From the restaurant balcony of Hope Estate winery in the Hunter Valley, owner Michael Hope points down a sloping lawn to a huge concrete pad that in summer contains one of the largest stages in the southern hemisphere. “Can you believe the Rolling Stones performed down there?” he asks, as much a rock’n’roll fan as he is a businessman. “I still have to remind myself.”

Leading Australia and New Zealand importers Negociants UK has been appointed to distribute three New Zealand brands within the Foley Family Wines portfolio – Marlborough based Grove Mill and Frog Haven and Martinborough Vineyard from Martinborough. These wineries will be sold to the UK off and on-trade and represented by Negociants UK with immediate effect.

ONE of the world’s most famous suburban vineyards, at the Magill-based Penfolds wine company, is getting a major makeover as part of the site’s ongoing redevelopment. About half of the 5.2 ha vineyard is being removed and will be re-planted with Shiraz clonal material from Penfolds’ Kalimna vineyard in the Barossa Valley. A Penfolds spokeswoman said the existing vines were more than half a century old and the rejuvenation work was a common practice in the wine-making business.

Australian wineries have until 5.00pm today (ACST) to participate in short survey aimed at getting a snapshot of current sulfur dioxide use in the industry. The survey is part of a broader article being compiled for the Wine & Viticulture Journal by the publication’s regular writer and winemaker Cathy Howard who will be exploring the current push for wineries to reduce sulfur levels.

For years, vintages of Burgundy have been smaller and smaller, while prices have gone up and up. Rain, floods, and hailstorms have decimated vineyards since 2010, especially in the Côte de Beaune (the southern part of the famous limestone strip that’s home to the most famous vineyards). Growers invested in weird anti-hail devices, but, alas, they haven’t worked. Regional businesses are facing a crisis of how to survive.

Dairy, meat and wine industries anticipate toll on sales as British vote strengthens currency and upsets market. New Zealand’s primary product exporters are in for a tough period if the local dollar retains its new-found strength against the pound and euro following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

Ahead of the next Central Otago Export Forum, Jo McKenzie-McLean finds out how boutique winery Archangel Wines boosted its global reach with support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Archangel Wines had an ambitious, but simple goal when it was established in 2003 – to produce the best wine possible. Their efforts paid off. The first wine the family-owned business produced, the “Archangel Pinot Noir 2008”, won a gold medal at the first show it entered – the Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

PATISSIER extraordinaire Adriano Zumbo, Masterchef’s Gary Mehigan and Spanish expat Miguel Maestre, who will be in Perth from July 8-10 for this year’s Good Food and Wine Show, named Margaret River as their favourite wine region in WA. Adriano said his ideal WA escape would be spending a few weeks in Margaret River, “eating, beaching, drinking and doing nothing.”

PRINCESS Mary had Clover Hill wines at her Danish wedding. Queen Elizabeth — on her most recent visit to Australia — enjoyed a Clover Hill sparkling at Melbourne’s Government House. So it was fitting that this year the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania awarded Clover Hill Tea Tree the Tasmania’s Vineyard of the Year, a competition where entrants are required to outline production aims and are judged on all aspects of management.

Swedish appliances giant Electrolux has purchased Vintec, the Sydney-based wine fridge company, as its product becomes more mainstream in Australia’s kitchens. Vintec, based in Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west, generates about $22 million in annual sales, with about 70 per cent of those coming from Australian buyers of the temperature-controlled wine cabinets. It is closely involved with an aggressive discounting promotion with Treasury Wine Estates, the owner of the Penfolds wine brand.