The Baltic region plays a proud role in the history of beer. It is home to many of the great beer styles - including Russian Imperial Stout - but decades of Communism shackled and stifled investment. After the Cold War ended in 1989, many of the surviving brewer ies were bought up by international players who realised there was quick and easy access to fresh pastures.

The Baltic beer markets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are moving into a new phase, according to Danish brewer Carlsberg. Although there ha ve been signs of discounting among cheap, lower-quality beers, growth in volume and value has come from a greater focus on premium brands and cost efficiency. Carlsberg says the trend will be the way forward for a major player with an already strong market share.

This is a U-turn for the three Baltic states because for years their drinking image has been likened to binge-drink ers and alcohol abusers .

The latest Brewers of Europe figures suggest the current average consumption in the more mature Baltic beer markets has reached 73 litres per person - considerably higher than the world's average of 25 litres. The potential for growth is clear, however, given that consumption in the Czech Republic tops 150 litres and in the UK is nearly 100 litres.

Château Cesseras 2004, Jean-Yves & Pierre-André Ournac

Sixth generation producers; single 4ha clay/chalk plot; 100 per cent Syrah; c.12,000 bottles; UK rrp £10.95

Aroma: Intensely herby, ground black pepper with baked blackcurrant, plum and touches of spice

Taste: Full and dense with sour black cherry and baked black fruits, concentrated mid-palate with spicy fruits/chutney on the finish

Traditional, earthy, true to type, needs hearty food; a close second favourite.

Published in French, this is nonetheless a useful guide to the best wine bars in regional France, compiled by food and wine writer Egmont Labadie and copiously illustrated by photographer Pierrick Bourgault. The pair travelled the French regions to find the pick of the nation's local wine bars - a tough job, but someone had to do it. The title translates, roughly, as Bartop Maniacs, and Labadie's writing focuses on the personalities of the people behind the establishments, a long with the usual useful information. Bourgault's photography - taken without flash and unposed - really conveys the atmosphere in the bars . All in all a comprehensive guide . Check out updates at [http://www.monbar.net]

Published by Editions Fleurus

Price: E19

The PR manual quotes efficiency and education, but as any seasoned journo will tell you, it's chaos, intrigue and tales of the unexpected that produce the most memorable press trips.

The Italians - who make chaos an art form - excelled themselves on a recent trip to Abruzzo when they decanted 40 international journalists straight from the vineyards into the gala dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant at 9.15 pm. The women, many in flip-flops, shorts and T -shirts, were not impressed . The startled Italian waiters soon warmed to the situation.

== Angostura Aromatic Bitters Cocktail ==

Italian bartender Valentino Bolognese has won the European finals of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge. The event, which took place in Paris last month, brought together 10 heat winners from across Europe to compete for a place at the grand final in Tobago in May. This was the first of the regional finals with the North American, Caribbean and Australian finals to be held over the coming months.

Launched in 2005, the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge sees bartenders from around the world send in recipes for cocktails using Angostura aromatic bitters and Angostura orange bitters. Judges make a shortlist of entries and then they compete by regions.

Each contestant was asked to prepare two cocktails - three servings of each - one cocktail using Angostura aromatic bitters, the other using the new Angostura orange bitters. The cocktails were judged on aroma, flavour, presentation skills and creativity.

Judging was Mickael Perron, bar now on.com and Angostura Europe ambassador; Guy Musart, French president of the Bar Association; Felicity Murray, editor of Drinks International (media partner for the challenge) and France Bouis, editor of Le Shaker, the French on-trade bar magazine. Head judge Perron commented: "The calibre of the entries this year has made the judging very difficult at every stage."

Bolognese, who will compet e in the finals in Tobago, is from the Pura Vida bar in Ferrara, Bologna. His sleek presentation and true professionalism supported his unusual, but perfectly balanced and stylish, cocktails. His Trinidad Especial was exceptional and used not just a dash of bitters, but a full 3 cl measure, and a similarly large 2cl dose n his Ri.Pa Deuxi ème - but it worked.

It was, however, a very close competition with some excellent recipes and presentations - some unfortunately spoilt on the day by careless spills, inaccuracy, time faults or forgetfulness , all probably due to last minute competition nerves.

The bartenders who came second and third were David Camacho Blanco from the Casino Torrequebrada bar in Malaga and, also from Spain, Yolanda Zarzo Guillot from the Radio Transito bar in Valencia.

The other finalists were: Avi Kashi, Tapeo bar, Tel Aviv; Julian de Nechaud de Feral, Milk & Honey, London; Jamie MacDonald, Tigerlily bar, Edinburgh; Robert Albrecht, Shepheard bar, Cologne; Antoni Vilanova Ballara, Hotel Vichy Catal án, Barcelona; Anoa Ramos Corredor, Association Spain Bartenders, Madrid; Regis Celabe, Murano bar, Paris.

Liqueurs are the "spices of the bar" , the "oils and vinegars" of a bartender. All but gone are the days when a long meal ended with the men breaking out the Cognac or whisky, while the ladies cradled their liqueurs.

These descriptions from Mozart Distillerie president Harald K önig and Bols' master bartender Philip Duff sum up the reincarnation of liqueurs. Where once they were traditional, staid and, with a few exceptions, local , now the names of the game are mixing and cocktails. If a brand is n 't courting bartenders, and getting specified , it 's lacking that vital ingredient it needs for success.

The writing has been on the wall for some time. Euromonitor's last Liqueurs Global Overview stated: "Younger consumers' very weariness with traditional spirits has motivated an energetic search for new brands and flavours, with liqueurs providing a range of unusual tastes. Indeed, the demand for novel products offers producers the opportunity to breathe new life into tired brands by introducing the m to new markets where they are perceived as exotic."

The report cites Pernod Ricard's Amaro Ramazzotti as a liqueur that has suffered in its native Italian market due to being perceived as a traditional Amaro liqueur , while in Germany it has performed strongly.

Euromonitor says: "The transition from traditional local products to fashionable, premium-positioned brands provided a significant spur to sector value growth."

Simon Difford, the drinks consultant , publisher and author of the Diffords Guides and the new, definitive Cocktails #7, says: "The rapid development in cocktail culture since the early 90s has led to the development of many new liqueurs, and has given renewed vigour to many old established brands such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau and Chartreuse.

"Prior to this cocktail resurgence, it was the established 'range liqueur' brands such as Bols and De Kuyper that dominated UK bar shelves. As cocktail culture has developed, so has a new breed of bartenders who seek ever more interesting ingredients and bar managers who are prepared to pay a premium price for them, but only if they deliver great tasting drinks."

Difford believes the larger drinks companies have targeted more premium spirits, but have been slow to capitalise on the opportunity created for premium liqueurs. He cites smaller family producers such as Teichenné, Cartron, Giffard and Briotte as being quicker to react with the development and launch of new flavours into the UK market.

"T oday these brands dominate the back bars of the UK's leading cocktail bars. Some relatively new liqueur brands such as Passoã and Hpnotiq, which were specifically targeted at the cocktail sector, now appear to be suffering as bartenders seek more 'natural' and 'authentic' flavours," says Difford.

"The last two years have seen the launch of high-end specialist liqueurs which are being well received by mixologists. One example that I've been heavily involved with the development and marketing of is St-Germain elderflower liqueur. I'm also very excited about Bols' imminent relaunch of Galliano in its original form, and I'm sure the liqueur sector will see many new products over the course of 2008."

Last year Bols opened the Bartender Academy at its Amsterdam HQ. Nikki Cumming, Bols brand manager for Maxxium UK, says: "Bols seeks partnerships with the most talented bartenders around the world. We are looking for passion, creativity and innovation, and the best way to communicate those qualities is through the people who know and understand our product. By doing this, we further extended support to the growing network of bartenders looking to learn and improve their skills and knowledge."

Andy Gemmell, brands mixology manager for Maxxium UK, believes that: "Liqueurs and cocktails go hand in hand. A good-quality liqueur will always add an extra dimension to a cocktail as well as developing sweetness in the drink."

Philip Duff, master bartender at the new Bols academy, says: "I see the future for range liqueurs as the oils and vinegars of the accomplished bartender and home mixologist. And just as a home cook will always use quality, fresh, natural ingredients, anyone who wants to make truly tasty, classic or modern cocktails has to use a quality liqueur.

"Many cocktail recipes can seem deceptively simple: just three or four ingredients. But, as you can discover in any good bar, it's the attention to detail that separates a good cocktail from a great one. Hard, cold, large ice cubes; decent quality liqueurs and liquor; freshly squeezed juices and fresh herbs; the right technique and a properly sized glass, garnished with an obviously fresh, minimal garnish - that's what dreams are made of! And increasingly, guests won't settle for anything less. They don't have to either, as there's always a bar around the corner that's doing it right," concludes Duff.

UK Bartenders' Guild president Salvatore Calabrese, of central London bar Fifty, said: "When I was young, liqueurs were everything from a restorative in the morning to an aperitif, through to a digestif - if you had a heavy dinner - or something sweet that wasn't a dessert. I remember my mother used to give visitors a Limoncello, and I can think of nothing better than a Brandy Alexander instead of a dessert.

"Liqueurs make a great cocktail. They give colour, taste and flavour - they are the condiment of the bartender."

Calabrese was researching a book on after -dinner drinks in the 90s, and found it depressing that the bartender of a top bar kn ew little about digestifs because he said there was no demand.

K önig acknowledges that Mozart, with its premium chocolate liqueurs, is a small player and quips that he is grateful for budget airlines. "As a niche player, we have to make the most of opportunities. Bartenders are looking for something new and not too obvious. We can fly them in on Rya nair for US$50 and show them around. There is lots of competition from the likes of syrups, flavoured vodkas - all going in the same direction."

Albert de Heer, international marketing manager at De Kuyper, says that the company has a network of ambassadors and works hard to target talented and up-and-coming bartenders. "It is a changing industry and that seems to be the way forward," he says.

Referring to the acceptance of cocktails around the world, Lewis Johnstone, director of Kobrand, which owns the Alizé brand, reckons that the "job is only half done". He claims the Alizé brand is "on fire" in countries such as the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, but emerging markets like the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are "at day one" and the company is "standing at the gates". He sees duty -free and travel retail as vital "regional beachheads" to get to new markets.

Melissa Frank, Malibu-Kahlúa International's global brand director for Kahlúa, sees the

cocktail culture as being "in early stages of development in some emerging countries". She says key markets poised for growth include Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, global duty -free and Europe, as well as additional Asian markets.

Since Pernod Ricard bought Kahlúa from Allied-Domecq in 2005, the newly established division, Malibu-Kahlúa International (MKI), has a new strategy for Kahlúa and has introduced new packaging, new advertising and two new flavours - Kahlúa French Vanilla and Kahlúa Hazelnut - to elevate the brand.

Similarly, Alexandra Walter, Tia Maria global brand director, is looking for a more premium positioning for the Jamaican coffee liqueur , after new packaging was unveiled last September.

Lionel Fromont, regional director of global travel retail for MKI across Africa-Middle East, Central and South America and the Nordics, is more forthright. He says Kahl úa was too cocooned, relying on being an ingredient in black or white Russian and mudslide cocktails, while Tia Maria has strong loyality among women, particularly in the UK, and again the brand appeal needs to be broadened.

A major priority for him is Malibu, which he says: "Had lost some of its dynamics. It had become too laid back - by the pool, with pineapple, low energy, low vibe." Whereas the new surfboard ads are about being "on the beach, being active and positive - and more Caribbean".

On the overall liqueurs market, he says: "There are a lot of local liqueurs, but the trend is to international brands. Traditional is struggling, whereas modern, including cream liqueurs, is in very good shape. The craze is for flavours and key players are coffee liqueurs."

Claude de Jouvencel, Grand Marnier's chief operating officer, says 40 per cent of the usage of Grand Marnier in the US comes from cocktails, in particular margarita and cosmopolitan, which have helped to "shift the moment of consumption and recruit a younger consumer base in their late twenties".

More than a year ago, Grand Marnier launched Navan, a Cognac and vanilla-based liqueur, which has been "seeded" in half a dozen markets. This year the company is rolling out its first international advertising campaign for Grand Marnier, called Reflections, and which was launched in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the US last autumn and is being rolled out to other countries this year.

Denis de Groote, managing partner of After, the Belgian coffee liqueur that was launched in 2004 to compete with the likes of Kahlúa, Tia Maria and, to a lesser extent Bailey s and Amaretto, has identified "adult pleasure seekers, 25 to 55 year s old, predominately female" as After's target consumer.

Frangelico, the Italian hazelnut liqueur infused with cocoa and vanilla

bean, claims to be fast establishing itself as a mainstream cocktail ingredient - particularly in the Americas. With sales currently more than 300,000 cases worldwide, primarily in the US, but also strong in Spain, Australia and Canada, its signature cocktails are nuts & berries and the hazelnut martini.

"The global cocktails scene is a natural for Frangelico", sa ys C&C International's marketing manager Kevin Abrook, "and the US market is proving particularly dynamic for the brand. "

The cocktail sector is fast and furious, and not for the faint -hearted. For most liqueurs, certainly those with ambition , the route out of tedium and the road to success is via bartenders. These guys are the king makers, the necessary ingredient to oil the wheels to success.

The Japanese are famed for their beer drinking. Per capita, they drink the most beer in Asia - an annual average of 51.3 litres in 2006, according to figures from Euromonitor International .

Beer was first brewed in Japan in 1872, and by the 1990s the country was the world's sixth-biggest consumer, each year drinking more than 7 million kilolitres. But this national habit is being undercut in several ways. Indeed, a long shadow is looming over the brewing industry in the land of the rising sun. Wine and spirits are gaining a larger following, while health concerns are changing attitudes toward consuming alcohol in general. It could be a long sayonara for the Japanese brewing industry.

Estimates for beer production and beer-related products in 2007 are showing a 1 per cent fall on 2006 figures of 6.3 million kilolitres, with the industry saying the weakening demand reflects the fall in the nation's population, growing health concerns and stricter punishments for drink- driving. In company statements in January 2008, Asahi Breweries forecast a drop of 1.8 per cent in its beer sales in 2008, and rival Sapporo similarly predicted a fall of 1.7 per cent.

"The beer market has been shrinking because people want cheaper drinks," says Shuji Takimoto, spokesman for the Brewers Association of Japan. "But judging by the changing population, the future of beer looks tough."

Taxing issue

Tax has had a huge influence on how beer is made in Japan. The country's alcohol tax system divides beer into bands based on malt content. High tax beers have more than 67 per cent of malt. Low malt beers, which substitute rice or corn syrup for malt, are known as Happoshu and fall into three classes: 50 -67 per cent malt; 25-50 per cent; and less than 25 per cent. A final category, first introduced by brewer Sapporo in 2003, is known as third beers, which use no malt and can be made from fermented soybeans.

In the 1990s Japanese brewers began to introduce low malt content products to sidestep tax, which accounts for nearly half the price of a can of regular Japanese beer. So at half the price of full-malt beers, the low-malt alternatives quickly won over cost-conscious drinkers . And the tax dodge has seen a dramatic fall in production of beers in the full-malt category.

"Production has halved in the past 10 years," says Bryan Baird, owner of Baird Brewery. "The market was 7 million kilolitres in 1996, but by 2006 it had fallen to 3.5 million."

At the time, according to Euromonitor (August 2002), brewers could take solace in the fact that overall volume sales were up two per cent, thanks largely to the influence of low/no-malt beers. In the short term, Happoshu brands succeeded in raising overall consumption by offering a cheaper alternative to standard beers.

Scrapping for market share

Until the 1980s, the industry was conservative and brewed mainly sweeter American-style lagers. But in 1987 Asahi Super Dry was introduced: a light, crisp lager fermented with a highly attenuated (reduced in strength) yeast to minimise sweetness.

It marked the beginning of a change . Other big brewers introduced similar beers, and there began the export of Japanese beers and indeed a Japanese beer style.

But Asahi's reluctance to introduce its own Happoshu until February 2001 indicated that low-malt success came at a price, namely that of profit margins as regular beer drinkers traded taste for a lower price, leaving full-malt brands such as Kirin's Lager Beer faltering.

The great stir created by the launch of Asahi's Honnama Happoshu helped the economy segment surge forward, with brewers trading brand launches, each backed by massive advertising campaigns.

But according to some reports, the excessive number of new brand releases, which totalled 23 in 2007, seems to have backfired. Beer and Happoshu shipments have fallen below the previous year's levels. The third segment will be the only sector to register a positive performance.

Sales of Kirin's new The Gold beer are around 6 million cases, against the company's initially projected 8 million cases, says the BAJ . Shipments of Sapporo's Umai Nama third beer product were about 70 per cent less than projected.

"Consumers were confused by too many new brands," says one company spokesman.

If this was not bad enough Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo have all announced price increases of 3-5 per cent for early 2008 - the first in 18 years, save those forced on the industry by tax rises - citing steeply rising prices in the cost of raw materials, utilities and steel and aluminium for packaging.

To overcome these difficulties, Kirin has branched into pharmaceuticals and seedlings for cut flowers to diversify its sources of revenue. Asahi, which gets 90 per cent of its sales from alcohol, announced plans to buy a baby formula milk maker, Wakodo.

Some of Japan's brewers see China, the world's fastest-growing beer market, as the answer to falling home demand. Suntory began brewing beer in China in 1984. Last year it bought Chinese operations from the Australian Foster's Group, and it now controls about 60 per cent of a booming Shanghai beer market.

Asahi has five breweries in China through joint ventures. And Kirin plans to build a brewery in Guangdong Province and buy out its local partner to make Zhuhai Kirin Brewery a wholly-owned subsidiary.

China, though, is a hard, low-price market and Japanese brands trail other foreign rivals such as Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller, InBev and Heineken. And Japanese beer makers face another barrier in China, where many people still have bitter memories of World War II.

Asahi 's manager for Europe, Kozy Yoshimura, says: "The total market is shrinking slightly every year. We started exporting to make Asahi and Asahi Super a global company and a global brand, and to provide sustainable sales growth."

Asahi beers are now on sale in more than 40 countries, which includes export and licence brewing in China, Thailand, Cambodia, US, Russia and parts of Europe.

Kirin has similar ambitious plans to expand sales. A spokesman says: "We expect Kirin brand beer to be drunk by everyone around the world. We export it to Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and the Philippines. And we also license-out our brand to overseas partners such as in the UK, the US, China and Russia ."

In 1994, the annual capacity requirement for a brewing licence in Japan was reduced from 2 million litres to just 60,000. This opened the door for a proliferation of small craft breweries.

Crafty solution

Craft brewers share less than 1 per cent of the beer market in Japan, but currently there are more than 280 microbreweries in business, according to the Japanese IRS, the country's tax agency. There are seven breweries that produce about 1,000 kilolitres each year, but most are around 100 kilolitres.

American Bryan Baird and his wife Sayuri founded the Baird Brewery in 2001. It is now regarded as one of the best of the country's craft brewers , drawing on American traditions .

Baird says: "The craft market boomed for a short time, as nascent markets often do, then it tanked - in my opinion because of awful beer sold at expensive prices. But the past few years have witnessed a modest resurgence in craft beer as the players get better and consumers more educated. Growing the market is a matter of more beer meeting the high standards of Japanese consumers as well as more educational efforts aimed at deepening consumer understanding of beer history and tradition."

Yo-Ho is the fourth-largest craft brewer in Japan. Brewmaster Toshi Ishii says: "Basically I'm not a Japanese brewer, but an American brewer. I was trained at the Stone Brewery in San Diego in California."

Ishii produces an interesting range of American and Belgian beer styles . And for the moment, though, he is concentrating on the domestic market . He says: "Now would not be good timing to export our beers to all over the world, even though our home market production is increasing over 35 per cent a year."

So despite the declining headline figures, perhaps it is not sayonara for the Japanese brewing industry after all.

These are dramatic times in the Languedoc. A region that has built its reputation on cheap, varietal vins de pays is growing increasingly concerned with its image. The talk in the south of France these days is not just about dutifully supplying the world's supermarket buyers with the price-fighting own-labels they demand. Now the emphasis is on AOC, and in particular the new appellation contrôlée of Languedoc.

Nobody is suggesting that the Languedoc (or to give its fuller geographical name, Languedoc-Roussillon) is likely to end its reliance on vins de pays any time soon. Indeed, in 2006, vin de pays wines accounted for about 68 per cent of the total harvest in the region, according to figures from CIVL and French customs. But with the region's export sales suffering in virtually every major market, it is hardly surprising that producers are trying harder to impress wealthier consumers.

The decision to replace the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC with an expanded "Languedoc" appellation was approved last spring. This base-level AOC has been extended to include Minervois, Cabardès, Fitou, Limoux as well as everything previously encompassed by the original appellation.

It followed hot on the heels of the "Sud de France" labelling initiative, designed to give Languedoc's confusing collection of vins de pays and AOC wines a unifying marketing tag in export territories. The scheme was applauded locally as an example of how producers could cut through bureaucracy and sub-regional rivalries and unite in a pragmatic, consumer-focused initiative. The irony is that the scheme has met with lukewarm support internationally (with many critics pointing out, not unfairly, that Provence and Gascony are also in the south of France).

Will AOC Languedoc do better? Christine Molines, export manager for the CIVL, clearly hopes so. As she points out, individual AOCs further up the quality pyramid have been required to toughen their own rules as a result of the general shake-up in the region, so in theory, a Minervois or a Faugères should be made to more exacting standards in 2008 than was the case in 2006.

It has, she says, been a long journey to get this far, and attitudes - in Languedoc and elsewhere - will not change overnight. But she argues that "the majority of people" are pleased with the reforms. "You need a little time to adapt and understand the process and we're communicating a lot with them," she says.

"AOC Languedoc will be the base of the pyramid and the other appellations will have to be above in terms of quality. It means that each appellation has to modify their own decree."

White

Gold Appleton White J Wray & Nephew

PREMIUM White

Silver Saint James Rhum Agricole 50% abv Rhums Martiniquais

OVERPROOF

Silver J Wray & Nephew White Overproof J Wray & Nephew

Bronze Rum Bar Premium White Overproof Worthy Park Estate

Under 7 Year Old gold/dark

Gold Chairman's Reserve St Lucia Distillers

Bronze English Harbour 5 YO Antigua Distillery

Over 7 Year Old Gold/Dark

Gold & Trophy Vieux Labbé Vieux Rhum Agricole 10 YO Berling

Gold Appleton 12 YO J Wray & Nephew

Silver Cockspur 12 YO Cockspur Rum UK

Commended Havana Club 7 YO Pernod Ricard

Commended Angostura 1919 Burn Stewart Distillers

other Gold/dark premiums

Commended Admiral Rodney Old St Lucia Rum St Lucia Distillers

Commended Angostura 1824 Burn Stewart Distillers

FLAVOURED

Bronze Kewyol Spice Rum St Lucia Distillers

Commended Captain Bucanero Elix ir Dominicano Beveland

LATIN AMERICAN Rum

Gold Flavoured Rhum Orange Santa Teresa - Venezuela

Silver Flavoured Rum Araku Santa Teresa - Venezuela

Commended 1796 Santa Teresa - Venezuela

Commended Flora de Cana 7 YO Grand Reserve Compañia Licorera de Nicaragua

Commended Flora de Cana 4 YO Gold Compañia Licorera de Nicaragua

The rum category is currently experiencing something of a boom, led by the golden and barrel-aged rums. The range of styles on show in the Drinks International Rum Challenge provided varied fare for the judging panel.

Chairman of judges Ian Burrell, London restaurant owner and rum ambassador, said the medal-winning rums had to come through some demanding judging criteria. "It was a deliberate policy," he said. "There are a lot of products out there winning unjustifiable awards."

