Castel, one of the France’s largest wine producers, become the First French company to start large scale vineyard plantations in Ethiopia, investing about €5.7 million. The aim is to start supplying both local and East African markets with wines of international quality and style. Castel’s first Ethiopian vintage is expected to be in 2011. (Source: Wine Business International)

Xavier de Eizaguirre was appointed as President of Vinexpo Bordeaux, the international wine and spirits exhibition, during a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the company. Xavier de Eizaguirre, General Manager and Member of the Management Board of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, takes over from Jean-Marie Chadronnier, director of CVBG Dourthe Kressmann, who presided over the exhibition during the three Vinexpos in Bordeaux in 2003, 2005 and 2007. (Source: Vinexpo)

The American wine critic has awarded only three wines up to 100 points- all of them white. Among the reds, only four achieved up to a potential 95. (Source: Decanter.com)

Non-Scotch whisky, comprising Irish, America, Canadian, Indian and Japanese whiskies, is one of the fastest growth areas of the wine and spirits industry. In 2006, this collective category reached 134.7m cases, a rise of 5.6% on 2005, and growth rates are accelerating. Preliminary figures for 2007 suggest the category added a further 8.7% to reach 146.m cases. (Source: IWSR)

The exhibition held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, welcomed 8,868 exclusively professional visitors, exactly 28.8% more than in 2006.
45% of these came from Hong Kong and Macao, while 55% were from 19 other Asian-Pacific countries: continental China (2,254) led with twice as many visitors as in 2006, followed by Korea (657), Taiwan (438), Japan (209), Singapore (203), Australia (175), Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and other countries in the region. (Source: Vinexpo)

The Australian Wine Research Institute says reducing the alcohol levels could get a better wine because high alcohol has a tendency to suppress the flavour of wine. (Source: ABC News)

The eight winegrowing areas listed by Unesco, representing 6 European countries, are working together to preserve and highlight the European winegrowing culture. They point out that “behind the most prestigious names of European wines, there are areas where the inhabitants are keen to preserve their expertise.” (Source: AFP)