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Wine News

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

At the 2008 Fairtrade Wine Competition this week Argentina won best overall fairtrade wine and best fairtrade red with the 2005 Soluna Premium Malbec, while South Africa won the award for best fairtrade white with the Isabelo Chenin Blanc 2008. The three other award winners were Sainsbury's South African Pinotage, Co-op Argentine Pinot Grigio and Chile's Equality by Las Lomas Sauvignon Blanc.

The competition is in its second year and aims to raise awareness for Fairtrade wines and acknowledge the quality they offer. Entries are received from the three fairtrade producing countries: Argentina, Chile and South Africa.

The five award winning wines will now have a starring role during the Fairtrade & Fabulous activity planned by Vinopolis to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight taking place between February 23 and March 8 2009.

Award winning wines:
Harper’s Trophy for Best Overall Fairtrade Wine: Soluna Premium Malbec 2005
Off Licence News Trophy for Best Fairtrade Red Wine: Soluna Premium Malbec 2005
Wine & Spirit Magazine Trophy for Best Fairtrade White Wine: Isabelo Chenin Blanc 2008

Best Fairtrade South African Red: Sainsbury’s South African Pinotage 2006
Best Fairtrade South African White: Isabelo Chenin Blanc 2008
Best Fairtrade Argentinian Red: Soluna Premium Malbec 2005
Best Fairtrade Argentinian White: Co-op Fairtrade Argentine Pinot Grigio 2008
Best Value Chilean White: Equality by Las Lomas Sauvignon Blanc

Interviews and News for Argentina

UK Wine Show 116 Mariela Molinari of Catena on altitude effects on wine

UK Wine Show 116 Mariela Molinari of Catena on altitude effects on wine

Bodega Catena Zapata has high elevation vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina producing world-class wines. We spoke to Mariela Molinari, assistant winemaker, to find out how altitude affects wine.

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award at the 2008 Fairtrade Wine Competition.

Fairtrade first for Fairhills

Fairhills becomes the first fairtrade brand to span all three wine producing fairtrade countries.

Nicolas Catena is Man of the Year

Decanter magazine's Man of the Year 2009 is Nicolas Catena owner of Argentinian winery Catena Zapata.

New 'Malbrontes' wine blend

Argentinian producer Mauricio Lorca in Mendoza has launched what it claims to be the first commercially available blend of Malbec and Torrontés.

Decanter & IWC trophy winners and champions announced

Argentina scoops 6 international trophies and Waitrose is best supermarket for wine.

Argentina wine sales rocket on the back of Malbec

Sales of Argentine Malbec increase in the UK after heavy promotion and reduced value of Argentine Peso.

South African 2016 harvest smallest for a decade

Yields down as hot growing season takes it toll.

World Malbec Day, Sunday 17th April

World Malbec Day on Sunday 17th April iss being celebrated this weekend in London with a pop up event at Camden Market.

A small Argentine 2017 vintage hit by frost

Argentina has had a small vintage hit by frost at the beginning of the season.

Prepare to enjoy more Argentine Malbec

Argentina is set to increase wine sales to the UK as its Peso drops in value, making the wines cheaper.

Argentina cash crisis limits growth

Argentina wine industry in a bad way as limits on foreign currency limits investment in growth.

Interviews and News for Chile

UK Wine Show 56 Michael Cox Wines of Chile

UK Wine Show 56 Michael Cox Wines of Chile

Wines of Chile is a promotional body that represents 90 Chilean wineries with offices in Santiago and London. Michael Cox heads up the UK office which was set up in 2003. We asked him for his perspective on Chilean wine.

UK Wine Show 242 Miguel Torres on Chile

UK Wine Show 242 Miguel Torres on Chile

In our final interview with Miguel Torres we hear about the company's winemaking operations in Chile.

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award at the 2008 Fairtrade Wine Competition.

Fairtrade first for Fairhills

Fairhills becomes the first fairtrade brand to span all three wine producing fairtrade countries.

Mixed response to new Chilean wine areas

Chilean wine producers have expressed concerns over the three new wine areas for Chile which were approved earlier this year.

Chile hit by early frost will push prices up

Chilean wine prices are expected to rise after an early frost hits vineyards.

Northern Chile winemakers suffer from drought

Winemakers forced to abandon vines as water lacking for irrigation

Tour de France keeps everybody happy

Languedoc winemakers were going to disrupt the tour but have reached an agreement to showcase French wine.

China reduces tariff on Australia wines

FTA agreement reduces tariffs on imported Australian wines

Chile could become the UK's 2nd biggest exporter of wine by 2020

Vinexpo research predicts Chile will become the number 2 supplier of wine in the UK by 2020.

