Wine consumers in Europe’s cold north are navigating their way through big brands, a big monopoly, and vibrant restaurant wine lists, reports Ilkka Sirén.

The Republic of Finland, situated on the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia, has warm summers and 100 days of freezing-cold winters, which suggests a good market for strong red wine. According to the market experts consulted by James Lawrence, however, the market situation is a bit more complex than that.

Producers around the world look at the US market as the place to be. Beware, says Jeff Siegel, because the indications are that the long wine boom is coming to a close.

Normally, wines exported to China are slapped with a 48.2% tax. A new scheme, however, is less than half of that. Oliver Zhou explains.

Column - Robert Joseph

Commentators have recently claimed that Bordeaux’s fine wine system is in crisis. Rebecca Gibb MW says it’s all been said before.

In the 1980s, the Chinese government ranked China’s cities according to size and development priorities. Today, that ranking is a useful way of understanding the size and scale of markets in China. As Tier 1 cities – particularly Beijing and Shanghai – become saturated with wine, Tier 2 cities are emerging as important markets, as James Lawrence discovers from talking to market insiders.

There are significant legislative barriers to selling wine in US supermarkets, explains Jeff Siegel. But they have come down in two states, and there could be more to follow.

The world is now travelling on its stomach, according to speakers at the Business of Food and Wine Tourism conference. Felicity Carter went to hear more.

The term ‘minerality’ is thrown around the wine world with abandon, but what does it actually mean? Rebecca Gibb MW finds out.