The Winery Mapleton Vineyard of Coal River Valley of Tasmanie

Shafer Vineyards has been sold to Shinsegae Property, a division of the wider Shinsegae Group, with interests in several business sectors, from retail to real estate. Shinsegae Property acquired the trailblazing Napa winery for 299.6 South Korean won ($250m), according to the Korea Herald newspaper. Further details about the deal were not disclosed, but the newspaper quoted a company official as saying the deal would benefit Shinsegae L&B, a wine and alcoholic drinks wholesale and importing ...

In the wake of the second destructive wave of the phylloxera bug in California in the 1980s and 1990s, Cabernet Sauvignon rose to such prominence and dominance (especially in Napa Valley) that I, like most people, assumed it must now be the most expensive grape variety in the state. Wrong. That would be Cabernet Franc. Top 20 California Cabernet Franc wines Slowly, steadily and quietly, Cabernet Sauvignon’s father has displaced its son* as the priciest grape to buy and the grape that is generati ...

The voice drops a little; the tone grows more reverential. Everyone knows; everyone understands. There will be wry allusions to a quest, perhaps even the grail. Sacrifice is expected en route; failure (always forgiven: a badge of honour) beckons on every side. Kitted up, your hopes armour-plated? I might be talking about planting vines on a cleared slope, or simply about taking the corkscrew to a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine, but you all know by now what’s meant. Pinot Noir. ‘Pinotism’ ...