As reported by Decanter Magazine, a handful of Californian wines have once again beaten their French counterparts in the re-run of the Paris Tasting of 1976 organized by Steven Spurrier. Ridge Monte Bello 1971, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973, Mayacamas 71, Heitz 70 and Clos du Val 72 – were voted superior to their rivals in Bordeaux. Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson, Matthew Jukes, Michel Bettane, Michael Broadbent, Spurrier himself and other eminent critics, pitted Leoville Las Cases 71, Mouton 70, Haut Brion and Montrose 70 against the Californian wines.

At VinItaly 2006 in April, several international wines that are now available in India were recognized. One of these wines was Sartori Di Verona's Valpolicella Classico Superiore Vigneti di Montegradella 2003. Sartori Di Verona also exhibited at the Indian Food & Wine Show as a part of the Vinitaly tastings.Sartori Di Verona is distributed by Brindco in India.

Robert Parker's newsletter, The Wine Advocate recently featured the 2000 Lungarotti San Giorgio Vino da Tavola Umbria and the 2001 Lungarotti Rubesco Rosso di Torgiano giving them 91 points and 87 points respectively. These wines are distributed by Sovereign Impex in India and are available in major hotels and restaurants across the country.

It is no surprise that Indian wine makers are aggressively targeting the US and UK markets for their wines. A report from the Internatioanl Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) claims that the US and UK markets are the fastest growing. In fact, the US market is expected to overtake the French market as the world's biggest wine drinking nation within three years.

Even though the Bordeaux elite has resisted the celebration of the legencdary 1976 Paris Tasting, plans are afoot for the event to happen as scheduled but in London this time. The event will be a blind tasting of the best of French and Californian wine in rememberance of the original tasting which shocked the world. BBC's flagship news programme, Newsnight will be looking at the history of the tasting in a special show on Tuesday, May 2nd.

The winning red wine in 1976 was from Stag Leap's Wine Cellars, a Napa Valley winery established by Warren Winiarski in 1972. Stag Leap's Wine Cellars is available in major hotels across India and is distributed by Brindco Ltd.

In a departure from tradition, Bordeaux winemakers have started displaying the grape varietals on their bottle labels. While in the past the labels only displayed a fancy crest and French regulatory information, many winemakers are including descriptions of the actual contents - information that can help American consumers understand French wines better.

CVBG Dourthe-Kressmann and other winemakers from Saint-Emilion, Médoc and other Bordeaux areas have taken this step to make their wines more attractive to Americans. Today most Americans make their wine purchasing decisions based on the grape varietal and not the vineyard or the region.

Can you imagine a wine store with a selection of 8,000 kinds of wine, 2,000 types of spirits and 1,000 different beers. And what if the wines cost an average of $7.99 or Rs. 350 each? South Florida certainly has that in its first superstore Total Wine & More. Here in India, shopping for wine can be a challenging experience to say that least. However, things are starting to change. Watch this space for more as we highlight the new retail outlets.

If you were hoping to get your hands on Bordeaux 2005 wines at reasonable prices, you're are going to be in for a shock. Prices for the top Bordeaux wines are expected to go through the roof according to industry insiders. 2005 has been rated an excellent vintage and its not surprising that prices are going to soar.

The US wine market serves as an interesting guide to how the Indian wine market may evolve in years to come. Both are new world markets without a historical affinity for wines. Until the 1960s and 1970s wine making in the US was a small, marginalized affair largely thanks to the shadow of prohibition in the early 1920s.

Today a lot has changed and US wines stand as equals to the stalwarts of the old world wines. Wine consumption now exceeds hard liquor drinking across the country. In light of this, Decanter magazine's recent findings that foreign wines particularly European and New Zealand wines are doing better was surprising. According to Decanter, European table wines showed strong growth at 9.4% even though the average price increased by 5.5% to $7.14 in 2005. It is left to be seen how foreign wines will do in India over the long term.

Chile is becoming a destination of choice for amateur wine enthusiasts. The size of the country's vineyards has doubled in the past 15 years. A California-like climate is ideal for making wine in Chile, which has a Pacific coastline stretching over 2,600 miles. In 2006, wine exports from Chile are expected to top $1 billion for the first time -- with most of it bound for the United States. If you are interested in visiting Chile, go to http://www.visit-chile.org/

Jancis Robinson MW and the British wine taster is feuding with Robert Parker in the US. They disagreed over a wine (Château Pavie 2003) and Robert Parker hinted that British wine writers constantly slam American wines without reason. Robinson replied in letters published in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune that it simply wasn't true and resented the insuation. Visit Decanter Magazine and Eric Asimov's wine blog at the New York Times to learn more.

According to Decanter Magazine, the United States and the European Union have signed an accord to put to rest the controversy surrounding the use of semi-generic names that are locally specific geographical terms. Moving forward US producers will no longer be able to use 17 terms including Chablis, Sherry and Chianti, on their wine lables.

In return, US made wines that depend upon certain practices that are illegal in Europe can now be sold in all European Union member states. This includes wines made using woodchips, a controversial and illegal technique in Europe. Roughly 40% of EU wines are sold in Europe, making it the biggest market for European wines.

Champagne trade body the CIVC has reported that worldwide shipments increased by 2% to 307.5 million bottles in 2005. This is the second year running it has crossed 300 million bottles. One of the most popular bottles is the Moet & Chandon rosé, which is also avaliable in India. LVMH's Veuve Clicquot is launching its own rosé soon.