There’s an inconspicuous family vineyard among the quiet but renowned Great Southern wine region that might just be Australia’s most prodigious. Why? Well, home to more than 80 hectares of mainly cabernet and shiraz grapes, Wilson’s Pool Vineyard provides fruit for some of WA’s major wine players, who have enjoyed unprecedented success at wine shows around Australia in 2015, helping to cement the west as the pre-eminent producer of the country’s best wines (often a fraction of the price of their hyped rivals interstate).

An exporter of Australian wine labelled as Pinot Grigio that was in fact three other grape varieties, has been stripped of its export licence by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA). Dal Broi Wines (DBW), parent company of Griffith-based Southern Estate Wines, failed to win a stay application against the licence cancellation, which the company said had already cost it a contract with US drinks giant Constellation Brands. Dal Broi had exported two parcels of wine, one to Canada in mid to late March 2015 and one to the USA in October 2014, which it described as 2014 Pinot Grigio.

VitiFerm yeasts are the first active dry yeast strains in the world that combine the flavour diversity of Non-Saccharomyces yeast with the fermentation security of Saccharomyces yeasts. They give a broad flavour spectrum, emphasising the varietal and terroir character in all wines. VitiFerm BIO Alba Fria is recommended for all fresh and fruity white wines. VitiFerm BIO Pinot Alba is recommended for all barrel fermented white wines

SINCE ITS INCEPTION in 1959, Exfoliators has been a 100% Australian-family owned and operated business. Exfoliators is proud to be a leading manufacturer and supplier of premium perlites and vermiculites as well as passive fire protection material to the horticulture, protected cropping, construction, industrial and other specialised industries. The company is known to wine grape nurseries because its premium vermiculite is by far the most widely used media in the vine propagation in Australia.

The death knell for expensive wine gifts is clanging loudly and clearly during Beijing’s age of austerity. But China’s wine market is riding a wave of positive (although perhaps unintended) consequences. Gone are the days of seeking guanxi (business connections) with a bottle of Hennessy XO. Wine culture has gone mainstream and a new generation of Chinese drinkers are enjoying more wine with greater frequency.

Jason Haas’ plan for El Nino involves oats, sweet peas, vetch, clover, sheep, alpacas, a llama and a couple of donkeys. It’s not for everyone, the organic viticulturist admits. But it works for his family’s vineyard in this Central California city, where dormant vines have laid bare acre after acre of precious topsoil on steep hillsides.

One of Waikato’s two wineries is on the market as its owners head into retirement. Garry and Vicki Major started Mystery Creek Wines 16 years ago, after planting a vineyard on a block of land they bought in 1987. The Waikato couple took out a gold award for their chardonnay in the winery’s first year, and daughter Sam Ward said from there “it just took off”.

There would not be too many places better than a Hawke’s Bay hillside to watch a great movie or two on a summer’s evening. “Hawke’s Bay is climatically perfectly suited for movies under the stars,” is how Doris Blum puts it, as she and partner Urs put the final planning stages to the 12th OpenAir Cinema season which kicks off at Black Barn Vineyards in Havelock North on December 27.

Black Hill winemaker Ian Watson has wowed a panel of French judges to win a gold medal for his 2014 Pinot Noir The Tomboy. He won the prize in the young Pinot Noir category at the French Australian Chamber of Commerce’s wine awards last week. Mr Watson said the award was recognition from a hard-to-please group.

Hunter Smith grew up and still lives in a remote farming region in the Great Southern, WA. Frankland Estate’s Isolation Ridge was established by his parents Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam, and is renowned for its pristine Rieslings. For Hunter, making and enjoying wine has always been a family affair. Growing up on the farm was wonderful and we didn’t feel isolated at all. It was home. There was no curfew. You could roam freely.