News

Issues affecting the wine industry and the wine you drink

  • French Winemakers Destroy Spanish Wine

    French Winemakers Destroy Spanish Wine

    , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The Telegraph newspaper has reported that, in a striking move against what they see as unfair competition, around 500 French wine makers from Narbonne and Perpignan stopped lorries importing Spanish wines at the border town of Boulou. They emptied thousands of gallons of rosé and smashed 10,000 bottles of Spanish sparkling wine on the roads….

  • Do Wine Reviews Matter?

    Do Wine Reviews Matter?

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    There’s recent research (PDF) looking into the impact of peer preferences and expert reviews on consumer behaviour, specifically for products like wine that consumers can sample. Through two experimental studies, the research identified that when consumers taste wines, their own rating significantly influences their willingness to pay (WTP). A one-star increase in their rating can…

  • New UK Wine Reforms Announced

    New UK Wine Reforms Announced

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The UK government has announced a series of reforms aimed at boosting investment and easing regulatory burdens on the wine industry. Set to take effect in 2024, these changes are part of a broader strategy to modernise the sector and encourage sustainable practices. The reforms were announced are the result of a public consultation. The…

  • The Wine Buying Experience in Specialist Wine Retailers

    The Wine Buying Experience in Specialist Wine Retailers

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    There’s an interesting new whitepaper titled “Wine Decisions: The Wine Buying Experience in Independent Specialist Wine Retailers” based on a research study conducted by KAM in collaboration with Hallgarten & Novum Wines, focusing on consumer behavior within the UK’s independent specialist wine retail sector. This study, involving 1,185 participants, explores the driving factors influencing consumer…

  • French Wine Gold Medal Insights

    French Wine Gold Medal Insights

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The French online magazine TheLocal has an enlightening article (you can only view once before goes to paywall) on French wine gold medals that you might have seen on French wine bottles. In 2022, over 24,000 medals were awarded, originating from various wine competitions (les concours) held throughout France. These competitions require a fee for…

  • Orange Wine is Breaking into the Mainstream

    Orange Wine is Breaking into the Mainstream

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The Telegraph newspaper is explaining how orange wine is breaking into the mainstream. Once a niche taste favoured by few, orange wines are starting to go mainstream. They sit between red and white wines, although their vinification process sharply deviates from that of rosé. While rosé comes from red grapes handled much like white ones,…

  • Wine Buyers Want a Personal Touch for Subscriptions

    Wine Buyers Want a Personal Touch for Subscriptions

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Recently, the wine subscription market has seen an increase in demand for a more personalised experience. Subscribers are no longer content with fixed selections and want curated choices that match with their unique palate. In a recent edition of the Subscription Commerce Readiness Report, The Loyalty Factor, PYMNTS Intelligence conducted a survey involving over 2,000…

  • Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Wine: The Bottle Weight Accord

    Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Wine: The Bottle Weight Accord

    , , , , , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The wine industry is increasingly under scrutiny for its environmental impact, particularly its carbon footprint. A recent report by Dr. Peter Stanbury, prepared for the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) (pdf), has shed light on the significant but often overlooked aspect of the weight of wine bottles. The report reveals that the single largest source of…

  • Rapid Growth of Vineyards Bolsters England’s Agricultural Sector

    Rapid Growth of Vineyards Bolsters England’s Agricultural Sector

    , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Vineyards have emerged as the fastest-growing edible agricultural sector in England, according to recent DEFRA statistics, with grapes now constituting 36% of the country’s soft fruit crop, marking a sector growth rate of 21% over the past year. Wines of Great Britain has reported a significant growth in vine plantings by 74% over five years…

  • Crisis Distillation

    Crisis Distillation

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The Wine Economist is reporting that the concept of crisis distillation is resurfacing in the global wine industry. This practice involves government programmes buying surplus wine to convert it into industrial alcohol, aiming to stabilise wine prices and grower incomes. While it was a common practice in the European Union, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,…

  • The French Wine Industry’s Battle Against Climate Change

    The French Wine Industry’s Battle Against Climate Change

    , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    According to an article in Nature, the French wine industry, a major part of French culture and economy, is grappling with the challenges posed by climate change. With its strict appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system, which sets rigid rules about geography, grape varieties, and production techniques, the industry faces unique challenges. However, French wine-growers are…

  • New Free Rioja Wine Academy Course

    New Free Rioja Wine Academy Course

    , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The Rioja Wine Academy, backed by the Rioja DOCa Control Board, has launched a free introductory online course called Rioja Enthusiast. This course is the academy’s first aimed at consumers and wine lovers with no prior knowledge of wine. The course covers the fundamentals of Rioja wine in just four hours, including topics like reading…

  • Beware of Decoy Effects When Buying Wine

    Beware of Decoy Effects When Buying Wine

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    New research titled Decoy Effects in a Massive Real-World Shopping Dataset focuses on the impact of ‘decoy’ options on consumer choices, specifically in the context of wine purchases in the UK. The study examined a large dataset of 3.6 million wine purchases made by 755,158 unique customers over a one-month period. In the situation where…

  • Spain’s Historic Low Wine Harvest

    Spain’s Historic Low Wine Harvest

    , ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Spain’s wine industry is grappling with its smallest harvest ever recorded, largely due to a series of extreme weather events. The 2023 grape harvest has been severely impacted by droughts, hail storms and heat waves, affecting vineyards across the country. Spain is expected to produce only 34.25 million hectolitres of grapes this year, representing a…

  • Scots to Be Forced to Pay at Least £6 a Bottle

    Scots to Be Forced to Pay at Least £6 a Bottle

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    The Telegraph is reporting that The Scottish National Party (SNP) has announced plans to increase the minimum price for a bottle of wine to £6. The decision comes in the wake of a surge in alcohol-related deaths and harm in Scotland, which have reached their highest levels in 14 years. The SNP’s drugs and alcohol…

  • Increase in British Vineyard Buying Demand

    Increase in British Vineyard Buying Demand

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Barrons/Penta is reporting that the United Kingdom is witnessing a surge in interest in winemaking, positioning it as the fastest-growing wine region globally. This increasing interest has led to a significant demand for British wine estates. The southeast England is experiencing a spike in demand for vineyards and undeveloped land suitable for viticulture, from international…

  • Research into Words That Describe Wine

    Research into Words That Describe Wine

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    There’s new research (PDF) from Maria Kana of Linnaeus University into the language used in wine reviews, particularly the adoption of standardised wine vocabularies like the Wine Aroma Wheel (WAW) and the Wine Lexicon of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). The study aimed to understand how closely professional wine reviewers stick to these…

  • Italy Loses Wine-making Leadership to France

    Italy Loses Wine-making Leadership to France

    ,

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Reuters is reporting on the decline in wine production in Italy. The wine output in Italy is expected to decrease by 12% this year (2023), falling below 44 million hectolitres. This significant drop is attributed to extreme weather conditions and fungal diseases that have adversely affected the vineyards. As a result of this decline, Italy…

  • Why is There a Global Wine Glut?

    Why is There a Global Wine Glut?

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    Mike Veseth has a thought-provoking article on Theories of the Global Wine Glut. The world seems to be overflowing with surplus wine. In Australia, there’s an estimation that suggests that the surplus could fill 859 Olympic-size swimming pools which translates to roughly 2.8 billion bottles. In France, the government has set aside two hundred million…

  • How Consumers Select Wine

    How Consumers Select Wine

    ·

    By

    Simon Judge

    –

    A recent survey, documented on Forbes by one of the researchers Liz Thach, MW, has shed light on the preferences of wine consumers in three major markets: the U.S., Australia, and Italy. The study, conducted in May 2023, highlighted that in all three countries, the taste of the wine was prioritised over its price. Prior…

Follow

Recent

Tags

25% Off Wine Aldi Amarone Argentina Articles Asda Australia Award Awards25 Bizarre Blog Books Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon Carménère Cava Champagne Chardonnay Chile Climate Change Coop Decanter Duty English Wine EPR Events Food France Furmint Germany Glossary Greece Headaches Health Hungary Italy IWSC Jeroboams Laithwaites Legislation Liberty Wines Lidl Low Alcohol M&S Majestic Malbec Marketing Merch Merlot Morrisons Naked Wines News New Zealand Ocado Offers Old Vine Organic Past Tastings Photography Pinotage Pinot Noir Port Portugal Primitivo Prosecco Reviews Ribera del Duero Riesling Rioja Ripasso Romania Rose Sainsbury's Saperavi Sauvignon Blanc Shiraz Sicily South Africa Spain Sparkling Spritz Supermarkets Sustainable Tax Terroir Tesco The Wine Society Unrepresented USA Valpolicella Vinho Verde Virgin Wines Waitrose Wanderlust Welsh Wine What to Buy Wine Art WineGB WIne Glasses Zinfandel