Eight clubs wine tasting from the best American universities competed Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at the Consulate General of France in New York, in the competition organized by the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac. which represents the leading Left Bank chateaux and wine merchants of Bordeaux. With hope for the best two teams to win their place in the final and to visit the most famous vineyards of Bordeaux.. Under the benevolent authority of Grand Master Emmanuel Cruse and members of the jury, the candidates have first passed a theory test first, before three rounds of blind tasting. Insight, finesse and accuracy of judgments have allowed universities of Chicago and Wharton to carry the pre selection US.
João Ferreira Alvares Ribeiro and his cousin Francisco Ferreira, owners of Quinta do Vallado in the Douro Valley in Portugal, have every right to celebrate. For the very first time since the recorded founding of the winery in 1716, Quinta do Vallado has declared a Vintage Port. The fact that no Vintage Port was produced for almost 300 years at Quinta do Vallado has got nothing to do with it not being able to produce a satisfactory quality to produce Vintage Port, nor that the hot and dry 2009 vintage offered the perfect conditions for it to do so…. The truth is a different story altogether, and is down the historical development of the Quinta.
The Quinta do Vallado lies on the outskirts of the town Regua, along the Rio Corgo tributary. The estate was one of the first Quintas purchased by the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (1811-1896). This highly entrepreneurial woman took over the management of the Ferreira business, having been made a widow at just 33 years old. She successively bought and founded a whole empire of Quintas during the course of her life, gaining both prosperity and respect, and she invested her wealth in the local Douro valley infrastructure; in roads, schools and hospitals.
The grapes and wines from her Quintas (including Quinta do Vallado) were produced for Port sold under the name of “Ferreira”, one of the most respected Port shippers. When the sixth generation of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira took the helm of the Quinta in the 1990s, they – Joăo Alvares Ribeiro and Francisco Ferreira – decided to produce their own wines and market them using the Quinta do Vallado label. The range of wine primarily includes the white and red DOC Douro wines, along with a selection of Tawny Ports.
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Paris Las Vegas (www.parislasvegas.com) is pleased to announce internationally-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay will open his first Las Vegas restaurant, Gordon Ramsay Steak, in the spring of 2012 in the heart of the picturesque resort. The new restaurant will replace Les Artistes Steakhouse.
Michelin Star Chef Gordon Ramsay, known not only for his refined cuisine, but also his TV personality on several hit programs including "Hell's Kitchen," "MasterChef" and "Kitchen Nightmares," has generated world-wide attention and entertained viewers on six continents.
«Few chefs in the world have extended their reputations to as many countries and into as many homes as Chef Ramsay» said Paris Las Vegas President David Hoenemeyer. «His fiery passion for excellence has been validated by the culinary world's top epicurean honors, by his legions of delighted restaurant guests and by millions of TV fans. We, at Paris Las Vegas, believe that the addition of Gordon Ramsay Steak, will be an exciting new milestone in the city's impressive culinary evolution».
The contemporary steakhouse will boast a total of 274 seats including a large bar area, chef's table and private dining room in addition to the main room. Guests will be encouraged to relax in the spacious lounge or enjoy a cozy booth in this ultimate modern steakhouse.
(Click to read more)
The association of winemakers Patrimoine des Terroirs is born nearly 5 years ago, at the initiative of Celine and Alain, two young managers, who already worked with 4 winegrowers, and the desire to promote the richness of French viticulture, diversity of soils or grape varieties.
Thirty selected winemakers in relation with their values, talents, currently compose this team, to develop a customer base of professionals in France and abroad.
With an amount of sales of 400 000 ¤ during the last 6 months, with a multiplication by 2.6 of the amount of sales compared to the same period in 2010, these results confirm the continued approach since this reorganization 18 months ago.
Patrimoine des Terroirs generates 75% of its sales abroad (Europa, America and Asia) and 25% on the traditional sector in France (wine shops, wine bars).
These excellent figures invited the 30 winegrowers to move their stock in December , in the company named “Transports Alix”, based in Burgundy, 10 minutes from Beaune, in an air-conditioned warehouse. The goals are :
- To reduce the time of preparation and delivery
- To provide a best quality service
- To allow their clients to overcome the cost of storage for lack of space, which immobilizes money
- To be closer to the most important centers of the wine business (freight forwarders, carriers ...)
Patrimoine des Terroirs, in figures
- 30 Independent winegrowers ( no negociant, no middle man)
- 12 winegrowing areas
- 1 common warehouse
- A single philosophy and the same values
- 350 wines, champagne and Spirits
- A quality label of authenticity
Starting today, in all the iTunes App Stores of the world there is a new app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for the wine tourist and anybody searching for the good and beauty in life. It is The Wine Traveller guide/Italy, available in English and Italian. A brand new application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch developed for Italian and foreign tourists searching for a new Italy. A territory to discover, among great bottles of wine, art collections hidden in the cellars, architecturally interesting wineries, wine museums, cooking lessons and swimming pools in the vines. All gathered and described in the new App The Wine Traveller guide/Italy, available from today in the iTunes App Stores all over the world. A geo-referenced app, easy to use both online and offline, that provides you with about 1200 Italian wineries in all regions that in addition to good wines offer a lot to enjoy your free time: rooms and relais to stay overnight, restaurant, swimming pool, spa centre, wine therapy, camper parking, cooking lessons, art collections and historic buildings. All available in 1200 Italian wine estates. (click to read more)
The only international event dedicated to the convergence of wine and the web, the EWBC provides a platform for the global wine community to address today's online communications opportunities. The annual, three-day event is helping to build an international network of wine communicators, and also encourages the acquisition of skills and information and the exchange of expertise across national, language and professional boundaries.
