The French have ruled the world of bubbles for far too long. If you move your radar just a touch, you’ll come across plenty of other options, from both Australia and other European regions. Italy’s offerings, both imported and now also from varieties grown here and imitated styles, come both dry and sweet and they’re among the trendiest fun drinks of the new year. The Italian fizz of the moment is prosecco, which is exported from Italy’s north and northeast and also has found a vibrant home here, most prominently in Victoria’s King Valley but now growing also in the Adelaide Hills, writes News Limited’s national wine writer Tony Love.

With a history dating back to the 1800s, the Australian wine industry has sailed a tide of highs and lows, particularly over the past 40 years. Capturing the story of Australian wine, and its cycle of boom and bust, is a new documentary film which is set to screen in Australia and the UK in June this year. The film is directed by Stephen Oliver who for the past three months has travelled far to interview some of the most influential wine personalities and, indeed, the people who grow and turn the grapes into wine.

Standing in front of a wine tasting class of restaurant managers, wine importers and producers, Cavaliere Subhash Arora declares: “People in India waste too much time in matching wines to food.” The crowd looks up and stares at him curiously. Matching wines with food is why many of them are there. But most understand the frustration of trying to match wines with the spices in traditional Indian dishes. Whether or not people have found a way to match up wine and Indian food has not stopped the wine industry from booming, reports The Economic Times.

Regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triples the risk of developing mouth cancer, a government campaign will warn. Television adverts will aim to show that drinking just over the recommended daily limit for alcohol increases the risk of serious health problems. NHS recommendations are that men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day, while women should not regularly drink more than two to three, reports The Guardian.

“Pinot Noir is the next wine fashion” declared Ross Brown, of Brown Brothers, speaking at the closing session of the 9th International Cool Climate Symposium in Hobart, Tasmania. In terms of trending fashions driven by technical changes and consumer tastes, the grape variety ticks all the boxes, he said. Suggesting that wine fashions go in approximately 15 year cycles, Brown argued argued that after Cabernet Sauvignon in the ‘70s, Chardonnay in the early ‘80s and Sauvignon Blanc in the late ‘90s, now is the time for another red cycle, reports The Drinks Business.

The owners of an earthquake-hit Sumner wine shop say they felt “sabotaged” by the Christchurch City Council while trying to open a temporary bar in the area. Village Grape owners Wayne and Debbie Hardaker opened a container store in the suburb after their original shop was badly damaged in last February’s quake. The couple decided to apply for an on-licence to operate a wine garden and were granted a temporary accommodation permit to open their business, reports Business Day.

Chilean man Carlos Rojas Stiven is the guinea pig for Forrest Estate Winery’s internship programme aimed at encouraging graduates into the Marlborough viticulture industry. Mr Rojas Stiven visited New Zealand with his wife about three years ago and enjoyed it so much they decided to stay. Although coming from Santiago and a population of about seven million, Mr Stiven is adjusting to his new lifestyle as there were many similarities between Chile and New Zealand, reports The Marlborough Express.

Wine Australia has awarded nine graduates of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust with scholarships to travel to Australia and undertake a study tour of Australia’s wine industry. The graduates – who come from London, Europe, Asia Pacific, the US, Canada, Ireland, China, Korea, India and for the first time Australia – were awarded their scholarships in London, on Monday 24 January.

Despite being an iconic Australian wine brand for more than 150 years, Seppelt’s crown has somewhat slipped in recent years, with its stablemate Penfold’s clearly the power player in the Treasury Wine Estates group. But the good news is that Seppelt, with talented technicians Emma Wood and Jo Marsh strutting their stuff, has not missed a beat when it comes to the quality and diversity of its wines, reports The Sunday Telegraph.

The UK’s status as a serious producer of cool-climate sparkling wines has been further cemented by the announcement that the ninth International Cool Climate Symposium will take place in the UK.The four-yearly conference, which is being held this week in Tasmania, will be a joint effort between Sussex’s Plumpton College, the Institute of Masters of Wine, University of Brighton, the trade organisation English Wine Producers, and the UK Vineyards Association, reports Decanter.