A power shift in China’s imported wine market has seen a switch from traditional, high-end wine connoisseurs to younger and more casual drinkers, says a new study. According to Wine Intelligence’s China Portraits 2015 report, a brand new wine consumer segment has emerged since its last study in 2012: Developing Drinkers, typically younger and less involved consumers who tend to buy wine at mainstream or entry-level prices. These people are more likely to be graduates, working in high-earning professions and in their late 20s or early 30s.

The business of raising capital and borrowing money through the ‘crowd in the cloud’ is off to a flying start, but the real test will be how the new industry handles its first failures. The most noise and activity on the equity side is coming from Snowball Effect, which has hosted five successful capital raisings on its equity crowdfunding platform since it launched in August last year. The enthusiasm and the party mood extends to two of Snowball Effect’s most high-profile capital raising companies, both of which sell the ingredients for a celebration- beer and wine.

Chemistry and physics experts will be visiting Masterton to talk about innovative scientific developments as part of the Victoria University of Wellington 2015 Public Lecture Series. Dr Nicola Gaston will be joined by Dr Rob Keyzers, also a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, who will discuss how chemistry could help New Zealand’s wine industry. Dr Keyzers will describe how the clever use of chemistry can help control the sensory properties of wine, help to unlock new and lucrative markets and, ultimately, enhance sales.

One successful winemaker in the family is usually plenty, but this Australian clan doesn’t do things by half. Since the day he was born, Ben Glaetzer has been surrounded by vineyards, and immersed in a family tradition of making wine. There was no question he would follow suit. After all, it was in his genes. Fast-forward 38 years and the Barossa Valley winemaker is the successful name behind the lauded Amon-Ra Shiraz, and the designer behind its striking hieroglyphic label. He co-owns and runs the family business, Glaetzer Wine, which his father Colin created in 1995.

Australia finished second behind France in the recent 2015 International Wine Challenge (IWC) medal count, taking home more than 800 medals and earning glowing praise from the event’s co-chair, Charles Metcalfe. “Australian wine continues to go from strength to strength, as its native winemakers demonstrate their star quality,” Metcalfe told Australia’s Food Magazine. “Australian Shiraz has impressed yet again, and Aussie Chardonnay really has come a long way.”

The maker of Australia’s number one selling bottled red wine, McGuigan Wines, has reached number four global wine brand by volume in the United Kingdom. Figures released last month by Nielsen demonstrate a +22% YTD volume growth for McGuigan in the UK (week ending 28 March 2015), making it one of the fastest growing brands in the past twelve months and the second most popular Australian brand in the UK. McGuigan Wines’ strong performance comes on the back of an improved half year profit of AUD$4.4million for parent company Australian Vintage Limited (AVL).

Smaller harvest in the Southern hemisphere are set to boost demand for bulk wine, the latest report from Ciatti has said. Volume estimates for the harvest across the Southern hemisphere are expected to be down on last year, the update said, with Argentine and New Zealand set to see the biggest declines. The Australian harvest is broadly in line with last year, but the average price for bulk wine has decreased however, down 4.7 per cent, largely on the back of increased demand at the lower level.

Researchers from the Australian Wine Research Institute are warning grape growers they must adapt to warmer and drier conditions leading to earlier harvests. The institute reported wine grape harvests had on average become eight days earlier every decade since the 1980s due to warmer weather. Dr Paul Petrie, viticulture scientist, said there were things growers could do now to delay harvest and make sure grapes were not being picked in hot weather.

If you’re looking for a new favourite wine, you needn’t look any further than your local supermarket.
For the second year in a row, Marks and Spencer have topped the medal chart at the International Wine Challenge. The retailer received 169 accolades in total, including 12 gold, 52 silver, and 102 bronze medals. The IWC said the retailer “continued to prove it is at the top its game when it comes to selecting exceptional wines for consumers”, adding that their Mount Bluff NV Sparkling Chardonnay is “expected to be a particular favourite with customers.”

One of wine’s chief attractions is its astonishing diversity. The drink may come in only two colours (well, three if you count pink), but beneath that there are hundreds – nay, thousands – of subsets and possibilities that imbue the act of opening a bottle of wine with a sense of adventure. Different vintages, different countries, different vineyards, different winemakers… all play a role in giving a wine its own personality. And then there’s grape variety. Here we find a breadth of vocabulary few other plant species can match. There are more than 10,000 known varieties of Vitis Vinifera in the world. Of these, around 800 are made into wine.