So the winners of the six Gold, three Silver and three Bronze medals in the Rum Challenge performed particularly well, and the eight Commended rums would no doubt have been fighting for the medals in other competitions.

With the pace of competition hotting up in the category, Burrell expects to see a greater variety of producers topping the medal tables in future.

"Over the coming years you are likely to see more producers winning the top awards," he said. "Producers will begin to release more reserve rums as they look to get a foothold in the market - especially among the premium products."

Why is aged rum gaining popularity? Because it tastes so good, says Joey Bergstein, Diageo's senior vice president for global rums. And scores of leading cocktail mixologists and bar owners around the world agree with him.

"Quite simply, rum is more than just the spirit in the bottle. It's a lifestyle," says Ian Burrell, UK rum ambassador, owner of Cottons Restaurants and founder of the London Rumfest. "Between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, right across the globe, rum is made and drunk because it is part of the culture. The mojito, that Cuban minty cocktail of rum, lime, sugar, fresh mint, soda and ice, is still perceived as the most popular cocktail in the UK bars, unless you include rum and coke. Some call it the Cuba Libre, another popular Cuban cocktail from the late 19th century, but you must add a squeeze of lime to this to make the transformation from a spirit and mixer to a higher-priced cocktail.

"It is also very easy for a whisky or brandy drinker to switch to aged rum because of the similar taste profile of the wood-aged spirit. But even more importantly, discerning drinkers are frequently travelling to the tropics and seeing the rums in their natural habitat. It's no wonder that the re-creation of the 'holiday feel-good factor' is a major part of the revival of the rum category," he adds.

Burrell was one of the presenters, along with Las Vegas mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, participating in the second annual St Lucia Food & Rum Festival, which took place hot on the heels of the inaugural London Rumfest late last year.

Visitors to the island enjoyed a "gastronomic celebration" hosted by regionally and internationally renowned chefs and rum connoisseurs. More than 40 rums from across the region were available for sampling during the four-day festival.

Carl Stephenson, managing director of Elements 8, which once again supported the festival, took seven top UK bartenders to demonstrate the latest rum cocktails being made on the London scene. "It is developing into a great showcase of the region's finest rums," he says.

As St Lucia is the home of Elements 8, the company also hosted an in-depth tour of the St Lucia distillery, where the rum is produced under licence. St Lucia Distilleries, which uses a combination of column and pot stills to produce a wide range of rums and rum liqueurs, including Bounty, Chairman's Reserve, Admiral Rodney as well as Elements 8, used the festival as a launch pad for its latest blended aged rum TØZ (see Drinks International, December 2007). All of its rums are presently produced from molasses imported from Guyana, but the distillery is going back into sugar cane production for the first time since 1962, when it replaced the plantations with the more profitable banana crop. The cost of flat, coastal land is fabulously high in St Lucia, so the plantation will be small. But five acres have been re-planted with four varieties, and the first distillation for a new style of rum is expected in May.

Other exhibiting rum companies included Appleton (Jamaica), Barbancourt and Berling with Vieux Labbe (Haiti), Belfast Estate with Elixir of Bois Bandé (Dominica), El Dorado (Guyana) and Angostura (Trinidad and Tobago). Angostura used the festival as an opportunity to introduce its new orange bitters into the region (see Drinks International, August 2007) as well as its wide variety of rum styles and flavours, including the internationally known premium brands 1919 and 1824. The company is about to launch a range comprising an aged (three years) and filtered white Reserva, a five-year-old gold añejo and a seven-year-old dark añejo.

"The St Lucia Rum Festival is a really good market for us because we produce not just rum but also bitters, which are used in food as well as drinks," explains Giselle Laronde West, manager of corporate communications at Angostura. "A lot of tourists come, but also the trade from the hotel and resort bars and restaurants on the island. And if you can get your brand into these places, then their customers from different countries come to recognise it and want to take it back with them."

The growing interest in boutique rums is certainly being helped by increased global travel, with more people experiencing rums in their region of origin, such as the Caribbean islands. And the best route to market for these producers is still initially through the on-trade both locally and internationally.

"Over the last couple of years, there has been more emphasis and interest in higher end, premium rum worldwide, and so we have started to push our two brands 1919 and 1824 to wider parts of the world," she says. "Ironically, in our local markets there's a trend towards Scotch. So while rum is growing internationally, at home in Trinidad Scotch is giving us a hard time."

This is a trend that was highlighted by many of the producers in the region. When the locals have some money in their pockets, it is Johnny Walker they ask for at the bar. Rum is fighting to lose its old image as the agricultural workers' tipple and re-establish itself as a category with quality premium products on a par with some of the best whiskies.

Abou-Ganim believes the finest rums in the world come from the Caribbean. "There is such variation i n style, and to really delve into and understand them is a fabulous journey and so much fun," he says. As someone who understands the culinary approach to mixing drinks, he, like many bartenders and mixologists, enjoys rum because it lends itself to such versatility in drinks: "Light-bodied rums work well in cocktails with subtle ingredients, such as the mojito. Then complex rums like Mount Gay, that are both pot and column distillations with the flavours of coconut, banana and vanilla, lend themselves to that style of drink. Then there's the heavy, full-bodied Haitian and Jamaican rums that will support tropical fruit flavours. I don't know of another spirit category that offers that versatility and mixability.

"With rum, there are characteristics going on and we need to understand what flavours are going to complement each - a mojito made with a dark aged rum will be a totally different animal to one made with a silver rum. The diversity of rum styles across the Caribbean and South America is astonishing - everyone in that huge tropical belt around the world produces it and they're all different."

Diageo's Bergstein agrees the fashionable mojito, like the ubiquitous rum and coke, has had an impact on rum's popularity; although he admits he was surprised by just how many people enjoy it straight or simply on the rocks - according to Diageo research in the US, this amounts to 36 per cent of rum serves.

Cutting-edge bartenders are interested in rums, not only for the way their complexity of flavours can be enjoyed straight or mixed, but also because they are "crafted, authentic, and come from interesting places that have a story behind them". But it is this very diversity of style and character that also makes rum difficult for consumers to understand.

Nick Robinson, Diageo's marketing director for global travel and the Middle East, believes there is an opportunity for suppliers and retailers to come together to help demystify the category - perhaps in much the same way as Diageo has done with its "malts map".

While the major brand owners, Diageo (Captain Morgan, Cacique, Black Label, Parrot Bay and Pompero) and Pernod Ricard (Havana Club), both report double-digit growth with their dark and more characterful rums, generally whites rum sales remain static.

Havana Club managing director Marc Beuve-Mery in Cuba concurs. This is why the company has turned its focus to aged rums. Last February, Pernod Ricard opened a new E50 million distillery in San José (see Drinks International, February 2007) which, one year on, is well on track to meet the company's strategy for the brand to reach a target sale figure of 5 million cases by 2013. "Presently," he says, "we are very close to 3 million."

The new plant incorporates six ageing sheds with the aim of building reserves for the years to come. Beuve-Mery anticipates sales growth could reach 40-70 per cent year-on-year in some markets. He says the brand has been growing very fast - on average 15 per cent - in recent years across all markets, but the most dynamic new nations are Greece, growing at 44 per cent, Mexico at 46 per cent and Canada at 40 per cent. Italy and Spain, however, remain the biggest rum markets.

Diageo reports an overall growth for rum last year of approximately 8 per cent - and this is a combination of quite varying performances across different brands and markets, with steady growth in established markets and more explosive growth in newer markets.

"Consumers are now seeking dark, aged rums, small-batch style, from the Caribbean by independent distillers," says Gary Chau, global marketing director for the Bacardi Global Travel Retail division. "Bacardi rum has been in the folio for 50-plus years, and it is still appreciated as a clear rum for mixing," he says. "So we are now looking at the Caribbean and South/Central America for potential acquisitions to create new trademarks. People want small-batch, super-premium, aged rums that have unique flavours. Just being dark isn't enough; it has to have an age statement - 23 years or so - and heritage and provenance."

All three of these companies have seen their rum brands grow most strongly in Spain and Italy.

"The UK, Spain and Italy have been identified as the most important markets for our [Caribbean] rums," says Laurie Barnard, managing director for St Lucia Distillers and speaking as a representative of The West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers' Association (WIRSPA), the regional organisation that represents producers of rum from the ACP Caribbean region. "We've seen huge growth for rums, especially in Spain, by the likes of Appleton's, Angostura and, of course, all the major brands. But we now have a new programme which is going to push Caribbean rum forward.

Havana Club has also given the Caribbean a push. The Caribbean is hot for rum - it likes to think of itself as the home of rum and the origin of rum. Producers such as Mount Gay, for example, have been in the business for more than 300 years."

Caribbean rum producers heard in January that they are to get an extra three years in which to take advantage of the E70 million funding from the European Community, which is matched by co-financing from the sector.

The Integrated Development Programme for the Caribbean Rum Sector granted in 2002 was expected to end on June 30, 2007, but has been extended to June 30, 2010. This extension gives producers more time to upgrade their distilleries and clean up their act in terms of the environment, through energy efficiencies and better effluent disposal systems.

But a key element and substantial proportion of the funding will go towards marketing Caribbean rums in the EU. The target markets are the UK, Spain and Italy, where the first campaign will be the roll-out of a new Authentic Caribbean Rum Marque, designed to assure consumers that the product is an authentic Caribbean rum meeting the highest quality standards.

The WIRSPA is to employ marketing managers in the UK, Spain and Italy to help generate consumer and trade awareness of the newly created marque. A logo has been designed and registered and the licensing procedure for rum producers is well under way.

Says Barnard: "The rum festivals here and in the UK are good for getting our message out. We now have to find the right distributors, invest some money and attend trade shows in Europe. And we will be using the rum marque programme to support our thrust into these markets - and cement the roots back where they come from."

Sitting in a rather gloomy back office of Berry Bros & Rudd's illustrious office in London's St James's, it is not hard to imagine former occupant the Widow Bourne serving courtiers from the Court of St James's there in 1698. The royal court moved there after the Palace of Whitehall burned down. Apparently the shop sits on tennis courts built by Henry VIII .

Simon Berry seems very at home, as well he should. He is the seventh generation of Berry's (BBR) and this year he celebrates 30 years with one of the oldest and most famous wine merchants in the UK. There's a busy year ahead as he has taken over presidency of UK drinks trade charity the Benevolent and has taken charge of the committee that buys the alcoholic drinks for the royal family at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Suddenly Burgundy appears to have a problem similar to that of the Champagne region - surging demand for a very limited supply.

Indeed, sales volumes in 2007 across the Burgundy region exceeded 2007 vintage volumes by 10 per cent, according to Pierre-Henry Gagey, president of the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne and also president of one of the region's biggest producers, Maison Louis Jadot.

Burgundy exports half its production. The single biggest market, the UK, now takes 70 per cent of white Burgundy exports. New areas such as the high value Russian market and Asia are also demanding more across the board.

But Gagey says it would be a mistake for the region simply to supply more wine to those markets where higher prices might be gained in the immediate term.

"The pleasure in life is to strive to get better, to discover new people and the new generation," he says. "We need to educate these people, and that's a long-term project."

BIVB communications director Anne Parent agrees. "Burgundy is sometimes not easy to understand," she says.

"It is not just a label and a grape variety - it's finesse, complexity, sensuality. People are trying to find authentic products and they want to understand Burgundy."

The talk at the annual BIVB tasting at Lord's Cricket Ground in north London in January was of how the 2006 vintage would compare to the celebrated 2005s.

In short, the whites from 2006 are very strong - well illustrated by the southern Mâcon wines and in Chablis at the northern extreme - but the quality is also particularly noticeable in the Bourgogne Blancs.

The general consensus is that 2006 reds will provide good short- to mid-term drinking while the powerhouse 2005s mature slowly.

Evidence here backed this up, with fragrant fruit, elegant style and easy tannins the norm for the '06s.

