Weekly Wine News Around the Web

Beauty, eh?: Good news from the great white north! A new law has recently been approved by Canada's parliament that will allow for direct wine shipments across the country's provincial borders. Since 1928, Canadian wineries have only been allowed to ship direct to consumers within their own provincial boundaries, as reported in this article from Decanter magazine. Now wineries will be able to build their brand across the country.

Le Plus Grand Wine Fraud: On the heels of the terrific piece in New York magazine, Vanity Fair magazine has weighed in on one of the wildest wine frauds on record. One Rudy Kurniawan is at the center of this case, purported to have positioned himself as an esteemed Bordeaux and Burgundy collector/seller who may, in fact, be responsible for allegedly perpetrating the biggest wine fraud case in history.

Halleluhah! OR Booze Deregulation: Legislators in Oregon are debating whether to make the state more "modern" in terms of how liquor is distributed to consumers, and two legislators added their .02 cents on the issue, as reported in The Oregonian newspaper in Portland. Currently, the state controls ownership and distribution of all liquor - distilled spirits are acquired and distributed by state officials. Consumers and business owners are looking for more privatization within the system. The state legislature plans to hold hearings next year to consider how this switch could affect price of alcohol, state revenue, consumer selection and public health.

Single Vineyard Designation in Italy: The governing wine board in Italy plans to create a new top tier for Chianti Classico above “reserva” wines to indicate what will largely be single vineyard varietals, according to this Decanter magazine report. The new designation is intended to reflect the improvements in wine quality in the region, according to the report. “Wines that qualify for the new tier must not hit the market until 30 months after harvesting and must spend three months in the bottle,” the report said.

Champizzle on the Rebound: Sales of Champagne have rebounded from a 2009 lows, posting strong growth in 2010 and continued acceleration in 2011. Check the statistics here in this Shanken News Daily blog post.