In these times of uncertainty, it's understandable that banking institutions want to hold onto something tangible that can act as backup for loan defaulters. Tangible and edible seem to be the criteria for Italian banks as they have started accepting wine and ham as collateral and would be sellable if ever...

A wine tasting game, brand new on the market, is set to challenge the credentials of many would be wine experts as it involves blind tasting wines and guessing their grape variety...

The wine industry's carbon footprint is pretty large, when you take into account the transportation and upkeep of the vines. One of the pet peeves of environment-conscious vintners is all the lawn-mowing that has to be done throughout the year, to stop the grass between the vines from extracting all the...

UK publicans who rent their establishments from a landlord are seeing major hikes in tenancy fees which are propelling them towards bankruptcy and enormous debt. Landlords needing to pay their own debts and creditors have been raising rent by tens of thousands of pounds per year to cover their own costs...

Another week and yet more pressure is put on the EU's wine regulatory body to shake things up and step into the 21st century. Winemakers in the New World vineyards of California, Australia and New Zealand have been producing wines with lower alcohol...

It has been a triumphant week for French and Italian rosé wine makers, as proposed plans to allow the mixing of red and white wines to make rosé have been scrapped by the EU Commission. Lifting the restrictions on how traditional rosé is made would have meant that other...

Hailstones pelted through the Bordeaux region of France last week...

Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the saying goes, and it has never been truer in France...

Red and white mixed together? A drink for the faint-hearted? No longer!

Wine critics across the globe will be mourning the turn of the tide today...

According to respected vintners and wine tasters, there is a growing body of evidence...

The champagne house Moët & Chandon revealed last month that the new ambassador of their brand is the movie starlet...

Last week, the cellar at the Perrier-Jouët champagne house witnessed what it called ''liquid history'' as it invited a group of expert tasters...

Following last week's article regarding Scotland's decision to set a minimum price on alcohol by the end of the year...

The former Police frontman and worldwide pop sensation, Sting, is planning on releasing his own brand of wine later on this year...

Hong Kong is set to become one of the world's main centres of wine trading in the world, according to a government press release...

Next summer the world will be watching South Africa as it opens its doors up for the 4 yearly FIFA World Cup tournament. Alongside the football action which takes place from...

If that Christmas hangover is still lingering and you're dreading what kind of headaches New Year's Day will bring, fear not...

Soon we will be able to buy the world's healthiest wine, according to its inventor, Australian doctor Philip Norrie. Norrie has discovered a way of augmenting the antioxidant power of the humble grape...

Your Christmas tipple – provided it is wine – may be the key to boosting your omega-3 fatty acid count. This European study examined the dietary habits of participants in three areas...

For all those women who dread the coming nine months of pregnancy without even an occasional glass of wine to help them through, there may be some light relief! Researchers have found that light drinking, in the form of one to two..

Binge drinking is no longer just the scourge of the UK, but is becoming a Europe-wide issue among teens and those in their early twenties, it has emerged..

A new book by Jean-Robert Pitte, the former President of the University Paris Sorbonne, has attempted to patch up the centuries-old rivalry between the two warring French wine-producing regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Bordeaux vs. Burgundy
In his book, Bordeaux/Burgundy: A Vintage Rivalry, Pitte outlines the differences in production between the two regions and explains..

Some drinkers may claim that their tipple of choice takes them to another world and, as of November this year, a new Japanese beer will literally be something 'out of this world'.

Sapporo Breweries allied themselves with Okayama University and Russia's state space team to transport 0.9 ounces of barley to the..

As if the smoking ban wasn't enough for Europeans to digest, the French are now seriously looking into putting breathalysers into bars and bistros to test customers on leaving the premises.

Mandatory testing
The plan is supported by the French Ecology minister Jean-Louis Borloo and will be presented to the President Nicholas Sarkozy. Borloo wants breathalysing-on-exit to be obligatory in all bars and restaurants open until 2am.

"I can tell you that tomorrow, at the council of ministers, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot and I will present a decree to make electronic breathalyser tests obligatory in drinking establishments open until 2:00 am, so that everyone can check their..

To compliment our busy lifestyles, manufacturers have been coming up with fast and easy alternative options to food and drink for years now. The latest time-saver to come out of France is the Bordeaux in a Box, wine consumed out of a carton through a straw. 'Whatever next?', you might ask.

France Drinking less Wine
The product named Tandem is produced by Cordier Mestrezat, who are attempting to revive flagging wine sales among..

