Diageo, one of the leading wine and spirits company, is launching an innovative website designed to promote responsible drinking worldwide. The website, DRINKIQ.com, is a global resource for all interested parties to share programs and tools designed to fight alcohol misuse and help individuals make responsible choices about drinking. (Source: Diageo)

The popularity of rosé has been confirmed as new figures show the number of regular wine drinkers who drink rosé has risen by over 60% in the last three years. According to research commissioned by the WSTA, six of ten wine drinkers now drink rosé compared to less than four out ten in 2005.

This growth comes in part at the expense of red, with consumption of red wine falling by 10% over the past tree years. (Source: Decanter.com)

The market share of non-French wines in French super- and hypermarkets has stagnated at around 1.5% to 2% of sales for about ten years. Spanish wines have the lead, accounting for 50% of the volumes. Wines from North Africa come second with 20% of the total volume, followed by Portuguese (8%) and Italian wines (6%). New World wines only represent 14% of the volume of non-French wines sold. (Source: Boissons de France)

Cava, which originates from Catalonia in Spain, has in a short period of time undoubtedly become one the most important sparkling wines in the world, now representing 10.4% of the global sparkling market. In 2007, over 20 m 9-litre cases of Cava were made, of which 56% were exported. Germany, which bought 41 m bottles in 2007, is by far the largest client for Cava, followed by the UK with 32.7 m and the US with 14.4 m. (Source : Wine Business International)

Australian wine exports to Asia showed value growth in the year, increasing by 6% to €149m, according to the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation. In particular, growth in China (+17%), Hong Kong (+24%) and South Korea (+10%) was very strong. (Source: Wine Business International.com)

An increase in a fatal vine disease known as “maladie du bois” in Bordeaux, Cognac and Gascony, has led to calls for an area of southwest France to be declared in state of emergency. The disease attacks the wood part of the vine plant, and the rate of infection depends very much on the region and the grape variety, but globally the disease is progressing due to the wetter weather. (Source: Wine Business International.com)

Despite a decline of 1% in volume to 200m litres, exports of German wines rose by 2% in value to €398m in the 12 months through June 2008, according to statistics released by the Deutsches Wine Institute (DWI). Announcing the figures, Monika Reule, the managing director of the DWI, declared herself satisfied with the results, adding: “Turnover of all German wine exports has increased by 43% since 2000. Given the limited size of Germany’s vineyard area, we are more interested in value than volume”. (Source: Wine Business International.com)