Investment worth 3 m euros in Corcova wines

Wines made at Corcova are ready to conquer the domestic market, the specialized shops and restaurants network representing their first target, following an investment of three million euros carried out by businessmen from Romania and France.

'We invested in 2006 nearly three million euros from SAPARD, FADR, but also of equity. We took care of the vineyard and we also rebuilt the cellars having once belonged to Prince Anton Bibescu. We filled 70,000 bottles with wine in 2008 and 150,000 bottles in 2009,' said Serban Damboviceanu, who now owns the Corcova Wine Cellars, along with French businessman Michel Roy.

Out of the 70 hectares of vineyards, 40 are already bearing fruit, and another 15 will be planted.

'We will focus not on quantity, but on quality. We are already present in restaurants and specialized shops, but we intend to enter the supermarkets too with our wines - Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay,' Damboviceanu added.

'When I tasted this wine the first time and I heard it was made at Corcova I remember I thought that the wine was good, but that nobody could be that crazy to invest there, after the land had been ignored so many years. It seems that we need such examples, of pioneers to invest money in wine and to make the best wines,' the president of the National Vine and Wine Employers of Romania, Valeriu Cotea said in his turn.

The wines made at Corcova, a locality in the Mehedinti County (south-western Romania), by Prince Anton Bibescu, assisted by a French oenologist, were famous in Paris. The cellars were being frequented back then by several personalities of the time, and the famous blends such as Corcovelul and Corcovinul, were praised by writers such as Martha Bibescu, Michael Sebastian, and Ion Minulescu.

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European Wine Sales on the Rise

The strong Australian dollar is prompting many wine drinkers to take advantage of cheaper price tags on premium imported wines, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Figures for the period ending in March this year show that the price of imported wines dropped by about $1 per litre, while white wine imports rose 12.4 percent and red wine imports increased by 8.8 per cent.

Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany were among the countries to experience the greatest increase in imports to Australia. CommSec’s Craig James told the AAP that the benefits of the high Australian dollar were making themselves obvious in the wine market.

“The strength of the Australia dollar has pushed down the price of imported goods and provided a range of Chilean, Argentinean, French, and Italian wine on our market. If you’re a winemaker, certainly there is a lot of pressure on you at the moment, with a high amount of supply, so there is a downward pressure on price, but for consumers it has been happy days,” said James.

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Export wine focus turns to top table

A new Government-backed push into the US aims to build a super premium wine category for the billion-dollar export industry. Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee said the wine industry was at a turning point.

As it was starting to produce quite large volumes although small compared with world consumption. Wine exports have soared in value from $125.3 million in 1999 to more than $1 billion.

However, a 39 per cent jump in the 2008 grape harvest to 285,000 tonnes created about 27 million litres of oversupply after years of shortage, helping drive some erosion of wine, grape and land prices.

"It's almost the catch-22 point where can the increased volume you're producing maintain the higher price in the markets that are prepared to pay it," Brownlee said.

"Or do you simply find that too difficult and end up with bargain-basement prices on exceptional quality wine."

The perception of New Zealand wine internationally has remained strong but concerns have been raised about the effect of exporting cheap bulk wine.What we've got to try and do is get into markets where that top quality is appreciated so the bottle price is upwards of the $50 mark and that's what the attempt is all about with regards to the US initiative," Brownlee said.

The Government would contribute $1.2 million over two years matched by a similar amount from the 21 wineries involved in the initiative, which included 58 selected wines.

New Zealand Winegrowers USA had been established to lead the programme and a campaign manager would be appointed to work with wineries' distributors and undertake a programme of collaborative brand and market building.

The project was expected to lead to additional direct sales for those taking part of $50 million by 2015.

"I think that's actually quite conservative," Brownlee said. "The product that we produce is without doubt very much world class."

New Zealand Winegrowers USA chairman Steve Smith said: "We produce fine wines in New Zealand, we believe it's a sector of the market in the USA that remains undeveloped for New Zealand wine, we believe it's a sector of the market that has significant long-term sustainability in terms of creating prestige and all the benefits that come from that," Smith said. "And we think the time is absolutely right to do it." The project would not use traditional marketing routes such as advertising campaigns and massive consumer events, Smith said.

