Comment - Wine - The Losh Cause
By: Chris Losh
Chris Losh looks at the latest issues affecting the global wine industry.
Comment - Wine - Losh's Chris-tal Ball
19 January 2012
It's the week of forecasts on just-drinks this week. On Tuesday, Ian Buxton considered what 2012 will bring for the world of whisky. Today, Chris Losh looks at what the next 12 months will provide for all you wine producers out there. Note: Some of the following might not happen.
Comment - Wine - European Wine Producers of a Nervous Disposition, Look Away Now
2 December 2011
As the festive season approaches, Chris Losh was hoping to give you, dear reader, a heartwarming gift in this, his last comment of the year. But, there's little likelihood that the grim reality on his doorstep will let him spend too much on a gift. No matter how badly you, dear reader, could do with one.
Comment - Wine - Will Consumers Follow Prices North?
27 October 2011
Wine prices in the UK are soon to break a new barrier, research shows, but will consumers continue to pay? And, is the trade doing enough to keep them on-side? Chris Losh reports from a supermarket wine aisle, somewhere in Middle England.
Comment - Wine - Bordeaux's Marketing Challenge
21 October 2011
With humble apologies, but an administrative error meant that Chris Losh's September thoughts didn't make it last month. Here they are, though, finally. Chris' October musings follow next week. Meanwhile, marvel at how excited Chris gets at news of a marketing appointment.
Comment - Wine - Gerard Depardieu: The New Face of Wine?
18 August 2011
Has wine entered a new age of romanticism, shunning the regimental order eschewed by multinational corporate machines? Chris Losh considers the recent rush to sell assets, including Brown-Forman's sale of Fetzer to Concha y Toro - and wonders what Gerard Depardieu might make of it all.
Comment - Wine - EU to Uncork a Vine Old Mess
5 July 2011
There are growing concerns that plans to liberalise vineyard planting across the European Union will hamper the bloc's attempt to rid itself of surplus, cheap wine. It's an issue that has yielded an entente cordiale between Chris Losh and the French Government. Things must be bad.
Comment - Wine - LIWF 2011: How's the Patient Doing?
31 May 2011
After a week of therapy, detoxing and early nights, Chris Losh appears to finally be over this year’s London International Wine Fair. And, with so much of the wine world under one roof, he's been able to take a long, hard look at how the global wine trade is looking in 2011.
Comment - Wine - Shooting the Messenger the Wine Industry's Speciality
17 May 2011
Although we're a little late in covering this, the London International Wine Fair this week gives us the ideal hook to let Chris Losh loose on a survey, announced last month, that saw the wine industry here in the UK queue up to shoot the messenger.
Comment - Wine - Bordeaux En Primeur: If You Thought 2009 Was Good...?
29 March 2011
With Bordeaux's en primeur tastings set for early next month, Chris Losh has been taking a look at how the 2010 vintage is shaping up. After 2009's extraordinary performance, thanks mainly to the far east, how does the land lie for the latest from the Bordelais?
Comment - Wine - Wine Trade Pressure Group Misses Some Targets
1 March 2011
The arrival of March sees Chris Losh, as ever, in a contrary state. This month, he casts his embittered eye over a recently-created pressure group in the UK, which is looking to shake things up in the country's wine arena.
Comment - Wine - Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
1 February 2011
We here at just-drinks could never condone applying make-up to the faces of farm animals. Chris Losh, however, is a stickler for such details - especially if it provides a suitable analogy for the global wine market.
Comment – Wine – What's Definitely Going to Happen in 2011
6 January 2011
As the old year decomposes slowly in its flat, forgotten by family and neighbours alike, and the newly-born one has its buttocks metaphorically slapped by the midwife of hope, Chris Losh takes his annual look at the stories you can definitely expect to be reading about in 2011.
Comment - Wine - UK Not OK. So, Where Now?
8 December 2010
The UK used to be able to boast that it was the most dynamic wine market in the world. But, with ruthless supermarkets and an economic downturn, the country has lost its shine. Where are the wine companies to look next? Chris Losh would like to suggest where not to look.
Comment - Wine - There's Trouble in the Land Down Under
16 November 2010
Recently back from a trip to Australia, Chris Losh has found time to grab a shower, stick a wash on, and describe for us what he sees as a challenging time all round for the country's wine producers.
Comment - Wine - New Zealand: Walking the Walk
5 October 2010
You may want to sit down for this. Chris Losh is in upbeat mood for the first time in quite a while. And, it's New Zealand that has him admiring a half-full glass.
Comment - Wine - Back to Vines, Back to Reality
18 August 2010
Winegrowers in the northern hemisphere will be coming to the end of their holidays any day now, and returning to their vineyards. Here's hoping their breaks were relaxing, because, according to Chris Losh, they've some deep soul-searching ahead of them.
Comment - Wine - So Much Still To Learn From Spirits
3 August 2010
Our resident wine columnist Chris Losh has had his eyes opened. All it took was to put the wine and the spirits industry in the same room, and compare and contrast. Guess who lost?
Comment - The Losh Cause - Pernod's Montana Gamble?
8 July 2010
Last month, Pernod Ricard announced that it will change the name of its New Zealand wine brand Montana to Brancott Estate. What does the move say about today's wine consumer, and what chances does Pernod have of getting the change through smoothly? Chris Losh considers.
Comment - The Losh Cause - It's Nifty to be Thrifty
1 June 2010
The ideas of rebirth from death, or purification through pain are as old as human life itself. And, certainly, this recession has been pretty merciless about sorting the wheat from the chaff. Poor businesses have gone under, over-leveraged ones have had to get economically realistic pretty fast, and even fairly solid businesses have had to reassess what they thought they were about. Those that are left now the dust has settled can probably congratulate themselves on being leaner, meaner and generally healthier than they realised.
Comment - The Losh Cause - Foreign Exchange Hell
11 May 2010
It’s rare to find a topic in the wine world where everyone agrees. Still rarer when it’s a bad-news story, and where everyone is prepared to admit it. Chris Losh thinks he's found one, however.
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