A WINE region more than 15,000 kilometres from Tuscany is emerging as a primo producer of Italian varieties and styles. Many of the more than 100 wineries in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia are making Italian style wines with some of them receiving recognition on the world stage. In a competition first at the prestigious International Wine Challenge this month, wineries Bird in Hand and Mr. Riggs were both awarded Gold medals for Adelaide Hills wines made from Montepulciano grapes. It was the first time a non-Italian Montepulciano has won Gold.

ALONG with its $50-million commitment to the wine industry on budget night, the Turnbull government announced its plan to strengthen the integrity rules for the Wine Equalisation Tax rebate starting July 1, 2019. In Victoria, the rebate has reduced the liability for many small wine producers, providing them with an opportunity to produce quality wine by taking risks with new varietals, styles and even wine tourism experiences.

For over 35 years, the London Wine Fare has been a launch pad for new wines and businesses supplying wine into the UK. The fair is one of the world’s leading wine trade events, with over 500 exhibitors from across the globe showing some 13,000 wines. In recent years, the programme seminars, masterclasses and tastings that take place at the fair have been increasingly important and form a key part of the trade fair’s make up.

Dave Brookes, renowned Australian wine consultant and journalist, has been announced as a jury member for the International Bulk Wine Competition. The competition will be held at the eighth World Bulk Wine Exhibition, running at Amsterdam’s RAI from 21-22 November, 2016. Brookes is a main consultant at Wine Marketing Labs, and also a regular collaborator in the media such as the Australian Gourmet Traveller or Vinofreakism.

The New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea, known as “The Kiwi Chamber,” will host annual wine festivals and promises this year’s event to be more special as it comes after the Korea-New Zealand FTA lifting all tariffs on New Zealand wine as of December 2015. New Zealand Wine Festivals will be held on May 28th at the Park Hyatt Busan, and June 4th at the Waterfall Garden of the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

Creating more jobs and alleviating a lack of housing in the region are two of the biggest challenges facing Marlborough, Labour’s financial spokesman says. The Labour jobs and growth caucus committee was in the region on Wednesday for a fact-finding mission, visiting businesses, industry representatives and the council to hear about economic challenges and opportunities.

Canberra region winemakers have warned of potentially devastating impacts on harvest and business if the delayed backpacker tax was eventually introduced. The government announced on Tuesday it would push back the start of its fraught with challenge backpacker tax by six months, pending a review.

A LOVE of fine wine and the outdoors saw Stephen Wood leave the security of a job in the banking industry to make his own wine. “I fell in love with wine when I was given James Halliday’s Australian Wine Compendium when I left a job in my 20s and took it on a tour of some of South Australia’s vineyard regions,” he said.

SHEEP are not something that you expect to see if you’re wandering around a vineyard, but a flock or two is rapidly becoming one of the options that a vineyard owner can use to improve the quality of their soil, and in the end, their wine. Holistic farm management was one of the terms being readily used at a sustainability workshop organised through the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, an alliance between DPI, Charles Sturt University and NSW Wine Industry Association.

Facebook is widely used in the wine sector and last year a three-year research project funded by Wine Australia revealed how important it is to think about what you post, when you post and how much you post. Researcher from the project Dr Rebecca Dolan – who has since moved from the University of Adelaide to the Department of Marketing in the University of Auckland Business School – gives her top tips for wine brands using Facebook.