Australian fine wine has been toasted in New York this week at a number of events celebrating the 2016 World’s 50 Best Restaurants and the announcement that Melbourne will host the awards in 2017. Close to 1000 of the world’s culinary elite were guests at both the official World’s 50 Best Awards ceremony held at Cipriani on Sunday night.
Once again, sommeliers from around Australia have sat the Introductory and Certified Sommelier Examinations held in Sydney on June 10th 2016, with much success. Established in 1977, the Court of Master Sommeliers is the most esteemed vocational body for the industry, hosting the programme annually in participating countries around the globe. The first Court of Master Sommelier courses were held in Australia in 2008. Since then in Australia 789 sommeliers have participated in the examinations.
Published in the May-June issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, Angelica Crabb looks at the ‘what ifs’ ahead of Thursday’s referendum in which voters in the UK will decide whether Britain should exit from the European Union. In February 2016, UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a referendum on whether or not Britain would remain in the European Union will be held on Thursday 23 June 2016.
Two of Australia’s leading digital providers for the wine industry have announced the first in a series of country-wide events showcasing the latest technological trends and product solutions for grapegrowers and winemakers. BlackSquare, a global provider of DTC solutions and Vintrace, who specialise in cloud based production software, are hosting the events which kick off in the Yarra Valley on July 7.
The microbial mix found in grape juice during the winemaking process may help shape the terroir of a finished wine, report food scientists at the University of California, Davis. In a study published in the May/June issue of mBio, an online open-access journal from the American Society of Microbiology, the researchers found that the microorganisms found in must – freshly-pressed grape juice, before fermentation – can be used as biomarkers to predict which metabolites will be found in the finished wine.
It’s all the rage in Spain. There’s red wine, white wine, even pink wine. But now thanks to six young Spanish entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country and Azti Tecnalia (the food research department of the Basque Government), blue wine—which targets millennial drinkers—is about to hit European markets.
The Marlborough District Council has set aside a substantial kitty to help drive regional development over the next five years. Councillors have unanimously backed a proposed world-class wine research centre in Blenheim to the tune of $75,000 this year and a further $150,000 a year for five years. They have also increased the Marlborough Research Centre’s funding from $110,000 to $250,000.
Foley Family Wines, the NZAX-listed company majority owned by US businessman Bill Foley, will bring forward the final payment to its grape growers for its 2016 vintage, reflecting the strength of its balance sheet. The winemaker will pay growers the final instalment in May instead of July as it benefits from a 31% increase in the 2016 grape harvest to a record 6954 tonnes, it said in a statement.
Closer scrutiny of the cheapest alcohol available at Western Australia’s major liquor retailers shows Aldi has every right to appeal a decision to reject its application to sell booze at one of its stores. The director of Liquor Licensing rejected the German supermarket giant’s bid to sell alcohol at its Harrisdale store, one of a number of Aldi’s soon to open in Perth, because it believed its booze was so cheap it would cause more harm to public health than rival competitors owned by established conglomerates Woolworths and Coles.
Australia’s Wine & Viticulture Journal celebrates 30 years of publishing with the release of its May-June issue this week. To celebrate its three decades publishing articles on grapegrowing, winemaking and wine marketing and exporting, the Journal’s 30th anniversary issue, with its special cover design, features three contributions from members of the industry reflecting on some of the changes that have taken place during the publication’s lifetime: