Ask Stephen Bennett any question about wine and expect an answer so long you’ve time to leave the room, wash the car, mow the lawns and walk the dog – come back and he’ll still be answering your question, oblivious to the fact you have been absent. This is not a criticism or even a cheap shot… the Master of Wine is bursting with enthusiasm, knowledge and experience that comes from almost 25 years’ involvement in the New Zealand wine industry as merchant, educator, writer, taster and producer, reports The New Zealand Herald.

Mary Retallack was 13 when her greatest motivation in life came with the death of her father and the family’s need to sell its Renmark fruit block. It taught her to adapt and find her own path in life, leading eventually to her starting Retallack Viticulture, an independent consultancy offering a range of advisory services to the wine industry. Her success led to her winning the 2012 South Australian Rural Women’s Award yesterday and a $10,000 bursary from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, to enhance her skills and share the reward by giving back to her local community, reports Adelaide Now.

Wander along the Bund in Shanghai and you might be surprised to see a Tasmanian Pinot Noir among the vintage Chateau Latours and Lafittes gracing a luxurious hotel’s wine list. Even more surprising is its price: the equivalent of $270. That’s not bad for a wine from the Nocton Park Vineyard between Richmond and Campania. Like its neighbour Domaine A just down the road, China is by far Nocton Park’s biggest customer, reports The Mercury.

The Mudgee wine region will showcase its top drops and fine food in Sydney over the next five weeks during The Sydney Morning Herald’s NSW Wine Festival. The month long celebration starts with Sydney Cellar Door, the city’s biggest outdoor wine festival, over the weekend of February 25-26. This is followed by a list of regional wine dinners. Mudgee winery Logan Wines has been a major partner of NSW Wine Festival for the past five years and winemaker Peter Logan said it was a great initiative, reports the Mudgee Guardian.

Hawkshead Pinot Gris 2011 and Hawkshead Riesling 2011 have both been awarded five stars in the annual aromatics tasting in Cuisine magazine’s latest issue. The Pinot Gris from Hawkshead’s single vineyard Lark Block at Gibbston, Central Otago, was also rated the second best wine overall from 167 Pinot Gris tasted. Wine writer and associate judge on the Cuisine panel, John Saker, described the Pinot Gris as “all purity and youthful exuberance, splashing over the taste buds with the freshness of a mountain stream”, reports Voxy News.

They may be rivals on the ground and in the air, but when it comes to knowing a good wine it seems some of the world’s best airlines are in agreement on which wine to serve their passengers. A number of The Mud House Group’s internationally honoured vintages have been selected for in-flight dining on several prestigious airlines for Asia Pacific routes and as far afield as Denmark, Norway and Sweden, reports Voxy News.

They are based in our far-flung corners, dealing with the wildest and harshest of climates to grow and make wines that most city slickers will never see. But bring on the Cellar Door Wine Festival at the Adelaide Convention Centre (February 24-26) and a rare opportunity beckons. Many of our widest spread winemakers will come to town, showing off the liquid gems of their regions, writes News Limited’s national wine writer Tony Love.

Tulloch Wines will maintain its strong commitment to Verdelho, which general manager Christina Tulloch says will definitely be the Hunter Valley’s standout variety this vintage. Tulloch told The Shout that her family is the largest producer of Verdelho in NSW, and with good reason. “Our commitment to it remains really strong because consumers love it,” she said. “Whether or not it gets awards at wine shows or is given credence by the wine critics, consumers really enjoy it, and to us that’s important – giving people what they want to drink.”

It’s that time of year again – the countdown for this year’s Margaret River Wine Festival. And Dunsborough will again host the prominent Vintage Festival, which is the pinnacle event of the four-day festival. For the second successive year Palmer Wines will be the venue for the Vintage Festival, on April 14. The Vintage Festival is a relaxed wine and gourmet food tasting event that allows guests to sample up to 300 new release and back vintage wines from an estimated 40 wineries as they enjoy live music and entertainment at Palmers, reports the Busselton Mail.

Some new houses will be allowed on vacant rural land under changes announced to McLaren Vale protection legislation. Planning Minister John Rau announced last week he would make changes to the interim Development Plan Amendment, introduced to protect the region from non-complying development until the McLaren Vale Protection Bill is passed. Under the current DPA, residential development in rural areas is generally prohibited across about 40,000ha from Sellicks Beach to Cherry Gardens, reports Southern Times Messenger.