The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) celebrates its 60th birthday today – 60 years of world class research and technical support for Australia’s wine industry. Based at the Waite Research Precinct in Urrbrae, SA, the AWRI is an independent national organisation, serving growers and winemakers across all of Australia’s wine regions. From just a handful of employees in 1955, the AWRI now employs 115 scientists, winemakers, viticulturists and technical staff all working for the benefit of the Australian grape and wine producers.

The Sydney office of fine wine distributors Samuel Smith & Son and Negociants Australia will be temporarily closed following extensive damage to its Alexandria premises during Saturday’s hail storm.
Greg Pullen, Samuel Smith & Son NSW General Manager, said the national distributor will do everything it can to continue to service its NSW accounts, although delays are expected. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers’ at this difficult time – please know we are doing everything we can to ensure the impact to our customers is as minimal as possible,” Pullen said.

Do families make better wines? It’s a romantic notion and one that mom-and-pop producers – many of whom like to peddle the notion that they’re in a David-and-Goliath battle with Grape Giants shilling nothing but soulless plonk – would like us to swallow. I can’t count the number of labels out there touting their “family wine estate” status. But hold on. What’s special about that? Families have always dominated the wine industry. They always will; I’ll bet my family cellar on it.

A boutique winery similar to a 1850s bush hut is planned for Marlborough. One of Marlborough’s oldest wineries Jackson Estate is behind the application to build a small winery on Jacksons Rd, outside Blenheim, that will process up to 250 tonnes of largely hand-picked grapes. The Hobbit trilogy’s art director Brian Massey is behind the concept design. The application, which is objected to by neighbouring farmers the Jordan family, was heard at a resource consent hearing before councillors Jamie Arbuckle, David Oddie and Graeme Barsanti on Wednesday .

Today is #SauvBlanc Day and wine lovers around the globe will be toasing to Sauvignon Blanc – the crisp, refreshing, zingy drop that has not only taken the world by storm, but is also Australia’s favourite white wine varietal. With the sun rising first in New Zealand, #SauvBlanc Day celebrations officially kick off there on Friday 24 April, making their way around the globe, finishing off 43 hours later at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco.

Sidewood’s Mappinga Reserve Shiraz 2012 from the Adelaide Hills won a double gold and has been named best red wine at the 2015 Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America competition held in Florida last week. Owen Inglis, Sidewood vigneron, said the international exposure from the trophy was invaluable. “We are thrilled to have picked up this impressive American Trophy,” he said.

WHEN Jenny Houghton acquired an eight-hectare property at Longwood East, Victoria, in 1994, she wanted to find out more about the Victorian Cross (VC) recipient Leslie Cecil Maygar after whom the hill at the side of the vineyard was named. Some 20 years later she continues to marvel at the acts of valour, gallantry and courage that saw him distinguished in both the Boer War and World War I. She has spent time trawling digital archives (including Maygar’s hand-written letters, biographies and other books) and speaking to people in the region whose families have passed down stories of his deeds.

Casella Family Brands has successfully demonstrated a two-tier approach to selling its wines following the recent acquisition of the Peter Lehmann business. At the recent ProWein exhibition in Dusseldorf, two separate stands were used to showcase the new Casella premium portfolio as well as a range of wines from the recently-acquired Peter Lehmann Wines. The highlights of the new Casella premium range which were available for tasting to European buyers for the first time included the Casella Limited Release.

The thirsty country certainly makes a lot of drink: Australia produces well over a billion litres of wine a year, which isn’t bad for a continent largely covered by ground so parched that no vine stands a chance. Until recently, Australian wine was perceived as cheap, plentiful and about as subtle as a wallaby in your bathroom – which was never wholly true but worked well until the rest of the New World started carving up the market.

The twin demands of keeping vineyards healthy while striving for greater productivity will drive the agenda at the ASVO’s technical seminar in Mildura in July. National and international experts will address topics as diverse as salinity management, trunk disease, viruses, disease resistant cultivars, drought resilience and the necessary responses to climate change. “We’ll be looking at specific issues around the biotic and abiotic threats to productivity as well as debating broader questions about how to adapt to keep vineyards viable,” said organiser Brett McClen.