Most western wine drinkers probably wouldn’t use terms like dried hawthorn or Chinese sausage to describe the taste of certain wines. But Australian researchers say those terms are a useful part of a world-first project aimed at better-informing Chinese consumers, and increasing Aussie wine exports. Armando Corsi and Larry Lockshin could probably spend all day talking about and describing the taste of wine. Which is a good thing, because much of their academic focus at the University of South Australia has been on the popular fermented beverage. In particular, solving the problem that certain western flavour descriptions can pose for Chinese consumers.

At a celebratory dinner at the Adelaide Botanic gardens restaurant, President Dr Mardi Longbottom announced the winners of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) annual Awards for Excellence. The Awards program recognises professional excellence in viticulture, winemaking and research. The Award recipients have made outstanding contributions to the Australian wine industry through the implementation and promotion of innovative practices and processes to enhance Australian grape and wine production. The ASVO Viticulturist of the year, was awarded to Colin Hinze, of Taylors Wines in the Clare Valley, South Australia.

The world’s best winemaker has been named at the 2016 International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) in London, with Australian winery McGuigan Wines being crowned International Winemaker of the Year – and in doing so became the only winery in the Competition’s history to win the title four times. Having won the title in 2009, 2011 and 2012, McGuigan Wines saw off competition from the world’s wine producing nations including France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the USA to become the first winemaker in the world to receive the award four times.

Despite many Australian women enjoying in the occasional glass of wine, fewer dabble in a career within the industry, and viticulturist Sarah Collingwood wants to change that. Her parents have had a vineyard for the past 18 years, but she did not start working full-time in the wine industry until seven years ago. “Now John [my husband] and I haven’t left, and we hope we’re doing this for the rest of our lives,” she said. Ms Collingwood said women only made up roughly 10 per cent of viticulturists and wine makers in Australia.

Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) President Dr Mardi Longbottom today announced two new fellows. Brian Croser AO and Di Davidson AM have been honoured for their particularly outstanding and meritorious contribution to the grape and wine industry and to the Society by being admitted as fellows of the ASVO. “Selection was particularly difficult this year because of the extremely high calibre of individuals nominated for our Fellows program said Dr Longbottom and for the first time more than one member was recommended by the selection committee.

Grape growers and winemakers around the world will be able to easily assess powdery mildew in the field with the help of a mobile application just released globally. PMapp, which supports decisions about grape quality, has been developed by the University of Adelaide in close collaboration with the Australian grape and wine sector, and supported by Wine Australia. “Powdery mildew is a serious disease that affects grapevines worldwide and can cause off flavours and aromas in wine if it is not controlled,” says project leader Eileen Scott, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.

Aldi is poised to sell wine online in China in the second quarter of 2017 using its Australia business as a base. The discounter has been rumoured to be mulling a launch in mainline China since 2014, when it was reported by the Guardian, however a report in German trade publication Lebensmittel Zeitung announcing the online-only move last week has been confirmed to the Australian media by Aldi. The Aldi spokesman quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald said the discounter had been researching the market and undertaking feasibility studies for several years and was now ready to launch an e-commerce site in mainland China during the early part of 2017.

Iain Riggs has taken home an Australian Women in Wine Award (AWIWA). Iain is renowned for mentoring at Brokenwood some of Australia’s finest young wine professionals, many of them women – like Yarra Yering’s Sarah Crowe, James Halliday’s 2016 winemaker of the year. And that is why Iain has been given the title of Workplace Champion of Change at the 2016 Australian Women in Wine Awards. The six 2016 AWIWA winners were announced on Tuesday night via a live-stream broadcast screened at functions in regional wine areas, including one in the Hunter at Brokenwood winery.

Australian vintners are beginning to recognize what went wrong between 2008 and 2013. In the late-1990s, Americans became obsessed with wines from the Land Down Under. For most of this millennium’s first decade, fruit bombs with quirky names and eye-catching labels flew off the shelves of U.S. retailers. But sales soon began free-falling. Between 2008 and 2013, the U.S. market for Australian wine declined by more than 20 percent.

Coolangatta Estate’s success at major wine shows continues with the Shoalhaven Heads vineyard run by the Bishop family winning Best Wine at the 2017 Sydney International Wine Competition. Cellar door manager Ben Wallis sad Coolangatta Estate’s 2009 Wollstonecraft Semillon has won three trophies this week including the Joy Lake Memorial Perpetual Trophy for Best Wine of Competition. He said it was great achievement for his father-in-law and viticulturist Greg Bishop who nurtured the vines to produce the highest quality wine possible.