Wairarapa may only have one gold medal winner at this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards, but that is not a reflection of the quality of wine in the area. That’s the view of the competition’s main judge, Michael Brajkovich, who said it made sense that Wairarapa would be underrepresented. “It really depends on who enters and what they enter,” he said. “Some top producers from Wairarapa don’t enter, which can throw off the statistics.
The Sileni Estate Selection ‘Plateau’ Pinot Noir will be served to British Airways first class customers. The wine is now available in international first class cabins on routes across Asia and the Pacific. The selection is a further endorsement for Hawke’s Bay grown Pinot Noir, a region which, until now, has not received the same recognition as other Pinot Noir producing areas within New Zealand. “I don’t think that many people understand how much Pinot Noir is grown in Hawke’s Bay, or the quality of it. The varietal is our largest red wine export, appreciated in more than 80 markets around the world for its food-friendly style,” says CEO Nigel Avery.
A LEADING Australian winemaker will soon open a cellar door that promises to thrill all the senses to improve the bottom line. For d’Arenberg Winery’s Chester Osborn, the five-storey AUD$14 million glass-encased steel and concrete structure inspired by Rubik’s Cube is the realisation of a 13-year dream. Osborn, 54, is the chief winemaker and futurist for the company his great grandfather Joseph Osborn founded 104 years ago but is equally well known for his love of art and his eclectic and eccentric collection of shirts.
Wine professionals who excel in promoting fine Australian wine in China have been celebrated at a gala dinner and ceremony at Space by Three in Shanghai. Days after its latest Export Report confirmed that mainland China is now Australia’s number one export market by value, Wine Australia has announced 13 worthy winners at its 4th annual China Awards on Monday 24 October. Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark was in Shanghai for the event and said, ‘The Wine Australia China Awards offer a fantastic opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate the people and businesses who are helping to promote fine Australian wine in China.
The world-class judges of the National Cool Climate Wine Show have tasted well over 800 wines from 150 entrants all over Australia, and the results have been finalised just hours before the public tasting. This year exhibitors were rewarded with a total of 292 medals. That is a 36% strike rate with 35 Gold, 64 Silver and 193 Bronze medals awarded. Special mention to the excellent class of Sparkling Wines and the great results from the Central Ranges with many wines from Orange and Bathurst excelling. The Champion Wine of the Show was awarded to Josef Chromy Wines for their 2010 Pinot Chardonnay Sparkling.
The Turnbull government has quietly begun a review of Australia’s safe-drinking guidelines after the “low risk” level of alcohol intake was halved overnight amid accusations of nanny statism. The five-yearly review of the guidelines, running behind schedule, was kicked off by the government this month with the selection of a 14-member panel to scrutinise the guidelines for the National Health and Medical Research Council. There are rumblings the process is captive to anti-alcohol public health advocates who will ensure the review maintains or even stiffens the current standards.
The wine industry has been put on notice by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that further examination of contracting practices are required. This has been confirmed in a report issued by the ACCC, following a series of workshops and consultation sessions with viticulture and horticulture representatives over the past four months. The report Perspectives in Horticulture and Viticulture summarises the issues raised with the ACCC and provides the agency’s responses. Murray Valley Winegrowers (MVW) Executive Officer Mike Stone attended one of the workshops and hosted a meeting of two ACCC senior managers with winegrape growers in Mildura in August.
Wine tasting in Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County: Long-time vintner Steve McIntyre met us, a traveling group of wine writers, in his vineyard. He pulled up in his pick-up truck, jumped out, opened the tail gate and rummaged around for glasses to give us tastes of his McIntyre rose of pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot noir. There are only a few spots in the world that can consistently grow world-class pinot noir grapes, McIntyre said. One of them is the Santa Lucia Highlands, this slender 12-mile stretch of land perched on the eastern slopes of the Santa Lucia mountain range.
Joining the growing list of startups exploiting our love of DNA-personalized products is a a company called Vinome, which is cashing in on the notion that your wine preferences are written in your genes. The startup, connected to the DNA sequencing company Illumina, promises to provide you with your perfect bottle of wine, based on a DNA analysis of your saliva. This claim holds up as well as a sauvignon blanc to a bloody steak. The problem with Vinome is that there’s no scientific evidence that shows which DNA variations affect a person’s wine preference.