Naked Wines Share Discussion Threads

[itsourpete] 11/12/2005 15:33

bionicdog - finally got round to going to Morrisons and the £7.99 deal for Penfolds Bin 128 is still on - (though I did get the last bottle in the shop today). Just slurped a bit - very nice - even the wife liked it (that is VERY rare by the way).

Pete

[bionicdog] 30/11/2005 07:51

I beleive that it's still on.
In fact I think that they are doing at least 20% off all aussies at present.
Bin 128 is one my absolute favourites and there shouldn't be much risk of them running out , as Morrison shoppers tend to have a max spend of £3 a bottle. Most of them just stand at the end of the aisle wondering what the stuff in expensive bottles is before shuffling back to the pie shop :o)

[itsourpete] 29/11/2005 19:23

bionicdog - re your post 'Penfolds bin 128 a bargain £7.99 at scummy Morrison's.'

Is that deal still on? - that IS cheap!

Will pay a visit with an empty boot if so!

Pete

[waldron] 29/11/2005 09:19

Consentino Signature to float on AIM with 125p/shr placing

LONDON (AFX) - Consentino Signature Wines PLC said it plans to float on the
Alternative Investment Market after a placing of 9,120,000 new ordinary shares
priced at 125 pence each to raise 11.4 mln stg before expenses.
At the placing price, Cosentino Signature Wines, a luxury wine brands
producer with operations based in the Napa Valley and Lodi regions of Northern
California, will have a market capitalisation of 28.1 mln stg.
Trading in the company's ordinary shares is expected to commence on
Thursday Dec 1.
None of the executive management team are selling shares in the placing and
the company said the directors will hold, in aggregate, approximately 30.4 pct
of the group's enlarged issued share capital.
The company is to use the proceeds from the placing for the expansion of
facilities and to repay borrowings.

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[waldron] 29/11/2005 07:24

Cosentino Winery to go public


By ALAN GOLDFARB, NVP Services
Friday, November 4, 2005 12:29 AM PST



By the end of the month, Cosentino Winery will go public. The latest wine company to do so, the company -- known as Cosentino Signature Wines -- will be listed on the London Stock Exchange in hopes of raising $30 million.

The money will be used to wipe out more than half of the company's $23 million debt, to finish and expand existing projects, and to add to its portfolio by purchasing other small wineries.

The company hopes to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which is part of the London Stock Exchange.

According to Cosentino's Chicago-based chairman Larry Soldinger, it was less costly to be listed on the English market.


Additionally Soldinger said, "The AIM exchange allows you to get large, institutional investors at public market prices. We want to be perceived as a global company and having a public offering in London gives us a better opportunity to do that.

"If we did that in the U.S. it would make us a small company, we would be on the bulletin board (only), and it would give us a small presence."

Soldinger said that Cosentino, which is headquartered north of Yountville on Highway 29, is experiencing rapid growth, which prompted the public offering. Currently, Cosentino is valued at $60 million. He said he expects revenues of $7 million to increase by 30 percent this year. The company currently produces about 45,000 cases, which also includes its Pope Valley and Lodi holdings.

"We've got pretty serious growth," he said. "We've been growing rapidly over the last few years, building new facilities in Lodi and Pope Valley. We're looking to reduce a good portion of our debt and have the capability to enter into an expansion mode.

"We are looking to acquire smaller, premium wineries around the world and this gives us the currency to make those acquisitions."

Soldinger acknowledged that CSW is looking to California, New Zealand, Australia and Italy for further acquisitions.

The Yountville facility will remain status quo he said, but the Pope Valley and Lodi holdings will undergo expansion.

"We will continue exactly as is (in Yountville), which is running just great," he said. However, the revenue raised through the public offering will "assist us in constructing facilities in Pope Valley," and to purchase additional vineyard land in Lodi.

He said that the first phase of the Pope Valley facility is expected to be operational in the next 30 days. With the completion of phase two in another year, it will accommodate a 100,000-gallon cellar and will include a tasting room open by invitation only.

[bionicdog] 28/11/2005 16:28

Hope it's got better since I had some a year ago.

