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…