The use of new oak casks in ageing quality wines, which spread to all winemaking thirty years ago, has produced a worldwide taste that has finally ended up satiating drinkers everywhere. The woody taste is progressively leaving the scene in practically all the world’s wine producing areas, and the quest is on today mainly to produce more pure, fruitier wines. (Source: Le Point)

Chile’s Vina Errazuriz is moving its core range of wines to lightweight bottles in order to reduce energy consumption in produce and transportation. The company, which claims to be the first in Chile to make such a large-scale commitment, plans to put all its Estate red wines apart from Pinot Noir into Bordeaux bottles weighing 425g, 60g lighter than the previous bottles, by the end of 2008. (Source: Decanter.com)

Italian drinks group Campari has begun building a new factory to produce spirits brands in Brazil. The Brazilian plant, which will have an annual capacity of 50m litres, is expected to begin operating from October 2009.

Campari’s sales in Brazil fell 11.7% for the six months ended 30 June 2008, despite being boosted by a favourable exchange rate. (Source: Just-drinks)

In order to add vitality to its image, Boisset intends to bottle all the Beaujolais Nouveau it sends to the US in extra light PET bottles. This decision will reduce the weight of the consignments by more than 40% and associated greenhouse gases by more than 50%. (Source: Décision Boissons - VSB)

The Quebec Alcohol Corporation (SAQ) achieved sales of €333 million, representing growth of 4.5% in the first quarter of its 2008-2009 year. While spirits sales remained stable at 4.1 million litres, volumes of wine sold increased from 29 million litres to 30.1 million. (Source : VSB)

Vietnam is a communist country that’s developing some very capitalist habits and tastes. Among its 86m population is an emerging middle class that is engaging with wine for the first time. According to one of the biggest wholesaler, based in Saigon, “Wine is a status symbol. If you are drinking wine or champagne, it shows you are definitely somebody.” (Source: Wine Business International)

The two American distributors, Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazer’s have formed a joint-venture together to cover 38 states, which represent 80% of all wine and spirits consumption in the US. (Source: Décision Boissons)