The Augusta County Fair has left town and the back-to-school sales have hit the department stores.

PROMINENT French chefs have warned that the country's wines will lose their complexity and the best produce will come from Scotland if the effects of climate change are not tackled.

If there's one thing you can bet on in the wine industry, it's change. Nothing stays the same for long -- that goes as much for any of business aspects of the industry as it does the conditions from vintage to vintage.

Bold wine lovers with an outgoing character are being invited to take part in an extreme wine tasting event - at an exclusive table on a platform suspended 200ft in the sky above London's famous Covent Garden. To qualify for a place at the table, potential guests will be asked to take a quick online character test to prove whether they are worthy of sitting alongside other brave souls at the first ever wine tasting of its kind. Those who are judged to be bold enough will be entered into a draw to win 1 of only 44 places available to the public on Saturday 29th August 2009. Organisers at Ravenswood, who's mantra 'no wimpy wines' inspired them to set up an event that would separate the men from the boys, are asking extreme wine tasters in the making, to register and prove themselves by logging on at www.ravenswoodwine.co.uk Ravenswood spokesperson, Clare Griffiths says: "We're extremely excited to be breaking new boundaries with such an exhilarating event, so fitting for the Ravensw

Retailers are reporting impressive growth of own-label wines as cash-strapped customers look to rein in their spending.

For years, petite sirah had something of an identity crisis. The grape wasn't a small version of syrah, despite the similar name .

A $14 Riesling produced in the Finger Lakes region has captured New York's most coveted wine trophy.