A recent article by Harry Cline, Farm Press Editorial Staff reports: 

 Europeans are buzzing down the autobahn — but not with Bordeaux cascading down their crystal stemware. It is squirting through carburetors as fuel distilled from one of the most famous wine appellations in the world.

 The European Union is awash in too much wine and cluttered with too many vineyards in an oversupplied world wine market. One way the EU is draining winery tanks is what they call “crisis distillation” — selling it to refiners for auto and truck fuel.

 It is part of the latest government-financed EU scheme to put the squeeze on growers and vintners to stop making what they cannot sell. It is costing the governments too much money to support the floundering farmers.

 According to Etienne Montaigne, food economics professor at Agricultural Mediterranean Institute of Montpellier (France), the EU is spending billions to right a floundering wine industry after a decade of economic disarray preceded by a rapidly falling domestic market. The French, Italians, and Spaniards are dramatically reducing their per capita wine consumption. This downward drinking trend was compounded in 2004 by an oversupply of wine in the world, not just in Europe. This was made worse in early 2008 by the global financial crisis and recessions in Europe and America, Montaigne told the recent Outlook and Issues for the World Wine Market symposium at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine at UC Davis.

 “The high quality wines, such as Champagne, the famous wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, were the most significantly affected by this ‘demand shock.’”

 Although not all of the provisions of the latest EU government bailout program have been implanted, here are a few:

 • Replacement of 175,000 hectares of wine grapes with other crops in four years.

 • EU-funded support programs to promote European wines.

• New regulatory measures, including distilling surplus wine into potable and non-potable alcohol, including use in fuels and industrial alcohol.

 Read full story…

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Our Gentlemans Pack makes the ideal gift for birthdays, father’s day, or just as a simple “thank you”.

The combination of a nice bottle of Beaujolias with some special food treats will always be welcomed and enjoyed by the recipient. This gift can be found in the gift hampers section of our website.

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In a recent article Zoe Wood reports:

Britain used to be a nation of beer drinkers and in the 1970s, the joke goes, a wine  list ran to “white” or “red”. It is different today: wine is the UK’s favourite tipple, with annual sales of nearly £10bn.

“In the 70s wine was not always of the best quality and people had less exposure to Europe, as they were less likely to go on holiday there,” says Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel.

According to Mintel, wine sales were £3.2bn in 1990 but tripled to £9.4bn by the end of 2009.

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As environmental regulations across Europe tighten up, wine producers are having to think carefully about their waste disposal practices.

The water used during pressing and fermentation of wine has an extremely high organic load that means it pollutes waste treatment systems, lakes and rivers if not handled properly.

In addition, solid residuals are commonly used as fertilisers or compost but as such they can create unpleasant smells, contaminate the ground water and spread germs.

Because no effective treatment processes have been established to tackle these issues, the EU is funding a project, led by research service provider Bremerhaven, to identify affordable and sustainable alternatives.

Explaining how the project has progressed since the start date in February last year, Bremerhaven working with partners from across the EU, has screened existing research and conducted field research at wineries. Having measured waste levels on-site and examined how wineries currently deal with their disposal, the team is currently studying the results.

The next step will be to identify which technologies to apply and this will entail lab tests, on-site pilots and economic evaluations. Bremerhaven said this is all due to be completed by January next year.

Within the scope of the three-year project, Bremerhaven also plans to exploit the potential of the remaining high-value and biologically active substances in wine waste. It said the partners plan to foster the recovery of valuable residual substances like polyphenols, oils and biocides, with the aid of modern processing techniques.

The Sustavino project, which has received €1.1m in EU funding, brings together four research organisations, five wine co-ops and four wine producers from eight member states.

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Wine and hampers have now added this fine New Zealand Wine to their single bottle wine gift pack range.

Viticulture

The fruit for this delightful New Zealand wine is grown on vineyards around Raupara (60%) and the southern valleys. The vineyards are on various soil types from the stony Raupara sites to the sites around Omaka with heavier soils. The fruit is picked over a three week period to give a range of maturities in the fruit at harvest of the individual blocks.

Winemaking

Fruit is crushed, with minimal skin contact. Only free run juice is used in the final blend. The wine is fermented entirely in stainless steel. Yeast strains specifically developed for Sauvignon Blanc are used to conduct the fermentation. The wine is left on lees for a short time to improve flavour and finish of the wine.

Tasting Notes

The colour is pale straw. The bouquet has gooseberry, passionfruit, white and blackcurrant aromas. The palate is crisp and textural with good weight. There is good fruit sweetness and a rich varietal impact. This intense fruit on the mid palate leads to a dry, clean finish. This is a focused style with plenty of character and complexity.

This delightful wine is now  featured in our wine gift pack selection at our website page http://www.wineandhampers.com/acatalog/Single_Bottle_Wine_Packs.html

The full range of wine gifts and food hampers can be seen at www.wineandhampers.com

Interestingly Auckland scientists have found that cold storage of sauvignon blanc can triple its shelf-life.

 The University of Auckland’s Wine Science Programme, which has been studying New Zealand sauvignon blanc, found keeping sauvignon blanc cool reduces the loss of fruit aromas over time.

