Air New Zealand has appointed two leading international wine judges and commentators to help select the one million bottles of wine its passengers drink a year. Linda Murphy is based in Sonoma County near the Napa Valley in the United States and is one of the world’s most sought after wine judges, according to the airline. Fongyee Walker is based in Beijing and is the co-founder of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, leaders in Chinese wine education and consultancy. The airline has restricted the wines served in the economy and premium economy class cabins to Villa Maria group labels but can select from all wine makers for its business class.

Rumours are building that a class action against Jim Berardo will be waged. Creditors of his failed businesses found out at a meeting with Noosa Food and Wine Events administrator John Cunningham on Thursday that the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival had not made a profit in years and had no money in the bank. The Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accountants administrator in Mooloolaba was open to all 120 creditors. “We’re screwed. There’s no money,” said one beverage supplier, who was owed thousands of dollars.

Edge has won a competitive pitch for the Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association (HVWTA) account to manage their digital content and social strategy and revitalise the Hunter Valley magazine and visitor guide. The HVWTA is a ‘not-for-pro?t’ membership body charged with destination and wine marketing for the region and its members, comprising vineyards, accommodation providers, tour operators, restaurants and cafes.

It’s interesting to watch the nation’s drinks companies in a tizzy, all backing that horse called self-interest ever since the Federal Government announced a White Paper into taxation. The Treasury is examining the complex way that booze in taxed in this country. The big political sticking point remains wine, and the impact a proposed flat “volumetric” tax rate of $2.20 per litre would have on the industry.

Granite Belt Wine and Tourism members will hold strong following an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday evening. The organisation met at the QCWT to discuss the future of the organisation and its assets. Those in attendance voted to keep GBWT going as a lobby group and voice for the Granite Belt Wine Country but to hold off making decisions about its assets until the Destination Southern Downs board had been given adequate time to organise themselves.

Taylors Wines has been named as official wine partner of the Australian national Rugby Union team, the Qantas Wallabies. The partnership will see Taylors as the official wine supplier and sponsor of all major Wallabies events and matches for the next three years. As official wine partner, Taylors will maintain a presence at Wallabies matches and events, and the brand will also run a national marketing campaign throughout the Rugby Championship.

A new wine app called Corkscrew collects wine lists from restaurants, makes them searchable and, whenever you choose a wine, garners enough information over time to predict which wines you might like on the next list you open. At launch this week, the app allows users to navigate wine lists at more than 8,000 restaurants in over 50 cities. The free iOS app doesn’t have every Los Angeles restaurant wine list in its sights yet, but it has enough to be useful.

France wants to develop wine tours in its countryside as part of a series of measures aimed at boosting tourism and retaining the country’s position as the top destination in the world. France’s foreign affairs minister, Laurent Fabius, set Thursday a target of 100 million foreign tourists per year by 2020, up from 84 million now. “Tourism is a national treasure,” he told a news conference. “Wine is an important sector to attract foreign customers in our beautiful wine-growing regions that are still under-visited: Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Languedoc, Rhone, Champagne, etc.”

The prized organic Clayvin Vineyard in Marlborough, owned by Giesen Wines, is growing its reputation on the global stage for producing ultra premium, award winning wines. Giesen purchased the coveted 13.4ha vineyard earlier this year, after sourcing its grapes from 2011 and leasing it since 2013. Developed in 1991, Clayvin was Marlborough’s first commercial hillside vineyard. Wholly organic, the block comprises 7.8ha of Pinot Noir vines, 3.36ha of Chardonnay, 1ha of Syrah, and another hectare of younger Sauvignon Blanc vines.

Air New Zealand has appointed two of the world’s leading wine judges and commentators to its wine selection program. Linda Murphy is based in Sonoma County in the United States and is one of the world’s most sought after wine judges. Linda is co-author, with Jancis Robinson MW, of American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to the Wines and Wineries of United States. She is also Contributing Editor to Food and Wine magazine’s Wine Guide and is a regular contributor to leading wine publications, such as Decanter and WineReviewOnline.