Sebastiani owner adds Alexander Valley winery to his growing wine company

Nearly five years after taking over cash-strapped Viansa Winery & Marketplace in Sonoma Valley, a New York-based hedge fund is considering a buyout offer from a former executive who quickly returned Viansa to profitably and has been running it since

Nicolas Glumineau, formerly of Chateau Montrose, is taking over the running of Roederer's Bordeaux estates after the departure of Sylvie Cazes last week.

The Leucadia National Corporation said on Monday that it would buy the Jefferies Group in a deal valued at about $3.6 billion

When life is confusing, we all have to have a moral compass. For me, I look to the immortal Yogi Berra to make some sense out of things. Lets look at a few factoids:

Les Vignobles Foncalieu, a France-based co-operative union that exports and manufactures wines, has purchased Chateau Haut Gleon from Duhamel family, who owned the estate since 1991.

Taub built Palm Bay into a leading wine player by building brands like Cavit

Frank Prial, whose widely syndicated wine column in The New York Times helped shape the perception, understanding, and acceptance of wine for many Americans over several decades, has died aged 82.

The plan would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the unincorporated area 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, but the way in which it accomplishes this for vineyards and wineries elicited some unease from the industry.

At Hong Kong Wine Fair ag professor explains the country's difficult grape-growing conditions.

W. Blake Gray reports from Turkey on a "debate" where only one side turned up

Yao Family Wines, a California-based wine company founded by former NBA player Yao Ming, has entered into the US markets after experiencing a successful run in China.

The new online platform features user friendly shopping tools that allow customers to explore wines with ease, besides giving detailed information about the wines like tasting notes, wine-food pairings and about production from winemakers.

Somm, a documentary following four Master Sommelier candidates, debuted this week at the Napa Valley Film Festival.

The wine trade faces a trend where higher alcohol, bigger being better types of wines, that move further and further from wines that comfortably pair with food, are popularized by Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator.

Output fell to an estimated 40.7 million hectoliters (1.08 billion gallons) from 50.9 million hectoliters in 2011, the Agriculture Ministry wrote in an online report today.

Tawse wines were awarded 32 medals in the recent competition held by Wine Access Magazine, setting a record with both their overall medal count and their nine gold medals. The Vineland winery also won nine silver medals and 14 bronze.

An updated, expanded edition of "Spanish for the Wine Industry" is now available from Napa Valley author Josefina K. Adriance.

The winning restaurant is the Kensington Wine Rooms, the winning retailer is Mill Hill Wines, and the Jugged Hare and the Oxford Wine Company were runners up.

PLB has added four new staff to its sales team to better support its new structure, which sees the business split into five categories to cater for each segment of the market.

South West France co-operative, Producteurs Plaimont, has released a wine made from a pre-phylloxera vineyard that has been carefully restored.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fifth Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair 2012, Financial Secretary John Tsang said, since eliminating duties on wine in 2008, Hong Kong's total value of wine imports has soared from about $200 million in 2007 to $1.2 billion in 2011.

During the past five years, the industry enjoyed robust growth, with vineyard acreage increasing by 50 percent and wine production more than doubling.

The wine industry is on the mend after a gruelling few years that prompted a string of closures and collapses, New Zealand Winegrowers says.

Locals will pour their artisan wines during a four-day festival that features the region's winemakers that produce fewer than 1,200 cases a year.

It's certainly fitting that the films selected to open this year's Napa Valley Film Festival are about wine. Specifically, "Like the Old Vine," pays tribute to a winemaker who helped bring Napa Valley winemaking to the attention of the world.

A crowd estimated at 1,500 turned out Wednesday under mostly bleak skies for the 22nd Napa County Viticulture Fair organized by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers.

Domaine Allary Haut-Brion was a longtime source of grapes for the first-growth

It used to be that working behind the counter at the corner liquor store was considered by some to be a job of last resort

Parker believes that the more accurate definition of a "Parkerized" wine would be "one produced from previously underachieving vineyards

The future of water for drinking and irrigation looks increasingly bleak throughout California and the world's northern regions as the changing global climate shrinks mountain snowpacks and speeds early runoffs, Stanford researchers forecast

Vinitaly International, the ambassador for Italian Wines and its Italian wine exhibitors at the 5th International Hong Kong Wine and Sprits Fair 2012 enjoyed a good start into the last quarter of the year

What is it about Thanksgiving that strikes fear into the heart? Otherwise rational people, wine lovers all year, are paralyzed when it comes to picking the wine

The seminar was created in response to AB 964, which provides new options for growers and vintners to develop water storage up to 20-acre feet and to address efficient water use in Sonoma County.

There are, roughly, 499,999 people at the Bordeaux Fete le Vin who know more about wine than I do

The Santa Cruz Mountains' serpentine roads make exploring the region's many small, family-run wineries a bit of a challenge, albeit a rewarding one

Gladwell has been a member of the board since 2011. He was elected to the state House in 1996 and to the state Senate in 2000.

In its first year, the North Coast Wine Industry Expo, set for Dec. 5 in Santa Rosa, has attracted nearly 200 exhibitors and registrations from more than 800 local wine industry professionals

Contrary to popular belief, the auction and many events are open to the public, and Beaune is a hive of activity

"The turbine and tower are also made in the USA," Ross said in an email to The Buffalo News. "Many are made in China, but we felt strongly that we should use 'made in the USA' to maximize the jobs impact."

A number of wine industry lenders in the North Bay have seen an uptick in demand for financing this year as wineries, vineyards and related industries seek to position themselves more strongly in a changed economy.

Producers who want to make wines that are true to their terroir must cut out the "noise" of modern winemaking techniques and look back to the traditions of how their wines were made, according to Californian winemaker Randall Grahm.

The online retailer's entry into the wine marketplace is a solid affirmation that online wine sales are big business, which should be good news for the wine industry

The 2012 California wine grape harvest yielded generous amounts of high-quality fruit, and winemakers across the state are describing this year's vintage as "excellent," "outstanding" and "ideal," according to a press release from the Wine Institute.