SHORT term indicators are largely positive but there is a long way to go on the road to recovery for the wine industry, growers were told yesterday. Murray Valley Winegrowers held its annual information forum with about 100 people given presentations by Wine Australia, Best Bottlers, Goulburn Murray Water, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Sunraysia Rejuvenation Project.

New and emerging technologies are allowing vineyard growers to increase efficiency, yield, fruit quality, or a combination of these, last month’s International Cool Climate Wine Symposium in Brighton heard. “There have been major advances in several technologies which we will see in our vineyards,” Australian viticulture consultant and Curtin University lecturer Dr Tony Profitt said.

It may become harder to obtain Loire wines from certain areas after a severe spring frost looks set to significantly dent the region’s 2016 harvest, an official report says. Severe spring frost has ruined the equivalent of between 20% and 30% of an average harvest in the Loire Valley, according to an official report by regional body InterLoire. An average harvest is around 1.9 million hectolitres, or 253 million bottles, it said.

Jack Ma, billionaire founder of Alibaba and owner of Château de Sours in Bordeaux, has added Château Perenne in Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux to his portfolio of wine estates in the region. The sale, which was completed last month for a reported €16 million, will see this 64 hectare estate, planted with mainly the Merlot grape, become Ma’s second château in the region.

Come June 23, Britain will decide whether it will remain in the European Union or leave. According to the latest polls, Britons narrowly favour remaining in the EU – but if it decides to exit, what would this mean for New Zealand? There are two main areas to consider: migration and trade. The EU is New Zealand’s third-largest trading partner. The two-way trade valued at $19.6billion in goods and services in the year to June 2015. Main exports to the EU include sheep meat, fruit and wine.

Constellation Brands New Zealand has a new managing director, Simon Towns. Oliver Lewis talked to the leader of the largest wine exporter in the country about his plans to grow the business. What did you do before taking the job in New Zealand? I was the senior vice president for strategy and business development for Constellation in the United States. It was very much about setting the five-year direction of the business across both wine and spirits.

New Wines of Greece are returning to Australia this month for a trip full of masterclasses, wine tasting and consumer events to showcase the best wine varietals of Greece. Yannis Voyatzis, president of New Wines of Greece has announced the topics of the Greek wine masterclasses, which he says will help to develop a more detailed picture of Greek wine across its many regions and varietals. “We wanted to continue the story from 2015 and also ensure that anyone new to Greek wine this year would find it just as educational,” he said.

The outrageous and the unusual will be poured alongside some of Western Australia’s new release wines at the Urban Orchard this weekend. The City Wine event at the Perth Cultural Centre on Friday and Saturday will gives wine connoisseurs much more than a glass of red or white to whet their appetite.

According to an IBISWorld report, grape growing and cider production have placed fifth and six respectively in a list of the top 20 industries for export growth in Australia. The report, which looked at the five-year period from 2010-11 to 2015-16, suggested that grape growers and cider producers in Australia have enjoyed plenty of growth thanks to overseas markets in the last half-decade, with grape growers enjoying a 26.6 per cent increase in exports, and cider producers a nominally smaller 25.8 per cent increase.

A project aimed at targeting ways to reduce yield variability in Tasmanian wine crops has been granted funding from the state government’s collaboration fund. The funding was announced by deputy premier Jeremy Rockliff at the Wine Tasmania annual conference in Hobart on Tuesday. “Tasmania’s wine and food is a key motivation for many people to visit Tasmania and our tourism numbers are booming as a result,” Mr Rockliff said.