After weeks of difficult negotiations, the Champagne industry has agreed to set a maximum yield for the 2020 harvest.

It was the stuff of myth and legend. During World War II, Joseph Stalin, fearing a German advance on Russia, arranged for valuable art and riches – including a magnificent cellar of wines, some said to have once belonged to Tsar Nicholas II – to be dispersed to far flung corners.

Treading grapes by foot is a centuries-old feature of producing some of the highest-quality Ports of Portugal’s Douro Valley – but this traditional practice is the latest casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are two things about German sparkling wine that are astonishing: the first is how good they are, as sparkling wine quality has taken a leap forward in the past few years. The second is how few people know this outside Germany.

This year was never going to be a good one for wine in China. In late 2019, long before the Covid-19 pandemic was even a cloud on the horizon, industry observers like Ian Ford of Nimbility were noting that the market had stopped growing and was due to flatline for at least another 12 months.

Winemakers in Spain’s Rioja region are facing a dramatic loss of tourism income in 2020, as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise.

Six people were arrested for wine fraud in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid in mid-July, for criminal activity that may have been worth up to €100m.

Think it’s difficult getting wine to market these days, given everything from taxes to tariffs? At least you don’t need protection from the Benandanti – good witches who would stop the bad witches from using your wine barrels or wine glasses as their toilets.

Château Lafite Rothschild, the renowned First Growth wine estate in Pauillac, has a new technical leadership, as do its sibling properties of Château Duhart-Milon, Château L’Evangile and Château Rieussec.

Château Climens has become the latest property to market a dry white from the Sauternes appellation.

According to estate owner Bérénice Lurton, 55,000 bottles of the new style, called Asphodèle, were made in 2019. 

An international consortium of scientists and manufacturers have pioneered a revolutionary treatment for fungal diseases common to agriculture.

Hungarianwines.eu, an independent online publication about Hungarian wines, has launched the third edition of its popular online wine writing contest.

Drink Bev, a California canned wine producer, has seen its volume increase eight-fold over the past several years. Which should be a good thing, right?

EPI Group, one of France’s major luxury companies, has bought a majority stake in Napa importer Folio Fine Wine Partners.

Leading Champagne brand Philipponnat has unveiled plans to create an online sales portal.