We love the Midwest winemaking community! This past summer Laffort® USA have been lucky enough to visit and share information about our innovations with talented winemakers from Wisconsin to Illinois to Indiana to Michigan. We've tasted fantastic expressions of everything from Seyval Blanc to Cabernet Franc.  And did we mention the ciders, fruit wines, and canned cocktails? The beverage scene in the Midwest is such a dream. Here's wishing all our winemaking friends in the Midwest a fantastic harvest! We’re proud to support your work to produce the best wines possible. Here’s to continued innovation, collaboration, and raising a glass together in the heart of the Midwest!  Special shout outs to Wollersheim Winery and Distillery, Butler Winery and Vineyards, and Lake Michigan College's Wine & Viticulture Program! Thank you all so much for hosting us!

Wakefield Taylors Wines and 1800 Milenio Take Top Honors July 14, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 18th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place recently in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  This year, Wakefield Taylor Wines 2024 Estate Riesling and 1800 Milenio Extra-Aged Añejo took top honors. Wakefield Taylor, a heritage winery in Australia’s Clare Valley (a region known for quality Reislings), wowed judges with its “mouthwatering citrus blooms” and “gentle salinity.”  A representative from 1800 Mileno remarked, “1800 Milenio is backed by 11 generations of tequila-making e

Afternoon Brief, June 23rd

Oregon State Researchers Discover Compounds Contributing to Smoke Taint in Wine and Grapes: An Oregon State University-led research team has discovered a class of compounds that contribute to smoke taint in wine and grapes...

Few people have ever heard of an “Ah So” or a “Two-Prong” Corkpuller and even fewer have had the opportunity to use one. So what is it? And what makes it so special? The “Ah So” or “Butler’s Thief” is a two-prong wine opener that preserves older, crumbling or brittle corks, by removing the cork without any form of cork-drilling (like a traditional waiter’s corkscrew would). The step by step process to use an “Ah So” Corkpuller is as follows: Place the longer prong between the inside of the neck of the bottle and the cork, don’t push too far down, just enough for the first prong to get stuck (about 3mm). Push back up on the longer prong just enough so that the shorter prong also inserts between the inside of the neck of the bottle and the cork. Once both prongs are inserted slowly rock the prongs from side to side interchangeably, slowly and softly (and gently) moving both prongs further and further down t