Interviews and News for South Africa

UK Wine Show 67 Mike Ratcliffe on black empowerment in South Africa

UK Wine Show 67 Mike Ratcliffe on black empowerment in South Africa

Mike Ratcliffe is Deputy Chairman of South African Wine Industry Trust. We talk about black economic empowerment and how the trust is helping disadvantaged people to get into the wine industry.

UK Wine Show 74 Mike Ratcliffe Grape Varieties in South Africa

UK Wine Show 74 Mike Ratcliffe Grape Varieties in South Africa

South Africa is known for Pinotage but there are other grapes coming through including Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc. We talk to Mike Ratcliffe about the trends in new plantings.

UK Wine Show 11 Pieter Ferreira from Graham Beck wines on winemaking in South Africa part 1

UK Wine Show 11 Pieter Ferreira from Graham Beck wines on winemaking in South Africa part 1

In a two part series we talk with Pieter Ferreira winemaker at Graham Beck, one of South Africa's top sparkling wine producers. Peter talks about South African wine industry social responsibility and Nasa satellites.

UK Wine Show 12 Pieter Ferreira from Graham Beck wines on winemaking in South Africa part 2

UK Wine Show 12 Pieter Ferreira from Graham Beck wines on winemaking in South Africa part 2

Pieter Ferreira, winemaker at Graham Beck, tastes three wines with us and explains how they are made. Find out why he makes sparkling wines in barrels and how he prefers his barrels burnt on the inside to a medium toast!

Carbon neutral is aim for more grape growers

More wineries are setting their sights on becoming carbon neutral in order to avoid contributing to climate change.

Online tool helps wine industry track carbon footprint

A carbon calculator has been developed for the wine industry to help producers assess the environmental impact of their activities.

UK government supports SA carbon study

The UK government is to help fund research into the carbon footprint of the South African wine and fruit industry.

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award

Argentina wins best Fairtrade wine award at the 2008 Fairtrade Wine Competition.

Fairtrade first for Fairhills

Fairhills becomes the first fairtrade brand to span all three wine producing fairtrade countries.

New TV series charts wine trade

A new BBC4 TV series about different aspects of the wine trade will be on air in February and March.

UV-treated wine is a first

The first UV-treated wine is due to be released later this year following successful trials in South Africa.

Head of South African KWV losses job after exports collapse

Change of leadership for South African wine and spirits giant KMV

South African winemakers accused of human rights abuses

A report by Human Rights Watch accuses wine producers of human rights abuses in South African vineyards.

Australian vineyards burning but South African winegrowers smouldering

South African wine growers in riots

Boycott South African wine? Don't worry nothing to see here, move on.

South African wine trade say strikes nothing to do with them

Banknote style labels used to stop wine fraud

South African winemakers use holographic labels to stop wine fraud

Cheers Mandela!

Mandela family launch wine

South African 2016 harvest smallest for a decade

Yields down as hot growing season takes it toll.

Cape Town wines coming to you soon

South Africa launches a new Cape Town district pulling together 30 wineries from the town.

South African drought brings threat of lower production

South African drought continues, lower volumes of grapes will put further pressure on wine prices.

South Africa drought casts a shadow on the 2019 vintage

The 2019 South African vintage will be the smallest since 2005, the volume is less than the 2018 drought hit vintage.

Covid 19 Round up

South Africa flip flops, while social distancing means the treading of the grapes in Portugal may be scrapped.

South Africa bans alcohol again

South Africa has banned the sale of alcohol again as Covid-19 infection and death rates rise after the government released lockdown.

UK scales backs social gatherings while South Africa is seeing the rise of bootleggers

The Rule of 6 limits social gatherings in the UK, while South Africa's on/off ban on alcohol sales has seen the rise of modern day bootleggers.

Are we all about to enjoy the delights of South Africa?

A weak currency, a local market banned from drinking and a harvest that is both good quality and decent quantity. Is South African wine is set to over deliver on value?

South Africa chronic oversupply could be golden news for UK drinkers

South Africa’s wine industry has had a bad Covid-19 pandemic, temporary export bans and on again, off again prohibition has resulted in a 300m litre wine lake, but who is going to drink it up?

UK drinks scene in 2020 was different but some wines and countries did very well

Over an additional £1 billion was spent on wine in retail stores in 2020, replacing the sales that normally would be in pubs and restaurants.

South Africa finally has some cool news

South Africa’s harvest for 2021 is up by 8.9% on 2020, with cooler and wetter weather the vintage was harvested a couple of weeks later.

South Africa bans wine sales again

South Africa is facing a third wave of coronavirus and is banning the sale of alcohol in the on and off trade for the fourth time since the pandemic began.