He has been an advocate for Margaret River wines forever and a day, so it was only too fitting that James Halliday was awarded the inaugural Cullen Award for Excellence at a gala event in the region last weekend. Halliday, universally considered the leading wine critic in this country, was on hand to receive the award from Cullen winemaker and owner Vanya Cullen at a black-tie event at the Wilyabrup winery.

Jacob’s Creek has launched a series of 360 degree films that transport wine drinkers to the heart of the Australian wine country for an aerial tour of the brand’s vineyards. The series launches with six short films, created by digital creative agency Impero, each showcasing what Jacob’s Creek is ‘Made By’ – including the beautiful vineyards of the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, alongside the Home of Jacob’s Creek.

Wine packaging processes strongly influence the integrity of wine that reaches consumers. If microbial contamination occurs during packaging it can cause off-flavours and hazes/deposits, which negatively affect consumer perception. The worst cases of such problems can result in costly product recalls and brand damage.

Will the new online Pokémon game become a marketing tool for wineries seeking to attract Millennials? The ‘pocket monsters’ have shown up in the award-winning Noma restaurant and vineyards in the US, France and Australia… Wineries and restaurants around the world have been among those tweeting sightings of the pocket monsters after the launch of the Pokémon Go app earlier this month on iPhone and Android phones.

The wine tax and its accompanying rebate are outdated and distorting the Australian wine industry. The tax is encouraging the production of cheap wines and oversupply at a time when the industry is struggling to compete internationally. While Australian wine drinkers might not care too much about drinking non-premium wine, this comes at the expense of Australia’s reputation as a premium wine producer to overseas markets.

The world’s largest e-commerce company, already known by keen online shoppers in Australia and worldwide for its eBay-rivalling digital marketplace of very cheap, mass-produced, drop-shipped consumer goods, is setting up an office down under. 1300 Australian brands are already sold through Alibaba’s online stores, and the digital giant is keen for that number to grow.

I’VE been fortunate enough to taste all Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz wines released since the first from the 1983 vintage and I reckon the newly released 2014 is one the best of them all. It comes from what’s been described as a “Holy Grail” Hunter vintage and at last year’s Hunter Valley Wine Show it won trophies for the best red of the show, the best shiraz, the best named vineyard wine, the best named vineyard red and the best current-vintage or one-year-old shiraz.

Comparisons between Marlborough and Champagne are not uncommon. Both regions are blessed, producing wine styles that get winery accountants grinning from ear to ear. Their vines often carry massive crops, ripeness isn’t the big issue it is in other regions and at the end of it there is a distinctive wine the world wants to buy. At a time of fierce global competition, there are worse formulae to have working for you.

I well remember a childhood treat where Mum would give me money to buy a bottle of fizzy drink from the dairy. The bottles were so incredibly cold that the first mouthfuls caused a searing pain to rush through your nose and into your brain. Somehow, this was meant to be pleasurable. We’ve come a long way since then, but appropriate serving temperatures for wine can still be elusive. White wines often suffer the greatest misfortune in our homes, cafes and restaurants: served direct from the fridge, they glisten attractively with condensation.

The best of Australian wines have been put under the microscope at this year’s KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show. Michelle Bouffard, world renowned French-Canadian sommelier was busy smelling, sipping and spitting more than 2,200 Australian wines on day-two of judging out at the Sydney Showgrounds. “I am so impressed with the rigour of the judging process at the KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show and delighted with the standard of the wines that I have tasted so far,” she said.