Monthly Archives: May 2009

Veuve Clicquot Ice Jacket 2

Veuve Clicquot Ice Jacket 2

Famed French champagne house Veuve Clicquot is known for many innovative products designed to enhance the experience of enjoying their world-class wine. The latest addition is a nifty new version of their thermodynamic Ice Jacket. The high-tech isotherm sleeve is tailored to the shape of the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label bottle and designed to keep it at the perfect temperature.

The high-tech fabric with leather detailing highlights the vibrant Clicquot Yellow color. The Ice Jacket can maintain the champagne at an optimal tasting temperature for up to two hours, and it comes with a customizable leather-trimmed label as well as a leather tab at the bottle neck ensure a snug fit.

By Jared Paul Stern | Source :: www.luxist.com

Trendy Wine Bar, Newark Airport

Trendy Wine Bar, Newark Airport

Vino Volo has a very different feel than the regular badly-pretending-to-be-a-city-bar type venue that you find in many US airports. It’s bright and open, uses contemporary furniture and simple interior design tricks to pull off a modern look. Oh, and everyone is sat around drinking wine – not supersized pints of beer.

What’s more interesting than the look is the menu. When it gets handed to you as you sit down, you expect to be handed a arms length list of plonk from around the world but instead you get given twelve select choices and all from places you know – Merlot from California, Pinot from Chile etc.

Vino Chart

The website reports that Vino Volo is now in 9 US locations and also explains its wine comparison matrix:

Our wine flavor comparison tool Vino Chart allows you, the wine lover, to easily understand wines based on their flavor profiles, and it doesn’t require you to spend years of academic wine studies to do it. Whether you’re a wine novice or wine pro, you can use the Vino Chart to think about differences between wines and decide which you prefer, and when.

Vino Chart looks at wines based on how much FRUIT and non-fruit flavors or COMPLEXITY each wine has. That’s it. Wines with richer, brighter, and more varied fruit flavors are higher up on the chart map, and wines with deeper and more-layered complexity are further to the right side of the chart. This wine chart works with both red and white wines.

You can even use the matrix to help you select which wines to buy online!

By Piers Fawkes | Source :: www.psfk.com

Martini & Rossi Launches Sparkling Rose

Martini & Rossi Rose

Martini & Rossi, the Italian winemaker founded in 1863 and famous for its iconic vermouth, has launched a new sparkling rosé in time for summer.

Cultivated in the finest growing areas of the Piedmont and Veneto regions in Italy, it’s made with handpicked Moscato Bianco, Malvasia and Brachetto grapes. Light, crisp and aromatic with hints of citrus, elderflower and soft peach, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to add a touch of luxury to summer cocktails and al fresco dining.

Available in a 750 ml bottle and 187 ml 4-packs, the new rosé completes Martini & Rossi’s "sparkling trio," which includes a naturally sweet Asti and an extra dry Prosecco.

By Jared Paul Stern | Source :: www.luxist.com

Matsu Wines

Matsu Wines

Designed by Moruba, a design agency based in Spain.

Matsu is a modern a project for sustainable viticulture that brings together a unique collection of high expression wines.

The solution adopted is faithful to Matsu’s philosophy, his image has been stripped from all sorts of tricks to link directly with nature and with the people who cares about it.

Thus, the Matsu’s wine triology, ‘El Pícaro’, ‘El Recio’ and ‘El Viejo’ are represented by a portraits series of three generations that devote their lives to the field. Each one personality’s embodies the characteristics of the wine that gets its name.

The renowned photographers, Bèla Adler and Salvador Fresneda, have been chosen by Moruba for the portraits realisation that brings life to the characters of Matsu.

Source :: Packagings of the World

Moet Hennessy Numbers Reveal Champagne Slump Continues

Moet Hennessy Numbers Reveal Champagne Slump Continues

There are not a lot of corks popping around the world right now. One of the most popular brands of champagne is feeling a big hit. Decanter reports that Moët Hennessy Champagne sales were down 35 percent the first three months of this year. The company owns many of the biggest brands in the category such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Mercier and Krug. Revenues from its Champagne and still wine business fell 22 percent in the first quarter.

