Cross-border shopping and the economic downturn sent wine sales tumbling by more than 10% in Ireland during the first quarter of 2009, official figures show.

Now trade body the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) is calling on the government to consider reducing excise duties and VAT – and warns that jobs and businesses are at risk all over the country.

Alcohol sales were down 13.2% in the first quarter, with wine sales falling 10.6% and Spirits sales slumped 19.2%. (Source: Decanter.com)

Nielsen stats have indicated some modest growth in the take-home wine market.

Sales were up 5% in value in the 12 months to May 16, and 1% in volume terms.

The growth is small compared to the leaps made in recent years, and much of the value increase can be ascribed to duty rises and the spiralling cost of production and importing.

But the data is more encouraging for the trade than the zero volume growth that Nielsen reported for wine in the take-home trade earlier in the spring.

The average price of a 75cl bottle of wine in the off-trade has risen to €4.9 (Source: Harpers.com)

When his latest film “A l’Origine” (In the Beginning) was competing at the Cannes film festival, Gérard Depardieu decided to shun the red carpet of the Cannes Festival Palace and go instead to a tasting of his wine.

“Good eating, good drinking as well as knowledge of a terroir and a culture, is as important for me as the film industry”, explained Gérard Depardieu to the newspaper Le Parisien. (Source: Vinexpo)

French group Jeanjean’s first quarter sales in 2009 were €36.3 million, down 2.6% compared to figures for the same period in 2008.

This fall is mainly due to a 10% decrease in exports down to €13.1 million, while domestic sales grew by 3% to reach €23.2 million. (Source: VSB)

The airline Korean Air has just selected Laurent-Perrier champagne for its long distance flights in first and business class.

Today, the Korean Air wine list consists of 42 wines from 11 countries. It has been awarded the title of “Best Cellar in the Sky” several times by the magazine Business Traveler. (Source: VSB)

Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, announced Wednesday the closure of a grain distillery and a packaging plant in Scotland with the loss of nearly 900 jobs to cut its costs in the current downturn.

The London-based maker of Johnnie Walker and J&B scotch whiskies said it would create some 400 jobs at its largest packaging plant in eastern Scotland, which would result in the group's Scottish workforce being cut by a net 500 to 4,000. (Source: Reuters)

In an article entitled “Chronique du harcèlement ordinaire” (The chronicle of ordinary harassment), Doctor Lanzmann-Petithory contradicts a study by the French National Cancer Institute published by the anti-alcohol lobby. According to this researcher the risk of cancer of the mouth, pharynx and/or larynx is 58% lower in wine drinkers.

“Wine contains two components, which exert opposing effects: alcohol, which increases the risk of certain cancers and fruit which lowers this risk. Therefore, for moderate drinkers, the influence of fruit is stronger”, points out  Doctor Lanzmann-Petithory. (Source: VSB)