Hunter Valley’s Silkman Wines impressed at the annual James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge, with their 2014 Reserve Chardonnay named as the best with a score of 98. With 600 wines from 355 producers representing more than 50 Australian wine regions, James Halliday, wine critic, together with new judge Philip Rich praised the quality of wines entered into the competition, with more than 41 receiving 95+ points. “We are continually amazed by the quality and diversity of Australian Chardonnay which only a competition like this can truly bring out,” Halliday said.

Taltarni Taché was awarded Australia’s Best Sparkling Rosé at The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2015 held on 2 September. Competition founder Tom Stevenson and fellow judge Essi Avellan MW announced the award at Vintners’ Hall in London, in front of over 100 international winemakers, producers and journalists. Adam Torpy, Taltarni chief executive officer, was extremely excited to receive news of the award back in Australia.

The September 2015 issue of the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine is out now – and is available online for all subscribers. This month features an in-depth look at how biosecurity is being tackled by the wine industry with Stuart Pettigrew describing his role in WGGA’s two new projects set to benefit wine grape growers across Australia. We also bring you the latest on Treasury Wine Estates’ profit turnaround and the newest sparkling trend taking over in Australia and Europe.

Wine prices are sliding as multiple grocers take on the discounters in a price war, the latest Nielsen figures have revealed. In the past quarter, just two countries – the US and France – saw the average price for a 75cl bottle grow by 1% in the 12 weeks to June 20, according to Nielsen figures in the WSTA Market Report. South Africa and Germany held their price – and the rest of the countries saw it fall.

China’s dwindling economy could help stabilise its wine market and see it being a new devotee of Beaujolais and white Burgundy according to Louis Latour’s export director, Mark Allen. Since Maison Latour acquired Brouilly-based Henry Fessy in 2008, the négociant has concentrated on making Beaujolais wines more recognizable in China as well as bolstering its portfolio of white Burgundy in the country renowned for its love of red, reported export director, Mark Allen.

French wine growers are hunting for a climate change-resistant grape that can cope with scorching summers and unstable conditions. Producers realised the threat of climate change during a 2003 heatwave, when grapes in some areas melted on vines. The summer of 2015 has been exceptionally dry, with France recording its third-hottest July since 1900 and receiving less than half the amount of rain than usual.

Northern Californians are again finding themselves at Mother Nature’s mercy. Yetanother wildfire erupted in dry, drought-stricken Lake County on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 12. It’s the county’s fourth this year, by far the most destructive to date. Dozens of wineries and vineyards are inaccessible due to the fire, and more than 5,000 buildings are without power, bringing harvest to a halt in the emerging wine region due north of Napa, where Howell Mountain and its prized Cabernet vineyards have already been evacuated.

Expat Kiwi viticulturist Mike Insley shares key insights with Kea regarding the production of wine in Yinchuan, China. “The Wine industry in this part of China reminds me a lot of the Marlborough industry when I first started there in the late 1980’s. At that stage, Muller Thurgau (remember those wines?) was the largest variety, Marlborough was just starting to get some international wine recognition and total NZ wine exports were around NZ$50 million p.a. They’re now NZ$1.4 Billion.”

The Marlborough economy is well placed to weather most economic challenges during the next 12 months, economists say. Export growth from the wine industry, as well as growing international tourism trends, especially from China, is expected to help insulate the region from economic issues, such as the low dairy payout, facing larger regions. Infometrics senior economist Benje Patterson and ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie each spelled out a positive outlook for Marlborough over the next year at separate meetings in Blenheim.

The wine grape harvests of 900 growers in Switzerland have been damaged after using the Moon Privilege fungicide produced by the German chemical firm Bayer, a Swiss TV report claims. Bayer says it is investigating but rejects legal responsibility at present. According to a Swiss public television (RTS) documentary broadcast on September 13, around 2,000 hectares of crops out of a total of 15,000 have been affected after being treated with the Moon Privilege fungicide. A total of 900 wine growers are reportedly affected.