Last month I mentioned that Chateau Montelena, one of Napa Valley's best-known wineries, might be for sale. Now the San Francisco Chronicle reveals the new owner. Michel Reybier, owner of Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel, will soon own the Calistoga property pending approval from the federal government. There has been no definitive word on a price but rumor has it that the figure is in the $100 to $110 million range. The potential deal comes at a time when attention is being focused toward the winery anyway because of the release of the movie "Bottle Shock," which centers on the events surrounding the moment when the 1973 Montelena Chardonnay outscored top white Burgundies in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

Italian prosecco is in the process of re-branding itself as the "softer, lighter" bubbly, not to mention cheaper. Production has already increased thirty-fold over the past four decades, with plans for greater distribution particularly to emerging wine markets like China, where marketing drives the majority of sales, relegating prosecco to champagne wannabe status. Hence Italy's support of reserving the name prosecco for wine produced only within the region, a formerly Slovenian area that's been growing grapes since the 1500s, to up the exclusivity factor. Oh, and then there was that little Paris Hilton promo. Italian winemakers disparaged the pairing (she was, after all, promoting an Austrian-crafted sparkling wine in a can), but Paris certainly knows a thing or two about aspirational status.

Lots of us have been put off by port's connotations of crusty vintages and even crustier connoisseurs. You don't actually need an English country house, a kennel full of fox hounds and a gouty leg to enjoy it, however.

Ironically, it fell to Warre's, the oldest British-owned port producer dating to 1670, to give the storied fortified wine a facelift. With the introduction of their Otima bottlings, Warre's managed to modernize the drink without turning it into some kind of silly snake oil marketed to wannabe rap stars.

Otima is a premium tawny (the best of port's non-vintage iterations) with a "lighter, more contemporary style," available in 10 and 20-year-old versions.

The "contemporary" vibe is admirably captured by the clean, elegant clear glass bottle and minimalist labeling, making for an aesthetically pleasing addition to your bar without sacrificing any of the wine's sophistication. On the palate it presents pleasing notes of honey, raisins, nuts and dried fruit. If you've never tried port before we suggest starting here.

Can sharing a bottle of wine keep a couple together? Businesspeople turned wine couple, Suzanne Phifer-Pavitt and her husband Shane Pavitt, have created Date Night, a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon as a nod to their marital happiness. The couple hatched the plans for their own winery dream after several years of wine-fuelled date nights. And they hope that their Date Night wine will inspire other couples to open a bottle and share dinner, conversation and closeness.

Phifer Pavitt Wines has become known for its annual Pick-Up Party when customers arrive to collect their purchases and enjoy food, friends and music by local musicians. Customers enjoy adding their favorite 'date night' experience on the chalkboards that adorn the winery's barn wall. Now website customers can add their date night experiences online at the Date Night Wine website.

The grapes are sourced from Arthur Spencer's Lakespring Vineyard in Pope Valley, the winemaker is Ted Osborne. The 2005 Phifer Pavitt 'Date Night' Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a release of just 300 cases. The wine spent 17 months in barrel (65% new French) before being bottled. It sells for $75 a bottle. The 2006 Date Night Cabernet Sauvignon will be released around October/November 2008.

He may be known for an empire built on cookware from Kitchen Aid, Circulon, Anolon, and Farberware but Stanley Cheng's newest venture continues his success with consumables -- namely wine. Stephanie Wines, named after Cheng's only daughter, are made from five Bordeaux varietals at his estate in Napa called Hestan Vineyards. The CEO of Meyer Corporation's debut release includes 2005 Stephanie Red Bordeaux Blend (940 cases, $65), 2005 Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon (930 cases, $50), and 2005 Stephanie Merlot (475 cases, $40). The consulting winemaker is Jeff Gaffner who has also worked for Saxon Brown, Black Kite, and Xtant. These are just newly released and only to mailing list customers and select markets nationally so if you get your hands on some let us know what you think!

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

While the phrase "Enter to win!" is often accompanied by eyerolling and a lesson in probability, when it comes to the 2008 Sub-Zero Dream Kitchen -- and dreamy it is, complete with sleek sub-zero fridge, freeze and wine storage alongside $2,000 worth of gourmet goodies from Dean & Deluca, Wolf dual range, Kohler kitchen gear ... the list goes on -- the words just may inspire a foodie frenzy. Until July 31, enter here if you aspire to cook and entertain in this kitchen-for-the-gods (did we mention ambrosia flows freely from those Kohler products? And there is a subscription to the Windsor Sonoma Wine Club?). Winners of the $50,000 in kitchen booty will be notified August 3. I hope I'm invited to your first dinner party.

Tonight marks the first in a series of "Twitter tastings" by wine store, Bin Ends. The tastings will feature famous wine personalities taking part in online tastings. that anyone can participate in. The tastings will take place on the third Thursday of each month at 7pm. For each tasting Bin Ends will sell a tasting pack. Tonight's pack of six bottles cost $100. The tasting will include comments from Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of the popular Spanish and Portuguese-centered wine site CataVino.

Bin Ends offers "fine wine bargains" for customers both in their Boston store and online. They use an automatic markdown system where every three weeks, anything still in stock gets marked down an additional 10%. Bin Ends offers free shipping nationwide on all orders of $200 or more.

Side-by-side refrigerators are not a new phenomenon but adding a third section just for wine is a bright idea. The AEG-Electrolux Santo 75 598 KG offers just such a sleek design with glassed in sections offering individual temperature controls. There is even an alarm to alert you to temperatures moving outside the desired range per section. One too many drinks won't lead to a fridge full of ruined vino. Elegant, purposeful, and smart this is a fantastic idea for any oenophile.

