• Cold climate winners: Three wines won double golds at this month's International Cold Climate Wine Competition, which doesn't sound like a big deal. But the wines weren't sweet, and they were made with grapes that aren't viniferia -- so yes, it is big news. Cold climate grapes are hybrids, and most of them are relatively new. This means they're more difficult to work with (especially for the regional wineries that make wine with them), and there is relatively little known about what kind of wine they make. So that three wines -- two from Minnesota and one from Vermont -- were that good and weren't sweet speaks volumes about the progress being made to make wine with odd grapes in places that aren't associated with wine.
• Label legal battle ends: Those of us who have been following the various wine trademark disputes (here and here) will be glad to know that a third case has been settled. Yellow Tail and The Wine Group, whose lawyers were battling ferociously over whether a kangaroo on one label was too much like a kangaroo on another label, have settled their case. No details were disclosed, which is probably just as well. The Wine Curmudgeon probably couldn't stand all the legal excitement, and would have take to his bed.
• Top 10 wine scandals: The British Drinks Business magazine runs down the top 10 wine scandals of all time, including two of my favorites -- Red Bicyclette's non-pinot noir and Austria's antifreeze wine. And who says wine is a bunch of stuffy old guys sitting around a room sniffing and spitting?
Comments