It may have been some time in coming, but the celebratory beverage known the around the world as champagne is finally being embraced by Americans as more than just, well, something we drink only when we’re celebrating. News Press reports what seems to have sparked this bubble boom is that we’re choosing to drink sparkling wines more often as alternatives to still red and white wines. Could it be that U.S. wine drinkers have noticed that sparklers offer excellent value at every price?

Fears about damage to the Hunter River and the health of Camberwell village residents have prompted the NSW Planning Assessment Commission to refuse a coalmining application near Glennies Creek, outside Singleton. The Newcastle Herald reports it is the second time the commission has refused a Hunter coalmining application, the first being the Bickham proposal, near Scone, which was rejected in May 2010.

The people have spoken. And the verdict: Cairns is one of the top 10 best food and wine destinations in Australasia. The city has been ranked the 10th best food and wine destination in the South Pacific by leading global travel website TripAdvisor, which uses public reviews to rate destinations, reports Cairns Post. Cairns placed 10th behind Melbourne (first), followed by Sydney, Queenstown (New Zealand), Auckland Central (NZ), Christchurch (NZ), Wellington (NZ), Surfers Paradise, Brisbane and Perth

This is a beautiful, rich wine that is fairly intense but not overpowering. In the glass it is a deep red with a touch of purple,writes Wine Time columnist Denis Sodomka, in The Augusta Chronicle. The aroma is full of black currant, anise and a bit of eucalyptus. The flavours are full of rich, red-berry fruit, black currant and cassis, with some cedar and spice. It’s a very pleasant wine that’s good to sip and great with food.

The Wine & Viticulture Journal will be holding its next regular tasting in Tasmania to coincide with the International Cool Climate Symposium being held in Hobart from 31 January to 4 February. The focus of the tasting will be Australian Pinot Noirs with recommended retail prices of $50 and over.

Western Australia’s Environment Minister yesterday rejected an application to develop a black coal operation in the Margaret River wine region. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Bill Marmion said he was upholding a recommendation by the Environmental Protection Authority against a black-coal mine 12 kilometres north-east of the town. The Vasse Coal Project is owned by partners Vasse Coal and South West Coal, which engaged LD Operations to manage the approvals process.

For more than a century, grapegrowers have chosen rootstocks to fight phylloxera. More recently, viruses, nematodes, limited lifetimes, productivity and soils have been major concerns, but now it’s becoming clear that water usage will be increasingly important. Wines & Vines reports in many areas where grapes grow well, it’s only because they’ve been irrigated—and in some cases are protected from drought by spraying.

For the past few decades, icewine makers here have been doing well. According to the Canadian Vintners Association, between 2004 and 2010 the export market for icewine nearly doubled to 12m Canadian dollars; in terms of volume it grew 43%. Icewine has to be harvested at temperatures of -8C or below. But Canadian vintners like Quebec icewine maker Charles-Henri de Coussergues are worried that similar wines are produced all year round in places where winters are much milder – simply by artificially freezing the grapes.In Canada, they call these wines cheap knock-offs.

For the past few decades, icewine makers here have been doing well. According to the Canadian Vintners Association, between 2004 and 2010 the export market for icewine nearly doubled to 12m Canadian dollars; in terms of volume it grew 43%. Icewine has to be harvested at temperatures of -8C or below. But Canadian vintners like Quebec icewine maker Charles-Henri de Coussergues are worried that similar wines are produced all year round in places where winters are much milder – simply by artificially freezing the grapes.In Canada, they call these wines cheap knock-offs.

After a second year of unseasonably cool temperatures, the grape tonnage has been tallied and the results are ready. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 3.3 million tonnes of winegrapes were harvested in the 2011 growing season, a 9 percent drop from the previous year.