Australian group Foster’s has posted its first loss in 16 years, down €238.1 million. This negative result is mainly attributable to decreases in its wine business amounting to a 5.7% fall in volumes sold and to the effect of the climbing Australian dollar. (Source: VSB)

Bernard Arnault the chairman of luxury group LVMH and Albert Frère the Belgian millionaire businessman, who are already co-owners of Château Cheval Blanc, have just taken over another Saint-Emilion property – the 15-hectare (37-acre) estate of Château Quinault. (Source: La lettre CHR-CHD)

Japan’s sake industry is facing a serious consumer scare with the discovery of contaminated rice used in the production of its rice based alcoholic beverages.

The sake industry is already facing tough market conditions, with sales failing steadily. According to finance industry figures, consumption has fallen every year since 1995 to a record low of 700.000 kilolitres in 2006.

But at the same time, sake consumption is on the rise overseas, benefiting from the global popularity of Japanese food: exports rose to a record high of 11.334 kilolitres last year, up from 7.051 in 2001. (Source: Decanter.com)

"A product that has been banned, condemned in its own original country, cannot succeed in the long term as an export. Can’t it be understood that talking about wine is not encouraging people to abuse alcohol? Surely, those who condemn it can try to understand and give us a chance to prove our point?”

Jean-Marie Chadronnier, former MD of wine merchants CVBG and Bordeaux winegrower. (Source: Le Point)

In 2008, exports of Uruguayan wines, whose production is currently being developed, should break an all-time record at 13 to 14 million litres. The main importer of this small producer is Russia. (Source VSB)

According to a statement from the main Italian wine producers union, Italy will harvest an estimated 48m hectolitres of wine, while French estimates are in the region of 43-44m hectolitres. It is about 4m hectolitres more wine than France. (Source: Wine Business International.com)

The value of French wine exports in the first half of 2008 increased by 8.2% to reach €3.2 billion. However the volumes exported decreased significantly by 8.7% compared to last year. The main categories to be forsaken by foreign drinkers were table wines and vins de pays. AOC wines, meanwhile, pushed the overall market upwards with exports increasing in value by 18%, despite a slight fall in volume of 1%. (Le Figaro)