International wine connoisseurs sipped on Sauvignon Blanc, and celebrated Chardonnay yesterday – all while soaring through the air bound for Hawke’s Bay. A unique “Wine Flight” shepherding about 60 international wine media and experts flew into Hawke’s Bay yesterday afternoon for this weekend’s inaugural “Classic Reds Symposium”. This was the final event of a bustling fortnight, which included enjoying New Zealand wine at two consecutive wine conferences in Nelson and Wellington.

A bit like the old Irish gags which were equally as racist, they will die out and the wine area will have made a significant contribution to the sophisticisation of Australia. Fifty years ago the idea that wine of any sort of elevated level came from Australia was laughable. One of the biggest importers of Australian, wines at the time, would have been Yates Wine Lodges, renowned in my northern home town for the pre-modern cocktail of Yates Blob (Yates sweet Australian wine, brandy, sugar lemon and hot water). It was as sophisticated as an Australian’s (or Boltonian’s) night out!

San Miguel Corp. said its international packaging business, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd., acquired all of the shares of Australian firm Portavin Holdings Pty. Ltd. Portavin is located in four key regions in Australia—New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia—and is involved in the bottling of wine, trading and distribution of packaging products. Last year, in line with its packaging arm’s bullish stance on the Australian and New Zealand markets, the San Miguel’s packaging group acquired the assets of Endeavour Glass Packaging Ltd.

Coonawarra winemaker Gavin Hogg and his business partners have established a warehouse in Morocco and are working with two local distributors before sending the first shipment in March. Hogg said the Hoggies Estate Wines shipment would be a range of wines from his three brands – Kopparossa, Hoggies and Olivia. He said he and his colleagues had invested a lot of time and effort to procure a licence to import alcohol into Morocco. “The first lot will be a container, which is 1000 cases, and that will be mixed. It’ll be a bit of a scattergun approach to show everyone what’s there and then see how the market responds,” Hogg said.

Digital creative agency AnalogFolk Australia has been contracted by Pernod Ricard Winemakers to take control of the global digital development of Jacob’s Creek wines. The portfolio will include the brand Jacob’s Creek itself, as well as other wine brands available worldwide. “AnalogFolk already has strong credentials with other global brands in the Pernod Ricard portfolio, and will work towards our goal of a data-driven, consumer-first approach to marketing,” commented Kate Whitney, global digital director of Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

Tasmania has long been the butt of jokes from the ‘mainlanders’, as Tasmanians refer to other Australians, but this rugged little island that started out as a prominent penal colony is fast becoming Australia’s premier wine tourism region. This has come about thanks to outstanding wines that keep getting better and better, enchanting cellar doors, stunning scenery, excellent hotels and restaurants, as well as a fine road network and zero pollution. Throw in one of the most interesting museums in the southern hemisphere in MONA, as well as Australia’s top golf links course in Barnbougle, and you have all the ingredients for a memorable visit.

There’s not much innovation in wine publishing. Having judged two awards in the last 12 months (the Louis Roederer and Andre Simon), I get the impression that publishers think wine-lovers want only beginners’ guides and outsize volumes on the world’s poshest wine regions. So credit to Jacqui Small for publishing our Andre Simon drink book winner, the refreshingly original Volcanic Wines, by Canadian sommelier John Szabo. Szabo doesn’t claim that soil is the only factor at play; the preservation of indigenous varieties and ancient growing methods in these hard-to-work vineyards also make the wines distinctive.

The new chief executive at one of the largest wine exporters in New Zealand says its growth is nothing short of miraculous, but there are still opportunities to expand.Yealands Wine Group, which was founded by sustainability pioneer Peter Yealands in 2008, has appointed a new chief executive, Master of Wine Adrian Garforth. Garforth replaces Jason Judkins, who resigned last year after nine years at the helm, during which time the company grew rapidly to become a major player in the industry. The new chief executive has more than 30 years’ experience in the wine industry across a wide range of roles, from marketing and distribution to managing a winery in South Africa.

Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers will host 60 international wine media and experts this weekend at the inaugural Classic Reds Symposium. Guests will taste their way through some of New Zealand’s top red wines including Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet to deepen their understanding of the country’s diverse regions and evolving wine styles. Event manager at Super Events Elisha Milmine said Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers was proud to be hosting the two-day NZ Wine event. “For the 26 New Zealand wineries involved this one-on-one time with the international guests coming from Sweden, Germany, Canada, USA, UK and Australia is a great opportunity to form relationships, which is a foot in the door to international markets.”

Producers of Australian-made Tempranillo and Tempranillo-dominant blends are invited to enter samples in an upcoming tasting of these wines by the Wine & Viticulture Journal (WVJ). To submit a wine to the tasting, producers need to email editor Sonya Logan (s.logan@winetitles.com.au) in the first instance by no later than close of business next Friday (10 February). All wines submitted for the tasting will need to be received by no later than Wednesday 22 February. Entries to the tasting are limited so will be accepted on a first-in, best-dressed basis. The results of the tasting will be published in the March-April issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal.