The winner of this year's Geoffrey Roberts Award, Mary Taylor, will use her bursary to help fishermen in south Sri Lanka regain their livelihoods after the Tsunami recked havoc in their region. The runner-up was Viv Menon, whose Anglo-Indian family lives near St-Emilion. His aim is to aid India's fledgling wine culture and market.

Fifteen years ago, when Geenral Pinohet stepped down, nobody had heard about Chilean wine. Exporting wine was not on the national agenda and Chile drank 90 percent of its own wine.

A vintage of "finesse, elegance and longevity" is how well-known American wine critic, Robert Parker, describes the 2004 vintage in Bordeaux, but he warns that it will only sell if the price is "significantly" lower than last year.

The French government recently doubled its emergency aid for wine producers to E 140 million, states a write-up in Decanter.

A vintage of “finesse, elegance and longevity” is how well known wine critic, Robert Parker, describes the 2004 vintage in Bordeaux, but he warns that it will only sell if the price is ‘significantly’ lower than last year.

The 2004 Rioja vintage has been awarded an 'excellent' rating for a harvest that should go down as a 'historic', according to the region's main trade body. The Regulatory Council which recognized the vintage also mentioned that the ideal climate has resulted in “full, ripe, aromatic wines.”

The world’s largest wine maker, America’s Constellation Brands is in talks to purchase Allied Domecq. The counter bid report comes just days after Allied Domecq accepted to be taken over by French rival Pernod, in a deal set to create the world’s second-largest wine and spirits firm.

Vintage Manager lets you manage your wine inventory and share reviews and ratings with other wine enthusiasts. The recently launched web version follows on the success of the popular Vintage Manager desktop application. More information can be found at http://www.vintagemanager.com

A Russian cosmonaut has called for a small daily wine allowance to be granted on the International Space Station to ease the stress. Alcohol is currently banned in the Space Station.

The Australian wine industry’s veteran global promotion programme is going all out to help protect and grow $2.75 billion in exports and counter European criticism that its wines are too “industrial”.

The Bordeaux chamber of commerce and industry has been hosting the VINEXPO exhibition, the biggest such event since 1981.

Beringer Blass Wine Estates(California) is introducing a low alcohol, low calorie chardonnay called White Lie Early Season Chardonnay.

France is converting 200million liters of excess wine into industrial alcohol and for the first time this includes premium AOC wines from the Bordeaux wine producing region.

“Mondovino” which is Jonathan Nossiter’s documentary about the globalization of wine has impressed movie critics while upsetting some of the most recognized wine experts in the world. The documentary is a passionate defense of small wine producers who resist homogenization and has angered some in the French wine establishment.

Harpers, the UK's oldest wine magazine, was recently bought by an American ex-pharmaceutical company as part of a wider deal involving Harpers' parent company, Highbury House.