Since the mid-18th century, glass packaging has been the first choice for wine producers across the world.

Elegant, endlessly recyclable and inert, glass offers a practical and poetic solution. What other packaging material can preserve a wine in the pristine state that the manufacturer intended, deliver a premium image to the consumer and allow the retailer to meet challenging environmental targets?

Recent media reports suggest that cracks have started to appear in the relationship. Bordeaux wine producer Castel recently threw down the gauntlet by announcing that if the glass bottle supply problems experienced in 2007 persist in 2008, it will consider moving to PET bottles - that is, if French consumers do not throw up their hands in horror.

Elsewhere, Wolf Blass launched the world's first full-size PET wine bottle in Canada, Arniston Bay of South Africa and Palandri of Australia collaborated on a foil and plastic wine container, and JMB Beverages launched an aluminium wine bottle.

So what's going on? Is the hegemony of glass in the wine sector about to be eroded? I don't believe it is - not for a moment. But that's not to say our industry can afford to be complacent.

To deal with the Castel story first off. It's true that some European wine manufacturers experienced bottle supply shortages this summer, but this shouldn't be interpreted as the sign of an imminent crisis. The problems arose from an unusual set of circumstances: an unseasonably early grape harvest at a time when some of the bigger continental bottling plants were undergoing refit or rebuild. The result was a flurry of hasty orders that could not be fulfilled within tight time frames.

Saint-Gobain, one of Castel's main bottle manufacturers, has since confirmed that these supply problems have been resolved. But the incident is a timely reminder of the importance of communication between wine producer and packer-filler, especially in a sector where bottling runs are often short, seasonal and irregular. It is not, however, an indication that things are about to go PET-shaped.

The glass industry does have some big battles ahead though . As has been widely reported, glass manufacturing costs are rising. The price of the gas needed to fire high-temperature furnaces has risen by around 55 per cent in the UK alone, and for some manufacturers general energy prices have risen by 300 per cent between 2003 and 2006. This has had a knock-on effect on some raw material prices - notably soda ash. While gas prices fell back in 2007, there has been huge volatility again over recent weeks in the UK. Wine producers, meanwhile, have continued to demand an attractively priced product. Profit margins are being squeezed until they hurt, and if the situation continues long-term, glass manufacturers will no longer be able to invest in the bottling facilities that the wine industry demands - and both sides will lose.

Another issue of major concern to our industry is the myth that glass is somehow less environmentally friendly than other materials. If this fallacy continues to gain credence, it could well see some retailers reaching for PET in a mistaken gesture of green-mindedness.

How has this confusion arisen? The EU's directive on packaging

and packaging waste requires retailers to meet some very demanding packaging reduction targets. But some retailers have interpreted this obligation as a simple weight-reduction exercise, with glass the villain of the piece.

This knee-jerk response fails to recognise the major environmental benefits that glass offers. Although heavy compared to other materials, it is actually the most sustainable form of packaging available. Over 50 per cent of the UK glass container waste stream is recycled. It is not down-cycled or shipped to far flung parts of the globe or deliberately incinerated.

In other European countries, such as Switzerland, Germany and Holland, glass recycling rates are as high as 90 per cent. And where virgin raw materials do need to be used, they are cheap and plentiful. Supplies of sandstone will last for thousands of years, unlike the basic raw material used to produce most other forms of packaging.

If we are to have a debate where competing materials are to be judged on their environmental impact, then it is vital that we take a holistic view. Once that's done, I'm confident that glass will remain the first choice for wine.

International grape varieties can produce lovely wines as single varietals, particularly from the vin de pays sites. However, I believe that the focus in the Languedoc should be on traditional blends from distinctive vineyard terroirs. We were attracted to the Languedoc by its geological richness and diversity, and we acquired Mas Belles Eaux precisely because of its outstanding terroir, Vill afranchian gravel based on red clay. Both the AOC wines that we make at Belles Eaux: the St Helene and Les Coteaux, are blends of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan, resulting in wines of character, and this for me is the attraction of the Languedoc.

Languedoc-Roussillon must not focus mainly on international grape varieties , for two reasons . Firstly, the area is lucky to offer great terroirs and, secondly, the terroir expression is also linked to the local variety adapted to that terroir. We should avoid the standardisation of an international taste as we do not have the means of our competitors in South Africa and Australia. However, a grape variety like Syrah is interesting in a blend. Mas Amiel would not be Mas Amiel without Grenache Noir and Carignan. The whole world can produce Merlot and Syrah, but not our Grenache or Cabernet Franc from some areas in the Loire Valley.

By increasing focus on international varieties, it puts the region in direct competition with all of the New World countries. Grapes such as Grenache are better suited to LR and, when well handled, can produce top -class wines with orginality and a point of difference. Old vines, such as Carignan in the same v ein, when blended will always produce more interesting wines - particularly from this region. Today I would not recommend that any of our growers plant anymore international grape varieties. Overall, my view is that it should not increase its focus on these varietals, but should develop its point of difference further.

The answer is No. Even though Languedoc owes its rebirth to varietal wines, the essential of its personality lies somewhere else. Single -variety wines are still and must remain an important part of its production. However, blending brings it an obvious qualitative "plus" and it is blending that will retain consumers. Its vineyards have now reached adult age and many Languedoc consumers feel like increasing their knowledge of the wines. Blending, without rendering the understanding of wines complicated, gives them a particular profile which helps to identify them more easily."

In the struggle to build brand equity in the wine category, few have it harder than the marketing folks representing wine regions. Countries can at least trade on their broader cultural reputation; grape varieties have the advantage of appearing on lots of bottles.

Where regions have made it, it's because of long-standing, brand-building strategies - Champagne and Rioja spring to mind.

For Languedoc-Roussillon, the brand equity picture is mixed. As measured by Vinitrac Global, awareness of Languedoc is reasonably high in The Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, but falls to a paltry 12 per cent in the US, arguably the most exciting wine market in the world right now.

Richard Halstead

wineintelligence.com

No

Major producer

Christian Seely

Managing director??

AXA Millesimes

International grape varieties can produce lovely wines as single varietals, particularly from the vin de pays sites. However, I believe that the main focus of attention in the Languedoc should be on traditional blends from distinctive vineyard terroirs. We were attracted to the Languedoc by its geological richness and diversity, and we acquired Mas Belles Eaux precisely because of its outstanding terroir, Villefranchian gravel based on red clay. Both the AOC wines that we make at Belles Eaux: the St Helene and Les Coteaux, are blends of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan, resulting in superb wines of real character and individuality, and this for me is the primary attraction of the Languedoc.

Rising costs and low retail prices are putting the squeeze on drinks suppliers' margins like never before.

Prices of the stuff drinks come in, as well as the raw materials they're made of, are in many cases in double-digit growth across Europe .

Such costs are generally invisible to consumers who have become used to getting more for less, making it hard for drinks suppliers to pass them on in one hit.

As European retailers increase their power in the marketplace, many are unwilling to accept comparable wholesale prices increases or pass them on to shoppers.

Glass bottles fall into this category, with some producers imposing reported prices of between 10 and 25 per cent above the inflation-linked increases already included in contracts with drinks producers.

Glass producers say a shortage of bottles affecting the European wine trade in 2007 was caused by consolidation in the glass industry leading to less capacity, and a hot summer in southern Europe which disrupted forecasts for demand from wine producers there.

In France, industrial action at glass manufacturers has increased the problems faced by the industry.

Scotch Whisky Association spokesman David Williamson said: "There have been issues around the closure of furnaces in Europe and the maintenance of glass works, and it's something we're watching very closely and working with the glass sector to ensure our requirements are met at a competitive price."

David Workman, director general of British Glass, insists any glass shortages are short-term, despite fears among some drinks suppliers that shortages are here to stay.

Glass price increases are more tied-up with the higher gas prices experienced by European manufacturers and consumers between 2004 and 2006. Because supply was outstripping demand at the time, glass producers generally chose to absorb the cost. Now, with the situation reversed, they're trying to recoup some of the shortfall.

Rupert Thompson, managing director of the UK's Wychwood brewery, said glass prices are among a range of cost concerns for drinks firms.

"It's goes well beyond ourselves or indeed just the brewing industry," he said, "though for brewers it does represent a bigger portion of the total cost than for most other sectors.

"We had a contract that allowed for exceptional increases and we've had to submit to increases we hadn't bargained for."

Rising glass prices have come on top of increasing costs in other raw materials such as malt and hops, plus packaging materials including cardboard and aluminium .

Higher energy prices are a major contributor to bottle price increases, according to the glass industry.

But there are concerns that consolidation has led to a near monopoly situation in Europe, bringing less competition and reducing the ability of drinks manufacturers to shop around.

Jean-Jacques Delhaye, director of the European Federation of Wine & Spirit Importers & Distributors, has written to European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to express concern at "an extremely alarming situation which is seriously endangering the organisation of production tools in our members' companies".

He added: "The glass sector has clearly become highly concentrated to the point where we now face a virtual monopoly of suppliers among whom there is no longer any competition."

Further glass prices could see more producers turning to other forms of packaging altogether.

Already several wine companies and the UK supermarket giant Sainsbury's are us ing PET bottles made to resemble traditional glass ones in an attempt to lower transport costs. Other wine suppliers are turning to Tetra Pak .

Many wine producers still prefer the authenticity of glass and are working with suppliers to produce lightweight, which could ease the global supply crisis in glass and cut down carbon emissions .

But many in the drinks industry need convincing the problems faced by glass producers are crystal clear .

One drinks manufacturer, who didn't want to be named, said: "Furnaces have closed when they really needed to be kept open. Three payers [in the UK] have a very dominant portion of the marketplace. If that had been the drinks industry the Competition Commission would have been down on us by now."

Insoglio del Cinghiale ("place of the wild boar") 2006 is a blend of 30 per cent Syrah, 25 per cent Merlot, 25 per cent Cabernet Franc, 15 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 per cent Petit Verdot

Il Pino di Biserno ("pine trees of Biserno") 2005 is: 35 per cent Cabernet Franc 30 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 per cent Merlot and 15 per cent Petit Verdot.

Biserno, the estate's flagship wine-to-be, is currently still in barrel and should be available by spring 2009)

Mount Nelson, a classic Sauvignon Blanc from the Lodovico Antinori's 13 h a estate in the Wairau Valley - in Marlborough on New Zealand's South Island

Ram's Hill is the premium wine from the estate, which has been fermented in three to four- year old oak barrels.

For aficionados of Italian wine, the Antinori dynasty is royalty. In fact, Piero is a marchese - the equivalent of a marquess or marquis and the family can trace its roots back to Florence in the 13th century. But more currently and pertinently, these brothers are responsible for two of Italy's most famous and  expensive wines - Piero's Tignanello and Lodovico's Tenuta dell'Ornellaia - both IGT super Tuscans to use the parlance of the oeonlogical cogn oscenti.

The new project, Campo di Sasso (which means field of stones) Distribuzioni (CSD), is a joint venture between the two brothers who fell out many years ago, resulting in Ludovico going off in the early 80s to create Ornellaia.

CSD is the brainchild of Lodovico, who, at 65 is the younger of the two , reunited with his brother and has been working on the project since 2002.

So the story goes , back in 1994 Lodovico was looking for land to extend Ornellaia and discovered Tenuta di Biserno - in southern Tuscany's Upper Maremma in the Bolgheri DOC, about 5km from the sea near Bibbona. The geology was so distinct that he decided to make it a stand-alone project. Having sold Ornellaia to Robert Mondavi, Biserno became Lodovico's new passion.

CSD's portfolio comprises wines from the Tenuta di Biserno estate and from New Zealand - on his travels Lodovico fell in love with Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc and bought an estate in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough, New Zealand's great Sauvignon Blanc growing district. The wide open plains and rolling hills once populated predominately by sheep, is now almost entirely given over to grape growing.

The estate, to the south of Blenheim not far from Cloudy Bay - the actual bay not the iconic brand, so far has about 13 hectares planted.

