July 1st, 2012

News July 1, 2012

Precept Wine Brands Views Idaho As The Next Big Thing in Wine.

Seattle-based Precept Wine has made headlines in the last few weeks with its purchase of Idaho’s largest winery, Ste. Chapelle, from the bankrupt Ascentia Wine Estates. The deal adds another 150,000 nine-liter cases to the Precept portfolio, which should be just under a million cases by the end of 2012, according to company founder and CEO Andrew Browne. Founded in 2003, Precept made the transition from being purely a sales and marketing firm, to a…

Read More
News July 1, 2012

Hand Harvesting Grapes: Not Everything It’s Cracked up to Be?

The theory view that hand harvesting of grapes produces the best wine is being challenged by new research from the University of Auckland. It shows that machine harvesting produces higher levels of the aromas characteristic of award-winning New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. “There’s always been the issue that perhaps the best wines need to be made only from hand-picked grapes. But this shows that with sauvignon blanc you really are getting the most intense Marlborough style…

Read More