A national survey has revealed for the first time the state of workplace gender inequality in the Australian wine industry from the perspective of women working in the industry. The survey, the first of its kind ever undertaken, asked the all-female respondents to report on their experience in four key areas: pay, maternity and child care, sexist behaviour in the workplace and career advancement.
China has come from nowhere to overtake traditional wine countries in terms of land area under vine. So just what is going on in the Far East? If you fancy some crystal ball-gazing into the world of wine, it’s worth keeping up with the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). The intergovernmental organisation, which regulates the science of viticulture, oenology and the wine economy, also releases an annual report on what’s coming down the pipeline in world wine.
American wine guru Robert Parker, whose ratings could make or break Bordeaux vintages for the past 38 years, is to turn his power over to a successor on Sunday, his magazine announced. It will be the end of an era for the 68-year-old oenologist, who has however been retiring in stages, in 2014 leaving his British successor Neal Martin to rate “en primeurs” (futures) while continuing to evaluate top Bor-deaux vintages.
Demand for New Zealand’s flagship wine is starting to dwindle in overseas markets as winemakers continue to rely on one variety from one region, a wine analyst says. However, wine industry heads claim that is not the case. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is well-known for putting New Zealand wine on the world stage, but over the past few years there has been an “over-reliance” on the variety in some overseas markets, Rabobank wine analyst Marc Soccio says.
The McLaren Vale Scarce Earth program was first launched in 2011 and is now in its sixth release, with 15 McLaren Vale producers today releasing their 2014 Scarce Earth vintage wines. Given that ‘site’ – geology and climate – plays such a well-known and vital role in wine style, a group of local McLaren Vale winemakers and viticulturists launched the McLaren Vale Scarce Earth project five years ago with the purpose of exploring and celebrating this diversity through one of the region’s key varieties – Shiraz.
The Lovedale Long Lunch will be back in full swing this year, showcasing a range of Hunter Valley food and wine on the 14th and 15th of May. Seven of Lovedale’s wineries will be teaming up with highly-renowned local restaurants and live entertainment for a progressive-style lunch over an entire weekend. Tatler will be offering some classic Hunter Valley Chardonnay and Shiraz together with a mix of cuisines and live entertainment.
Journalist, author, winemaker and restaurateur Frank Margan was a pioneering hero of modern Australian food and wine: a tireless rebel from an age when wine meant sherry and anything else was plonk or strangely foreign. Margan was born in Sydney’s south-west on November 26, 1931. His mother, Madelaine, urged him to try something safe and join the water board as a clerk. Margan lasted until lunch, when he took off, never to return.
Cameras attached to fixed-wing aircraft are providing data to viticulturists which is helping to identify canopy temperature – in order to improve water use and wine quality. The pilot project – which has been part funded by the State Government – is helping researchers learn how to reduce vine water stress and improve nutrient status so better irrigation decisions can be made. The Innovative Coonawarra Grape and Wine Incorporated Project is being undertaken at 21 vineyards.
MAX ALLEN: I first met Steve Pannell 21 years ago — almost to the day — at the Tintara winery in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide. It was the 29-year-old’s first vintage as red winemaker for Hardys, one of the country’s oldest and largest wine companies. The 1995 harvest was just drawing to a close; on the tasting bench in the winery were glasses of deep purple, raw young Shiraz. Pannell was like a kid in a lolly shop that day…
A cold snap has seen severe frosts hit the entire length of Burgundy’s vineyards as well as other French regions – although the full extent of the damage is so far unknown. Temperatures plunged to below zero recently leading growers in Burgundy and elsewhere in Europe to awake to an almost wintry landscape – if they hadn’t been up all night seeing to their candles and other anti-frost measures.