May 31, 2012 Issue
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News
Posted: May 31, 2012 By Augustus Weed
Blogs
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James Laube's Wine Flights
In the long term, new vineyard plantings will shore up supply; in the short term, value abounds outside the Golden State
Posted: April 26, 2012 By James Laube
There's talk of a pending grape shortage in the Golden State, and with it, the prospect of rising prices. Don't be concerned unless you exclusively buy California wines.
If California wine prices continue to rise—and that doesn't seem to be a widespread phenomenon—they will do so because of heightened demand. Typically that means brand by brand. As it is, California has long lagged the broader wine market when it comes to value anyway. People looking to get the most from their wine dollars shop across borders and oceans.
Blogs
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James Laube's Wine Flights
Bordeaux first-growth Château Latour won't sell futures after 2011, but the rest of Bordeaux is unlikely to follow
Posted: April 18, 2012 By James Laube
For the longest time, Bordeaux has been the envy of most vintners everywhere.
Its wines have history, tradition and prestige and are often in great demand. The top classified-growths produce thousands of cases that command top-rung prices. Most of the elite wines are sold before they're even bottled. As a business model, it has few peers.
Yet apparently it's not perfect. Last week, Château Latour announced it would abandon the long-time tradition of selling wine futures, a move that sent shock waves through the Bordelais wine trade, primarily because of Latour's status.
News & Features
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News
The Bordeaux first-growth cuts prices, but the market remains quiet; Cos-d'Estournel follows suit with 50 percent drop
Posted: April 17, 2012 By James Molesworth
News & Features
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News
As the château gains more control over sales, will it hurt the rest of Bordeaux?
Posted: April 16, 2012 By James Molesworth, Suzanne Mustacich
Blogs
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Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Wines to open whether you’re celebrating or drowning your sorrows
Posted: April 11, 2012 By Tim Fish
There are particular days of the year in which Americans indulge with gusto the need for a drink. New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day come to mind, but if ever there was a day that called for either celebration or drowning your sorrows, it's Tax Day, April 17 this year.
I'm just getting around to working on my return—I wonder what I'll be doing on Sunday—so I'm not sure whether I'll be toasting victory or defeat. But I believe in being prepared, so I advise all wine lovers to have a good bottle ready no matter how things turn out. I have a few ideas for you, and since these wines are meant to be consumed for Tax Day, I've targeted current releases that don't need cellaring.
News & Features
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News
After Americans passed on the 2010s, the first-growths are hinting that they'll drop prices substantially
Posted: April 10, 2012 By Suzanne Mustacich
News & Features
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News
With the economy expanding, growers are trying to plant again, but a lack of vines could mean higher priced wines
Posted: April 3, 2012 By Lynn Alley
News & Features
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News
France's wine industry is enjoying record sales, and while Chinese consumers are buying Bordeaux, U.S. consumers are buying everything
Posted: April 2, 2012 By Suzanne Mustacich
News & Features
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News
Grape prices are going up, but consumers have grown accustomed to bargains
Posted: March 7, 2012 By Augustus Weed
News & Features
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News
Sales of the easy-drinking bubbly have skyrocketed—is it a passing fad or here to stay?
Posted: February 8, 2012 By Ben O'Donnell
Blogs
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James Laube's Wine Flights
Can wine be a legitimate financial investment? Or is it money poured down the drain?
Posted: January 19, 2012 By James Laube
Using wine as an investment vehicle, where the goal is to profit financially rather than just drink well, is about as tricky as playing the stock market. That is, it’s just as easy to lose money as win it. And if the past few years haven't made the risk involved painfully obvious to traders of either commodity, the recent Wine Spectator Auction Index numbers for Bordeaux should serve as another cautionary tale: The Chinese are no longer driving Bordeaux prices through the roof, and prices are dropping.
News & Features
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News
Prices for top wines are slipping as Chinese customers have second thoughts
Posted: January 18, 2012 By Suzanne Mustacich
News & Features
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Unfiltered
Unfiltered gazes into the future and sees love blossom for a Sonoma sweetheart on The Bachelor, a holy wine from Tim Tebow, Napa Cabernets on the loose in China, plus, the Occupy movement takes to the vineyards
Posted: January 5, 2012
Blogs
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Harvey Steiman At Large
Will smart consumers turn to less conventional Oz wines?
Posted: December 12, 2011 By Harvey Steiman
One prime reason for my visit to Australia—to look for insights into why the wines seem to be on the outs with Americans—turned up much less hand-wringing by vintners than you might expect. The Aussies are smart enough to know that they are caught in a perfect storm: the rise of Argentina, Spain and other parts of the world competing effectively against their big-volume wines, coupled with a wrenching change in the exchange rate between the Aussie dollar and ours, capped off by a financial crisis that has most people thinking twice about spending money on anything they’re not entirely certain of.
The Aussies have a healthy attitude about all this. As such, they are diligently at work trying to broaden perceptions of their wines here, and looking for other places to sell them. A growing number of sommeliers and retailers have noticed that Australia produces a range of styles at higher price points. Its widespread growing regions offer specific differences in character. Inspired winemakers, some young, others experienced, are gung-ho to try something different.
News & Features
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News
Private equity firm Bacchus Capital Management invests in Sonoma winery
Posted: October 27, 2011 By Augustus Weed
Oct. 15, 2011 Issue
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Features
Posted: October 15, 2011 By Diana Macle, Lizzie Munro, Mitch Frank
News & Features
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News
With glowing reviews and global demand for 2010 futures, Bordeaux’s top châteaus may be saying au revoir to American consumers
Posted: June 17, 2011 By Ben O'Donnell
April 30, 2011 Issue
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Columns
Posted: April 30, 2011 By James Laube
News & Features
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News
Led by Prosecco, Italian bubbly consumption has skyrocketed in the U.S. in just a few years. Is it the new face of sparkling wine or a passing fad?
Posted: April 4, 2011 By Ben O'Donnell
