Naked Wines, the online wine retailer which crowdfunds independent winemakers through its customer base of over 250,000 ‘angels’, has found that its consumers are favouring higher alcohol wines. Eamon Fitzgerald, Naked Wines’ UK managing director said there was a growing preference for “punchier, more intense wines with a higher alcohol content than people were used to a few decades ago.”’
Three years’ rain falls in three days, causing chaos during harvest. Chile has declared a state of emergency after freak rains brought devastation to the north of the country, killing at least nine people and causing extensive infrastructure damage. In the Elqui Valley, Chile’s northernmost wine region, the unexpected March deluge played havoc with vineyard access mid-harvest, but it also brought hope for growers who have endured a lengthy drought.
New Zealand’s agriculture industry threw down the proverbial gauntlet in 2012: “We’re going to double our agriculture-food exports by 2025.” Industry expert Dr. Keith Woodford reviewed the aggressive policy earlier this month on NZFarmer.com. The key to reaching the goal, he said, is wine.
“If agri-food is defined widely to include wine, then Marlborough wine has certainly been one of the greatest success stories of the last fifteen years,” Woodford wrote. “During that time, there has been a 12-fold increase in production.”
New Zealand Winegrowers Association is hosting a series of events to celebrate the sixth annual Sauvignon Blanc Day, which is set to be held on Frday 24 April. The activities which will include tasting and seminars, will kick off in New Zealand, to be followed with separate events in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Germany, London, Toronto, New York and San Francisco. The final event in San Francisco will be a tasting held at Twitter’s headquarters.
John Casella, the managing director of Casella Family Brands (CFB), has told TheShout that he is excited about the future of Peter Lehmann Wines (PLW), after buying the company last year. After reporting a financial loss for the first half of the year, Casella said this was to be expected because of the purchase of PLW as well as other tough market and economic conditions. Casella told TheShout: “There are obviously high costs associated with the change in ownership that have had a significant impact on the overall loss reported.
Accolade Wines, the world’s leading provider of new world premium, commercial and value wines, will rope in former Australian Cricketer, Glenn McGrath, as brand Ambassador for the flagship wine brand, Hardys, in the India market. The idea, according to Nick Pringle, Commercial Director – AMESCA/SE, Accolade Wines Limited, is to use the legendary Cricketer and his properties to reach out to their target customer-base, “people with disposable income and follow cricket.” The company had signed McGrath as Hardys Cricket Ambassador for Australia last year.
The fiancee of a man who was killed in a windsurfing accident in the South West has revealed her grief over losing the love of her life shortly before they were to be married. Bunbury resident Simon Burnell, 44, died after he was swept away in rough seas while windsurfing in a popular surfing break, known by Margaret River locals as Cow Bombie, on March 22. At his funeral on Saturday, his fiancee, Perth-based Director of Public Prosecutions Linda Keane, described how she and Burnell were preparing for their wedding and had been looking forward to building a home and starting a family.
A Senate inquiry is examining the profitability of wineries in areas such as the Hunter, along with the impact of taxes and regulations. The inquiry will also assess possible failures in the wine industry supply chain and the power and influence of retailers. Another focus is how the industry benefits regions such as the Hunter, through tourism and employment. Hunter vigneron Bruce Tyrrell says the industry has been proactive, but imposts like the wine equalisation tax are still hurting growers.
The long and mainly sun-blessed Hawke’s Bay summer has seen winemakers smiling at the prospect of another fine vintage, and winery staff in general celebrating a hugely successful tourist-driven season. At Clearview Winery in Te Awanga the numbers of guests who called to wine and dine were “record breaking”, function, events and restaurant manager Kristy Paddick said. “It’s been absolutely pumping,” she said. “We had the full sign out in the driveway by about 10am most days over the holiday period.”
People in Vanuatu are desperate to find work in Marlborough following the devastation left by Cyclone Pam, a Blenheim vineyard contractor says. Vinepower co-director Jono Bushell has been in the island nation since before the storm, and said he had been hounded by people asking him to find them work. Many of the ni-Vanuatu vineyard workers who were in Blenheim at the time of the cyclone returned home to see their families after it hit on March 14. Speaking from Vanuatu on Thursday, Bushell said he warned the workers still in Marlborough not to return, despite knowing they wanted to check on their families.