[ttg100] 28/11/2005 16:06

now that is a good deal


have just ordered some
will let u know what it's like

[bionicdog] 28/11/2005 14:37

If you like that , try this.
Novas Carmenere/Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Chile 5.95 from Asda.
Be warned , the label is awful.

[jl202] 28/11/2005 13:57

Tried Tesco Chilean Carmenere sunday @ £5.99 - v. nice. Strong peppery flavour but not too full bodied?!! Made a change to the usual Aussie fruit fest...

jl.

[bionicdog] 25/11/2005 12:21

Penfolds bin 128 a bargain £7.99 at scummy Morrison's.

[ariane] 25/11/2005 12:02

French row over 'wine warnings'

Wine has fuelled the rise in alcohol sales in the UK
A row has broken out in France over whether wine bottles should carry public health warnings.
A report drawn up for the French Health Ministry recommended that wine should carry labels similar to warnings given on cigarette packets.

Campaigners said alcohol was causing real harm - it is linked to 23,000 deaths in France each year.

But wine makers have reacted angrily, saying it is "ridiculous" to equate drinking and smoking.

The report, drawn up by a panel of experts commissioned by the French government, also called for better training for doctors to detect excessive drinking - one in 10 French people are classed as alcoholics.

You are trying to create an atmosphere of fear

Roland Feredj, from the Bordeaux Wine Trade Council

And it called on former alcoholics to create support networks to help others, while adding there should be a strict application of the law which bans sales of alcohol to under 16s.

But it is the suggestion that wine should carry health warnings in the world's top wine producing nation that has caused most controversy.

France produces a fifth of the wine in the world, although sales have been falling over the last five years as the country's wine makers face competition for New World producers such as Australia and Chile.

Report author Herve Chabalier said it was not about telling people "don't drink, but to inform them about what alcohol really is a drug".

Pregnant

Next year, labels are to be placed on wine bottles warning pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol consumption.

But the report wants the government to go further.

Marie-Christine Tarby from wine industry lobby group, the Vin et Societe, said: "It's ridiculous. This would reduce alcohol to the same as cigarettes, whereas the two are completely different.

"If you drink alcohol in moderation, you face no risks to your health. There are even benefits."

And Roland Feredj, from the Bordeaux Wine Trade Council, said warning labels would not work.

"You are trying to create an atmosphere of fear. But a policy of fear and bans does not work."

[red ninja] 15/11/2005 10:09

Way out of my league, but looks like a bubble may be building in fine Bordeaux :-

Bordeaux blue chip boom: artificially inflated?
November 14, 2005
Adam Lechmere

As prices of blue-chip Bordeaux continue to rise on the back of fevered trade activity, commentators have accused merchants of artificially inflating the market.

With sales, and prices, of top-end Bordeaux rising, one industry source said: 'Most of the interest is a result of merchants emailing their clients about SIPPs [the news that, from April 2006, providers of Self-Invested Personal Pensions will be able to include wine in pension funds]. It is not difficult to push up prices by warning how rare certain wines will become.'

Merchants across the UK are reporting unprecedented levels of interest in first- and second-growth claret and top-end Right Bank wines. The reasons for the boom are debatable, however.

Feverish interest over SIPPs (Berry Bros said on its website that it 'fully expects the quantities of the top blue-chip wines... to reduce substantially') has affected prices, with Berrys reporting that the 1982s have doubled in price since the summer.

Johnny Wheeler of Lay & Wheeler said there has been major interest in the top growths from 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1996, as well as Pomerol 1998s.

However, the lion's share of recent interest comes from outside the UK, shooting down the theory that SIPPs speculation is wholly responsible. Many merchants report constant, increased demand from mainland China and Russia.

Pensions providers remain doubtful as to whether they will include wine in their SIPPs. Pensions consultant David Seaton of James Hay, the UK's largest SIPPs provider, which will decide whether to include wine in March, says 'a lot of UK providers won't want to include wine'.

Legislation on pensions is still in draft form. Clarifications from the government are expected by the end of 2005.

