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.
Dozens of prestigious wine collections with a value of more than $5 million have gone missing from the New South Wales Hunter region. Police said the company holding the wine, Wine Investment Services, went into receivership in 2013 and while other assets were seized, the wine was not surrendered to liquidators.
Philip White marvels at the wine industry’s sudden surprise at the Brexit referendum and its implications. Jeez. Everyone’s shocked. But over the weekend, Marc Soccio of the wine and agriculture industry finance house, Rabobank, worked out a statement. He thought a lower pound would send whatever was left of the United Kingdom out looking for suppliers of cheaper meat and wine.
The closure of Morris Wines in Rutherglen is a devastating blow: for the people who will lose their jobs, for the heart and soul of the region, and for Australian wine lovers, especially those of us who think the Morris Rare Muscat is one of the greatest wines in the world.
McLaren Vale’s Irrigators Council yesterday received a $2.5m commitment from the Coalition to construct a 1200ml dam for water storage – securing a sustainable irrigation future for our region’s growers. The announcement, held at Torresan Estate bottling facility in McLaren Vale, was attended by Minister for Trade and Investment Steven Ciobo, State Liberal Leader Steven Marshall and Member for Mayo Jamie Briggs.
Treasury Wine Estates today unveiled a new range of wines by Victorian winemaker St Huberts, representing the first major relaunch under the company’s Regional Gems strategy. Treasury said the range of wines, named The Stag, included a Chardonnay and Shiraz, both made in the classic cool climate style with grapes sourced from winemaking regions across Victoria. Angus McPherson, Treasury Wine Estates managing director for Australia and New Zealand, said The Stag launch was one of the most important innovations for the Regional Gems portfolio this year.
A billionaire couple lambasted for removing a swathe of oak trees at their Paso Robles vineyard have apologised stating that they are “ashamed and sorry” for their actions. Estate Vineyards LLC, a holding company which is managed by Justin Vineyards in Paso Robles and is a subsidiary of the multinational Wonderful Company, cut down hundreds of oak trees earlier this month to make room for more grapes on its 742-acre Sleepy Farm Road estate.
Odilon de Varine has been appointed as the new Gosset chef de cave, with immediate effect. The appointment follows the sudden death of previous cellar master Jean-Pierre Mareigner in May. A trained oenologist, de Varine joined Champagne Gosset in 2006 as deputy managing director. He will be continuing in this role, but will also be working closely with oenologists and the existing Gosset team as chef de cave, to carry on the work done by Mareigner.
Investors looking for a safe bet following Britain’s decision to leave the EU are being told that fine wine could be the way to go. This week has seen the pound sterling drop to a 31-year low and that is set to make wine in cheaper in foreign currencies and stimulate demand from overseas, according to City A.M. And because of that, fine wine is expected to rise as it has definitive characteristics that tend to see it perform well when the pound is down.
I’ve been catching up on my wine industry reading and one report that grabbed by attention is Rabobank’s May 2016 Industry Note, “The Premiumization Conundrum”. The gist of the analysis is that the premiumization trend in the U.S. wine market isn’t simply a case of what Paul Krugman calls “up and down economics” — in this case demand for $10+ wine is up, demand for cheaper wines is down –but rather it needs to be understood in the context of a broader set of wine market changes.