From Sigi Hiss, at 10. June 2010 07:17
Richard Woodard – The 30th annual Auction Napa Valley raised more than $8.5m, up nearly 50% on last year, but still well short of its pre-recession high. The highest-value wine lot at last weekend’s event included eight magnums of Colgin Cellars’ Cariad, which fetched a total of $1m when Ann Colgin agreed to quadruple the amount of wine offered.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based bidder MK Koo was particularly happy to spend $200,000 on a single six-litre bottle of Screaming Eagle: ‘It was top of my list, first because it’s a great wine and second because it’s easy to carry home,’ he said. First held in 1981, Auction Napa Valley has regained its top spot as the highest grossing charity wine auction in the US over the past couple of years. This year’s Napa event raised more than $8.5m, ahead of the $8m raised at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in Florida in January.
Napa also outdid Naples last year – fetching $5.7m compared to $5.1m – but for the five years prior to that, the Florida event raised substantially greater sums for charity. The record remains with Naples in 2007 at $16.5m, while Napa has only broken the $10m barrier once – in 2008, with $10.35m.
Napa Valley Vintners president Bruce Cakebread said this year’s auction might be a metaphor for the economy and the wine industry – with looming dark clouds transformed into bright sunshine when the bidding started.
Among the highlights of the event, organised by Napa Valley Vintners, was Fund a Need, which secured more than $1m in gift aid for children’s health programmes, including immunisations, literacy and protection from abuse. www.decanter.com
From Markus Schmidli, at 10. June 2010 07:16
Richard Woodard – Champagne’s stiffest competition comes not from Prosecco, Cava or English sparkling wine – but from Viagra, according to Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger. Speaking at the Reuters Global Luxury Summit last week, the Taittinger chief executive also predicted that Champagne exports to China will outstrip the US within 15 years.
And he expects Champagne sales to rebound this year, aided by the weaker Euro, restocking in the supply chain and surging demand in emerging markets. ‘I am worried about pensions. I am worried about the debt of our countries. We will have less money,’ Taittinger said.
‘But we will always have the time to make love and drink Champagne, and we will do it even more.’
Like most of the major Champagne houses, Taittinger’s sales have been badly affected by the economic downturn, with volumes down 10% during 2009.
But Taittinger said he expected sales to rise 10-20% this year, aided by 40% year-on-year growth in China. Champagne’s only competitor? ‘Viagra’. ‘China is the new United States,’ he said. ‘There is no doubt that it will be a strong market in 15 years. It will be much better than the US.’ And he said that ‘nothing is better’ than a glass of Champagne to help forget the stress and pressures of the modern world.
‘We are an affordable luxury. For one hour we can behave like the Queen of England.’
From Rene Gabriel, at 08. June 2010 13:16
Kein anderer Bordeaux-Wein hat eine derartigen Genusskursverlust seit der Primeurprobe erlitten...
87: Fassdegustation (19/20): Fruchtige, klassische Nase, die nur wenig aus der Oberfläche herausragt. Volles Tannin, das Jahre brauchen wird, um weich zu werden. Auf der Stufe von Lafite und Mouton. 1991 trank ich ihn an einem Kalifornien/Bordeaux-Blindtasting mit Robert Mondavi. In einer so schrecklichen Rumpelphase, dass er von sechs degustierten Weinen
From Alexandra Flemming, at 07. June 2010 08:27
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| Schwarze Familie produziert einen international geschätzten Wein. Copyright: NDR/zentralfilm/arte |
From Sigi Hiss, at 04. June 2010 11:39
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – With Vinexpo Hong Kong over, the number of chateaux bringing out wine prices has reached a flood this week – although the big names are expected to hold back until the middle of June. Merchants seem to be sanguine about the wines’ chances, even at the price increases that have become inevitable, though there are rumblings of dissent.
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