 Associate Professor Paul Kilmartin says the study shows temperature is more important in retaining fruity characteristics during storage than oxidation.

 ”Our results show that wines in cold storage retain these desirable characteristics for much longer, and this has important implications for how producers, exporters, retailers, and consumers handle their wines.”

 He says well-managed refrigeration could help to improve the consistency of quality wines sold in New Zealand and overseas and allow the wine industry to cope with changes in supply and demand from year to year.

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Then we have a special offer for you!

Claim 5% discount off any purchase at wineandhampers.com. Just Enter the code ‘fd5′ when prompted at the checkout.

Offer ends at midnight on the 20th June 2010.

Visit the Wine and Hampers website  >>>>

Whether you are looking for the perfect gift to reward your staff or you are looking for something to wow your clients you can’t go wrong with a tasteful thank you in the form of corporate wine gifts. It is the ideal gift to say well done, congratulations or thanks and represents the perfect way to build up client relationships.

There are numerous occasions where you may be in need of the perfect bottle of wine. They could be presented as seasonal gifts to your staff colleagues and friends or you could give them out for any birthdays that are coming up. You have the choice of not only sending them to your members of staff but you can also send them out to your clients for a variety of reasons such as to promote your product, business or company, in order to create more turnover. You can also send them to clients as a way of thanking them for their business after closing a deal. Other appropriate times when corporate wine gifts can be given to your clients are during the Christmas holidays.

Whatever reason you have for rewarding your clients with corporate wine gifts you will be sending out a message to them that they are valued, which will build up your relationship with them and hopefully help ensure that they continue to do business with you.

Many companies present corporate wine gifts for various services such as product launches, corporate events, staff rewards, customer gifts and company anniversaries. Whatever your reason, wine is always an excellent choice when it comes to corporate gifts. They are always welcomed and it is a prime example of a gift that never goes out of style.

Corporate wine gifts are the business promotional gifts that are both memorable and enjoyable. There are so many varieties and tastes around that it can sometimes be overwhelming but it does mean that you are sure to find the one that you are looking for and best of all you are able to opt to have your corporate wine gift personalised.

Photos, logos and even individually named bottles are some of the options that you have when it comes to personalising your corporate wine gifts. You have the whole of the front label available for you to maximize the impact of your branding. There is no limit to what can appear on your own, full color, branded wine label, making this the ideal corporate gift.

These corporate wine gifts often come in classy gift boxes, which again can be personalised. Also you aren’t just limited to this gift being made up of just wine. You can add products such as gourmet delicacies, truffles or chocolates.

It is safe to say that they are becoming a very popular gift across many businesses and industry sectors. You are able to purchase either just one bottle or you are able to buy a case of wine that is made up of several bottles; this is a great option if you aren’t entirely sure what wine is the best one to get as it allows you to include a variety of bottles that cover a multitude of tastes.

Corporate wine gifts are perfect for a number of occasions and are the perfect way to get your message across, especially if you add that extra special touch of a personalised label.

 www.wineandhampers.com features a number of wines that are suitable for personalised corporate gifting and we will be pleased to discuss and tailor make any specific requirement.

Companies send their clients gifts in order to make a great impression but do those gifts continue to remind the client of the company that sent them?

The Wine and Hamper Company recognizes that a lasting impression can be generated through personalising wine and champagne labels, and through the employment of hamper and wine gift packaging that has an on-going use.

We can personalise wine and champagne labels with your specific message and company logo (examples of these can be seen HERE). Experience shows that wine gifts that are personalised with a company logo are remembered and talked about long after the contents are enjoyed.

A number of our wine and hamper gifts are packed in containers the have a practical after-use; this ensures that the recipient has a continuous reminder of the original gift and the organization that gifted it. We utilize jute bags and storage baskets in the packing of some of our best selling gift hampers they can be seen at www.wineandhampers.com

When the impression you want to make is a lasting one… we will help you!

www.wineandhampers.com

What percentage of the cost is actually paying for the wine?

“Amazingly, in the UK, over 50% of the cost of the average bottle of wine goes to the Government (with nearly £15bn paid in excise duty and VAT from the UK alcoholic drinks industry in 2007/08).

According to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, the average cost of a bottle of wine is £4.32. Of this, £2.34 is paid to the UK Government in duty and VAT. That leaves £1.98 to cover the wine, bottle, label, cork, transportation of the wine, the shop’s margin, and all other costs that go into making and selling you a bottle of wine.

Alarmingly, it is estimated that a £4.29 bottle of wine probably contains less that 40p of wine.

But, there is some good news. Duty (but not VAT) is a fixed amount. So, if you increase your spend, you are getting more wine for your money: the more you spend, the higher proportion of your money is going into the wine. The experts seem to agree that true value is to be found between the £6 and £10 range.

But, beware of special offers. For example, for a supermarket to advertise a wine as discounted, the wine must only have been on sale at full price in one store for 28 days.”

The wines at http://www.wineandhampers.com all fall into the true value range mentioned above and are all specailly selected for both quality and value.