The price of Chateau Lafite 2008 rises 20% after the announcement of a Chinese symbol (the lucky number eight) on the bottle. FOR SALE: one of the World’s Great Wine Estates…asking price: $10 million. SIPPED: wine lifestyle…in New Hampshire. It’s all downhill from here… [ Reuters ]. SIPPED: profits. MORE >>

Other rarities in the sale of 2,000 bottles spanning 139 years set record levels. But one aspect of the sale that struck me was the premium paid over retail prices. Yet Decanter reports the prices paid for 2008 futures were 102% over retail and the 2009s were almost 300% over retail. “Sheer unbridled enthusiasm,&# he said. MORE >>

Park Avenue Spring was a wonderful venue to showcase the wines - a creamy 2008 Chardonnay with a long crisp finish that paired well with the oyster, refreshing 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (tank-fermented and aged in neutral French Oak barrels), 2004 Pinot Noir (everyone's favorite!) "So what did the first winery look like?" MORE >>

At the time, it was seen as a risky move, yet now Gloria Ferrer is one of the best known and best selling sparkling wines in the world, with increasing sales to China, Japan, and elsewhere. Bob Iantosca, Executive Winemaker. We went to California for wine instead of gold!" can read here, and Jose set up Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma in 1982. MORE >>

It fails to name the auction house where Kurniawan was the consignor of wines in 2008 where Laurent Ponsot dramatically stopped the sale in the room even though it has been widely reported. Rudy Kurniawan, aka “Dr. Conti” aka “Mr. in March. So there are still some gaps to the story. The case is U.S. wine collecting MORE >>