Lion has signed a long-term deal with Jebsen Fine Wines to have its Fine Wine Partners portfolio distributed across China. The deal will see Jebsen distribute Australian and American wine brands across many of China’s provinces. The wine brands soon to reach Chinese adult consumers include St. Hallett, Petaluma, Stonier, Knappstein and Argyle. Bill Webb, managing director of Lion’s Fine Wine Partners, said that China is a key focus for the business’ global strategy.
AN Adelaide entrepreneur has secured a distribution agreement with China’s biggest hypermarket chain, RT-Mart, which is set to deliver more than $500 million in annual sales to Australian food and beverage brands. The deal, to be signed in Shanghai on Thursday, will see the establishment of a designated aisle selling “famous Australian brands” including milk powder, vitamins, wine and biscuits. It was negotiated by Randal Tomich, an Adelaide winemaker who came to China looking to secure a distribution agreement for his family label.
South Africa is one of the biggest wine producers and exporters in the world – but the relative affordability of our offerings means the country does not benefit as much financially as some of its counterparts. This is according the latest data from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), detailing reported and estimated data on the global wine industry in 2014. Global wine production, excluding juice and musts, is expected to hit 279 million hectolitres (mhl) in 2014 – a decrease of 4.1 per cent compared with 2013, according to the OIV.
Mouton Rothschild and Lynch-Bages snapped up but Angelus and Palmer failing to attract buyers. Well-priced wines from Bordeaux’s 2014 vintage are making a splash, but merchants are ignoring some big-name wines whose prices are a turn-off for buyers. Heavyweight châteaux Haut-Brion and Cos d’Estournel, as well as the highly respected Tertre Rôteboeuf released their en primeur wines on Tuesday, following last week’s releases of Angelus, Palmer, Lynch-Bages and others.
A growing and more affluent middle class is driving India’s fascination with wine which has been improving in quality and recently has been winning several international awards and recognitions, writes our guest writer Dan Traucki who suggests it would be very interesting to see how some of the Iberian, Greek or southern Italian native varieties would thrive and perform there, especially the whites. India, the second most populous nation on earth consumes a mere 0.012 litres of wine per person – roughly six tablespoons – per annum.
A drone large enough to carry tanks of fertilizers and pesticides has won rare approval from federal authorities to spray crops in the United States, officials said Tuesday. The drone, called the RMAX, is a remotely piloted helicopter that weighs 207 pounds (94 kilograms), said Steve Markofski, a spokesman for Yamaha Corp. U.S.A., which developed the aircraft. Smaller drones weighing a few pounds had already been approved for limited use to take pictures that help farmers identify unhealthy crops.
New Zealand is gaining a reputation as a leading educator with overseas graduates seeking further study opportunities as a springboard into employment in the wine industry. Offering an on-campus option for its graduate diplomas in oenology and viticulture for the first time this year, EIT enrolled some 18 postgraduates in the inaugural one-year winemaking program, and two-thirds are overseas graduates.
Veteran winemaker Joe Babich, who has played a vital part in the establishment of Babich Wines in Marlborough, has been presented his New Year’s Honour. Babich attended a ceremony at Government House in Auckland on Wednesday where he was formerly appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the wine industry. He was presented it by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae.
New research has highlighted the unique nature of online wine buyers in the UK, as well as the best-selling source countries. Commissioned by Inter Rhône and compiled by the Wilson Drinks Report, the pioneering piece of research shows a web-based wine market performing very differently from high-street retailing, which is dominated by the supermarkets.
Winemaker, Delegat Group has bought an 838 hectare farm in Hawke’s Bay’s Crownthorpe region from Hopkins Farming Group for $29.3 million. The purchase will support the group’s long term growth strategy, Delegat said. The agreement will settle in May 2016 and be funded within the group’s long term bank facilities. Managing director of Delegat Group Graeme Lord said the Crownthorpe region offered prime wine grape growing conditions.