Australian wineries are being invited to participate in short survey aimed at getting a snapshot of the current levels of sulfur dioxide use in the industry. In the forthcoming July/August issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, regular writer and winemaker Cathy Howard will be exploring the current push for wineries to reduce sulfur levels following a recent warning by the president of the OIV Monika Christmann.
Congratulations to Brenton O’Riley who became the Bayer Marlborough Young Viticulturist of the Year 2016 on Friday 24 June. O’Riley has worked at Giesen Wines for the last few years as Viticultural Technician and credits his time and experience there as helping him gain some of the high level knowledge and skills required to win the competition. He is due to start a new job at Pernod Ricard in a grower liaison role at the beginning of next month.
After a successful collaborative Rosé campaign with 25 New Zealand wineries earlier this year, the duo behind Sip NZ Wine has now launched Sip Marketing, a wine marketing company. Sip Marketing offers wineries the expertise of an experienced wine marketing team without the big budget of an in-house marketing department. Founders Emily Camblin and Caro Jensen bring, combined, over 20 years of wine marketing experience in branding, packaging, PR/communications and lifestyle campaigns to this new venture.
Wine producers and distributors from New South Wales and beyond are being urged to submit their best drops to International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) this month, as the world class venue looks to finalise its coveted wine collection ahead of its opening this December. Collated by sommelier and ICC Sydney’s Beverage Operations and Cellar Manager, William Wilson, the industry-leading wine list will support ICC Sydney’s innovative Feeding Your Performance philosophy, with a focus on locally and sustainably produced wines.
English wine might be the only clear beneficiaries of today’s referendum debacle as importers look to the domestic marketplace instead of the Eurozone. As the pound goes into free-fall, it is likely in the short term at least that importers will look to what English wine can offer, with dominant UK wineries such as Denbies and Chapel Down set to profit.
Premium wine maker, Marlborough Wines Estates Group Limited (MWE) has today confirmed that it will become the third wine company to list on the New Zealand stock exchange when it joins the NXT market as a compliance listing next week. Marlborough Wine Estates owns vineyards in the Awatere Valley in Marlborough and produces some of the region’s finest Sauvignon Blancs under two brands – O:TU and Music Bay.
If you’re the sort of person who is unwilling to pay more than $15 for a bottle of wine, the idea of a wine tour can seem a bit pretentious. And intimidating. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good drop. But when I drink wine, I’m pretty sure all I can taste is grapes – not lychees or asparagus or cigar boxes. I spent last weekend in the Hawke’s Bay, the oldest wine region in New Zealand and the second largest, after Marlborough. With more than 75 wineries and 100 vineyards, it would be rude not to have a nosey.
How long does it take to sell alcohol in South Australia? Years. One of the world’s biggest retailers, Costco, is still waiting on a verdict from the South Australian courts on whether it can sell alcohol at its Adelaide store. In 2014, the country’s biggest retailer, Woolworths, teamed up with the Australian Hotels Association to object successfully to Costco’s bid for a special circumstances licence in South Australia.
Wealthy young Chinese, having acquired a modicum of savoir faire and a taste for liquid luxury, are becoming game changers in one of the world’s biggest wine markets, prompting the country’s top wine merchants to also become providers of wine education. This burgeoning army of wine aficionados offers a glimmer of hope for vintners, who have been battered by Beijing’s crackdown on extravagance and the mainland’s slowing economic growth.
BREXIT could have a negative impact on beef, lamb and wine exports to the UK. Rabobank senior analyst Marc Soccio said the lower pound would increase the price of Australian imports for UK consumers, prompting them to look elsewhere for products. “I think particularly you’ve got to look at the currency impacts to begin with,” Mr Soccio said.