The boss of Woolworths’ Pinnacle Drinks arm, which supplies 73 different house brand wines to Woolworths’ liquor retailing stores including Dan Murphys and BWS, says having exclusive brands is increasingly important to the company’s liquor retailing operations in a highly competitive industry.
Woolworths has come under heavy criticism for increasing the amount of house brands it is stocking on its shelves across its $8 billion liquor retailing business and squeezing out branded wine producers.

Australia’s wine sector recorded increases in the average purchase price of winegrapes and its overall crush this year, according to the Vintage Report 2016 released yesterday at the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference. The report, released by Wine Australia, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Wine Grape Growers Australia, showed an increase of six per cent in the national crush to an estimated 1.81 million tonnes.

Business is picking up for a Marlborough nursery that supplies grape vines to the wine industry after a devastating downturn almost a decade ago. Ormond Nurseries, outside Blenheim, was one of around 35 businesses around New Zealand supplying the industry before the 2008 harvest. General manager Ben Wickham said the huge harvest, which saw speculators swamp the market with bulk wine, dropped prices and killed demand for new plantings.

Slattery Auctions if offering over 1,500 Cases of Roscrea Estate Wine by tender. The wine was made by a high profile Hunter Valley Establishment and there are three great wines for offer. Listed below are the wine tasting notes and quantities: 2014 Roscrea Estate Verdelho: With grapes collected from the Hillside vineyard at Roscrea homestead, this wine shows fruity notes on the nose with hints of lemon and passionfruit.

PC, FR, SD, AS and ND are just some of the product names used by different manufacturers to attribute different drip line functions. To add to complexity, sometimes these acronyms are interchangeable. SD and AS, although being the same feature, can sometimes be a source of misunderstanding when deciding what drip line should be used.

The Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) returns in 2016 to give recognition to and acknowledge the work of women in the Australian wine industry. With statistics indicating that female participation in some areas in Australian wine (notably winemaking and viticulture) remains as low as eight to 10 per cent, the aim of the awards – which were founded in 2015 – is to pursue greater gender diversity and become a driver for change.

The Clare Valley Winemakers Inc. and Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association are working towards an alignment of the two bodies, planning to unite as one and create a stronger voice for the region in the next 12 months. The decision to plan to unite came after much discussion from both groups to reach a more cohesive approach, with all members working towards the same overall vision for the region.

MORE THAN 1100 Australian and international wine and viticulture representatives have arrived in Adelaide for five days of major industry events. There’s a big focus on the latest in information and technology across the grape and wine value chain at the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC), which incorporates the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) Outlook Conference.

Historic Australian fortified wine producer Morris of Rutherglen has been bought by Casella Family Brands, saving the brand from potential obscurity. Pernod Ricard, which bought the winery in 1970, confirmed last month its plan to sell off the brand, effectively ending 157 years of winemaking by the Morris family across five generations.

Griffith-based winemaker Casella Family Brands, owner of ­success story Yellow Tail with its distinctive image of a yellow kangaroo on the bottle, has swooped on a McLaren Vale vineyard in the heart of South Australia’s wine country in a $12.4 million deal.