[waldron] 15/11/2005 09:56

Fine wines sales boom as drinkers splash out
By David Derbyshire, Consumer Affairs Editor
(Filed: 15/11/2005)

The palates of British drinkers are become more sophisticated, according to figures released yesterday which show sales of fine wines are soaring.

As Majestic Wines reported a 43 per cent rise in sales of wines costing more than £20, supermarkets also revealed a surge in demand for their "top end" bottles.


Confidence and wine education have contributed to wine sales
Britain's new-found love of classy wine is a long way from the days when the height of dinner party sophistication was to arrive on the doorstep with a bottle of Blue Nun or Black Tower.

The interest appears to have been stimulated by greater confidence and wine education among shoppers and more disposable income.

The exorbitant prices charged by restaurants, where mark-ups of 300 per cent are common, has also persuaded drinkers to invest more in wines for the home.

Tim How, the chief executive of Majestic, said most of the £20-plus wines sold in his stores were clarets and burgundys.

"These are not wines that people are laying down, they are drinking them," he said.

Much of the sales boost had come from the store's promotion of fine wines, he added. But it also reflected "wine inflation" - the phenomenon where tastes shift up market over time into better quality wines.

"It's not huge, but it has been steady for the past 10 years or so," he said: "People are moving away from liebfraumilch and Australian chardonnay to pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc."

However, Mr How added: "There is a long way to go before all consumers spend over £5 a bottle. There is an awful lot of wine below £5 and some of it is OK. But because duty is the same, at £1.23p, on a cheap bottle as on an expensive one, if you can persuade customers to spend a bit more the choice and quality massively increases."

Supermarkets are also noticing more sophisticated taste among their shoppers.

"We've seen a 10 per cent growth in sales of fine wines over the last year," said a spokesman for Waitrose.

"People are prepared to spend more, but at the same time they are getting better value for money. We have more disposable income now, so some of that is going on fine wines."

A spokesman for Tesco said: "Shoppers are showing a clear inclination towards trying new and better quality wines. Since August we have introduced more than 50 new wines above £6. There is clearly a demand from customers for this."

The situation was similar at Sainsbury's. "Premium wines are growing faster than cheaper wines, particularly those that customers recognise easily such as chablis or Chateauneuf du Pape."

However, market researchers stress that fine wines represent a tiny fraction of the wine market.

Brian Howard, of Wine Intelligence, said fewer than one in 1,000 of the 14.4 billion bottles sold each year cost more than £10.

"The average prices is still well below £4," he said. "However, there has been a trend over the last few years for people to spend a little more."

Over the last year there has been a five per cent rise in the number of bottles sold costing more than £6, he said.

Wine sales have grown by nearly 25 per cent since 1999, according to a report from the market research company Mintel earlier this year.

[waldron] 14/11/2005 07:36

Majestic Wine H1 profit up 18 pct; says current sales growth 'robust'

LONDON (AFX) - Majestic Wine PLC, the wine warehouse chain, announced 18 pct
profits growth for the first half and said sales growth since the period end has
been "robust" in a challenging market.
Majestic reported pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill of 5.9 mln
stg for the six months to Sept 26, up from 5 mln the previous year, on sales up
at 80.8 mln from 74.6 mln. Like-for-like sale grew 5.5 pct during the first
half.
The group said like-for-like sales have increased by 5 pct in the six-week
period to Nov 7.
The company is raising its interim dividend by 26.7 pct to 1.9 pence.
Majestic said it saw strong sales growth in wines from Spain, California,
Chile, Argentina and New Zealand during the first six months.
Sales of fine wine also showed good growth, with sales of wines priced at 20
stg and above rising by 43 pct.
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[jl202] 01/11/2005 13:59

jl202 - 31 Oct'05 - 13:25 - 2014 of 2017 edit
... although I was reminded this morning I ought to give Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee a try ...
waldron - 31 Oct'05 - 13:49 - 2015 of 2017
with Rum?


>>> Probably black for starters :)


jl.

[bionicdog] 31/10/2005 16:11

No , meths.

[jl202] 31/10/2005 13:25

... although I was reminded this morning I ought to give Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee a try ...