Scotland as a wine producer? The implications of climate change may not make it such a fanciful idea, and Fife chef Christopher Trotter isn’t hanging around waiting for proof. Lynda Hamilton talked to him of grape expectations. In the spring of 2011, Christopher Trotter planted a 2.4-hectare vineyard on his Upper Largo estate on the southern coast of Fife. Facing his first winter as a pioneering Scottish viticulturist, Trotter, who’s Fife’s official ‘Food Ambassador’, isn’t at all worried about the threat of frost and snow, reports The List.

Australian Vintage chief executive Neil McGuigan has told The Australian winemakers in Australia should concentrate on quality and stop whining about the high dollar. McGuigan says he’s working hard to grow enthusiasm in the company he has lead since July last year, and recapture the successes Australian Vintage (AVL) achieved in the early 2000s.

With more than 1,000 Australian wine brands now available in China, third-quarter results show Chinese mainlanders bought 2.54 million cases of Australian wine. The Drinks Business reports China is Australia’s fastest growing market and fourth largest export market by value, after the UK, US and Canada.

Revered wine regions such as the Barossa are at risk of losing their identities because of the “homogenisation” of liquor chains, the industry warns. A federal parliamentary committee has heard the dominance of the two big supermarkets is leading to more own-brand wine labels – resulting in a decline in choice and diversity, reports The Advertiser.

Environmentally minded Nelson organic winery Richmond Plains has released its first wine in New Zealand’s lightest 750ml glass bottle. Weighing in at a mere 325 grams and at just over 1kg full of wine, it’s lighter than some other bottles empty, says owner Lars Jensen.

New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) has released the results of a strategic review of the nation’s grape and wine sector. The review was conducted for NZW over the past three months by consulting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). Commenting on the review, Stuart Smith, chair of NZW, said: “The Review is a comprehensive examination of the industry: how it has changed in recent years, the opportunities and challenges facing it, and the future role of New Zealand Winegrowers.”

There’s been a sea change in Australian Chardonnay, from the big, buttery, often rather oaky styles of the 1980s and ’90s to the lower-alcohol, finer, less oaky and more age-worthy wines of today. Today’s more delicate, and generally, better wines are often made by winemakers avoiding enriching malolactic fermentation. However, the biggest change has been the sourcing of fruit. Today’s best Chardonnays come from much cooler vineyards. But has the pendulum swung too far? asks Huon Hooke in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The owner of Langhorne Creek export winemaker Step Rd Wines has gone into receivership with “several million” dollars owed to creditors, administrators say. Receivers PPB have put the 5000-tonne capacity winery on the market alongside several wine labels, including Step Rd, Beresford and Trig Point brands, bulk and bottled wine stock.

As harvest finishes in the Pacific northwest, vintners are pondering a season of opposites. While 2011 has been the coldest harvest in living memory for Washington, Oregon had one of the longest growing seasons ever. Lower sugar levels were a given in both states, but while Washington’s yields were down, in Oregon – which saw more rain – yields were the highest on record.

A traveller has made a record purchase at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport when he spent nearly 50,000 euros (AUD$66,000) on six bottles of exclusive wine, the airport says. It consisted of a bottle of Romanee Conti 1995, a Chateau Margaux 2003, two bottles of Chateau Lafitte 1982 and two bottles of Petrus 1980.