” the year of a record-breaking heat wave that prompted early harvest and lackluster vintages, notes one scientist. Industry experts are worried enough that they penned a letter asking Nicolas Sarkozy to get behind a steep carbon emissions cut at a meeting in December. More»

Futures sales in trouble after years of spiraling prices

(NEWSER) - The most serious wine collectors buy their bottles "en primeur"—paying vineyards for futures of wines that haven't been produced yet. Futures prices for wine had spiraled higher and higher in recent years, even for inferior vintages, as a new class of big spenders moved into the market. But many buyers are staying away from this week's tastings of the 2008 vintages in Bordeaux, writes the New York Times, as a protest at unreasonably high prices. More»

(NEWSER) - Today is the third Thursday of November, which makes it a holiday of sorts for wine merchants: Beaujolais Day. It's the first day of the year (as dictated by French law) that the first wine of the season—Beaujolais Nouveau, made from Gamay grapes—can be sold worldwide. Wine purists generally dismiss the stuff, but wise marketing has boosted sales. This year, however, doesn't look to be a strong one, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - France’s wine business is stuck in the doldrums, as American wines (and their aggressive marketing campaigns) explode onto the scene. But one Napa Valley girl is working to change that, by introducing stodgy French vintners to the modern concept of marketing. “A lot of what I do is psychological,” Jaime Araujo tells Gourmet. “Changing the identity of a wine that’s been in your family for four hundred years is hard, and it takes a lot of hand-holding.” More»

Wine growers battling cheap imports launch commando attacks

(NEWSER) - Tough times have turned some wine-growers in southwestern France to "wine terrorism," Time reports. Guerrilla grape-growers have bombed supermarkets and government buildings, hijacked trucks carrying foreign wine, and drained tanks. The growers want the French government to protect them from the cheap imports they say are threatening their survival. More»