In light of the historic US presidential election, The Antique Wine Company is offering some of the most beautifully crafted wines from the US to mark this historic election. As preparations begin for the Barack Obama years (the 44th president of the US), it might be worth recalling some words from the third president, Thomas Jefferson, who suggested that "Wine brightens the life and thinking of anyone."

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Harrods has partnered with Veuve Clicquot, one of the most innovative and prestigious Champagnes in the world, to open the first Champagne Bar and Boutique within a UK department store, states a company release. With an enviable location on the 1st floor among the International luxury fashion labels, the unique venue promises to become a hot spot for Champagne lovers and Clicquot fans.

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Stay at Sun International Hotels, if nothing else for their wine collection. Sun International Hotels pride themselves on the wonderful collection of world wines they stock for their guests. The Group has recently announced the appointment of Georgio Meletiou as Group Sommelier who will oversee their excellent collections of superior wines, champagnes, ports and cognacs.

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It comes as no surprise that the French overwhelmingly supported Obama's candidacy. In fact, rumor has it that Obama's election has lifted the spirits of the French wine industry too. They badly wanted someone else in the White House. In fact, it is fair to say that the California wine industry actively supported him too. A Wine Country Obama Supports social network hosted 451 fundraising events in support of his campaign.

The Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) in the UK has calculated that the average spend on everyday wines has dropped to £4.73 (Rs. 358) from £4.85 (Rs. 367) between July and September. It is not a significant drop, but a drop nevertheless. Special occasion wines have fallen from £6.01 (Rs. 455) to £5.80 (Rs. 439). More details are available here. Will spending in India drop too?

Ambitious and talented with more than 15 years of culinary experience, Anupam is Head Chef of “Rasoi by Vineet". (See previous post.) Anupam was the sous-chef at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, instrumental in the implementation of Indian and Asian food. His talent and passion for Indian fine dining made him the obvious choice for the role of Head Chef.

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Are you a frustrated wine collector in India? Here's news that will gladden your heart. Christie’s International Wine Department returns to Asia on November 29th with the most exciting selection of wine ever seen in any wine sale in the region. Featuring 245 lots of blue-chip wines, this sale will be a feature on the calendars of wine collectors not only throughout Asia, but around the world, notes a company release.

Wine lovers in India know Château Latour whose wines are brought to us by importers such as Sansula and Brindco. And many of us have met Frédéric Engerer, President of Château Latour, on his visits to India. Read more...

Burgundy, France. It's one of the world's most famous wine producing regions, yet its mystique lingers on.... But members of the Bangalore Wine Club and the Wine Society of India got a chance to get up close and personal with someone who could help demystify the region, says Ruma Singh.

Jacques Dioque, head of Bouchard Aine et Fils, headquartered in the picturesque and historic city of Beaune in Burgundy and visiting India for the first time, introduced some of his wines at an elegant sit down dinner at the Taj Residency, Bangalore on October 5th. Read more...

For six days in October, the region of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur Wines brought a selection of fine wines for clients of Toni & Guy to taste as they were pampered by stylists, reports Sandra Westbrooke. Sampling took place in 159 salons throughout the UK on 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th and 11th October. Clients were offered a glass of wine and a mini-guide with tips on how best to appreciate the wine and how to combine it with food.

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Even if there were no other good reason to fly Emirates Airlines, the dream wines served on board would be reason enough. Emirates is an airline company in full expansion on an international scale. It has the youngest fleet of planes on the planet and has been awarded more than 300 worldwide distinctions for the quality of its services.

Considering the list of wines offered in First Class for inaugural flights on the new A380s, could any wine lover ask for more? Read more...

Everyone has heard of Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria, Sicily even Emilia Romagna, but Marches? And for wine? Yes, indeed, there’s a lot going for the Marches (pronounced, mar-ké) even though it may not be so well known. It’s a small region in the heart of Italy with multiple resources and numerous businesses, as well as cultural and historic interest.

Reva K. Singh just got back after visiting wineries big and small and tasting numerous excellent wines. Read more...

Sometimes wines stop selling rather abruptly through no fault of their own. That's the case with a certain Chilean wine whose sales in San Francisco have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. The reason? The wine's name is Palin Syrah! Now if I was distributing that wine, I'd definitely move my stock from San Francisco to Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Palin would definitely sell well there.

Palin Syrah -- pronounced Pay-LEEN -- takes its name from a ball used in a Chilean-style hockey game.

Recent statistics from Sotheby's show that Asian wine buyers are multiplying. 35% of the sales were from Asia this year up from 21% last year. 58% of the top 100 lots were sold to Asian buyers this year up from 33% last year.

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When the lovely Melanie Tesseron passed through Delhi we got the opportunity to learn about her family’s famous cognacs. With a high-end portfolio of numbered ‘lot’ cognacs, Tesseron has been described as one of the most exciting players in this luxury cognac category. Reva Singh reports. Since 1905 the Tesseron family has distilled, aged and blended old cognacs. They started out as whoesalers, selling some of their extraordinary stock of aged cognacs to bigger firms for blending.

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Did you know that 15.5% of the world's vineyards are in Spain, making Spain the number one ranked country in the world in terms of area covered by vineyards? However, Spanish vineyards have a low yield meaning that Spain is only a third in production behind France and Italy. And even though most of Spain's wine is red, 61.5% of Spain's vineyards are white.

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