South Australia is often synonymous with producing world-class wine, and the peak body representing the Riverland’s wine industry believes the region has all the ingredients to become a world leader in growing organically. Winemakers and grape growers in the region were out in force last week to learn more about bringing organic practices and soil health to their vineyards.
Australia’s second-largest wine company, Accolade Wines, which owns brands including Hardys, Leasingham, Grant Burge and Banrock Station, is set to return to the stock exchange in a $1 billion-plus listing in the first half of 2017 as private equity firm CHAMP exits after six years of ownership.
David Block, chairman of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis, recently shared several advances results in research as well as new opportunities for partnerships with the wine industry. Speaking to an audience of members of the Allied Grape Growers during its annual meeting in Santa Rosa, Block said “Research is best thought of as an investment.”
Australia’s number one online wine retailer has kicked off its New Zealand operation with a launch party in central Auckland last night. Vinomofo, which offers members the opportunity to buy wines from New Zealand, Australia and international markets, has taken the Australian market by storm and to date has nearly half a million regular users.
A vintage sparkling wine made in the cool climate of the East Coast has taken out a perpetual trophy at the Royal Sydney Wine Show. House of Arras Grand Vintage 2007 has only recently come on the market but was named as the winner of the KPMG perpetual trophy for best wine of show in Sydney in July. The Royal Sydney Wine Show is held between July 18-22.
Get out the calendars, it’s time to save the date for the Orange Wine Festival, the premier event for the region’s winegrowers. The festival’s program has been meticulously planned and will be available on Friday from 9am. Printed copies will be available at the city’s visitor centre and online at www.orangewinefestival.com.au, but also through the Orange NSW app.
He was a young entrepreneur who developed a loyal following as the founder of the Perth Champagne Club, a venture promoted by celebrity chef Manu Feildel that sold expensive fine wines to customers around the world. But Nicholas Leslie Gaskin was exposed yesterday as a fraudster who tried to use stolen credit card details to fund the business and “keep up appearances” as a high-flying and wealthy businessman.
Australia’s wine exports have grown to $2.1 billion annually, and the average price paid for wine grapes has grown by 14 per cent to $526 per tonne. This has been attributed to massive surge in demand from China according to wine critic James Halliday in a recent interview with ABC news. He said: “It’s all being pulled by enormous demand from China. It takes more than 50 per cent of our highest-priced wines, and that’s where we really want to be.”
A GROUP of Melbourne investors has bought one of Australia’s biggest vineyards. GoFarm Australia also snared one of Victoria’s biggest parcels of water with its purchase of Del Rios for $22-$25 million. The 900ha vineyard, north of Swan Hill and near the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers at Kenley, was sold last month along with its 5476 megalitres of high-sec¬urity water.
With installed systems already reducing wine energy cooling costs by up to 80% compared to refrigerated systems, Climate Wizard’s Supercool Indirect/Direct Evaporative Cooling (IDEC) configuration, is clearly working. Energy-minded wineries in the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale have installed Climate Wizard with exceptional benefits.