The first comprehensive survey of women’s attitudes toward wine has overturned several preconceived notions. Over 4,000 women in the UK, France, Japan, Germany and the US responded to a survey commissioned by Vinexpo, revealing a preference for red wine and skepticism for marketing campaigns that target them specifically (e.g. White Lie and Slender Wines). Among [...]

1. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, 4 feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York state, on June 5, 1988. 2. Marilyn Monroe was said to have once taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. Vintage not confirmed. 3. The largest cork tree in the [...]

According to an obituary published yesterday by the Corriere Fiorentino, Bettino Ricasoli, 87, the great-great-grandson of “Iron Baron” Bettino Ricasoli and steward of one of the leading families of Chianti Classico, has died. Although he never published a “formula” or “recipe” for Chianti (as many erroneously claim), Bettino Ricasoli (1809-1880) reshaped the history of Chianti [...]

The wine industry was battered and bruised in 2008, the astronomical prices for top-level wines plunged, and as if in an act of repentance more winemakers went green. For example, Boisset, the second-largest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau, bottled its entire 2008 harvest in lightweight plastic bottles. Biodynamic and organic wines increased. Yet many still doubt [...]

A San Francisco cooperative is selling futures in a new wine called “Bailout,” inspired by the economic crisis. Crushpad, a custom crush facility, will sell the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $39 per bottle. But there’s a twist, for every 100-point drop in the Dow Jones from the date of purchase to the projected bottling [...]

Recent research indicates that different types of music stimulate different parts of the brain, and prime us to taste wines in a corresponding way. For example, powerful rock music like Jimi Hendrix or The Rolling Stones is a good accompaniment to a Cabernet Sauvignon, while opera buffs might prefer a 2006 Syrah. “This is the [...]

When People magazine reported seeing an unopened bottle of Kendall-Jackson chardonnay in the Obamas’ kitchen, the California winery fired off a couple of cases to No. 44. Just another gift? Hardly. Winning over the presidential palate is a big deal for the wine industry, leaving vintners and vinophiles curious about what’s on tap for the [...]

Who woulda thunk it? That a small organic wine from Chile would cause such an uproar. Palin Syrah, now in its second release, and named for the ball used to play Chilean field hockey is losing sales, at least in San Francisco. The reason? The similarity of its name to Sarah Palin, the now famous [...]

So what’s the new thing in the wine world these days? Plastic Bottles. That’s right the same PET bottles used for fruit drinks and soda pop, with a nudge from environmentalists, has become a viable wine-packaging alternative to glass. One of the latest producers to embrace the new trend is French wine giant Boisset who [...]

Is the wine cellar passe? Some French wine buffs believe there’s a better place for storing wine, at the bottom of the sea (OMG!). A couple years ago, French winemakers began submerging hundreds of bottles of wine at a depth of 30ft in Saint-Malo Bay off the coast of Normandy. After being “massaged by the [...]