Vintage 2008: What the Wine Year Brought

Globally, what were the trends for winemakers, viticulture and viniculture? News service Reuters says the focus was on greener production and an eye on production costs and consumer's pocketbooks. Under the headline, "Vintage '08? A Mixed Case of Economy and Ecology," Reuters Reporter Leslie Gevirtz wrote:

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the world of wine, vintage 2008 was a blend of economy and ecology as financial woes put the brakes on a bull run in prices and more producers went green."

"The marketers got into the green word for wine," said Alice Feiring, author of "The Battle for Wine and Love or How I saved the World from Parkerization."

"Boisset, the second-largest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau, bottled its entire 2008 harvest in plastic bottles."

"The lightweight PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles drastically cut shipping costs without affecting the young Gamay wine inside and created packaging that was "absolutely recyclable," according to a company spokesman."

"Of course, there are others that don't think the wine industry has really turned green yet, despite the rise in the number of biodynamic and organic wineries internationally."

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