YES, it has been a wet windy winter. In combination with months of soaking rain it has meant many big old trees have succumbed – I have days on the chainsaw to show for it. The wet weather has put many gaps in the pruning schedule for vineyards around the region. The risk of disease means you can’t prune in the rain. It has also restricted machinery movement. Taking a heavy machine onto waterlogged ground will have you bogged to the axles in no time at all.
For many including your correspondent, the news in June that Pernod-Ricard, owners of Jacob’s Creek, was to close and sell off the stocks of Morris of Rutherglen hurt more than the announcement from Treasury Wine Estates late last year that it was shutting the doors of Seppelt Great Western. The venerable wine producer, established in 1859, is of considerable cultural and vinicultural significance to both its region and the country.
California’s Carneros region may have been overshadowed by other appellations, but a small group of vineyard owners and vintners are looking to restore youth and excitement. One time, not so long ago, the most famous and sought-after place to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California was Carneros. The region, which lies partly in Napa and partly in Sonoma, showed so much promise that big-name sparkling-wine producers from France and Spain opened Carneros outposts. Today, the former hot spot has been overshadowed by newer, cooler appellations.
He was a young entrepreneur who developed a loyal following as the founder of the Perth Champagne Club, a venture promoted by celebrity chef Manu Feildel that sold expensive fine wines to customers around the world. But Nicholas Leslie Gaskin was exposed yesterday as a fraudster who tried to use stolen credit card details to fund the business and “keep up appearances” as a high-flying and wealthy businessman.
Get out the calendars, it’s time to save the date for the Orange Wine Festival, the premier event for the region’s winegrowers. The festival’s program has been meticulously planned and will be available on Friday from 9am. Printed copies will be available at the city’s visitor centre and online at www.orangewinefestival.com.au, but also through the Orange NSW app.
A vintage sparkling wine made in the cool climate of the East Coast has taken out a perpetual trophy at the Royal Sydney Wine Show. House of Arras Grand Vintage 2007 has only recently come on the market but was named as the winner of the KPMG perpetual trophy for best wine of show in Sydney in July. The Royal Sydney Wine Show is held between July 18-22.
David Block, chairman of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis, recently shared several advances results in research as well as new opportunities for partnerships with the wine industry. Speaking to an audience of members of the Allied Grape Growers during its annual meeting in Santa Rosa, Block said “Research is best thought of as an investment.”
Australia’s number one online wine retailer has kicked off its New Zealand operation with a launch party in central Auckland last night. Vinomofo, which offers members the opportunity to buy wines from New Zealand, Australia and international markets, has taken the Australian market by storm and to date has nearly half a million regular users.
Australia’s wine exports have grown to $2.1 billion annually, and the average price paid for wine grapes has grown by 14 per cent to $526 per tonne. This has been attributed to massive surge in demand from China according to wine critic James Halliday in a recent interview with ABC news. He said: “It’s all being pulled by enormous demand from China. It takes more than 50 per cent of our highest-priced wines, and that’s where we really want to be.”
A GROUP of Melbourne investors has bought one of Australia’s biggest vineyards. GoFarm Australia also snared one of Victoria’s biggest parcels of water with its purchase of Del Rios for $22-$25 million. The 900ha vineyard, north of Swan Hill and near the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers at Kenley, was sold last month along with its 5476 megalitres of high-sec¬urity water.