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Value (in billions of US $) of all the wine sold in the US last year. Over the past 12 months, the value of direct-to-consumer sales has risen by 18% to $181 million. (According to a recent Winebusiness.com report, Americans are spending more on premium wine labels.) the average price of a wine sold direct-to-consumer rose to $33.41 in July, representing the highest average bottle price in the US since 2016.

The world’s only train station vineyard is located in:

A. Zurich, Switzerland

B. Shiojiri, Japan

C. Mendoza, Argentina

D. Principality of Monaco

Shiojiri, a modest city in central Japan, is famous as the hub of the Kikyogahara Wine Valley in Nagano Prefecture, one of the country’s oldest wine regions. Domestic wine production in Japan, using locally produced grapes, only really began with the adoption of Western culture during the Meiji restoration in the second half of the 19th century. The Shiojiri Station Platform Vineyard was originally planted in 1988 as a way to promote the area’s wine culture and specialty grapes. “Trained” into high trellises overhead the third and fourth platforms of the station, the vineyard benefits from reflective floor tiles and exposure to the sky that provide the grapes plenty of sunlight. The merlot and niagara grapevines are tended by local winegrowers, and community members volunteer to help cultivate and prune the vines. The Kikyogahara Wine Valley is home to 10 wineries, with a reputation made on merlot and chardonnay.

Foudre

French term for a large wooden cask of indefinite size. Popular in France’s Rhône Valley, foudres are significantly larger than small oak barrels (barriques or pieces). Foudres often have the capacity to hold 528 to… Continue reading

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