As Bordeaux takes another break for bank holidays, the market is digesting the latest round of releases.

Chianti Classico’s Barone Ricasoli is about to register its own Sangiovese clone with the Italian ministry of agriculture.

A 240-year-old bottle of Vin Jaune has been sold at Christie’s for just under US$50,000.

A cache of 200-year-old bottles of Champagne discovered at the bottom the Baltic is to be auctioned next month.

Over 40 chateaux have released their prices today — including Haut Brion, Angelus, Calon Segur and Kirwan — causing negociants and merchant to protest many were getting lost.

Police in Champagne have arrested 15 individuals under suspicion of stealing thousands of official ‘CRD’ capsule stickers.

The Bordeaux campaign has stuttered to life again with price releases from Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Lynch Bages and some two dozen smaller properties.

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace is about to plant Riesling vines in a tiny parcel of the (28ha) grand cru Sommerberg in Alsace.

A spate of price drops has breathed life into the 2011 en primeur campaign.

The French government is funding a marketing campaign to encourage wine consumers and sommeliers in China to look beyond Bordeaux.

The largest-ever list of wines from the Finger Lakes region of New York state is being imported into the UK.

Sotheby’s has become the first auction house to launch its own Champagne, for sale online and in the company’s retail store in New York.

English Wine Producers (EWP) has unveiled a new logo and branding designed to reinforce its message about English wines to consumers and the trade.

South African wine bottles will carry a new seal from later this year, designed to highlight fair labour practices followed by producers and their suppliers.

London merchants are reporting renewed interest in what has been a lacklustre en primeur campaign with the release of Chateau Pontet Canet, 34% down on last year’s price.

American merchants say they are buying very little Bordeaux 2011 because prices are too high for the quality – and because they still hold unsold stocks of the more expensive 2010.

The Billionaire’s Vinegar, the controversial book about the Jefferson bottles affair, is being made into a film starring Brad Pitt.

The signs are that France’s new President, Francois Hollande, will support the wine industry more than his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy did, although his stated dislike of the rich may be causing some nerves amongst proprietors.

London wine merchant Corney & Barrow has taken its first English listing after being captivated by the ‘structure and power’ of the sparkling wines of Wiston Estate in the South Downs.

Wine production in Australia is set to hit a five-year low this year, impacted by the knock-on effects of widespread wet weather in the 2010-11 growing season.

Pancho Campo, who was at the centre of last year’s controversy around the organisation of wine tastings in Spain, has resigned from the Institute of Masters of Wine.

French coopers are lobbying the French government’s forestry commission for greater transparency, and price stability, in an industry worth €300m a year.

Over 200 UK restaurants are offering natural wines as part of Real Wine Month.

An X Factor-style talent show will give wineries the chance to compete for UK listings at this year’s London International Wine Fair.

Chateau Montus, one of the leading chateaux in the Madiran appellation, was severely struck by hail on Sunday evening – while Bordeaux suffered rainfall two-and-a-half times the average.

After a temporary pause for the first of the many May bank holidays in France, the en primeur campaign is expected to recommence with a flurry of releases today.

Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner has been named ninth best restaurant in the world in Restaurant Magazine’s annual listing.

A 240-year-old bottle of Vin Jaune will be auctioned next month with a £30,000 estimated hammer price.

Construction on the controversial Mosel bridge has been stopped due to missing or faulty documentation or calculations, according to reports.

The Virginia winemaker who famously gatecrashed a White House dinner has announced his intention to run as state governor.