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.

On Tuesday 31 January, Jacob’s Creek kicked off its 2017 vintage with Chardonnay destined for Jacob’s Creek sparkling wine. The first fruit to be picked was from the Murray Darling, with the Riverland commencing the following day. “The 2017 growing season saw an extremely wet winter which has resulted in a later harvest in January this year, more closely aligned with typical timings we’ve seen in the past. The below average temperatures and above average rainfall have delivered healthy and strong vine growth. More rain means less supplementary water used to irrigate, whilst also requiring growers to be more precise with their canopy management” says Ben Bryant, of his first vintage as Chief Winemaker at Jacob’s Creek.

Alex has settled on an old paint factory. Nick has taken over an abandoned ice works. And Cam’s venue is a former bakery on a busy main road, right on the tram line. Say hello to Australia’s new urban wineries where the traditionally rural activity of crushing grapes and fermenting wine has been transposed to various city settings across the country. As the 2017 harvest looms, these new places offer town dwellers a glimpse of vintage without the inconvenience of schlepping all the way out to a wine region. Winemaker Alex Retief opened the ambitious Urban Winery Sydney to the public in May in a rejuvenated industrial complex in the suburb of St Peters but he had already processed almost 40 tonnes of grapes on the site in the months beforehand.

OZONE Walk’s boutique bar Lucy will host Warrnambool’s inaugural wine weekend on Saturday. Fine natural wines from across Australia will be showcased, as well as craft beers. Bar owner Will Shepherd said the event was all about showing off “lo-fi” wine that was made in the traditional way. Chevre, Good Intention and Dirty Black Denim wines will be featured. “They are all natural, made by young Australian wine makers,” Mr Shepherd said. “It’s about minimal intervention, using proper wine making techniques.”

Glen Goodall is the senior winemaker at Xanadu (just south of the Margaret River township) and has been since the Rathbone family, who also own Victoria’s Yering Station and Mt Langi Ghiran, purchased it in 2005. WA dominates the semillon sauvignon blanc blend, chardonnay and cabernet classes on the seven capital city wine show circuit. WA won all seven of the cabernet trophies and five of the seven chardonnay trophies awarded in 2016 from the state’s 4 per cent of Australia’s wine and Xanadu is a significant part of the reason for these results.

Wolf Blass is proud to extend their AFL relationship as a foundation sponsor of the AFL Women’s League kicking off this Friday night, with a clash between Carlton and Collingwood at Ikon Park. Angus Lilley, Marketing Director for Wolf Blass, said this sponsorship is an evolution of the brands ongoing relationship with the AFL which started in 2015 with Wolf Blass named Official Wine Partner,“Wolf Blass is pleased to be continuing a tradition of involvement with the AFL and we are really proud to be a part of this exciting new era of football” he said.

Hundreds of wine growers, buyers, and aficionados from around the world have descended on Wellington for a three-day celebration of New Zealand pinot noir. Wine exports in New Zealand are a billion-and-a-half dollar industry and since 2008, the amount of pinot noir New Zealand has exported has more than doubled from just under 6 million litres to just over 12 million. To consolidate that increase, Wine New Zealand hosts an annual pinot noir celebration, consisting of meetings and taste-tests. These allow local wineries to rub shoulders with international buyers and connoisseurs, make connections, and explain their offerings.

This week’s column is being filed from South Australia. I’ve been on the other side of the world for a few days now to taste through an array of Hunter Valley Sémillons and Canberra Rieslings. The trip with Wine Australia began in sunny Sydney on the east coast. Hopping on a plane the next morning, our small crew arrived in Adelaide, zipping off to spend a couple of days in the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, and, today, McLaren Vale. Over the next few weeks, we’ll cover many aspects of the Australian wine industry, but for now let’s start with something refreshing and bright.