The State of the Industry

Aussie Sales Down in US: They blame a strong American dollar and competing imports from South America and New Zealand. From my personal experience it seems that while New Zealand is going strong, the South American category has been falling lately. I certainly don't have a finger on the pulse of the national market, though.

Walla Walla Wine Closure: Nicholas Cole Cellars is closing its doors. The article calls it an 'indefinite hiatus,' but I've heard that they're just plain calling it quits. Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of the wines; I always thought that their quality never justified their inflated price points. Over the past year or so we've seen their prices on significant post-off, but I guess it couldn't stem the tide. A death in the family is, of course, never an easy thing to deal with, and my heart goes out to the Neuffers. I wish them all the best.

Recycle Your Corks: At Bin 41! Nothing really to say here, but it's pretty cool, and I always like to give a shout-out to T over in West Seattle whenever possible.

Hollywood's Drinking For The Holidays: It must be nice for retailers down there to have all that disposable income hanging around everyone's pockets. By the way, Remy Martin Louis XIII would make a great gift for me this year, if anyone's wondering...

A Good Year for Ice Wine: Apparently 2010 was a good year for ice wine in the Northeast this year. Good thing, too; global warming being what it is, we'll probably be seeing fewer and fewer of these harvests. Fortunately, there's always artificial means to the same end.

India Snubs French Wine: Not news, really, but Indian tariffs on wine imports continue to be absurdly high, even in the face of exploding demand for fermented grape juice in the country. The French are, naturally, furious. I wonder if this is an attempt to bolster sales of India's domestic wine sales. I had the opportunity to try a sparkling wine produced in India recently, and wow, I'm sorry to say that it was terrible. It was made of Chardonnay and produced in the methode traditionalle, so I had some high hopes, but unfortunately it both smelled and tasted like a plastic seat cover. Oh well; better luck next time, India!