Global wine consumption has dropped slightly in the last year, according to the latest figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) – but overall there are signs of stabilisation. Speaking at the launch of the OIV’s global state of conditions report, Jean Marie Aurand, director general, said consumption had dropped by under one per cent to 2.4mhL compared to 2013, with the 2014 figures estimated to be 240mhL.

Wine drinkers instinctively reach for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc when the weather heats up (no wonder last Friday was International Sauvignon Blanc Day). More often than not, they choose Nobilo. Nikola and Zuva Nobilo left Croatia in 1936, with war on the horizon; they emigrated to New Zealand, where Nikola planted the country’s first commercial grapevines in 1943 west of Auckland. He presided over the birth of New Zealand’s wine industry, championing the use of classic grape varieties instead of hybrids, promoting the consumption of wine with food, and helping to develop Marlborough as a wine region.

One of Wairarapa’s best-known vineyards has lost its license for a day after serving drunk, disorderly customers during the Toast Martinborough festival. The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority ordered a 24-hour suspension of the alcohol licence held by Foley Family Wines Holdings NZ Limited, majority-owned by American billionaire Bill Foley, for Te Kairanga winery in Martinborough. The decision was over breaches of new alcohol laws at the 2014 Toast Martinborough festival. A duty manager, Paul Rayner, also had his manager’s certificate suspended for 28 days.

Even occasional wine drinkers have a preference when it comes to red or white wines. But have you ever wondered how your state’s drinking habits stack up to, say, California or New York? Well, NakedWines.com, a popular online wine merchant, has done the maths for you. According to the maps below, middle America leads in white wine consumption, while the east and west coasts prefer red. NakedWines compiled this data based on its sales during the first six months of 2014, which made for a sample of over one million bottles of wine.

If there is a single word I associate most with Aussie wine it is heat. How we envied the Australian producers their heat years ago. It ripened grapes effortlessly, creating the kinds of wines that first captivated me in my late teens. Those bottles of Seppelts Moyston Claret and Chalambar Burgundy I purloined from my father’s cellar were dark, soft, boozy and luscious. I couldn’t imagine how wine could get any better. And then it all changed. I can’t remember exactly when I decided I couldn’t take that heat any more.

Wineries are marketing their products in the wrong way and should instead be selling consumers “an emotional experience” according to a leading Languedoc producer. Speaking to the drinks business during a recent visit to London, Jean-Claude Mas of Domaine Paul Mas said: “Wine is not a product, it’s an emotional experience and we should be selling it this way. “Money is a form of frustration for consumers now. They are looking for something new, something that can only be had from new experiences.”

ARGENTINA: As an autumn chill settles over the country, the harvested vineyards mottling yellow and russet, Jose Manuel Ortega’s winery rises amid snow-capped Andean foothills. Inside, Ortega is holding forth on why the poetry of a Malbec yields to the prose of healthy profits. “If you’re a shrewd investor, you’re late on bonds and shares and you’re left with real estate,” Ortega said at his vineyard in La Consulta in the province of Mendoza. “Any decline in Argentine risk due to the positive outcome of the election will raise the price of our property.”

Roading contractors were called to clean up 16 grape spills on Marlborough roads during this year’s harvest. Sergeant Michael Moloney, of the South Island Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit, said most of the spillages happened on Alabama Rd and Grove Rd. Moloney believed the spill rate was likely a result of inappropriate vehicles and out-of-town drivers who were unfamiliar with the roads. Some truck drivers forgot they were carrying liquid loads and would come to an instant halt at intersections and roundabouts causing the grapes to spill.

Wine lovers will likely be able to zip between Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough on a new air service as soon as August. Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford said there was a “high likelihood” a service would be up and running between Napier and Blenheim. “Our hands are tremendously full, as you can imagine,” he said, of the carrier’s expansion. It has recently picked up two services which are being dropped by Air New Zealand: a Westport service starting tomorrow, and a Taupo-to-Wellington route starting soon.

WE CONTINUE our Q&A with members of the Australian wine industry to find out their thoughts on the recently launched senate inquiry into the industry, the proposal for a temporary levy on every bottle of wine sold in Australia to assist growers through current tough times, and the general state of the industry. Today, we present the views of the warm inland regions as told by the representatives of their local industry organisations: Andrew Weeks, the newly-appointed business manager for Riverland Wine; Mike Stone, executive officer for Murray Valley Winegrowers; and Brian Simpson, chief executive officer of the Riverina Wine Grapes Marketing Board.