The job of explaining what the new company is doing and, more importantly, getting the wines to market, falls to a man - well known certainly in UK wine circles - Peter Ferguson.

Ferguson has worked for the likes of Veuve Clicquot, Mentzendorff, the Bollinger/Taylor's-owned UK agency, the Robert Mondavi Winery, MCD UK, the sales and distribution company of Champagne Lanson and latterly European sales director for the Californina wine producer, Jackson Wine Estates.

According to the 50 year old, who is international sales and marketing director, the thing that inspired the maverick Antinori, who is said to be champion skier, art collector and a first -class horseman with a stud farm in the US, is Cabernet Franc - Italian Cabernet Franc. He sees the 90 h a as perfect for Bordeaux varietals and it has been planted with 24ha of Merlot, 23 ha of Cabernet Sauvignon, 19ha of Cabernet Franc, 11ha of Petit Verdot and 11 ha of Syrah. To fulfil his dream for Biserno, he brought in famous French consultant Michel Rolland to advise on winemaking.

There are currently two Italian wines - Insoglio del Cinghiale and Il Pino di Biserno (see panel), with a third, Biserno, which will be the flagship still in barrel, but should be available by spring 2009 . There are also two from New Zealand, Mount Nelson, a Sauvignon Blanc and oak-aged Ram's Hill.

"Lodovico is looking for elegance and restraint in his wines," says Ferguson, "not a mouth -filling blockbuster . He is looking for layers of flavours, from sushi to sirloin. He wants big, but delicate, flavours ."

"He is determined to establish Tenuta di Biserno and Mount Nelson on the world stage as major new wines ," says Ferguson. " He has a creative streak and a vision to make complex and interesting wines. Plus he has the connections and the resources to make it happen."

The World Health Organisation says it is a step closer to a global strategy on alcohol which takes into consideration the national circumstances of each country. A revised and expanded mandate will be presented to the World Health Authority in May which requests that the WHO's director-general "collaborate and consult with Member States as well as with intergovernmental organisations, health professionals, non-governmental bodies and economic operators on ways they could contribute to reducing harmful use of alcohol".

The drinks industry is, on the whole, playing its part by being responsible in the way it promotes its products and statistics demonstrate that these efforts are working. However, the anti-alcohol lobbyists are still a real threat to the freedom we presently have, albeit within guidelines, to advertise alcoholic drinks.

In France this month there have been a number of high profile cases of companies falling foul of the country's strict laws regarding alcoholic drinks advertising. France's Evin Law, passed in 1991, requires that messages must only relate to the quality of the product, and drinking scenes are banned. Health warnings are also now compulsory on all ads, just like tobacco.

The cases brought to court by France's National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction included Moët & Chandon's La Nuit en Rose campaign, which ran four years ago, and was a play on words from the French phrase "la vie en rose" - loosely akin to viewing the world through rose-tinted spectacles.

I am all in favour of ensuring people are well informed about the undesirable consequences of over-indulgence. But we should never lose sight of the fact that the reason we drink alcohol is because it's sociable, it makes us feel good and - when taken in moderation - it makes the world, and life as a whole, seem a whole lot more rosy.

It is encouraging that different cultures are to be taken into consideration by the health organisations in their recommendations on reducing global alcohol abuse. But let's hope common sense prevails and that the drinks industry is not ultimately banned from advertising its products and responsible drinkers are not deprived of one of life's most enjoyable pastimes.

Pop open the Champagne..

Product

Tia Maria

Critique by

Angela Pirrie, director CharteredBrands

Brand Owner Yatir Winery, Tel Arad 

Produced in Israel

Size 75cl

Prices £14, €7.50, US$25

Abv 14.5

Markets Worldwide/Europe

Contact (Trade): viniitalialtd@aol.com

The Yatir winery was recently put on the vinous map when Robert Parker, probably the most famous wine writer in the world, held his first ever generic tasting of Israeli wines and awarded 93 points for its Yatir Forest 2003. Four Israeli wineries went over the crucial 90 point mark and this wine was regarded as one of the best value wines.

Adam Montefiore who wrote a feature on eastern Mediterranean wines for Drinks International last year said: "This tasting represents the best possible third party recommendation. Israel is producing quality eastern Mediterranean wines, which will surprise those who think the wines are only suitable for the ethnic market."

Brand Owner: La Cave des Vignerons des 4 Chemins

Produced in France

Size 75cl

Abv 13.5

Price £4.50, €6

Markets Europe

Contact: Nadine Cattanea: + 33 4 66826122

n.cattanea@vignerons4chemins.com

Rhône producer, La Cave des Vignerons des 4 Chemins, which describes itself as representative of a new generation of French wine producers "who are not afraid to combine tradition and quality with a contemporary image and accessible wines", is using the Vinisud exhibition in southern France to unveil its range of Côtes du Rhône Villages wines, Sols & Sens.

The wines which comprise two reds, a white and a rosé, are: Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun 2006, 70 per cent Grenache, 30 per cent Syrah; Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun (white) 2006, 45 per cent Grenache, 40 per cent Rousanne and 15 per cent Clairette; Côtes du Rhône Villages Chusclan 2006, 60 per cent Grenache, 40 per cent Syrah and Côtes du Rhône Villages Chusclan Rosé 2007, 60 per cent Grenache, 40 per cent Syrah.

Brand owner Heaven Hill Distilleries

Produced in US

Size 1.75 l (PET), 1 l and 75cl (glass)

Price US$10.99

Abv 35

Markets US

Contact: hhdmarketing@heaven-hill.com

Heaven Hill Distilleries of Bardstown, Kentucky, producer of the Burnett's Gin and Vodka franchise, ha s added Strawberry to its portfolio of flavoured vodkas, which already includes blueberry, cherry, citrus, coconut, cranberry, grape, lime, mango, orange, peach, pomegranate, raspberry, sour apple, vanilla and watermelon.

The new exten sion uses the same quadruple-distillation and triple-filtering process as the other varieties, said to provide clarity and smoothness.

The launch of the flavour will be supported by POS for both floor displays and shelf facings, as well as sales education materials. The Burnett's website ( burnettsvodka.com) provides information and drinks recipes for all the flavours.

Brand owner Thiébaud & Co

Produced in Switzerland (aroma), France (wine)

Size 75cl and 20cl

Price N/V

Abv 7.5

Flavours Piña Colada (new), Lychee, Lime, Cassis

Markets International

Contact: info-vente@thiebaud.ch

Thiébaud & Co has introduced new packaging and a new flavour to its Royal Kiss line of aromatised sparking wines.

Piña Colada flavour is a cocktail of sparkling white wine with pine apple and coco nut aromas, natural extract of lime and a touch of rum. An "ice bag" is offered as a "trendy accessory" for the bottle. Simply fill with water and ice .

Thiébaud & Co, a sixth-generation family business at Bôle in the vineyards of Neuchâtel, is known for its sparkling wines - which range from a light Fizzanti to the award-winning Cuvée Prestige Louis Thiébaud.

Royal Kiss products contain natural fruit juices and flavourings which undergo fermentation at low temperatures for between eight and10 weeks.

Brand owner Diageo

Produced in Scotland

Size 70 cl

Price £43.99

Abv 57

Markets Travel retail Europe

Contact: pat@cognispr.net

A full-strength bottling of Talisker, the Isle of Skye single malt Scotch whisky, is being launched in duty-free channels in Europe, including international airports and duty-free shops on North Sea and Nordic ferry services.

The name reflects the unusually high latitude of this distillery - one of the world's most remote and northerly.

It is the first regularly available full-strength Talisker to be released. Previous bottlings of cask-strength Talisker have only been available in very expensive annual 25 and 30 Year Old limited-edition releases. This bottling carries no age statement.

Drawn from American oak refill casks, Talisker 57° North is described as having "all of Talisker's full-on vigour with a smoky hot attack which, cut with a little water, opens to reveal a sweet-centred smoothness".

Brand owner Angus Dundee Distillers

Produced in Scotland

Size 70cl

Price £199, €275

Abv 40

Markets Selected international markets and travel retail

Contact dbaldwin@angusdundee.co.uk

Tomintoul Distillery has released a 1976 vintage single malt whisky, the oldest expression ever bottled by the distillery. The previous oldest bottling is the award-winning Tomintoul 27 Year Old.

This limited-edition vintage of just 3,000 bottles is supplied in cases of six.

Duncan Baldwin, brand development director, says: "This whisky has a wonderful nose with hints of rum-soaked raisins and a touch of fruity maltiness. The palate is round and soft with delicate tones of sweetness."

The Tomintoul range now consists of six expressions: Peaty Tang; 10, 16 and 27 Year Old; 12 Year Old finished in oloroso sherry casks and 1976 Vintage.

International travel retailer Dufry has signed a major distribution deal with Russian spirits group Gross Distilleries.

Moscow-based Gross Distil­leries, whose brand portfolio includes Russian Brilliant vodka and Slavyanska liqueurs, believes the new agreement will boost duty-free sales from 10 per cent of total exports to 30 per cent in 2008.

During the year, Dufry plans to introduce Russian Brilliant into its stores in Switzerland, Italy, the Canary Islands, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt and Sharjah (UAE).

"We are counting not only on Russian travellers," said Lubna Haj Issa Dufry, head of group corporate communications. "Gross Distilleries spends a lot of money pushing products with advertising , which could help attract customers of all nationalities."

Gross Distilleries' current export business is limited to the CIS and Baltic states, Germany, Slovakia and Israel.

Dufry operates over 450 duty-free and travel-retail stores worldwide and achieved a turnover of £66 million in the first nine months of 2007 .

In-flight retail sales onboard My Travel Airways Scandin­avia topped a record-breaking US$100 million last year with spirits and wine retaining its position as the charter airline's most important category.

The sector took a commanding 40 per cent share of the airline's in-flight retail turnover as Swedish and Norwegian passengers took advantage of the airline's long-standing pre-order service in greater numbers than before. Wine and spirit sales rose 7 per cent over 2006 with rum and New World wines proving the fastest-growing sub-categories.

The highest total spend across all categories on any one flight was reached on a flight from Oslo, Norway, to Phuket, Thailand, where sales topped US$76,000.

My Travel's popular pre-order service has been running for many years. Customers pre-order before flying and buy at the lower duty and VAT rates of their typically southern European destinations before picking up their purchase on arrival.

"We continue to benefit from the high domestic prices at the Norwegian and Swedish wine and spirit monopolies," commented My Travel Airways Scandinavia purchasing manager Lars Hjartbo. "The reason for last year's success was primarily the use of e-mail and SMS text messaging that allowed us to remind passengers to pre-order before departure ."

Last year My Travel Airways Scandinavia handled 1 million passengers.

• The Tortuga Rum Company has opened a new duty-paid shop in the centre of George Town, the capital of Grand Cayman. Offering over 300 wines and major brand name spirits, the 2,600 sq ft store caters to both tourists and locals. It operates a duty-free ordering service so that visitors can pick up their purchases at the airport before their return flight.
  
• Singapore has successfully applied for recognition of its airport security measures with the European Union. The island state is the first country to do so worldwide. It means passengers travelling from Singapore Changi airport and transferring at an EU airport are now allowed to take duty-free purchases of liquids, aerosols and gels onboard their connecting flights.
  
• Liquor put in a strong performance last year at the Middle East's biggest duty-free retailer, Dubai Duty Free. Sales grew 27 per cent to total US$115 million, making the category the retailer's second largest.
  
• Dutch brewer Heineken has entered into a three-year marketing partnership with Dutch and French national carriers KLM and Air France. The brand will be served on all KLM flights, and the majority of flights operated by Air France.
  
• World Duty Free is to open a luxury tasting bar aimed at malt whisky and Cognac connoisseurs in its new store at London Heathrow Terminal 5, which opens next month. The Connoisseur Bar will feature a team of specially trained bar staff, who will offer passengers one-to-one tasting sessions.

