Always the innovator, GroGuard have an improved “back clip“ for use on windy sites. The back clip secures the GroGuard VineGuard to the drip wire, ensuring the vineguard stays put. Formerly made from wire, the new improved clip is made from UV stabilised polycarbonate. With helpful input from Rick Milland of Fowles Wines, the new clip is larger, sturdier and easier to use.
Italy has surpassed France to take to crown of world largest wine producer in 2015, according to European Union data. This year’s benign weather conditions have resulted in an abundant grape harvest across the Mediterranean peninsula, as opposed to that reaped on the other side of the Alps. Italy’s projected wine production is up 13% on the previous year and 5% on the average for the past five years, for a total output of 48.8 million hectolitres, figures submitted by member states to the EU Commission in mid-September show.
Lonely Planet has named Central Otago one of the world’s top wine regions to visit. Lonely Planet’s new book Wine Trails plots a course through 52 of the world’s greatest wine regions, with Central Otago named in the top 10 intriguing places to drink wine alongside The Jura in France, Rioja in Spain and Columbia Valley in the United States. Rutherglen in Australia also made the list for its butterscotch-flavoured, raisin-rich dessert wines from grapes harvested in a “mad rush” before they cooked into a jam.
The Wine Marlborough board has four new members after they were voted in by wineries and grapegrowers earlier this month. Elections for the board, which is charged with marketing and protecting Marlborough’s reputation as a premium wine growing region, ended on October 1. There were three grapegrowing candidates and four winemakers, with two from each side of the industry being voted onto the board.
Significant upgrades to Broke Road at Pokolbin, considered the gateway to the Hunter Valley’s wine country, will be officially opened this morning. The project is part of the New South Wales Government’s $20 million commitment to upgrade local roads via the Hunter Infrastructure Fund. In February, it was announced the other end of Broke Road would also get a massive facelift, including improvements at intersections, new tourist signage and lighting.
Anti-mosque protesters have sparked the abandonment of a major food and wine festival in Bendigo after police told organisers that community safety could not be guaranteed. The business community in the central Victorian town is livid, after the threat of violent protest over a proposed mosque forced them to abandon the festival planned for this weekend.
A Government funding program is offering SA wineries the chance to reduce their running costs and increase efficiency. The South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) has been awarded $50,000 by the Office of Green Industries SA to deliver the Lean Production for Wineries Program 2015–16. Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Ian Hunter said the Program would offer participating wineries expert support to find ways of improving work practices and resource efficiency, reduce wastage, improve productivity and reduce production costs.
The Co-operative is to list a wine made with grapes from both Australia and New Zealand among a number of new additions to its range. Parallel Vines combines 70% Australian Chardonnay and 30% New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in a blend created by buyer Ed Robinson and supplier Andrew Peace of Andrew Peace Wines.
Wine production sounds more glamorous than it really is. The day to day functions, logistics, monitoring and maintenance are constant and intensive at times. Harvest, especially, is not for the faint of heart. Therefore a great system for handling the ‘business of wine’ is paramount to maintain sanity and keep the business functioning. You can then focus on the ‘wine business’: the wine making and sales passion that compels us vintage after vintage.
Torres has revived two more “ancestral” varieties as part of its long-running project to bring back forgotten grapes. Two red varieties, Moneu and Gonfaus join the 40 other Catalan varieties that have been bought back from the brink of extinction in the past 30 years. So far only seven of these varieties look as though they would be suitable for winemaking and the two most recently revived are among them.