Organized by Ryan and Gabriella Opaz and Robert McIntosh of social media company Vrazon, the 2012 EWBC will be sponsored by Wines of Turkey. (click to read more)
A Shanghai fund management company has become the first company to launch an mutual fund focusing on investing in the world of fine wine.
The new De Rouge Fund was set up in the wake of growing interest in alternative investments in the Far East as the Chinese rate of inflation continues to rise to more than 6.5 per cent.
According to information supplied the De Rouge fund is confident of offering returns of around 15 per cent annually.
It follows an incredible surge of interest in fine wine over in the Far East.£ The recently published Wine Spectator Auction Index, for instance, showed that takings from Hong Kong based wine auctions in the months between April and June grew by 80 per cent over the same period in 2010.
Additionally, the average price per lot rose to around $8,225 as the newly affluent class of Chinese investors turned to these sought after wines.
Auction house Sotheby's meanwhile have seen every bottle sold at their last 15 Hong Kong wine auctions. The Chateau Lafite-Rothschild has proven particularly popular too, with one sale at the auction house seeing three separate bottles of the 1869 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild vintage sold for $230,930 each.
The boom has also brought with it a huge level of counterfeiting in the Asian continent, with experts suggesting around 70 per cent of wine claiming to be Chateau Lafite-Rothschild in the Far East actually counterfeit.
Shanghai's new De Rouge Fund has already set its sights on raising $140 million for it;s investment project and is confident of gaining the funds from Chinese investors increasingly wearing of the volatile stock market.
For its 10th edition, VINISUD, the International Fair for Mediterranean Wines and Spirits, which will be held from 20 to 22 February 2012 at Parc des Expositions in Montpellier, is going digital. Dedicated blog, Pavilion 2.0, ambassador bloggers, presentations and workshops on the converging interests of wine and the Web: in 2012, VINISUD opens a new window on the world of wine… and on wine in the world!
33,000 visitors from around the world and 1,650 exhibitors from every wine-producing region around the Mediterranean: at its last event, the VINISUD International fair for Mediterranean Wines and Spirits, the showcase for the worlds largest vineyard (the vineyards of the Mediterranean account for more than 50% of worlwide production), proving once again that it is a major event for wine professionals worldwide.
For its tenth edition, which will be held from 20 to 22 February 2012 in the Parc des Expositions in Montpellier in France, the VINISUD fair will enter a whole new dimension by opening up to digital communication. To accompany it in defining and implementing its global digital strategy, VINISUD has called on the expertise of SOWINE, an international marketing and communication agency specialised in wines and spirits.
For the very first time and throughout the event, VINISUD will devote a whole area to digital communication on wine. Pavilion 2.0., located in the heart of the Fair, will propose various workshops and presentations on the converging interests of the Web and Mediterranean wines. It will form a veritable platform for exchange, and will also act as a special area for meeting wine bloggers, including ambassador bloggers from France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany, the United States and China, who will participate in animating Paviilon 2.0 throughout the wine fair. (click to read more)
The Antique Wine Company was the lucky winner of the top lot after frenzied bidding at the renowned Hospices de Beaune auction in Burgundy, France today. Stephen Williams, Managing Director of The London-based Antique Wine Company, paid a record price of ¤110,000 for the “Piece de la President” containing 500 bottles of Corton Grand Cru red wine.
The name Antique Wine Company might cause one to wonder why its founder, Stephen Williams was the buyer of the most sought after barrel of Grand Cru Burgundy, “but the name”, says Stephen Williams: “…..doesn’t totally reflect the extent of all the services and wines that we buy and sell. While we offer very old fine and rare wines, that are indeed Antique, we also sell wines that are capable of becoming the ‘Antiques of the future’. Alongside the older vintages, we have also, for some time now, been selling younger vintages, in line with the demands of the market.”
The world’s most famous charity wine auction, the Hospices de Beaune auction has taken place for more than 150 years, and is the highlight of a weekend, commonly known as ‘Les Trois Glorieuses’, in which merchants, enthusiasts and vignerons congregate in Beaune, France, to taste, enjoy and celebrate the most recent vintage. Glorious would be an understatement to describe the Saturday Grand Banquet hosted by the singing Confrérie de Chevaliers de Tastevin to their 600 Chevaliers, invited guests and celebrities. It is held in the monastic cloisters of the 16th Century Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, which precedes the auction itself, held on the Sunday afternoon at the 500 year old Hospice. (Click to read more)
The Wine & Spirits Buying Guide of the United States based publication provides an annually complied list of the best wineries throughout the world. Two Austrian wine estates made it into the prestigious list, and both are not only from the same wine-growing region of Kamptal, but they are also close friends.
Only wineries that have achieved an outstanding rating for at least three of their wines, are nominated by the panel for the “Winery of the Year” list. Competition is enormous, with some 10,600 wines from around the world being tasted.
So it is no surprise that Weingut Fred Loimer and Schloss Gobelsburg share the prestigious title with a total of 100 internationally acclaimed wineries, including Louis Roederer (Champagne), J.J. Prüm (Mosel), Louis Jadot (Burgundy), Niepoort (Portugal) and Penfolds (Australia). (Click to read more)