The Wine Spectator on a leading Bordeaux wine merchant accused of fraud. "On March 15, Bordeaux's criminal tribunal heard the charges against Grands Vins de Gironde (GVG), which is owned by the Castéja family. Investigators allege that GVG illegally blended wines from prestigious appellations with table wine, and mixed appellation wines, vintages and châteaus."
Atlas Obscura on how two Italians helped put Virginia wine on the map. “I remember studying Jefferson’s attempts to cultivate vinifera in Virginia,” says Zonin. “I was fascinated by the idea of a president being a viticultural pioneer.”
The Wine Enthusiast on bizarre wine heists. "In a series of break-ins that began in 2015, a highly organized crime ring pilfered 168 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano and roughly 16,000 bottles of wine before the majority of its members were captured by authorities in northern Italy last year."
Diginomica.com on how Total wine uses video to create an in-store experience. "I hate the word omni-channel because it’s so overused, but it’s certainly an omni-experience to make sure that your employees are getting the same message you are attempting to get across to your customers. You can do that very easily with digital."
The Drinks Businessreports that the value of US wine exports has fallen for the first time in seven years. "The value of US wine exports fell by 5.5% in 2017 to $5.53 billion, drawing a line under seven years of consecutive growth, with the biggest decline seen in exports to the European Union, while volumes have soared in both Singapore and Hong Kong."
Seven Fifty Daily talks to Martin Reyes the first Mexican MW. "Reyes also aspires to become an influencer, and to that end he’s actively working on publishing his MW dissertation, “Crowdsourced Ratings for Wine: Exploring the Rise of the Consumer Critic and Its Impact on Purchasing Behavior in a U.S.A. Retail Environment.”
