Consumers in Texas should be allowed to buy wines direct from out-of-state retailers, a judge has ruled. Judge Sidney Fitzwater said the Texas government had been wrong to ban consumers from getting wine shipped to them from other states. The ruling is the latest chapter of a power struggle between wine wholesalers and a section of retailers in the US. A three-tier system means most…

Brand Phoenix, which co-owns the leading South African wine brand FirstCape with local producer Newton Johnson, has announced the purchase of its first winery. Simondium, near Franschoek, a premium wine-growing region to the east of Cape Town, will become the flagship production plant and “the new heart of FirstCape”, according to the company. Brand Phoenix said it had bought Simondium because of the “massive growth…

E&J Gallo has said it is not to blame after Belgian Customs seized cases of its André brand of sparkling wine which is labelled as Californian Champagne. Gallo accused the Office of Champagne USA, the Washington-based branch of French Champagne trade body CIVC, of releasing misleading information about the incident which occurred last month. Belgian Customs destroyed 3,200 bottles of the brand as only wine…

French entrepreneur Philippe Lejeune has bought the historic Chambert vineyard and Château Carlat in the Cahors region of south west France. Lejeune, who made his fortune by developing computer software in the US, aims to establish Chambert as a leader of the Cahors appellation and promote the Malbec grape variety. Malbec, or Cot, is the traditional grape variety of Cahors but Argentina has successfully adopted…

Leading Hunter Valley winemaker Trevor Drayton has been killed in an explosion at his winery. Drayton’s badly burnt body was pulled from the wreckage left by the blast on January 17. It is thought a spark from welding work ignited ethanol fumes. Another man, believed to be Drayton’s cousin, was also killed, while a third was reportedly thrown 20 metres. Family-owned Drayton’s is one of…

Cutty Sark, once the best-selling Scotch in the Scotch whisky’s largest export market – the US – the brand still sells more than two million cases annually worldwide – is being relaunched into the UK. While Cutty Sark has been available in the UK through some specialist independents, the Original and Blended Malt are now available through Emporia Brands and multiple retailer, Sainsbury’s has listed…

Suddenly Burgundy appears to have a problem similar to that of the Champagne region – surging demand for a very limited supply. Indeed, sales volumes in 2007 across the Burgundy region exceeded 2007 vintage volumes by 10 per cent, according to Pierre-Henry Gagey, president of the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne and also president of one of the region’s biggest producers, Maison Louis…