Delta Airlines has enlisted the services of Master Sommelier and TV host Andrea Robinson to overhaul its in-flight wine programme.

Robinson's first selection of wines will debut onboard the airline's Business Elite class this month with standard international and domestic first and standard classes following later in the year. The wines have been chosen to match a new five-course in-flight food service created by acclaimed Miami-based chef Michelle Bernstein.

Robinson sampled over 900 wines at Delta's Atlanta headquarters last year before making her final choice for the full 2008 programme, which runs to over 130,000 cases of wine and Champagne.

"Since wines can taste different in-flight, I've pain­stakingly chosen wines with enough flavour intensity to shine ? even at 30,000 feet," said Robinson.

Other duties for Robinson include "wine culture" seminars for the airline's flight attendants, and a regular series of 30-minute films on local foods and wines at some of Delta's top destinations.

Asia Pacific Breweries has opened its first themed airport bar in the centre of Singapore Changi's new Terminal 3.

Operated by HMSHost, the 1,600 sq ft Tiger Champions Bar is targeted at sport fans. Customers are able to view a wide range of sport publications and memorabilia in the quieter Tiger Den area, which has been fitted with sofas and lounge seats. Others will be able to watch various sports on eight large LCD screens placed about the bar in the so-called Tiger Arena.

Asia Pacific Breweries head of new business development Andrea Teo commented: "We wanted it to be the ultimate pit-stop for sport enthusiasts, and Tiger Beer fans awaiting transit. With different sections and individual concepts we are confident the bar will have something for both sport fans and beer lovers alike."

Besides Tiger Beer, other brands will be served at the outlet from over 30 regional breweries.

The airport's new US$1.75bn Terminal 3 opened last month, boosting Changi's annual passenger capacity by 22 million to reach 70 million.

Turkish duty-free operator ATÜ is predicting it will increase liquor and wine sales by over a third in 2008 at Istanbul's Atatürk airport.

In December last year AT Ü opened what it claimed was Europe's largest duty-free airport shop at Atatürk. Totalling a massive 2,500 sq m with 540 sq m of this space allocated to wine and spirits ; a smaller 700 sq m shop was also opened with nearly 280 sq m for this category.

ATÜ operations manager Ersan Arcan said the new shops stocked over 240 liquor brands. About 75 per cent of these products are not available in the Turkish domestic market. "Now that we have so much more space allocated to wine and liquor we have started to see the results ," he added. "Sales are up 35 per cent already this year and we expect to keep up this growth rate until the end of the year.

"Our shop's façade is more than 210 metres in length with free access. The shop is designed for limited-time shopping, which means the product categories are indicated clearly and customer service is quick and efficient."

Liquor accounts for nearly a fifth of the retailer's total turnover, with Scotch whisky generating almost 50 per cent of sales.

ATÜ is a joint venture firm comprising two Turkish airport construction companies and Turkish duty-free retailer Unifree, which is controlled by powerful German travel retailer Gebr Heinemann. The company is the sole 

duty-free concessionaire at Istanbul airport.

The liquor category performed better than any other product sector in European duty-free and travel-retail outlets over the first nine months of 2007 .

According to figures published by industry analyst Generation Group, on behalf of the European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) , total liquor sales rose by 12.2 per cent more than the same period the year before - nearly twice as fast as the increase in air passenger numbers, which grew at 6.2 per cent. No other product sector matched this growth.

Commenting on the figures, Generation Group president Yngve Bia said: "The results of liquor are fantastic and are good news for all those involved in this previously so badly battered category. It is evidently duty-paid sales to intra-European Union travellers that are driving sales. "

Diageo has promoted Jane Ewing, currently general manager of Benelu x, to general manager Eastern Europe, responsible for leading Diageo's strategic development in over 15 countries. She will report to Gilbert Ghostine, managing director Diageo Continental Europe.

Vinos de Chile, the Chilean wine industry association, has appointed Juan Somavía as manager of Wines of Chile, the generic office in charge of the international promotion of Chilean wines. Somav ía replaces Ricardo Letelier who has joined a Chilean exporter. Somav ía was trade commissioner for Chile in New York and head of the European economic affairs department in Chile's ministry of foreign affairs.

Pekka Tiainen is the new chief executive of the Finnish brewer Sinebrychoff which is a subsidiary of the Danish brewer, Carlsberg. He has been promoted from sales director.

Geslyn Ngiam has been made vice president sales Racke Asia based in the new Racke office in Singapore. She will be reporting to Franz Lieven, president Racke Europe , Marian Kopp, president Golden Kaan and Ernesto Muller, managing director Espíritu de Chile.

Simon Berry, chairman of British wine merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd, has been made clerk of the royal cellars (the company has a royal warrant to supply the royal household at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle). He has also been appointed chairman of the UK drinks industry charity, the Benevolent .

The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) has made Karin Moore its assistant general counsel. Her main responsibility is to

co-ordinate the association's litigation strategy.

Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) in the UK has announced Gavin Partington as its first head of communications.

Castle Brands, the New York-based spirits company, has appointed of Charles "Chip" Hartnett as director of national accounts. He joined Gosling-Castle Partners, a majority-owned subsidiary of Castle Brands, in 2006 as the brand director for the mid-Atlantic states.

Craig Durham is Buckingham Vintners' new sales director. He has been promoted after four years looking after key accounts.

Stratford's Wine Agencies has made Erika Lewington its marketing manager. Formerly with Sony Pictures Entertainment, she replaces Louise Hill.

Sam Tolley has stepped down as chief executive of the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation. AWBC secretary, Jock Osbourne, will be acting chief executive until a new appointment is made.

What has been your greatest achievement?

Being part of the team that creates Carm ín de Peumo - the Carm én ère icon of Concha y Toro.



What will be your greatest challenge?

To open markets in Latin America for Espíritu de Chile, Golden Kaan and Vitae, starting with the two biggest markets - Brazil and Mexico . The wine culture is growing in the region, but right now it is not a big consumer of wine - less than 2 .4 litres per capita. The internationally recognised brands have a considerable advantage. The big players are the Chilean and Argentin ian wines.

What is your greatest strength?

My experience at one of the biggest wine companies in the world, Concha y Toro.

Have you ever had a life-changing experience ?

At this moment, my life-changing experience is my little daughter Colomba.

What concerns you most about the beverage industry?

As an industry we have to be very concerned about the environment and be responsible for our practices . In the long run we must have sustainable environment management practices and try to be an example to other industries.

What one up-and-coming trend do you think is important, but maybe overlooked?

That wine is becoming trendy in Latin American markets. They want to know about origins, grapes, varieties, qualities. They want to know which wine is the best option to match with a certain meal, to give as a gift or to drink on a special occasion. Right now they are very traditional consumers, but they are start ing to open to new things, such as the screw cap.

What is your favourite drink?

Wine, of course. My favourite variety is Cabernet Sauvignon , however, I always recommend the Carm én ère . It is a great variety originally of the Medoc (Bordeaux), but now a days you can find the best Carm én ère in Chile.

• Climate Change & Wine Conference
  
  February 15-16
  
  Barcelona, Spain
  
  thewineacademy.com
  
• Vinisud
  
  February 18-20
  
  Montpellier, France
  
  vinisud.com
  
• SIBA Annual Brewing Conference
  
  March 6-7
  
  York, England
  
  conference@siba.co.uk
  
• Alimentaria
  
  March 10-14
  
  Fira, Barcelona, Spain
  
  alimentaria.com
  
• Grands Jours de Bourgogne
  
  March 10-15
  
  Burgundy, France
  
  grands-jours-bourgogne.com
  
• Prowein
  
  March 16-18
  
  Duesseldorf , Germany
  
  prowein.de
  
• Vinitaly
  
  April 3-7
  
  Verona , Italy
  
  vinitaly.com
  
• Duty Free Show
  
  of the Americas
  
  April 6-10
  
  Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  
  iaadfs.org
  
• World Whiskies Conference
  
  April 15-16
  
  Glasgow, Scotland
  
  whiskyconference.com
  
• VDP Weinbörse
  
  April 27-28
  
  Mainz, Germany
  
• Tax Free Asia Pacific
  
  May 1 2-1 5
  
  Suntec City, Singapore
  
  tfwa.com

• Blonde de Noirs, a Napa bubbly aimed at capturing the spirit of Marilyn Monroe, has been released. The traditional method sparkler, with an image of Monroe on the bottle, is produced by Marilyn Wines, a company that has been making Monroe-image wines since the debut in 1985 of Marilyn Merlot. Blonde de Noirs 2004 is priced at $30 a bottle. Marilyn Wines also produces Norma Jeane Merlot, Marilyn Cabernet, and The Velvet Collection.
  
• The Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) has announced a new industry-wide guideline for placing online advertising and marketing materials on third party websites to meet the industry's 21 years of age and older demographic standards. DISCUS is the first alcohol supplier to issue internet guidelines. The guide can be seen at [http://www.discus.org].
  
• Looking to cash in on America's growing taste for Argentine wines - bottled Argentine table wines enjoyed better than 20 per cent annual growth in 2007 - Pernod Ricard's Graffigna has introduced a new line of wines into the US including a Malbec, a Cabernet and a Pinot Grigio. The price range is $12-$18.
  
• The Patron Spirits Co, importer and marketer of the Patron tequila brand, has bought the worldwide distribution rights to the Ultimat vodka portfolio from Adamba Imports International, a New York company.
  
  

Francis Ford Coppola played a starring role in the recent destruction of one of Napa's ugliest buildings.

Coppola, perhaps channelling his epic Godfather films, climbed aboard a huge jackhammer and struck the first symbolic blow at a huge concrete barrel storage building that had blocked the view of the 19th century Inglenook Estate winery.

The building, erected in 1973 when Heublein owned the estate, had been considered a local eyesore. Coppola bought the adjoining Niebaum vineyards in 1975 and completed purchase of the Inglenook chateau in 1995. Heublein had stopped making wine there in 1966. Wine stored in the now-demolished barrel building had been made at other Heublein facilities. The Inglenook brand is not part of Coppola's Rubicon Estates group.

Coppola said the land where the barrel building had stood will be planted next spring with Clone 29 Cabernet Sauvignon, the heritage clone brought from France by Gustave Niebaum.

Although all the numbers have not been crunched, industry analysts say that wine consumption in the US grew in 2007 for the 15th straight year.

Projected estimates have the nation reaching a record 304 million cases of wine consumed, putting the US ahead of Italy and trailing only France in per-capita consumption. At the current rate of growth, Americans will overtake the French by 2015.

Americans continue to prefer Chardonnay above all other varieties, with sales of 64 million cases projected in 2007. But Chardonnay's hold on the consumer may be weakening. A survey released in January by Wine Opinions, an internet-based company that provides wine-industry research, showed that most Chardonnay drinkers are 60 or older. Younger drinkers are more experimental.

Those younger drinkers are also less brand loyal. If they like a wine they do not care where it comes from or even what the label looks like, according to another report from MFK Associates, a wine consulting group based in Napa.

Randall Grahm, the quixotic owner/winemaker at Bonny Doon Winery in California, sent shock waves through the US wine industry this month when he released new wines listing all ingredients on the label.

The industry has been fighting the idea of ingredient labelling for wine for decades as various public health groups called for every ingredient used in wine production to be listed on the label - the same regulation that applies to all foods in the US. This would include items like fish bladders (used in fining wines) and other ingredients that might put the consumer off the wine in the bottle.

Grahm said he made the move because he hoped that if he led the way, it would force other wineries to "rely less upon an alphabet soup of additives to 'improve' their wines." Grahm believes that such "wine helpers" make it impossible to present the true taste of terroir. Grahm is often critical of New World wines because he believes they lack a sense of place.

The first Bonny Doon

selections with ingredient labelling list tartaric acid, bentonite, yeast nutrients, enzymes and sulphur dioxide, along with wine grapes. Grahm noted that those additives are "utterly benign".

Grahm has been a passionate innovator in California wine circles and was one of the first to champion Rhône varietals in the state.