Consumers are ordering less champagne and so retailers and restaurants are trimming their orders to meet demand. Official shipment figures from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne show a 34 percent drop in volumes in the first two months of 2009 with shipments to other countries in the EU down 47 percent and exports to other countries outside the EU down 42 percent. Rumours continue to circulate about the possibility that LVMH may sell Moët Hennessy to Diageo.

These latest results are part of an overall champagne slowdown that has brought bad news for a variety of brands. France’s wine industry has struggled over the past few years but champagne has remained high. Some are calling for a cut in production of the 2009 vintage in order to accommodate a market that has not reached its bottom yet and may not for some time to come.

Related Article

Champagne Producer Wants to Cut Production in 2009

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

40 Winery Websites For Your Inspiration

40 Winery Websites For Your Inspiration

From the Napa Wineries in California to the vineyards of Australia and France, the beautiful designs of these wine maker’s websites embody the spirit of the vine. Trends for winery websites have been leaning towards a dynamic Flash introduction, animation and beautiful graphics, which would give the best representation of the products for the target market.

While sites have gone in the direction of a more modern and contemporary approach with fresh and sleek designs, others have taken the more traditional route by captivating their users with the bold earthy Tuscan colors and impressive graphics and art.

There is much to consider when designing a site for a wine maker. Use your creativity to promote the wine and winery, so that the quality portrayed encourages users to inquire how to contact, where and how to buy, and even obtain information on upcoming events.

With that in mind, we share with you 40 captivating wine maker’s websites.

By Sharon Ross | Source :: Smashing Magazine

Gordon Ramsay Lends His Name To A Wine Label

Gordon Ramsay Lends His name To A Wine Label

Gordon Ramsay is putting his name on a wine for the first time. That in and of itself isn’t particularly startling but what is interesting is that the wine is inexpensive and Ramsay lent his name for free.

Decanter reports that Ramsay has let Château Bauduc, in Entre Deux Mers, Bordeaux brand their wines with the words ‘Gordon Ramsay Selection’ across four different labels the Ramsay Rose 08, Ramsay Blanc 2008, Ramsay Clos Quinze and Ramsay Les Trois.

In the latest edition of Château Bauduc’s newsletter Ramsay says: "My sommeliers swear by Bauduc, even if the accountants swear every time someone orders a bottle instead of Chablis or Pétrus" A 12 bottle collection with two dry whites, a red and a rosé sells for £99.90.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

Will LVMH Sell It’s Share Of Moet Hennessy?

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News of a potential sale of the liquor division of LVMH has the luxury business world buzzing. A report in the Telegraph says that spirits giant Diageo has tendered a 12 billion euro offer for LVMH’s two-thirds stake in Moet Hennessy and that Diageo has set about raising capital with bankers working behind the scenes for several weeks.

The Financial Times asserts that Diageo has not made an unsolicited offer for Moët Hennessy but might be willing to buy if both parties could agree on a price. So far the talks appear to be more theoretical than actual because LVMH hasn’t decided that they are ready to sell. The potential deal brings up an interesting question, in a softening luxury market which is better to hold onto, fashion brands like Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Louis Vuitton or liquor brands like Glenmorangie whisky, Belevedere and Chopin vodka, and Veuve Clicquot?

By Deidre Woollard | www.luxist.com

Prelius, A New Organic Wine From Italy

Prelius, A New Organic Wine From Italy

Organic wine isn’t just a California thing. The Stianti Mascheroni family which grows grapes in Tuscany’s Maremma region is debuting its first vintage of Prelius wines worldwide this spring. Prelius wines are made with grapes grown in organically farmed vineyards managed by Federica Mascheroni Stianti, daughter of Castello di Volpaia proprietors Giovannella Stianti and Carlo Mascheroni.

The winery will debut two wines in May 2009, the 2008 Vermentino and the 2007 Morello di Prile. The Vermentino offers a chance to try a white wine that is a bit different than the usual Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. It is made with 100 percent of the varietal by the same name and has fresh pineapple and apple flavors with floral aromas. The Morello di Prile is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. The Vermentino is $16 and the Morello di Prile is $22.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com