A marketing campaign promoting Italy’s Trentino region as the Champagne of Italy is being launched globally this year. Trentino is one of the most important producers of Italian sparkling wine, with almost eight million bottles produced there last year . But wine drinkers around the world do not associate the region, in the north of the country, with quality sparkling wine. The campaign, which was…

The US wine market showed solid growth of around 4 per cent in 2007, up 12 million cases to 314 million cases, according to Jon Fredrikson, wine market analyst and publisher of the Gomberg Fredrikson Report. Imports continued to show strong gains, up eight million cases, growing twice as fast as the domestic market. Imports now hold 31 per cent of the US…

A recent experiment conducted in California showed that price of wine does influence a consumer’s enjoyment of wine. In a test devised by Antonio Rangel at the California Institute of Technology, 21 volunteers sampled five different bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. The taste test was blind, but the tasters were told the price of the wine. Without telling the tasters, however, researchers presented two of…

There are eight new members of the California Vintners Hall of Fame. Paul Draper, chief executive and winemaker of Ridge Vineyards, said he was surprised to hear the news because he was “still alive”. “I thought you had to be dead to get in the hall of fame ,” he said. “It really is an honour, especially since I am still around and enjoying making wine as…

LVMH has revealed that the increasing spending power of Chinese travellers was the main factor behind a strong set of year-end financial results for DFS Group, one of the world’s leading luxury retailers. The French luxury goods group reported that its Selective Retailing division, which includes DFS Group along with Miami Cruiseline and beauty chain Sephora, posted a 10 per cent increase in profit in…

The Canadian Airports Council has called on the country’s government to introduce duty-free arrivals shopping. CAC has developed a powerful economic case for the adoption of arrivals shopping. It estimates the opening of arrivals shops would give the C$174 million Canadian airport duty-free business a sales boost of C$61 million, create 400 new jobs, and generate C$7.2 million in additional federal tax revenue.

"The initial idea for the bar came out of our ongoing discussions with WDF about how we evolve and transform the retail environment," said Diageo global travel & Middle East marketing director Nick Robinson. "The concept gradually emerged as a proper, functioning cocktail bar within the store rather than as a place to sample the brands. It’s definitely a first for us." He added that…

Bombay Sapphire gin has employed three leading names from the world of luxury goods and design – glassware manufacturer Baccarat, jeweller Garrard and artist Karim Rashid – to create five hand-made crystal bottles decorated with diamonds and sapphires. The five Revelation bottles, which are cut in to the shape of giant gemstones, will retail at US$200,000 each and will be exhibited exclusively at five key…

American Airlines has partnered with Internet broadcaster GrapeRadio to offer passengers in business and first class wine-specific programming on the airline’s in-flight entertainment programme. The broadcasts from US-based GrapeRadio, whose podcasts are listened to by 20,000 listeners nationwide, range in length from 30 to 60 minutes. The first programmes for American Airlines will include interviews with famous wine industry personalities such as Frederick Paniotis of…

The Middle East’s largest travel retailer Dubai Duty Free enjoyed a 40 per cent increase in wine sales by value last year thanks to the expansion of its top-end wine offer. Volumes grew by 17 per cent for the UAE-based airport operator, which generates a round 80 per cent of its wine sales in arrivals, and added 60 new wine SKU s to its…