The Daniel Pontifex Memorial Trust, with the support of Wine Australia, has awarded the 2016 Daniel Pontifex Scholarship to Stephanie Jacob, assistant wine buyer at Supernormal in Melbourne. Ms Jacob will travel to Europe in 2017 to gain valuable experience in some of Europe’s finest restaurants and visit some of its wine regions, with the scholarship covering all associated costs. On being awarded the scholarship, Ms Jacob said, ‘I’m thrilled to be awarded this travelling scholarship, it is really tailored to the needs of the individual, and recognises the invaluable knowledge that comes from travel and experiencing the culture of a place first hand.

To capitalise on Japan’s growing demand for premium wine, Treasury Wine Estates has increased its selection of Australian and New Zealand brands in an improved route-to-market strategy. Under the new strategy, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) will directly import, market and sell a number of premium wine brands including Rawson’s Retreat, Lindeman’s, Wynns, Coldstream Hills, Yellowglen, Pepperjack and Secret Stone which will be available to the trade from 10 January and will add to TWE’s existing brands in Japan which are Penfolds, Beringer, Wolf Blass, Rosemount and Matua. In addition, plans are afoot to introduce a number of TWE’s Californian wine brands under the direct import model from April 2017.

Chinese demand for quality wine has given the Australian industry a huge boost in 2016, according to the latest Rabobank report. In its Wine Quarterly report, the bank said Chinese imports of bottled Australian wine for the first six months of the year had risen 41 per cent from the same period in 2015 to 35.3 million litres. The value of Australian wine imports by China had risen 39.2 per cent to $353 million.

Worldwide wine production is expected to fall this year to its lowest since 2012, chiefly due to adverse weather that sharply cut output in France and South America, wine body OIV estimated on Thursday. Global wine output is set to decrease by 5 percent compared with last year to 259.5 million hectolitres (mhl), one of the three smallest volumes since 2000, the Paris-based International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said in preliminary estimates for this year. An expected 12 percent drop in French production, to 41.9 mhl, and steep declines in Chile (-21 percent to 10.1 mhl), Argentina (-35 pct to 8.8 mhl) and Brazil (-50 pct to 1.4 mhl) accounted for most of the projected global fall, the OIV said.

The wine production is slowing down by 5 percent this 2016 due to climate change. This affects most the wineproduction, particularly in Chile and Argentina. The human-induced climate change affects the wine production all around the world adversely. The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) stated that the production of wine this 2016, which is the hottest records began, was the insufficient 26 billion liters (5.7 billion gallons). This is recorded as the lowest wine production rate for the last two decades.

THE New Zealand Aromatics Competition has awarded Matawhero Wines with the gold medal and Champion Rose Trophy. Formerly called the International Aromatics Wine Competition, the contest is now in its 14th year and highlights the best aromatic wine varieties available in New Zealand. “We are thrilled to receive this accolade as it acknowledges all the hard work our viticulture and wine-making team has put into our wines,” said Matawhero Wines owner Kirsten Searle.

New Zealand Winegrowers will be hosting the first comprehensive UK tasting of wines from New Zealand’s 2016 vintage, alongside wines from previous vintages, at its upcoming tasting. Over 160 wines from 50 producers, sourced from seven of New Zealand’s wine regions will be available to taste at New Zealand Winegrowers’ Annual New Release Tasting. In particular, the tasting will seek to highlight New Zealand’s growing diversity, with 18 varieties on pour, as well as sparkling, lower alcohol, rosé and dessert wines, alongside the country’s ever-popular expressions of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

De Bortoli Wines has been named as a finalist for the ‘Asian Success’ category in the AFR & PwC’s Private Clients Aspire Awards. The AFR & PwC’s Private Clients Aspire Awards celebrate outstanding achievements made by Australia’s private and family businesses. The quality of the 2016 entrants were as high as ever, as businesses from all of Australia’s major vertical industries presented the solid business practices that successful companies portray.

A South Australian production company is making inroads into the labyrinthine Chinese market with cooking show Chef Exchange, which follows Adelaide chef Jock Zonfrillo and Shandong chef Qu Jianmin as they explore each other’s food, culture and customs.“Chef Exchange is helping to create awareness of the state’s primary producers in a key export market with Boston Bay Wines, Ferguson Australia Lobster, Hutton Vale Farm and Seppeltsfield Winery among those featured in the first series,” 57 Films Director and show producer Paul Ryan said. Four half-hour episodes of the show, made by Adelaide company 57 Films, will be screened on China Central TV News, which is broadcast to 180 countries around the world.

A new board for Vinehealth Australia has been appointed following an independent selection process, with Roseanne Healy elected as chair. Ms Healy has broad experience of the wine and grapegrowing industry and has been re-appointed for a second term on the board. She is joined by new members, Anna Hooper, Prue McMichael and Andrew Clarke, former members Marc Allgrove and Nigel Blieschke who were reappointed for a second term, and Ashley Chabrel who has been reappointed for a third term.