Wine Atlas

Two Edmonton happenings last week proved Italy is a strong challenger to be crowned the next "in" wine country.

First, the local Italian Chamber of Commerce hosted a trade delegation from Latina, located 60 kilometres south of Rome in the region of Lazio.

Italy is second to Australia in wine exports to Canada and the quality-cost ratio of the Latina wines showed why Italy is knocking hard on Alberta's door.

Second, a "mini" Italian wine festival staged by Liquor Select, at 8924 149th St., attracted a sell-out crowd.

There were a handful of old favourites there, such as the Antinori and Fontanafredda offerings. But there were some exciting wines new to the market.

Continue reading: canada.com

Vinexpo 2006 is to be held in Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from from 23rd to 25th May 2006.

Bordeaux is the fifth biggest city in France and one of the leading wine regions in the world. Bruno·Lacoste, the vice president of Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, said Bordeaux chose to hold Vinexpo 2006 in China, and Shanghai and Hong Kong are the optioned cities. Bruno·Lacoste said we believed Hong Kong was the better choice to exploit Asian markets compared with Shanghai, so we chose Hong Kong in the end. Hong Kong has ever hosted a Vinexpo in 1998, and it will be the second time that Vinexpo was held in Hong Kong next year.

Continue reading: wines-info.com

Mourvèdre, an important Spanish grape that was once the dominant varietal in Provence, has become the murmur du jour as more varietals associated with the southern Rhône assume increasing popularity worldwide. A late ripener, it needs warm summers to yield its rich, gamey or meaty flavours, sometimes likened to truffles. Several leading producers at the Cape have established plantings but these are still too small to warrant a mention in the statistics provided by SA Wine Industry Information & Systems (SAWIS).

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Wine & Vine: Make an effort to enjoy a wider choice

TWO or three wine tastings a week are tedious. Spare me your mock sympathy; my gripe is simply the tiresome chat of certain wino colleagues.

Wine attracts its fair share of anoraks and I'm not talking cagoules here. Some are absurdly fixated on wine of one region, roundly dismissing all else. Unsurprisingly, two biggies frequently figuring are Bordeaux and Burgundy. I regularly encounter blimpish oddities who are expert in the (mostly top end) vineyards of both, but indifferent about the rest of the vinous world.

And that's my key point. In two decades, production of serious quality wine has blossomed internationally, springing from vinous nowhere land.

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