wine

Robert Blanc (left) and his brother, Didier, stand in the middle of their vineyard, Domaine Saint Firmin, near the town of Uzes, in southern France. The area is known for its rosé wine in the summertime, and Robert Blanc says American importers have come

World News

Why French Winemakers Are Seeing The World Through Rosé-Colored Glasses

2:33pm August 27, 2015

by Eleanor Beardsley

Many vintners in southern France used to make a few bottles of rosé only for themselves. Now demand for the pale, dry wine has skyrocketed, transforming the lives of the region's winemakers.

Queue Listen Now

Winemaker Iago Bitarishvili makes wine in clay vessels called qvevri, which he buries underground and fills with white grapes. There are no barrels, vats or monitoring systems for this ancient Georgian method, which is helping drive sales. Bitarishvili pl

Georgia's Giant Clay Pots Hold An 8,000-Year-Old Secret To Great Wine

2:35pm June 09, 2015

by Daniella Cheslow

Making ancient Georgian wine is pretty uncomplicated: Toss grapes into a huge, egg-shaped pot, bury it, walk away. What comes out is an orange wine with a deep tannin flavor prized around the world.

"There's no reason to believe that exposure to arsenic in food and wine is above levels that are considered to be safe," says Susan Ebeler, a professor and chemist in the Foods For Health Institute at the University of California, Davis.

Arsenic In California Wines: Should Drinkers Be Concerned?

12:58pm April 06, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

A recent lawsuit raises a red flag about traces of arsenic in some lower-cost California wines. But, by Canadian standards, the trace levels are acceptable.

Spain is exporting record amounts of wine. Earlier this year, Spain's King Felipe VI (center) and Queen Letizia toasted with Freixenet president Josep Lluis Bonet during a visit to the winemaker's headquarters in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Spain.

World News

Spain's Wine Exports Soar 22 Percent — But Profits Fall

8:34pm March 05, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Spain's wine industry had a record year in 2014, posting numbers that could propel it past Italy as the world's biggest wine exporter. But most of the wine was sold cheaply, in bulk.

An illustration depicts Jesus Christ transforming water into wine during the wedding at Cana (John 2:7).

What Would Jesus Drink? A Class Exploring Ancient Wines Asks

1:16am February 05, 2015

by Lynnsay Maynard

The details of wine and winemaking practices in biblical times are debated among experts. But we do know that vino in Christ's day was very different from what we imbibe today.

Queue Listen Now

An unmanned aerial vehicle films vineyards in France. Drones like this one are also being used in Califiornia, as part of a broader "precision farming" movement designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

In Wineries Vs. Weather, Drones To The Rescue?

1:43pm December 21, 2014

by Renee Morad

Rising temperatures have hastened harvest dates in Sonoma County — and they're changing grape-growing patterns around the world. Vineyards are responding with everything from sunscreen to sensors.

Either we smoke or we drink or we break up.

Health & Safety

When Cigarettes Cost More, People Drink Less. Except For Wine

12:24pm September 29, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

If you raised the price of Don Draper's cigarettes, would he have cut back on the whiskey? Probably not, but it works on most beer and spirits drinkers, a study finds. Wine drinkers, not so much.

Marquise Lamberto Frescobaldi (right), of the winemaking dynasty, talks with prisoners Brian Baldissin (left) and Francesco Papa at his vineyard on Gorgona island in June 2013.

World News

This Fine Wine Made At An Italian Penal Colony Is No 2-Buck Chuck

7:58pm July 10, 2014

by Sylvia Poggioli

Off the coast of Tuscany, prisoners serving the end of their sentences are learning to make wine from a 30th-generation winemaker. It's a unique approach to rehabilitation that seems to be working.

Queue Listen Now