A promising new study into the beneficial effects of probiotics has revealed that they can be used to treat patients with alcoholic cirrhosis – a disease which scars the liver and is most commonly caused by heavy drinking.

Probiotics Boost
In the early stages of contracting cirrhosis, there are few symptoms and side-effects, but in time the liver function steadily worsens and could deteriorate to leave the patient in need of a liver transplant..

It is well-documented that drinking and related health problems are on the rise in Europe. However, instead of the consumer taking the blame, drinking establishments have recently come under fire for increasingly serving only large measures of alcohol and not giving us the choice to drink responsibly. Hurrah! Someone else to blame!

Irresponsible Bars
According to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), pubs and bars are acting "irresponsibly" by deliberately increasing the size of their wine glasses and often giving double shots at standard prices..

It is no secret that the world is on the brink of major upheaval as global warming is heating up our planet, raising water levels, and is set to render our favourite holiday destinations barren deserts. Among having numerous other effects, global warming is also set to change the way we farm our crops, because if we don't change our methods nothing will prosper in the coming years. The wine grape has traditionally been harvested all over the mediterranean region to great effect, producing luscious whites and full-bodied reds for the world to enjoy. However, if vintners continue to maintain their vineyards as they have done for centuries we may be left high and dry in the search for a decent..

Forget everything you've ever heard about alcohol being bad for you – it's not, at least in moderation, scientists have now actually proven that alcohol can be beneficial for your heart. In a study conducted at the University of Carolina, it was found that middle-aged non-drinkers were likely to benefit from protection against heart disease if they took to drinking something once a day. The research was conducted over a four-year period and involved 7,500 people, all of whom were tee-total to begin with. Scientists were looking to find a connection between drinking in moderation and the reduction of artherosclerosis, the hardening of..

The alcohol industry thrives, year after year on everyone's weakness for their favourite tipple and it is always trying to invent new ways to lure us in to buy their products and get us hooked. For some time, women have been the target for the alcoholic beverage industry, as merchants have begun to realise that the demand for alcohol among females is now huge..

The laws surrounding the labelling of wine are perhaps some of the most complicated created in France, so perhaps this is the reason why hundreds of vineyards across the country have recently been forced to withdraw their wines amid claims that the labelling is incorrect and misleading..

Have you ever splashed out on a bottle of wine because you presumed it was a better vintage than the cheaper bottles? Most people believe that a higher price will equal a better tasting wine, however studies into the subconscious minds of wine tasters reveal that this could actually be a trick to be capitalised on by wine merchants. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology gave a group of wine tasters two glasses of wine..

When is a German wine not a wine ? When its made from apples, says the European Commission. Angry German prime minister Roland Koch is "outraged" by the EU "regulatory madness" to bring German wines into line with the International Wine Organisation definition of a true wine. The IWO rules state that a wine can only be a "product from grapes", specifically excluding..

Yet more research has come out in favour of red wine as a powerful anti-oxidant supporting the 'French Paradox' theory that found locals can eat large amounts of saturated fatty acids with little effect on their long term health, providing they also consume regular amounts of red wine with their food. Ah, such hardship ! Michelle Micallef of University of Newcastle, Australia is the author of a detailed research paper (below) describing red wine as containing a naturally rich source of antioxidants..

The Beaujolais Nouveau, or more correctly the Beaujolais Primeur, launches at just past midnight on the third thursday of November, and 2007 is reported as being a vintage year. April brought with it an early burst of hot sunshine and dry weather, ripening the grape early promising a top quality wine..

Deep in the Lavaux region of western Switzerland the Brothers Dubois quietly go about their family business of producing a little known gourmet wine from the Challelas white grape. The first harvest made in 1947 delivered only 1,000 bottles, but recently due to the care and attention of three generations has grown to 200,000 bottles of their own label. Despite the unpredictable weather this year which has seen many ruined harvests across Europe..

New money it seems gets everywhere, wine collectors report that they cannot compete with the prices paid by a new breed of buyer out of Asia and Eastern Europe. Château Lafite Rothschild is now a fantastic $14,300 per case, up 65% in the last 6 months..

All you wine drinkers out there will be interested in a new book entitled The Wine Diet by author Roger Corder, drinking red wine every day is definitely encouraged as he outlines some major health benefits. His ideas seem to support the latest trends for finding heart healthy foods by associating dark fruits and chocolate with red wine constituents..

Even our wine it seems is being affected by the concerns over global warming. Vineyards in Italy are already moving to the north of the country to protect their grapes from the harsh ultraviolet sunlight...