The Spirit World

Spend any time touring bourbon country, or reading its history, and you’ll quickly learn that distilleries and brands, long-lived though they may be, do not operate under constant ownership. A brand with a historic tie to a distillery might move to another company, or a conglomerate might acquire or sell a famous brand. And all […]

One of Australia’s most renowned wine brands, Penfolds, is hosting a vertical tasting of Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz on 22nd June 2009 from Vinexpo in Bordeaux, France.  Lead by Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago, the same wines will be sampled simultaneously across the globe, via an interactive webcast.
Six different vintages of Penfolds Bin 389, often […]

According to the World Whiskies Awards, Highland Park 21 year old is the World’s Best Single Malt.
“An irresistible mix of dark grungey smoke and light sweet fruit. If you could barbeque a tin of Del Monte exotic fruits this is what it would taste like. Stunning.” Dominic Roskrow
“Big, fruity nose, dried fruits, dried herbs; waxy […]

New UK online wine retailer www.nakedwines.com has recruited its 20,000th new customer just 6 months after launching.
Kevan Evans, from Fife, Scotland, signed-up to become a Naked Wine Angel, a scheme which allows customers to sponsor indivudal winemakers looking to break into the UK market.
“Naked Wines is really rather different to any other wine retailer I’ve […]

A new premium 18 Years Old Islay Single Malt Whisky, SMOKEHEAD EXTRA BLACK is launching in the UK.
Building on the success of the multi award-winning Smokehead Single Malt which launched in 2006, Extra Black takes the DNA of the core brand to the next level, reflecting the luxury and limited edition status of this 18 […]

For the first time in its 175 year history, award-winning Glengoyne Distillery is to release its oldest, most valuable, and very best, Highland Single Malt: the Glengoyne 40 Years Old. 
The embodiment of Glengoyne’s famed unpeated and authentic ‘Real Taste of Malt’, the natural strength 40 Years Old Highland Single Malt is regarded by the distillery […]

By the time the last person had managed to squeeze into Gallery 11/12 at ExCel, London, last Wednesday, it was standing room only. The trade’s response to the ‘Wine and the Web: the Business of Getting Social’ LIWF briefing presented by Catavino Marketing, The Wine Conversation and Bibendum Wine Ltd was fantastic, proving what a hot […]

Wines of Germany and the European Union present the fifth annual Riesling Week, May 18-24th. During the week, restaurants and wine retailers from coast to coast will celebrate Riesling from Germany, Austria and Alsace as the perfect complement to any warm-weather meal.  Restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami will offer […]

The world’s first two-way trading screen that will revolutionise fine wine trading around the globe has been launched by Bordeaux Index, one of Europe’s largest fine wine merchants.
LiveTrade is the only internet trading platform that guarantees both buying and selling prices for 60 of the world’s top wines and allows bids from private individuals as […]

Using its traditional Declaration date, St George’s Day (23 April), The Fladgate Partnership announces its decision to declare the 2007 Vintage for all three Port houses - Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft.
Adrian Bridge, Managing Director of The Fladgate Partnership said, “A Declaration is one of the most eagerly anticipated events in our business and one which […]