It’s always interesting to take a closer look at the results of the Tasmanian Wine Show to see which of our varietal wines is doing the best, which of the state’s seven wine-producing regions is the most successful, and so on. On the medal count, the Coal River Valley was once again a clear winner with a total of 18 trophies and golds, outscoring wines from the Tamar Valley and the North East by three to one. The Huon Valley won five top gongs and the Derwent Valley and North West each picked up two, reports The Mercury.

It’s difficult to avoid drinking Riesling this summer – not that you’d want to avoid it. This week, the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting is returning to Sydney and there are several other Riesling events: Summer of Riesling, Wrapped In Riesling and the Great Southern Riesling Tasting. It’s a good reason to have a look at what’s happening in Riesling trends, writes Huon Hooke in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed the State Government will not consider special legislation to protect the Margaret River wine region from mining, reports the Augusta-Margaret River Mail. Instead, the government will look to planning and zoning controls to protect the region, Mr Barnett told members of the Save Our South West group on Saturday when he arrived to open the new Augusta-Margaret River Shire office.

For Chester Osborn, there was never any question about what he would do when he grew up. “I remember (wine journalist) Len Evans used to come for dinner quite a bit in the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Mr Osborn, now 49, recalls. “He sat me down on his knee one night when I was about eight and asked, `What kind of wine are you going to make when you’re older?’ “I answered immediately, ‘A yummy one’. More than 40 years later, d’Arenberg’s chief winemaker is thrilled to be celebrating the family company’s 100th anniversary, reports Southern Times Messenger.

Marlborough businessman Tom Tenuwera, of Highfield Estate, collapsed and died during a walk in Molesworth Station on Sunday. Mr Tenuwera, 67, was a co-owner and director of the winery and restaurant on Brookby Rd, near Blenheim. He was described as having a great passion for wine and New Zealand, reports The Marlborough Express.

Erin Kenyon is two years into her four-year organic horticultural apprenticeship at Seresin Estate.
She was an 18-year-old living in Tauranga when she saw the advertisement for the New Zealand Horticulture Industry Training Organisation programme in one of her mother’s organic magazinesm reports The Marlborough Express.

Dane Rumble is ready to rock Blenheim for the first time ever at the Marlborough Wine Festival this weekend. The Kiwi pop singer will perform in front of 8000 wine and food enthusiasts at the festival on Saturday, February 11, reports The Marlborough Express.

The group behind the plan to rejuvenate Seppeltsfield has vowed it will continue to work with the community to turn the vision into reality. Seppeltsfield Estate Trust had submitted a statement of intent for the rejuvenation project with LRC, but council said more needed to be done in the way of community consultation before it could sign off on sending the document to the minister for approval, reports Barossa Herald.

Italian varieties are thriving in harsh Aussie landscapes, writes Jane Faulkner, in The Age. From the main road, the Chalmers vineyard flanking Heathcote’s Mount Camel Range rises out of the ancient landscape, flush with row upon row of vines. Unlike most conventional Australian sites, these vines are planted east to west rather than north to south.

A controversial proposal to build a coalmine in Western Australia’s Margaret River wine and tourism region has been rejected by the state government. Perth Now reports Vasse Coal Management Pty Ltd – acting for LD Operations – proposed to build the underground mine 15km northeast of the Margaret River township to operate for 15 to 20 years but struck vigorous opposition from locals.