For centuries, France dominated wine production but may change. A recent article in the International Herald Tribune reported the results from a study for the Vignerons Independants winemakers association that revealed Spain will top world wine production to Spain by 2015

France is in trouble for two major reasons, falling consumption at home and the tendency of French winemakers to be slow to adapt to new trends and competitors. Eric Rosaz, the director of France's independent wine producers association, believes it's not too late and that France can remain the wine leader especially if they pick up current trends like screw tops, boxed wines and easy-to-understand labeling. In 2015, the U.S. will be the world's largest wine consumer with 871 million gallons but U.S. consumers tend to steer clear of French wines especially because they perceive French wines to be costly or too hard to understand.

Should France manage to dodge the challenges of Spain and the U.S., another threat is looming. The BBC has an article that says China may be the world's largest producer of bulk wine in 50 years time as well as a major force in fine wine. Currently, Chinese wine isn't well known outside of Asia but the country does have a huge number of vineyards and climate change may work in their favor as other places may find themselves unable to grow decent wine. What China currently seems to be lacking is technical expertise but that is changing.

Jasper Morris, of wine sellers Berry Brothers & Rudd predicts that in 50 years, consumers will ask for wine by the brand name or flavor but won't know or care where it came from. I'm hoping that won't be the case but there certainly is room enough on the global market for wines from all places. Other Berry predictions include some trends already in place such as the continued rise of English sparkling wine, the phasing out of corks and the rise of new containers to compete with the bottle.

I like to believe there will always be a market for certain French wines but in a year like this, where Robert Parker says the 2007 Bordeaux isn't great, it's becoming possible to see a world where French wine is no longer the dominant force in the world.

Three men, a winemaker, a viticulturalist, and a market have collaborated on a new tiny-production artisanal Napa Cabernet. The 2005 Trivium, named for the Latin term for a three-way crossroad, is made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Les Ivrettes, a vineyard in which their daughters played while growing up in St. Helena. Les Ivrettes means 'the little tipsy ones' in French, a reference to the parties which the young women hosted in the vineyard adjoining their homes. The vineyard is located within the The Lewelling Vineyard, which was established in 1864 by viticulturalist Doug Wight's great-great-grandfather, pioneer horticulturist John Lewelling. Doug Wight is the fifth generation of his family to farm grapes in the Napa Valley. Together with esteemed winemaker Jack Stuart and marketer Stuart Harrison, he has created a wine with notes of cherry, cassis and spice and rich blackberry flavors. There were just 318 cases made and it sells for $60 a bottle.

If you own a yacht more than likely you have all the luxuries onboard. Planning to enjoy a glass of exceptional champagne? Plan on not spilling a drop when you add the Bottler to your accessories. The extraordinary hand-manufactured piece designed with cardanic suspension (gimballed) with three concentric rings hold the bottle perpendicularly no matter the motion of the boat. Made with watch-making precision and available in three different metals (brass, nickel and gold-plated) to suit the interior of any yacht you'd better plan to spend between €5,000 to €10,000 or more for a customized version. Cheers!

[via Sail World]

While many New World wineries have embraced the screwcap (most New Zealand and Australian wines are screwcap and many U.S. wines are too), the French winemakers have been slow to adopt them. The Telegraph reports that may be about to change. According to one wine expert both Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy and Bordeaux's Chateau Margaux are thinking of going screwcap. This is huge news since these are two very recognizable and lauded brands. The director general of Chateau Margaux, Paul Pontallier says they have been doing tests for a few years but are not certain if they will use the screwcaps because their wines are meant to be stored for long periods, there is some debate over whether or not screwcaps are optimal for wines that are best aged.

One of Burgundy's best-known producers, Jean-Claude Boisset is using them on approximately a third of their wines including the Chambertin grand cru 2005, which sells for almost £100 a bottle. They feel that the screwcap is great for wines that will be aged because they protect the wine from oxidation better than a cork can. The Larouche wine group in Burgundy has also started using screw tops on its highest end wine, the Réserve de l'Obédiance, but still prefers the cork for red wines that will be aged.

The emperor of wine has also weighed in. Wine critic Robert Parker says wines bottled with corks will be in the minority by 2015 and that only wines meant to sit in cellar for decades will be topped by a cork. While the cork will always have romantic appeal, the realities of the wine business and the growing customer acceptance of screwcaps seem to have sealed its fate.

The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts group has planned a "Super Vintage" wine auction weekend at the incredible Frank Gehry-designed Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Rioja, Spain in October. To celebrate 150 years of the region's famed wines, the culinary-themed weekend will culminate in a gala dinner and charity auction of local vintages conducted by Christie's - including the Riscal Superlot, a single lot consisting of 131 bottles dating back to 1862, proceeds from which will go to UNICEF. Details on the once-in-a-lifetime event, which will take place from Oct. 24-26, can be found here.

Rapper Lil Wayne is the latest celebrity to announce his own booze brand. Lil Wayne is partnering with Milestone Brands and French grower Voirin-Jumel to create Halo Champagne. A bottle of the appeared in the video for his song "Lollipop." The Halo Champagne will be available in four styles, Brut, Brut Vintage, Rose and Halo Pinnacle and will be out this fall. He joins a long list of actors and musicians with their own wine-related projects, check out the gallery below.

The world is experiencing shortages of natural resources and the search for alternative fuels is going stronger than ever. Prince Charles is doing his part by supporting some creative efforts and fueling his 38yr old Aston Martin with of all things, wine.

Due to strict wine limits set by the EU excess wine cannot be sold on the regular market and instead ends up getting converted into environmental fuel. Besides his Aston Martin (which he only drives an average of 300 miles a year) Prince Charles has also converted several of his other cars to alternative fuel: his Jaguars, Audi, and Range Rovers all run on biodiesel made of cooking oil.