Monthly Archives: March 2008

Krug’s Champagne Balloon Trips

It’s a dream of mine to go up in a hot air balloon someday, but something tells me my first trip will probably not be via the “Krug is in the Air” program.

Krug has come up with a new way to attract luxury consumers by offering the world’s most expensive balloon rides, available in locations all over the world for a price tag of €50,000 for a group of up to 8 people. Besides the obvious trip up in a luxury balloon (gleaming hardware, basket lined with premium white leather) you also get gourmet dining complete with champagne and butler service while you’re in the air.

By Rigel Gregg.

Vinho Verde: A Concept Wine Bottle with Built-In “Glasses”

A truly great idea, or a truly dangerous one? Perfect for oenophiles, or perfect for winos?

This bottle by designer Viktor Pucsek lands smack in the middle of all those questions: it’s a wine bottle with built-in “glasses.” The idea of Vinho Verde is that you pop-off the portable paper cups, which also double as labels, for when you want a sip or two.

It’s just a concept, and I kinda hope it stays like that: I like my Portuguese green wine too much to sully it by drinking from a paper glass.

Source: Gizmodo.

Using RFID To Track & Monitor Wine

While the most famous examples of wine fraud involve older bottles, counterfeits of current vintages are also a problem.

A new company called eProvenance has used RFID tags to create what they call an “intelligent bottle.”

The eProvenance system uses a semi-active RFID tag inside the case to monitor temperatures and shipping information, a passive RFID tag on the base of the bottle for tracking and inventory management, and a tamper-proof bottle neck seal that has a covert code applied at the base of the capsule to authenticate the wine inside the bottle and thwart counterfeiters.

Eric Vogt, the founder of the company is currently working on programs with nine Bordeaux Châteaux. During the past six months, over 1200 “Intelligent Cases,” equipped with temperature-tracking RFID tags from eProvenance, have been sent out from Bordeaux to a variety of locations in the USA, UK, and Japan in order to benchmark the current temperature conditions in the fine wine distribution channel.

By Deidre Woollard.

One Very Expensive Nose!

In the art of wine making and tasting, the nose reigns supreme.

Which is exactly why Ilja Gort, producer of wine in the famous Bordeaux region at Chateau de la Garde vineyard, insured his schnoz for a whopping $8 million!

The insuring entity, Lloyd’s of London, is certainly accustomed to writing policies for celebrities body parts such as America Ferrara’s smile ($10 million).

Part of the specifications of the policy include not taking up boxing lessons or riding a motorcycle and having a high-quality barber with a steady hand who won’t slip while trimming Gort’s beard.

I wonder if he gets any money for allergies or the common cold? Hmmm…

By Laura Malesich.

World’s Most Expensive Champagne

We’ve seen expensive bottles of champagne before but this is a new record. The combination of a once-in-a-lifetime offer with a personalized box of twelve champagne bottles may be the most amazing bubbly offer ever – but you will have to dig deep into your pockets to pay for it.

For €50,000, a limited edition box set of Perrier-Jouet 2000 Belle Epoque, with a unique twist of liquor added, you can have your own personalized champagne and even store it in their famous cellars for a short time.

These pricey bottles of bubbly will go on sale this Thursday and will only be available for customization to one hundred people.

By Laura Malesich.

What’s the most profitable wine style on earth?

What’s the most profitable wine style on earth? Champagne and red Bordeaux are strong candidates, especially at the upper end, but I reckon the answer lies elsewhere. This might surprise you, but the closest the wine world comes to a vinous gold mine is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which rarely sells for less than £6 and often costs considerably more.

How profitable are we talking? Very.

Read the article.

Research identifies the sweet spot for maximizing online wine sales

For online retailers of wine, there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to the size of the assortment. The sweet spot for maximizing wine sales online is in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 items, according to research from Bottlenose, an e-commerce platform vendor that specializes in setting up, hosting and managing online stores for wine and spirits retailers.

Read the full article.