The Oamaru Wine and Food Festival on Sunday kept its no-cancellations record intact, despite rain on Saturday night threatening to ruin the event. About 1500 people attended the festival, including about 100 who came up on the Tasty Tours train from Dunedin, despite cool overcast conditions. This year’s event was in doubt after its organising committee resigned en masse late last year. However, a new committee took over to keep the event alive, taking it back to its roots with a focus on wine, food and local entertainment, rather than big-name stars, reports Otago Daily Times.

Guala Closures is continuing its buying spree – which has seen it acquire five firms within the last 18 months – with the purchase of Australian screwcap manufacturer ASA. Its most recent purchase was four months ago when it bought a 70% stake in Polish company DGS. Guala Closures, headquartered in Italy, makes non-refillable closures for the spirits, wine, beverages, oil and the pharmaceutical industry. It employs 3,500 people at 25 manufacturing plants worldwide, and sells its products in over 100 countries, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.

The Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) announced the winners of its communication awards at the 2012 WCA Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show lunch on Friday (17 Feb). The WCA named Yalumba winemaker, Jane Ferrari, as its 2012 Wine Communicator of the Year for her long-term efforts in promoting, speaking, educating and tutoring not only on Yalumba’s wine portfolio, but Australian wine in general. WCA patron and judge, James Halliday, said Ferrari was a worthy recipient of the award, reports The Shout.

An initiative of Sapphire Coast Tourism aimed at developing a food and wine trail along the Far South Coast was launched on Friday. SCT is putting the call out for interested food and wine producers to sign up to a database that will be used to market the region’s incredible resources on a bigger stage. There are lofty aims for future projects, but this is just “the beginning of the story” according to SCT tourism and marketing manager Anthony Osborne, reports Bega District News.

In the past couple of years, Sydney’s drinking scene has undergone huge changes, with the explosion of small bars throughout the city run by young, switched-on proprietors. In restaurants, a quieter revolution has occurred. There is a far greater number of sommeliers, a role traditionally filled by more mature types, and they are getting younger. At some fine-diners, wine recommendations are made by highly trained and knowledgable sommeliers younger than 35. Many bright, young things are making their mark in the industry, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Arguably the world’s most respected wine commentator has given Tasmania a huge thumbs up. Leading United Kingdom wine expert, and wine adviser to the Queen, Jancis Robinson, has given the local wine industry a glowing endorsement. The celebrated wine writer describes local Chardonnays as “stupendous”, Pinots as “very promising” and wines produced by an ambitious “new wave” of young smallholder-winemakers as as having “an intensity that transends the norm”, reports The Mercury.

Billionaire James Packer has secured a 5 per cent stake in the company that owns South Australian wine brands Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Wynns. It has been revealed that the Packer family’s investment fund Ellerston Capital already held a 4.6 per cent stake in Treasury Wine Estates, which split from brewer Foster’s Group in May last year. Yesterday it reported to the market that it had invested another $123 million, lifting its stake to 5 per cent, reports News.com.au.

California winemakers think the days of rice wine in China are waning as vintners find success marketing high-end cabernets to a new generation of upscale consumers. Wine exports crushed international sales records in 2011, due in large part to growing demand for California wines in China and Hong Kong. Lower quality California appellation wines have sold well to middle-class consumers in recent years, but the increasing demand for top quality vintages is evidence of China’s growing upper class, reports the Huffington Post.

Wine writer James Suckling has hailed 2009 Bordeaux as possibly the “best ever modern vintage” with the release of his in-bottle scores. Writing on his site he said: “It’s seldom that a vintage such as 2009 comes to Bordeaux. The last time may have been 1989, or even 1982”. Nine wines are now rated at 100 points, down from an original 14. The first growths, with the exception of Mouton Rothschild which is now on 98, all made the grade, reports The Drinks Business.

There is a new name about to hit the wine shelves in a store close to you, and while Harakeke Farm may be a new label there is a wealth of experience behind it. This is the latest venture for husband and wife team Andrew Sutherland and Joanne Coster. The couple also own The Old Post Office country store at Upper Moutere, and as part of that business Joanne has been producing a range of premium products under the Moutere Gold brand. And while this energetic couple have been doing this they have also planted a vineyard and had three children, reports the Nelson Mail.