The Marlburian welcome is getting a shake-up. New ‘Welcome to Marlborough’ signs will be dotted around entry points to the region from July. The new-look signage will replace the faded and outdated ‘Love Marlborough’ signs. That brand was ditched by the Marlborough District Council and replaced with new regional brand Only Marlborough.
In the 2004 box-office hit Sideways, womanising character Jack Cole tries to get wine snob Miles Raymond to drink a glass of merlot with him while on a road trip to Santa Barbara County. Raymond’s reply: “If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I’m not drinking any f—ing merlot!” It was just a one-line joke in a movie, but after the film’s US release, California’s wine industry suffered a drop in merlot sales and pinot noir became the rising star.
UNDER clear blue skies the weekend’s Food and Wine 2016 proved a runaway success, with sell-out events and millions of dollars injected into the Noosa economy. An estimated 10,000 people were in the region to enjoy 43 events, with 40 chefs and 22 wineries participating. Tourism Noosa chief executive officer Damien Massingham said 7000 tickets were snapped up before the weekend began.
BUREAUCRATIC bumbling over the controversial backpacker tax is doing more damage than the tax itself. This is the message from leaders in the Riverina horticulture industry who fear workers will head to New Zealand instead of Australia due to the financial imposts. Riverina Wine Grape Marketing Board chief executive officer Brian Simpson said the backpacker tax didn’t just hurt agriculture and horticulture but was also detrimental to the broader economy.
Bayer AG offered $62 billion to buy Monsanto Co., deepening investor concern that it’s stretching its finances to become the world’s biggest seller of seeds and farm chemicals. The May 10 written proposal to Monsanto offered $122 a share in cash, the Leverkusen, Germany-based company said in a statement on Monday. Bayer’s stock dropped as much as 4.1%, extending losses since the potential deal was first revealed.
Matua has been awarded four trophies at the 2016 International Wine Challenge (IWC) based in London. Matua’s flagship Syrah, the Matua Single Vineyard Hawkes Bay Syrah 2014, pipped all other Syrah wines at the show to take home the International Syrah Trophy, New Zealand Red Trophy, Hawke’s Bay Syrah Trophy, and New Zealand Syrah Trophy.
How much do you think your taste buds are worth? For Yvonne Lorkin, they’re a sweet $1 million. Lorkin is one of New Zealand’s most high profile wine critics, a respected wine competition judge and, since its launch in October 2015, she’s been the Chief Tasting Officer for wine subscription service WineFriend.
Steve Lubiana has been growing and making wine in Tasmania since 1989, also establishing the state’s first biodynamic vineyard in the process. In 2011, he spent vintage at Weingut Gerhard and Brigitte Pittnauer to learn about Austria’s indigenous grapes, including Gruner Veltliner and Blaufrankisch. About 65km southeast of Vienna in Austria’s famed Burgenland red wine region, Gerhard Pittnauer also farms according to biodynamic principles. He’s long championed the fickle and unfashionable variety of St Laurent, and makes beautifully detailed Blaufrankisch and Pinot Noir.
Rutherglen Estates announced yesterday that Marc Scalzo, chief winemaker, has been named amongst the finalists in this years’ Gourmet Traveller WINE ‘Australian Winemaker of the Year’ awards. Scalzo joined Rutherglen Estates in 2008, after spending seven years at Brown Brothers, where he was responsible for a very diverse portfolio. Prior to that, Scalzo has experienced busy vintages in New Zealand with family-owned Delegat and Seresin Estates, and also worked with Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda in Beechworth.
Treasury Wine Estate’s stock price is edging towards double the value it was when it rejected the $3.4 billion, or $5.20 a share, offer from KKR back in September 2014. The stock was trading around the $4.80 a share market and all the talk was KKR actually wanted to lower its price when the board formally rejected the bid. The company has more than delivered on expectations since then, helped in part by the falling Australian dollar which has boosted the value of exports of its top brands like Penfolds.