Domestic consumption is down, harvest yields across Europe have slumped and financial reports in November suggest both Spain and Italy’s economies are shrinking faster than Alice on her way to Wonderland. Add to that reports that cava producers are losing confidence in the appellation and the prospects for cava and prosecco don’t look good.  In fact, if the Mad Hatter was to throw…

I have often wondered what it must be like to be in the presence of greatness. I met Neil McGuigan, the World’s Best Winemaker recently in London. How did it feel? Well, OK. He may be wine deity but he is really nice guy, a bonzer bloke as his Australian compatriots would say. There was no discernable aura. No scrolls or head dresses made…

Machine, which all but freezes the ‘herbal liqueur’, making it instantly palatable. This, together with its teams of Jägerettes who are on hand at key ‘A-list events’ and sponsored musical tours around the country throughout the year has made the brand a firm favourite with the über trendy. The ground-breaking Tap Machine was first introduced in 1993 and more than 50,000 are now…

RON JEREMY IS A PORN STAR. But you knew that already, didn’t you? No? Well, the moustachioed face looking back at you is the acceptable end of the biggest star in the porn game over the past 35 years. Or, to borrow his own charming description: “The hardest (working) man in porn”.  You might wonder how Drinks International fits in with all this;…

Single malt hit the big time in 2012. Director Ken Loach made a film called The Angels’ Share and it put what many see as a specialist category in the spotlight. Literally. If a film about whisky showing at mainstream cinemas isn’t enough to convince you that consumers have a thirst for malt, then the Scotch Whisky Association’s assertion that the value of…

On a cool evening in September the proverbially great and good of the cognac industry gathered in the magnificent grounds of the 17th century Château Chesnel, a few kilometres from the city of Cognac in west central France, which gives its name to the most prestigious brandy-producing region in the world. They were there to dine and participate in an annual charity auction, known as…

The announcement that 11 premium Italian wine producers have formed the Italia del Vino-Consorzio and called for a co-ordinated campaign to “construct and enact a national strategy to attack emerging markets for wine” is excellent news for winemakers in Tuscany. Although Italy is one of the largest producers of wine in the world, both the country overall and its various regions lack effective,…