Beverage Bulletin... Australia Day 2009

Australia Day 2009 will be celebrated in style in the UK next week with leading winemakers flying in for the occasion, which will culminate in consumer tastings in both Edinburgh and London. Edinburgh will celebrate on Australia Day itself; 26th January with a lively wine tasting in the company of some of Australia’s best winemakers at ‘Our Dynamic Earth’; an inspired arena where over 500 wines will be on pour. The winemakers then move south to London where the Emirates Stadium will play host to the Great Australian Wine Experience on the evening of Wednesday 28th January 2009. The night will include guided ‘trails’ through the array of nearly 800 wines on tasting, led by great characters from the world of wine such as TV presenters Ollie Smith and Isabelle Legeron plus, wine writer and educator Sarah Ahmed and top Aussie sommelier Paul Green from Jamie Oliver’s restaurant ‘Fifteen’.

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) – the world’s most prestigious and influential independent wine competition - is calling for entries to the 2009 challenge, which recognises the most outstanding wines of the world. IWC has been running for over 25 years and has established its reputation for identifying and rewarding top wines from around the globe through its assessment of judging every wine blind, for its faithfulness to variety, region and vintage and independently of its price.

Coca-Cola’s Glaceau enhanced water business is being attacked by US consumer health advocates, who accuse it of misleadingly marketing its “vitaminwater” drinks as a healthier alternative to sugared sodas. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has pressured US companies to address a range of obesity issues, is backing a law suit that also accuses Coke of making deceptive claims about the functional health benefits of the drinks.

Diageo,the owner of Guinness stout, is scaling back plans to construct a $855m new brewery on the outskirts of Dublin and may scrap them altogether as global beer sales slump. Diageo, which announced plans for the new brewery last May as part of a restructuring of its historic St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin, on Monday said it was undertaking a “re-evaluation” of its brewing investments in Ireland.

China had overtaken Germany as the second largest beer market in the world in volume terms, and has now overtaken the US as the world's largest beer market. Retail sales volume rose by 131.7% between 2001 and 2007 compared with only 47.9% growth in the catering sector.

Manchester-based Hydes Brewery is using history’s favourite explorers as the theme for its 2009 line-up of craft ales. The brewery’s 2009 range of beers comprises six ales all produced under the headline “Great Beers to Discover from Hydes”, each with an individually illustrated pump clip depicting an historic discoverer of new lands, such as Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cousteau and Sir Francis Drake. The beers, which vary in style and flavour, will be released every two months, starting with the 4.7% abv Finders Keepers, which has an image of Columbus.

Up to 18 jobs could go at London brewer and operator Fuller's. The company has entered a consultation period over a re-structuring of its teams at its Chiswick headquarters and Horndean brewery. "We have been looking at the structure and have had to take some tough decisions," a spokesman said. "As a result a number of positions could go at Chiswick but there will also be some new positions at Horndean so the net loss of jobs may well be less than 18." Fuller's is still in consultation with its staff. It currently employs 3,000 staff.

Bidders are lining up to participate in the sale of more than £5bn worth of assets that are being prepared to go under the auctioneer’s hammer in the wake of InBev’s £41bn of Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser.