Rose, excise tax, logistics and Hermitage signs – sipped and spit
SIPPED and SPIT: rosé! Controversy continues to swirl around the proposed changes in the EU to allow blending rather than bleeding. We’re talking rosé, of course, which has traditionally been bled off red grapes but may soon be allowed to have the lower cost method of red being blended with white. Francois Millo, head of the Provence vintners’ association, brings this intra-European fight to the pages of the NYT with an op-ed arguing that their local “achievement should not be drowned in a flood of cheap imitations.” AFP previously reported that France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland are opposed to the practice. But Decanter reported that José Bové, in full EU electoral mode, has called the French agricultural minister a liar, saying that he failed to vote against the reform as a part of a broader package in January.
UPDATE: The European Agricultural Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, has withdrawn the rose reform. [Guardian]
SWIRLED: wine tax increase
The Senate finance committee considers raising the federal excise tax on wine (and beer)–and introducing a tax on other beverages, such as soda–in the name of funding health reform. The last increase in the federal excise tax on wine was 1991, when it was increased to $1.07 a gallon for still wine under 14% alcohol. Prior to that, the rate had been stable since 1951 at $0.17 a gallon.
SPIT and SIPPED: New Vine Logistics
New Vine Logistics, a Napa-based company that provides order fulfillment to 200 wineries and may have been involved in the back end of Amazon wine, startlingly ceased operations a week ago. But faster than you could say “Chrysler,” it found an apparent savior in Inertia Beverage Group. Follow the action over at wineindustryinsight.com.
SPIT: signs as a threat to the environment
The steep hillside vineyards of Hermitage may be preserved under an environmental heritage act. Such an action could jeopardize the signs of Chapoutier and Jaboulet on those hillsides (”one of the region’s most beloved landmarks” according to the Chapoutier web site), which may have to be removed as a result.
One of the "seven best wine blogs." 
One of the three best wine blogs
On June 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm ,Lego wrote:
I can see taxing soda’s and high fructose corn syrup, we actually provide subsidies for those beverages via high fructose corn syrup. However, I find it very strange to raise taxes on beer and wine under the guise of health reform. Both products have been proven to provide health benefits in moderate amounts. Do we really want to increase taxes on products that are actually growing our economy? Small wineries and breweries are already fighting to maintain competitive prices against imports and larger brewing companies.
On June 9th, 2009 at 12:06 am ,Weston wrote:
100% tax up here in British Columbia Canada, and we seem to live with it ok. Lots of people still drink wine, and even support their local wineries even when the cheapest wine is 20$ (which would most likely be a 9-11$ bottle of wine in the USA
On June 9th, 2009 at 3:14 pm ,Lego wrote:
I used to think I would like living in Canada. Now I’m not so sure.
To make my point applicable to Canada. How many people buy U.S. $5 plonk produced by Gallo, instead of $10-$15 wine by a small producer because of taxes? How many people don’t buy wine at all because they can’t get something decent at a reasonable price? (Some people may consider 100% reasonable, but I don’t).
On June 9th, 2009 at 8:15 pm ,Dylan wrote:
Clever visual for the wine excise tax.
In regards to Lego’s comment, my guess is that people will still pay for these items at their marginal increase in tax, thus remaining a growing part of the economy. I expect many will likely not even notice when they are paying a little more.
On August 7th, 2009 at 10:55 am ,logistics madrid wrote:
we need something that is tax free. and in this regard logistics services can acomplish a great job.