Beer, Wine, & Food

Dang, The Wine Bubble Implodes (It’s China’s Fault)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Dang, The Wine Bubble Implodes (It’s China’s Fault)

Many in the industry believe that in China, 90% of the high-profile wines, like certain Bordeaux, are fake. Devastating thought if you keep wine in a refrigerated vault as an asset class. And prices have collapsed. But it’s not all doom and gloom, not with California wines.

Seed Wars: Latin America Strikes Back Against Monsanto

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Seed Wars: Latin America Strikes Back Against Monsanto

By Don Quijones: With more back channels and revolving doors to governments around the world, Monsanto is used to getting its way. But now it faces an outright rebellion.

Turns Out, Even The Price of Beer Is Rigged

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Turns Out, Even The Price of Beer Is Rigged

Everything is rigged. Stock markets, forex, interest rates, gold, silver, oil…. After battling that rigged world all day, you finally get to take that first big gulp of beer to heal the wounds, knowing that it’s the one thing that hasn’t been rigged against you. Or so you’d think.

High-End Food-Fraud Scandal Deliciously Spirals Out of Control, Whacks Japanese Consumer Confidence

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on High-End Food-Fraud Scandal Deliciously Spirals Out of Control, Whacks Japanese Consumer Confidence

Today it was Hotel Okura Co., which operates landmark hotels across Japan. It confessed its restaurants had misrepresented 235 menu items. That followed confessions by leading department store chains, other high-end hotel chains, traditional ryokan hotels…. New revelations bubble up daily. And consumer confidence is taking a hit.

Oktoberfest Dips Into Beer Recession

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Oktoberfest Dips Into Beer Recession

The Oktoberfest, one of the biggest beer binge events in the world, is closely watched for economic trends. Alas, this year was the second year in a row when, despite Teutonic organizational ingenuity and marketing muscle, the number of visitors and, most crucially, beer consumption “unexpectedly” dropped (as if we didn’t have enough bad news already).