The first Bonny Doon Vineyard wines featuring the new labels are the Demeter certified Biodynamic 2007 Ca' del Solo Albariño and the 2007 Ca' del Solo Muscat.

.

Cutty Sark, once the best-selling Scotch in the Scotch whisky's largest export market - the US - the brand still sells more than two million cases annually worldwide - is being relaunched into the UK.

While Cutty Sark has been available in the UK through some specialist independents, the Original and Blended Malt are now available through Emporia Brands and multiple retailer, Sainsbury's has listed the latter at £19.99.

Emporia chairman, James Rackham, said: "Cutty Sark was originally created during the cocktail boom of the 1920s and we believe that with the current interest in cocktails and brands with heritage and provenance, the time is right for Cutty Sark."

• Carlsberg's chief executive, Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, is to deliver the keynote speech at the Canadean International Beer Conference in Madrid on April 24 and 25. Other conference speakers include Richard Robertson, director for Anheuser-Busch Europe, Maurice Breen, marketing director of Magners, and Alejandro Jiminez, CEO of Efes International.
  
• Paul Walsh, Diageo's chief executive, is the new chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association. He takes over from Pernod Ricard's director Richard Burrows. Ian Curle, chief executive of The Edrington Group, is vice-chairman. Walsh says promoting responsible consumption and the environment would be key priorities for the SWA in 2008.
  
• Grupo Cordorníu has announced that Barry Fitzwilliam Maxxium is the new distributor for its brands in Ireland. From now on BFM will look after the Spanish company's cava and Raimat wine brands.
  
• Skyy Spirits, which distributes spirits brands in the US has added Morrison Bowmore Distillers Scotch whisky brands to its portfolio. The Gruppo Campari-owned company is now the only US importer, distributor and marketer of Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch whisky, Auchentoshan Lowland Single Malt, and Glen Garioch Highland Single Malt.
  
• UK airport operator British Airports Authority is looking for buyers for its chain of 65 World Duty Free shops. Spirit drinks make up around a fifth of the WDF profits.
  
• UK government department, Defra (the Department for the environment, food and rural affairs), has launched a consultation on new legislation to protect Scotch whisky. The proposed legislation principally tightens up the definitions of terms such as single malt or blended grain. The consultation will close on March 25.
  
  

Leading Hunter Valley winemaker Trevor Drayton has been killed in an explosion at his winery.

Drayton's badly burnt body was pulled from the wreckage left by the blast on January 17. It is thought a spark from welding work ignited ethanol fumes. Another man, believed to be Drayton's cousin, was also killed, while a third was reportedly thrown 20 metres.

Family-owned Drayton's is one of Hunter Valley's oldest wineries. Drayton himself was president of the area's vineyard association at the time.

French entrepreneur Philippe Lejeune has bought the historic Chambert vineyard and Château Carlat in the Cahors region of south west France.

Lejeune, who made his fortune by developing computer software in the US, aims to establish Chambert as a leader of the Cahors appellation and promote the Malbec grape variety.

Malbec, or Cot, is the traditional grape variety of Cahors but Argentina has successfully adopted and capitalised on it .

Some plots of Tannat and Merlot are being grubbed up to increase the focus on Malbec. Lejeune believes that the terroir is capable of producing world class wines.

He also intends to plant Chardonnay on the vineyard's chalky soils.

The 60 hectares which supply the Château de Chambert and Château Carlat have been in the hands of the Delgoulet family since 1973.

Wine consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt (also Château Canon-La-Gaffelière, St Emilion) and his team have been involved since 1999 and the vineyard is being managed sustainably and organically.

E&J Gallo has said it is not to blame after Belgian Customs seized cases of its André brand of sparkling wine which is labelled as Californian Champagne.

Gallo accused the Office of Champagne USA, the Washington-based branch of French Champagne trade body CIVC, of releasing misleading information about the incident which occurred last month.

Belgian Customs destroyed 3,200 bottles of the brand as only wine made in France's Champagne region can call itself Champagne, unless there is an historical precedent for the brand in other markets, such as the US.

Gallo rejected any suggestion that it ignored regulations. The group, one of the world's largest wine producers, blamed the error on a third party.

It said in a statement: "The owner of the merchandise was in fact a third party based in the United States who sells product to cruise ships. This third party shipped the product to Belgium, and once they were informed of the problem they agreed to abandon the product for immediate destruction."

Gallo said it did not sell counterfeit products in the EU. It stated: "As a leader in the wine industry that does business in more than 80 countries around the world we value our relationship with the EU and respect our fellow wine producers in Europe."

Brand Phoenix, which co-owns the leading South African wine brand FirstCape with local producer Newton Johnson, has announced the purchase of its first winery.

Simondium, near Franschoek, a premium wine-growing region to the east of Cape Town, will become the flagship production plant and "the new heart of FirstCape", according to the company.

Brand Phoenix said it had bought Simondium because of the "massive growth in demand for the brand in both the UK and Europe".

It stated: "The addition of this production facility to FirstCape's existing South African infrastructure will allow greater flexibility and improve quality even further from its category leading level."

The winery, which was bought from Spier, employs 19 permanent and nine casual staff.

FirstCape's head winemaker, David Smit, will be based at Simondium. It has a central blending cellar with specialised winemaking facilities, and two high speed bottling lines that can bottle up to 90,000 litres daily.

Brand Phoenix director Greg Wilkins said: "This is a huge moment for the guys in South Africa."

Consumers in Texas should be allowed to buy wines direct from out-of-state retailers, a judge has ruled.

Judge Sidney Fitzwater said the Texas government had been wrong to ban consumers from getting wine shipped to them from other states.

The ruling is the latest chapter of a power struggle between wine wholesalers and a section of retailers in the US. A three-tier system means most wine must be sold via wholesalers in the same state.

"We know wine lovers and lovers of free trade will rejoice upon reading this decision," said Tom Wark, executive director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association, (SWRA), which helped file the complaint in Texas.

Wine retailers would now have the same protection against economic discrimination as wineries, said Wark.

The extent of the SWRA's victory remained uncertain, however, after Judge Fitzwater placed conditions on his ruling.

In a reciprocal deal, consumers would only be able to buy wine from a state that had also opened its doors to retailers in Texas.

He also gave the Texas government powers to force out-of-state retailers to buy their wines from Texas wholesalers.

That may quell fears among wholesalers that direct, interstate alcohol sales could cut them out of the chain.

Diageo has apologised after being caught voting multiple times for its own brands in consumer awards for Scotch.

Dozens of votes from e-mails using "Diageo.com" addresses were received by Kevin Erskine, who organised the Drammies.

Winners of the awards, now in their second year, are supposed to be picked by consumers.

Erskine, owner of US-based website thescotchblog.com, told Drinks International: "I started getting e-mails from Diageo addresses and almost every person was voting for the same things."

Diageo was forced to apologise. "What we have here is an over-exuberant brand manager in the US who sent an ill-advised round robin note to a number of his colleagues urging them to vote for our brands in the Drammies."

Cobra Beer is set to capitalise on the emerging Indian beer market, after buying a brewery in the north east of the country.

The UK-based company has bought 76 per cent of Iceberg Industries, which owns a brewery in India's Bihar state. The move gives Cobra a better chance to challenge brewing industry heavyweights for a slice of India's growing beer market. Iceberg's brewery has a capacity of three million cases per year.

Chief executive, Adrian McKeon said Cobra wants 10 per cent of the Indian beer market by 2012.

The beer industry grew by 27 per cent in the last fiscal year and Cobra is not the only brewer to have noticed this.

SABMiller intends to spend $100m £48.6m) annually over the next four years in the country.

Nigel Fairbrass, SAB spokesperson, said: "What everyone is talking about is the potential. If you strip out those people who don't drink because of religious reasons, there's still a potential market size of around 500m people."

Brown-Forman (B-F) has announced that it is ending its agreements to sell and market Wray & Nephew Jamaican rums, as well as the Distell Group of South Africa's Amarula cream liqueur and Durbanville Hills wines in the US.

The Kentucky-based company, which owns Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, Finlandia and Fetzer wines, said the decisions were unrelated.

B-F had been looking after Appleton, Wray & Nephew and Coruba rums and had grown total sales from 96,500 nine-litre cases to 180,000 last year.

B-F will represent Wray & Nephew until April, or until it secures a new importer.

From March, Distell's Amarula and Durbanville Hills wines will be distributed in the US by AV Brands, based in Columbia, Maryland.

Up to 1,000 wine grape growers in Australia may disappear within a year due to low prices and water shortages, the country's growers' union has warned.

Between 800 and 1,000 growers were under "immediate threat of financial failure", said Mark McKenzie, executive director of Wine Grape Growers' Australia.

Growers in the Riverland area of South Australia, Murray Valley in Victoria and those in New South Wales are at the highest risk.

"This is a consequence of four years of falling wine grape prices, which has left many growers with revenues below their costs of production," says McKenzie

Prices for Australian wine are expected to rise this year, after the country's worst drought on record ensured a smaller harvest.

But, following this reverse, McKenzie said growers' revenues would be affected by limited production, and also the need to buy in extra water.

Around half of growers in the Riverland and Murray Valley have not purchased water, potentially jeopardising the quality of their harvest.

Australia's 2008 grape harvest will be lower than predicted - at 1.22m tonnes instead of 1.47m - and reduced harvests are expected for the next five years, according to a recent supply and demand report by the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation.

The consortium of Carlsberg and Heineken has succeeded in its £7.8 million (US$15.3 billion) bid to buy the UK's last national brewer, Scottish & Newcastle (S&N).

The 800p a share bid was announced early on January 25. The deal means the Danish brewer gets all of the Baltic Beverage Holdings (BBH), which was a joint venture with S&N, plus Kronenbourg, the French lager brand and brewery and S&N's Greek, Chinese and Vietnamese interests. The Dutch brewing giant acquires S&N's UK brewing interest which includes brands such as Foster's (in Europe), Strongbow cider, John Smith's Bitter and Newcastle Brown Ale along with operations in Portugal, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, US and Indian operations.

The BBH business is widely regarded as the jewel in the crown. It encompasses 19 breweries, 10 in Russia, four in the Baltic countries, three in the Ukraine, one in Kazakhstan and one Uzbekistian and has the Baltika brand - the third largest beer brand in Europe.

The deal, subject to the approval of the European Commission and other competition bodies, is expected to be completed by the second quarter of this year.

Carlsberg claims the deal is "transformational" and makes it the "world's fastest-growing global brewer". While Heineken is a successful global premium brand, it has underperformed in the UK. It is now Britain's largest brewer with three breweries and 3,300 staff.

Heaven Hill Distilleries, which claims to be the US's largest independent, family-owned spirits supplier has formed a joint venture with Mexico's Tierra de Agaves (TdA).

The Kentucky-based company said the partnership involves joint ownership of the Lunazul and La Certeza Tequila brands. TdA will gain access to Heaven Hill's global distribution and marketing expertise.

Demand for premium spirits has grown strongly in several markets, including the US, in recent years.

TdA was founded by Francisco Beckmann, the former co-owner of Jose Cuervo. The deal is believed to bring together two of the last remaining family-owned and operated companies in the North American spirits sector.

Lunazul and La Certeza are estate-grown, small batch Tequilas, distilled and bottled about five kilometres from the town of Tequila. The former is a premium 100 per cent agave Tequila, positioned and priced to compete with 51 per cent agave 'mixto' products.

La Certeza is also 100 per cent agave Tequila and is marketed as sophisticated and traditional to appeal to discerning Tequila consumers.

The Racke Group has announced that it is re-align its business and move to new European headquarters in Mainz, following the takeover of Eggers & Franke.

The purchase of the outstanding shares in the Bremen-based fine wine distributor from KWV, its long term partner with the Golden Kaan, South African wine brand, makes Racke one of the leading premium wine distributors in Europe.

Managing director, Marcus Moller-Racke, said: "This new structure represents an important step towards the continued and further internationalisation of our company."

