That got your attention! It’s the top of mind question for many; almost as critical as the need to know the final water allocation for 2017. Despite most growers and wineries having completed the 2016 harvest months ago, no-one has the answer to the ‘total crush’ question; never mind the ‘accurate’ crush by region. There will be ‘estimates’ but with so many tonnes being crushed ‘out of the region of origin’, no individual or organisation can be confident of national, State or regional data.

HIGH altitude, reliable rainfall and ideal terroir make Orange a great place to grow grapes and make wine. However, despite the favourable conditions, Orange vignerons must continue to improve their techniques to re-work old vines with new grapevine varieties and clones to remain industry leaders. Some of these leading techniques will feature at the Orange Agricultural Institute Training Centre on Tuesday, June 7.

California’s In Pursuit of Balance winery association is calling it quits. With fewer than 40 small wineries from around the state, it never amounted to much in a commercial sense. But its stance and that it knew balance echoed faintly across the vast market of U.S. consumers like someone talking in a canyon. It could be heard when the wind blew in the right direction.

It’s the height of irony. Irrigation systems designed to buffer farmers from the effects of a warming planet may be causing them to think their local area is cooler and wetter than it is, says research published June 1 in the journal Global Environmental Change — perceptions that other studies suggest may slow their efforts to address climate change.

Mahana Estates and its winemaker Michael Glover are taking a stand against the practise of ‘paid for’ reviews in the interest of transparency for wine consumers. Glover said he has been surprised by the prevalence of the ‘paid for’ wine review since moving to New Zealand and taking up the role of winemaker at Mahana.

Noisy Ritual’s name stems from the idea that some cultures historically used “noisy rituals” to aid wine fermentation. When Cam Nicol, Alex Byrne and Sam Vogel open its doors on June 18, Melbourne’s first permanent urban winery will offer these raucous rituals in the form of workshops, a cellar door, exhibitions and pop-ups. The team began making wine when they found a fermenter under Nicols’ house in 2014. In 2015 Noisy Ritual was born as a pop-up, group-winemaking experience in Preston.

TWO vineyards, 34km apart and straddling two states, boast plentiful water, a contracted grape buyer and long-established plantings of some of Australia’s most popular wine varieties. Yelta Vineyard, at Wargan, 14km from Merbein, and Bel Vineyard at Gol Gol in NSW, 12km northeast of Mildura, are offered either as a pair or separately. Vendors Michel Tilley and Stephen Costley jointly own Bel and hold a 75 per cent interest in Yelta.

A NEWPORT-based wine distribution business is up for a People’s Choice Award as Australia’s favourite online retailer. Naked Wines Australia are in the running for the awards run by the courier company Star Track. Established in 2012, Naked Wines customers fund talented independent winemakers in return for wine at wholesale prices.

This year, the Hot 100 Wines SA celebrates a significant milestone: a decade of discovering this state’s most drinkable wines. The Adelaide Review-run wine show will mark this milestone with some exciting new events including a two-day publicly-invited celebration in the heart of the city called Hot 100 Harvest on Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3, an awards gala on Thursday, December 1, as well as a masterclass event in Singapore on Monday, July 25.

Australian rock bands You Am I, Something For Kate and Spiderbait will team up for the first time for an onslaught through A Day on the Green wineries in November. As triple headliners, the bands have a revered place in Australian rock culture as chart toppers and ARIA award winners. Jebediah and The Meanies round out the “all killer, no filler” line-up, adding to the theme of Australian rock favourites.