• A victory for local wine: DrinkLocalWine.com co-founder Dave McIntyre has scored a major coup for local wine. Organizers of a major local food event in Washington, D.C., weren't going to serve any local wines -- only California wines. Wrote Dave on his blog and in the Washington Post: "The Park Hyatt is not alone in this hypocrisy. Alice Waters, the doyenne of the 'eat local' movement, has organized a series of dinners in DC the last two years to preach the eat-local gospel. Each time, she has served only California and Italian wines." Organizers relented, and announced this week that they would serve a Virginia wine as well. Well done, Dave.
• Mondavi blasts corporate wine: Major corporations like Constellation and Diageo can't make great wine, Michael Mondavi told Decanter magazine. Mondavi, who ran his family's self-named company after it was bought by Constellation, said "You start talking to the chief financial officer and ask the question ´how do I improve earnings?´, not `how do I make better wines?´ "
• Australia growers continue to struggle: Some Australian grape growers will receive just A$.27 for each bottle of wine sold this year -- about 25 cents U.S. -- as the wine business Down Under is still trying to find a way to solve its oversupply problem. News reports say that consumers can buy some wines for less than the cost of a bottle of water, and that growers in South Australia are being paid less for fruit than they received in 1992.
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