A statement from the KWV chairman, South African winemaker, Danie de Wet and CEO, Thys Loubser, says: "The success of Golden Kaan and the synergies of KWV and Racke now make the merger of Eggers & Franke, commercially viable and meaningful, as it provides KWV and Racke with an expanded profitable base for penetration into the important German market."

The deal sees KWV selling its shareholding in E&F to Racke, while still using it as its channel to the German market for KWV's Laborie and Golden Kaan wine brands.

Constellation Brands, the largest wine company in the world, has sold the Almaden and Inglenook Californian wine brands and the Paul Masson winery in Madera, California to The Wine Group for US$134 million cash.

The Californian-based company says it wishes to focus on faster growing faster-growing, higher-margin wines and reduce its borrowings.

"This transaction, when coupled with the recent acquisition of Clos du Bois, the number one super-premium U.S. wine brand, will allow our wine sales forces to focus on selling higher-growth, higher-margin premium wines," said Rob Sands, Constellation Brands president and chief executive officer. "This change also demonstrates our commitment to improve return on invested capital."

Almaden and Inglenook retail for less than $3.00 per 750 ml bottle equivalent. The Mission Bell Winery, also in Madera, will be retained and allows the company to increase premium wine production in California's San Joaquin Valley wine producing region. The company says this winery will also provide wine production services to the Wine Group on a contract basis.

Constellation states: "The impact of this transaction is expected to be slightly dilutive to ongoing reported basis and comparable basis diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2009. The Almaden and Inglenook wine brands are expected to generate approximately $130 million of net sales for fiscal 2008, and represent approximately 10 million nine-litre cases of the company's U.S. wine volume.

"The proceeds from this transaction do not impact free cash flow, and therefore the company's free cash flow guidance for fiscal 2008 remains unchanged at $280 - $300 million".

Paul Hobbs had stars in his eyes. Not because he was dreaming of Robert Parker or Wine Spectator points for his wines, but because as a child he wanted to be an astronomer. The 54-year-old was destined for medical school - following in the footsteps of his great grandfather - but his father had other ideas. He got the young Paul to taste a 1962 Château d'Yquem, pouring it into Dixie paper cups at the dinner table and then, in concert with the impressionable young man's botany professor at the university of Notre Dame, he encouraged him to take a year out - much against his mother's wishes. As a result of his new-found passion, young Hobbs had an apple orchard at the family farm grubbed up and replanted with a vineyard.

Sensory and lifestyle appeal are lifting the popularity of aged rums from the Caribbean and South America. Felicity Murray visits the

St Lucia Rum & Food Festival and talks

with major brand owners and mixologists.

Why is aged rum gaining popularity? Because it tastes so good, says Joey Bergstein, Diageo's senior vice president for global rums. And scores of leading cocktail mixologists and bar owners around the world agree with him.

"Quite simply, rum is more than just the spirit in the bottle. It's a lifestyle," says Ian Burrell, UK rum ambassador, owner of Cottons Restaurants and founder of the London Rumfest. "Between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, right across the globe, rum is made and drunk because it is part of the culture. The mojito, that Cuban minty cocktail of rum, lime, sugar, fresh mint, soda and ice, is still perceived as the most popular cocktail in the UK bars, unless you include rum and coke. Some call it the Cuba Libre, another popular Cuban cocktail from the late 19th century, but you must add a squeeze of lime to this to make the transformation from a spirit and mixer to a higher-priced cocktail.

"It is also very easy for a whisky or brandy drinker to switch to aged rum because of the similar taste profile of the wood-aged spirit. But even more importantly, discerning drinkers are frequently travelling to the tropics and seeing the rums in their natural habitat. It's no wonder that the re-creation of the 'holiday feel-good factor' is a major part of the revival of the rum category," he adds.

Burrell was one of the presenters, along with Las Vegas mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, participating in the second annual St Lucia Food & Rum Festival, which took place hot on the heels of the inaugural London Rumfest late last year.

Visitors to the island enjoyed a "gastronomic celebration" hosted by regionally and internationally renowned chefs and rum connoisseurs. More than 40 rums from across the region were available for sampling during the four-day festival.

Carl Stephenson, managing director of Elements 8, which once again supported the festival, took seven top UK bartenders to demonstrate the latest rum cocktails being made on the London scene. "It is developing into a great showcase of the region's finest rums," he says.

As St Lucia is the home of Elements 8, the company also hosted an in-depth tour of the St Lucia distillery, where the rum is produced under licence. St Lucia Distilleries, which uses a combination of column and pot stills to produce a wide range of rums and rum liqueurs, including Bounty, Chairman's Reserve, Admiral Rodney as well as Elements 8, used the festival as a launch pad for its latest blended aged rum TØZ (see Drinks International, December 2007). All of its rums are presently produced from molasses imported from Guyana, but the distillery is going back into sugar cane production for the first time since 1962, when it replaced the plantations with the more profitable banana crop. The cost of flat, coastal land is fabulously high in St Lucia, so the plantation will be small. But five acres have been re-planted with four varieties, and the first distillation for a new style of rum is expected in May.

Other exhibiting rum companies included Appleton (Jamaica), Barbancourt and Berling with Vieux Labbe (Haiti), Belfast Estate with Elixir of Bois Bandé (Dominica), El Dorado (Guyana) and Angostura (Trinidad and Tobago). Angostura used the festival as an opportunity to introduce its new orange bitters into the region (see Drinks International, August 2007) as well as its wide variety of rum styles and flavours, including the internationally known premium brands 1919 and 1824. The company is about to launch a range comprising an aged (three years) and filtered white Reserva, a five-year-old gold añejo and a seven-year-old dark añejo.

"The St Lucia Rum Festival is a really good market for us because we produce not just rum but also bitters, which are used in food as well as drinks," explains Giselle Laronde West, manager of corporate communications at Angostura. "A lot of tourists come, but also the trade from the hotel and resort bars and restaurants on the island. And if you can get your brand into these places, then their customers from different countries come to recognise it and want to take it back with them."

The growing interest in boutique rums is certainly being helped by increased global travel, with more people experiencing rums in their region of origin, such as the Caribbean islands. And the best route to market for these producers is still initially through the on-trade both locally and internationally.

"Over the last couple of years, there has been more emphasis and interest in higher end, premium rum worldwide, and so we have started to push our two brands 1919 and 1824 to wider parts of the world," she says. "Ironically, in our local markets there's a trend towards Scotch. So while rum is growing internationally, at home in Trinidad Scotch is giving us a hard time."

This is a trend that was highlighted by many of the producers in the region. When the locals have some money in their pockets, it is Johnny Walker they ask for at the bar. Rum is fighting to lose its old image as the agricultural workers' tipple and re-establish itself as a category with quality premium products on a par with some of the best whiskies.

Abou-Ganim believes the finest rums in the world come from the Caribbean. "There is such variation i n style, and to really delve into and understand them is a fabulous journey and so much fun," he says. As someone who understands the culinary approach to mixing drinks, he, like many bartenders and mixologists, enjoys rum because it lends itself to such versatility in drinks: "Light-bodied rums work well in cocktails with subtle ingredients, such as the mojito. Then complex rums like Mount Gay, that are both pot and column distillations with the flavours of coconut, banana and vanilla, lend themselves to that style of drink. Then there's the heavy, full-bodied Haitian and Jamaican rums that will support tropical fruit flavours. I don't know of another spirit category that offers that versatility and mixability.

"With rum, there are characteristics going on and we need to understand what flavours are going to complement each - a mojito made with a dark aged rum will be a totally different animal to one made with a silver rum. The diversity of rum styles across the Caribbean and South America is astonishing - everyone in that huge tropical belt around the world produces it and they're all different."

Diageo's Bergstein agrees the fashionable mojito, like the ubiquitous rum and coke, has had an impact on rum's popularity; although he admits he was surprised by just how many people enjoy it straight or simply on the rocks - according to Diageo research in the US, this amounts to 36 per cent of rum serves.

Cutting-edge bartenders are interested in rums, not only for the way their complexity of flavours can be enjoyed straight or mixed, but also because they are "crafted, authentic, and come from interesting places that have a story behind them". But it is this very diversity of style and character that also makes rum difficult for consumers to understand.

Nick Robinson, Diageo's marketing director for global travel and the Middle East, believes there is an opportunity for suppliers and retailers to come together to help demystify the category - perhaps in much the same way as Diageo has done with its "malts map".

While the major brand owners, Diageo (Captain Morgan, Cacique, Black Label, Parrot Bay and Pompero) and Pernod Ricard (Havana Club), both report double-digit growth with their dark and more characterful rums, generally whites rum sales remain static.

Havana Club managing director Marc Beuve-Mery in Cuba concurs. This is why the company has turned its focus to aged rums. Last February, Pernod Ricard opened a new E50 million distillery in San José (see Drinks International, February 2007) which, one year on, is well on track to meet the company's strategy for the brand to reach a target sale figure of 5 million cases by 2013. "Presently," he says, "we are very close to 3 million."

The new plant incorporates six ageing sheds with the aim of building reserves for the years to come. Beuve-Mery anticipates sales growth could reach 40-70 per cent year-on-year in some markets. He says the brand has been growing very fast - on average 15 per cent - in recent years across all markets, but the most dynamic new nations are Greece, growing at 44 per cent, Mexico at 46 per cent and Canada at 40 per cent. Italy and Spain, however, remain the biggest rum markets.

Diageo reports an overall growth for rum last year of approximately 8 per cent - and this is a combination of quite varying performances across different brands and markets, with steady growth in established markets and more explosive growth in newer markets.

"Consumers are now seeking dark, aged rums, small-batch style, from the Caribbean by independent distillers," says Gary Chau, global marketing director for the Bacardi Global Travel Retail division. "Bacardi rum has been in the folio for 50-plus years, and it is still appreciated as a clear rum for mixing," he says. "So we are now looking at the Caribbean and South/Central America for potential acquisitions to create new trademarks. People want small-batch, super-premium, aged rums that have unique flavours. Just being dark isn't enough; it has to have an age statement - 23 years or so - and heritage and provenance."

All three of these companies have seen their rum brands grow most strongly in Spain and Italy.

"The UK, Spain and Italy have been identified as the most important markets for our [Caribbean] rums," says Laurie Barnard, managing director for St Lucia Distillers and speaking as a representative of The West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers' Association (WIRSPA), the regional organisation that represents producers of rum from the ACP Caribbean region. "We've seen huge growth for rums, especially in Spain, by the likes of Appleton's, Angostura and, of course, all the major brands. But we now have a new programme which is going to push Caribbean rum forward.

Havana Club has also given the Caribbean a push. The Caribbean is hot for rum - it likes to think of itself as the home of rum and the origin of rum. Producers such as Mount Gay, for example, have been in the business for more than 300 years."

Caribbean rum producers heard in January that they are to get an extra three years in which to take advantage of the E70 million funding from the European Community, which is matched by co-financing from the sector.

The Integrated Development Programme for the Caribbean Rum Sector granted in 2002 was expected to end on June 30, 2007, but has been extended to June 30, 2010. This extension gives producers more time to upgrade their distilleries and clean up their act in terms of the environment, through energy efficiencies and better effluent disposal systems.

But a key element and substantial proportion of the funding will go towards marketing Caribbean rums in the EU. The target markets are the UK, Spain and Italy, where the first campaign will be the roll-out of a new Authentic Caribbean Rum Marque, designed to assure consumers that the product is an authentic Caribbean rum meeting the highest quality standards.

The WIRSPA is to employ marketing managers in the UK, Spain and Italy to help generate consumer and trade awareness of the newly created marque. A logo has been designed and registered and the licensing procedure for rum producers is well under way.

Says Barnard: "The rum festivals here and in the UK are good for getting our message out. We now have to find the right distributors, invest some money and attend trade shows in Europe. And we will be using the rum marque programme to support our thrust into these markets - and cement the roots back where they come from."