Tertini Wines, based near the southern highlands town of Berrima, has won five of the nine trophies at the 2012 Australian Highlands Wine Show. Its 30-year-old winemaker, Jonathan Holgate, starred with Riesling and Pinot Noir. The 2008 Tertini Riesling won best Riesling, best dry white wine and best wine of show while the 2009 Tertini Pinot Noir won best Pinot Noir and best red wine of show. It’s a far cry from this time last year when Holgate, who is married with two young children, was seriously injured when a loaded bin of grapes toppled and crushed him, damaging several vertebrae in his lower back, writes Huon Hooke in the Sydney Morning Herald.

First came plastic wine bottles, and now a Melbourne entrepreneur hopes drinkers will embrace individual portions of Sauvignon Blanc or rose in disposable cups. The ready-to-drink market has been hugely successful for beer and spirit-based products but has struggled to convince wine drinkers to abandon traditional serving methods. But Georgia Beattie is hoping to change that with her company, Lupe, which since launching last November is already generating steady business at festivals and events, and was named by BRW magazine as one of its 10 start-ups to watch in 2012, reports Brisbane Times.

Many wine producers across the Canberra region have begun harvesting grapes early to avoid problems with the 2012 vintage. Two growing seasons of cooler temperatures and heavy rain have posed problems for the current vintage. Growers fear the wet conditions could threaten the harvest with spilt fruit and increase vulnerability to diseases, reports ABC News.

A study shows that only 5 per cent of Australians are able to identify safe drinking levels, reports the Weekend Sydney Morning Herald. Winemakers understand why some people like the idea of health warnings on alcohol containers. It’s simple, consistent, gets the message onto the product itself and is easy for policy makers to implement and monitor. The problem is that warning labels don’t change drinking habits. Instead they impose unnecessary restrictions and costs on producers and take a simplistic approach to dealing with a complex problem, writes Stephen Strachan of Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.

Yealands Estate wines are offering customers the chance to submit their best green ideas and be in to win cash and other great prizes. Using a unique code from specially marked bottles of wine from the Yealands Estate portfolio, shoppers can submit their ideas online, with one lucky winner receiving $10,000. A second prize will be offered for the most creative green idea submitted. The winner, judged by Peter Yealands, will receive an exclusive trip for two to the winery including a tasting and sustainability tour with the Yealands Estate team, reports Voxy News.

American billionaire Bill Foley has thrown his clout behind New Zealand, pushing to increase his winemaking business here 16-fold. Mr Foley, the chairman of two Fortune 500 companies, told The New Zealand Herald he saw an opportunity to build up exports from wineries around the country. He would push New Zealand wines on his global distribution channels and expand production from 60,000 cases a year to a million, he said.

If you happen to be one of those travellers who chooses an airline on the basis of the quality of its wine list then you might be surprised to hear that Aussie budget carrier Jetstar is a pretty good bet. At the annual Cellars in the Sky competition, run by Business Traveller magazine, Jetstar came equal first – with Delta Air Lines – in best business class white with its New Zealand Waipara Hills Sauvignon Blanc. It also took second place for best on-board business class cellar, reports The New Zealand Herald.

Hawkes Bay continues to produce some of the country’s loveliest wine. Blessed with a generous warm climate ideal for ripening grapes and versatile, sympathetic terra firma, it’s capable of beautiful reds and a slew of rich mineral-infused whites. Experience and age count for a lot and the region boasts some of our oldest wineries, writes John Hawkesby in The New Zealand Herald.

The European director of NZ Winegrowers, David Cox, has revealed the three key markets that will form the strategic direction for the business in the Northern European market. Following research commissioned by NZ Winegrowers into the key markets for the next three to five years, a report by Wine Intelligence found that Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands should represent the focus for New Zealand Wine, reports The Shout.

When Sauvignon Blanc growers were hit by the rough financial ride that accompanied oversupply, some became adventurous. The word adventurous is particularly relevant when we speak of Bridget Ennals and Steve Pellet, the couple behind Stanley Estates. When we say adventurous we can refer to Steve and Bridget setting off in a trusty Land Rover equipped to tackle some 30,000 kilometres of vast and rugged terrain in Africa, or we can be considering the bold move to a new variety, Albarino, reports The Marlborough Express.