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Wines of the World - Light and silky summer reds

A true red wine drinker is going to drink red all summer long, even in Texas. For many people a compromise on the texture and body of red wine is appropriate when the temperature reaches 100 degrees. Even in hot weather, the heavy, concentrated fruit and oak can be refreshing if you choose a red with the following thoughts in mind.....the grape, the price, and a good wine sales person.

Reds such as Beaujolais, Dolcetto, or Grenache are satisfying as are Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, and Tempranillo. A fresh, lower-priced Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, or Zinfandel can be surprisingly light and easy to drink in hot weather. Many of these lighter reds are made using less oak, a shorter fermentation, and little bottle aging.

Hahn Monterey Pinot Noir ($12)

Tapena Tempranillo from Spain ($8)

Parducci Sustainable Red Wine ($11 )

McPherson Cellars dbs (Dolcetto, Barbera, Sangiovese) from Texas ($10.99)

Di Majo Norante Sangiovese from Italy ($10.99)

Clayhouse Vineyard Adobe Red ($12.99)

Rex-Goliath California Merlot ($8.99)

Meridian California Cabernet Sauvignon ($10)

ForestVille California Zinfandel ($6)

Kenwood Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($16)

Crane Lake California Malbec ($4.99)

Fogdog Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($35)

Irony Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ($15.99)

Aresti Pinot Noir from Chile ($10.99)

Alamos Malbec Seleccion from Argentina ($20)

Bonny Doon Ca’ del Solo Dolcetto ($22)

Ghost Pines Merlot ($16)

Fat Cat California Pinot Noir ($10)

Alternate serving suggestions are a red wine spritzer with club soda and ice cubes, or a pitcher of sangria made with orange juice, lime juice, sugar syrup, red wine, and ice cubes floating among fresh fruit slices. Try Castello Banfi Rosa Regale if you’re in the mood for a fresh strawberry tasting red wine with spritz.

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Wine Making Kits: Produce the Best Wine at Home

When it comes to revelry and merry making, one drink that is often seen as accompanying such enjoyment is wine. Wine is a very popular drink consumed by almost everyone particularly events that are very important to a person. Though seen by many as a drink only the rich can afford, wine today is consumed by almost everyone across all social categories.

How Wine Is Made

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting the juice extracted from grapes. Varieties of yeast are employed, which consume the natural sugar found in grape juice and convert them into alcohol. The result is a delectable drink that is a toast for so many occasions and for so many generations now. The process of wine making is known as vinification. This is a lengthy and delicate process that starts with selecting the right grapes to use in producing the liquor. Generally, vinification is divided into two types: production of still wine, which does not utilize the carbonation process, and sparkling wine, which makes use of the carbonation process.

Develop a Tasty Wine for Everybody

Because the list of occasions that merits the presence of wine is practically endless, there is now a renewed interest on producing the wine at home. Doing so will allow anyone to produce a wine that will suit their tastes. In this aspect, wine making kits are at the forefront to provide everyone the opportunity to become a wine maker. This is because wine making kits are now sold in the same manner that home appliances are.

Common Items in Wine Making Kits

Wine making kits include several items. These include the following:

▪ Fruit wine bases. Fruit wine bases are essentially a certain type wine in concentrated form. All that a budding wine maker needs to do is to add ingredients to it such as water and sugar to produce wine.

▪ Wine enhancers. A concentrated grape juice, they are added to wine before bottling, enhancing the wine's aroma. However, because they may contain fermentable sugars, stabilizers must be added to the mix as well.

▪ Bottles. The proper bottles must be selected to resist the fermenting action of the yeast such as in the case of sparkling wine. A bottle of inferior quality may burst at the pressure exerted.

▪ Racks. The proper racks must be in hand to make sure that the bottled wines will be stored properly and the fermentation process will go on unhampered.

The Benefits Wine Making Kits Bring

Wine making kits benefits everyone in different ways. To some, the most obvious benefit is that they can easily prepare their favorite wine at home, assured that their produce suits their taste. On the other hand, such hobby and passion can also be turned into a profitable business wherein one will supply the local market with wine for the consumption of the locality. Moreover, because the wine is produced at home, they will be a lot cheaper than the ones bought from the local liquor shop.

Buy Wine Making Kits Online

If you are hunting for the complete wine making kits, log on to The Grape and Granary. They have the supplies to satisfy your need in producing great-tasting wines.

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