On a trip to hipster central, Adam Lechmere meets some off-piste, modern Aussie winemakers.

Climate change threatens to cut down an industry that’s thriving.

An absolutely stunning year for Geographe.

BEHIND the romance of the wine industry, and the tours and tastings at cellar doors, there are huge environmental impacts no one sees.

GEOGRAPHICAL indications could become a selling point for Australian producers just as they are in Europe.

John Avery MW was known for importing wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and California during the 1960s and 1970s at a time when they were little-known.

China has the world’s largest market for wine, with sales of over a billion litres last year. In June, we reported that wine produced in the country is quickly improving in quality, and is now rivalling some imported vintages in taste tests.

Vines around Marlborough are waking from their winter slumber, frost fans are starting up and wine companies are busy hiring their harvest teams. The “roller coaster” ride to next vintage has started, with the first bud burst taking place in chardonnay vines around the region.

It could be a florist from NSW, a manager at a Queensland clinic or maybe a marketing manager from Telstra. Next Monday, five amateur and six industry contestants fly to Sydney from across the country to vie to win the Vin de Champagne Award, a contest that could prove life changing for the winners.

IT EMERGES like a gleaming mirage as you enter the sleepy township of Yenda, a jumble of silver wine tanks and shipping containers. Casella Wines is one of the Riverina’s – and the nation’s –most stunning business success stories.