Number of Black Wine Consumers Growing in South Africa

Wine drinkers in South Africa are traditionally white, but the culture is starting to change as black wine researchers and consumers are growing.

Kosovo Wants to be the Next Napa

Kosovo has a long tradition of making wines. Now Kosovar winemakers are trying to sell their wines beyond the Balkans.

Bordeaux From China

For the Geo Quiz, we’re looking for a wine growing region where some of the world’s best Bordeaux wine comes from – and it’s not in France!

Vineyard vandalism

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You might want to sip, then swirl our Geo Quiz in your mouth a bit. We’re looking for the country where Grüner Veltliner wine comes from. The grapes grow throughout this landlocked European country that borders Slovakia and Lichtenstein. Its temperate and alpine climate creates a distinctive dry and tangy flavor. Download MP3

French police unhappy about beer ban

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Anchor Katy Clark has details on a new rule that bars French riot police from drinking wine or beer with their meals while on duty. Download MP3

Good Economic News

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With all the bleak economic news these days — high unemployment, countries deep in debt, and the plunging stock market — here’s a podcast with smattering of only GOOD economic news. A story about making money from environmentally-friendly packaged wine. A new model to showcase foreign films in the U.S. And they’re waxing up their surfboards in the Gaza Strip.

Baboons in the vineyard

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Many of the tourists venturing to South Africa for the World Cup will probably be sipping on South African wines. The wine industry has been booming since the end of apartheid also ended sanctions that crippled most vineyards. But now there’s a new threat. Wild baboons, it seems, have developed a taste for pinot noir, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc – the grapes, that is! Laura Lynch has the story from Cape Town. Download MP3

• Laura’s photos from the vineyard
• Laura’s stories from Southern Africa

Anti-Mafia wine in Sicily

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A vineyard in Sicily is producing wine with an unusual vintage. Centopassi creates wine on land confiscated from the Mafia. The Cosa Nostra’s former stomping grounds are where Italians are now crushing – grape by grape – the hold of organized crime on their homeland. Nancy Greenleese reports from Sicily. Download MP3 (Photo: Nancy Greenleese)

• See photos from Sicily
• Wine sets seal on Mafia seizure

French faux pinor noir

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The legal wrangling over fake Pinot Noir wine continues in France. Yesterday, a French court convicted a dozen people of fraud for exporting fake Pinot Noir to the United States. The wine was sold in the U.S. by Gallo under the Red Bicyclette label. Today, the wine merchant whose fake wine was sold to Gallo said he will appeal the verdict. We speak with Guy Woodward, an editor at Decanter Magazine, about the verdict. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Wall Street Journal article

Paris wine auction

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La Tour d’Argent, one of Paris’ fanciest and oldest restaurants, is auctioning off 18,000 bottles of wine next week. The restaurant’s wine selection is considered one of the best anywhere. Genevieve Oger reports from Paris. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• La Tour d’Argent homepage

“Eers one helluva Merlot!”

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Not sure if “long legs” are a good thing in a glass of wine? Well, a supermarket chain in Britain wants to make it easier for customers unfamiliar with wine speak. Spar is experimenting with wine labels written in local slang so shoppers are not intimidated by the usual flowery language. Download MP3

• Guardian newspaper story
• Our weekly language podcast: The World in Words