The New Zealand wine industry must be ready to take full advantage of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, says a visiting wine trader from the UK. UK Wine and Spirits Trade Association chief executive Miles Beale has been in this country for the wine industry’s annual conference which was held in Blenheim. Mr Beale said the United Kingdom’s planned exit from the EU will open up opportunities for New Zealand as the UK starts doing its own trade deals. He suggests exporters move early and start discussions with the UK.

What does terroir mean in an age of big data and social media, a world awash in information yet still unable to agree on the distinguishing role of place in winemaking? When scientists from a variety of disciplines gathered in Oregon last month for the XI International Terroir Congress, the question was a hot topic. Between dozens of papers that reported results from projects around the globe that seek a better understanding of the conditions under which grapes grow and wines are made, several papers dug into the thorny issue of what we talk about when we talk about terroir.

Making wine may be one of the most romantic and evocative of all professions, but the reality is that it’s brutally difficult to earn a reliable living, and often subject to the whims of forces beyond anyone’s control. Even producers that have been crafting excellent wine for several generations aren’t immune: One or two bad harvests in a row, an ill-timed hail storm, an earthquake that topples stocks of barrels filled with aging wine—all of these can wreak havoc on even the most economically fastidious wine producer.

One of New Zealand’s largest wine companies is selling its Hawke’s Bay winery and vineyards and moving production to Marlborough. Yealands Estate Wines has put the Crossroads operations on the market, including three vineyards, the winery and the cellar door. However, the Crossroads brand, business and existing stock in bottles, barrels, and tanks, are not part of the sale. This decision comes just one year after Peter Yealands sold the majority of his company to Marlborough Lines.

Visiting international wine communicator and judge Lim Hwee Peng believes the Swan Valley has an identity problem. In his opinion, with a little tweak, it has the potential to enter an exciting modern chapter in its long history as a wine-producing region. “The Swan Valley is frequently considered as a hot winemaking region, yet the wines I have assessed in the recent Swan Valley Wine Show were certainly not typical of those from a hot wine region,” Mr Hwee Peng said.

Woolworths Limited published its annual results on Thursday and although it was a disappointing result for the overall group, for the first time Endeavour Drinks Group was reported separately and it offered a promising result. Woolworths reported a full-year loss of $1.235bn, driven by $2.628bn of write-downs mostly linked to the underperforming Big W stores and its exit from the hardware sector.

It will be a dog’s day out at Pepper Tree Wines this Sunday for the annual Pooch Picnic. The picnic is a get-together for both human and dog alike, with the cost being a gold coin entry fee. All proceeds from the gate will go to Dog Rescue Newcastle – a charity group dedicated to rescuing, fostering and re-homing abandoned, neglected or abused companion animals.

The Clear Image Hunter Valley Wine Show, one of Australia’s leading regional wine shows, was held on August 19 and showcased a variety of high calibre winemakers and their products. Among these high quality winemakers was Dimbulla Estate, a young vineyard committed to pursuing the early European settlers experience and tradition of wine making.

French wine production is likely to be 10% lower this year than in 2015 because of frosty weather in spring and a heatwave now, officials say. A production of 42.9m hectolitres (hl) (944m gallons) is forecast for 2016, down from last year’s 47.8m hl. The harvest is expected to be down by about a third in the Champagne region.

California isn’t just a place, it’s a perspective. It’s 75 and sunny, avocado on everything, and the Beach Boys playing with the windows rolled down on a drive up the PCH. But if there’s one thing that hasn’t quite gelled with this picture, it’s California wine. Stodgy and expected, the steakhouse bottles of the ’90s were a far cry from the state’s signature free spirit; there is nothing “chill” about a trophy wine like Opus One. But a different style is finally taking hold, and it’s redefining what California wine is all about. Forget buttery Chardonnays and ginormous Cabs.