Wine Australia’s Annual Report 2014–2015, tabled in Parliament last month, highlighted the major achievements from the past year as Wine Australia continued to focus on its strategic priorities on a prosperous Australian grape and wine community. Brian Walsh, Wine Australia chair, said the first year has been one of achievement for the organisation following the merger of Wine Australia Corporation and Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.

THE wine industry’s peak lobby group is “at risk of losing its patience” with the Federal Government dragging its feet on wine tax reform, which it says appears to have been influenced by “vested interests”. Winemakers’ Federation of Australia chief executive Paul Evans said there was broad consensus in the industry that the Wine Equalisation Tax Rebate needed to be reformed.

Dry January is a phenomenon that has been picking up traction in recent years, given the increased focus on the impact of alcohol on health. It’s exactly what it sounds like: abstaining from liquor for the first month of the year, in order to “detox” after a holiday season of overindulgence. Several stories have already been written about the health benefits—or lack thereof—of a month of abstinence.

Boutique family-owned wineries in Hawke’s Bay are starting to think big. In the past few months, at least two wineries have announced they plan to tackle big overseas markets in order to increase their presence around the world. But multi-millionaire Sir Graeme Avery said breaking into major markets, such as China and the United States, was no easy feat. Avery is the founder of Sileni Estates, which exports wine to more than 80 countries.

Scientists at UC Davis have identified a key protein at the root of a disease likely ravaging California’s grapevines and costing the state’s wine and grape industry more than $100 million yearly. Pierce’s disease is caused by a bacteria known to hurt crops including almonds and grapes. It’s transmitted from vine to vine by a small winged insect called the sharpshooter which lives near rivers and streams.

A new generation of winemakers has taken the reins at Hunter’s Wines, but former winemaker Gary Duke is still around to keep an eye on his proteges. In his 24 years as chief winemaker, Duke saw the Marlborough wine industry expand from a small collection of cellar doors and wineries to the behemoth it is today. After starting as a cellar hand in Australia, Duke progressed up the ranks to become a winemaker, a title he held when he was hired by Hunter’s Wines managing director Jane Hunter in 1991.

Hunter Valley vignerons are hoping the warm weather will dry out the bunches from last week’s downpour, and kill off any fungal diseases. Pokolbin winemaker John Drayton said he this week picked semillon grapes, which will be turned into verjuice. “They’re not quite ripe enough for the flavours for the typical Hunter semillon, which we’re famous for, so we need to wait a couple of weeks for that,” he said.

As is not uncommon, I was getting a bit excited about wine: a 2014 Feudi Bizantini Ikonia Pecorino from the Terre di Chieti in Abruzzo in this case. I’m at my local – and favourite – butcher and deli: Marino Meat and Food Store in Adelaide. “Pecorino, exactly like the cheese?” manager Marilena Marino asks. “Why is it called pecorino?” Stopped in my enthusiastic tracks and somewhat embarrassed, I confessed: “I don’t know … but I will find out.”

Premium Barossa wine producer Elderton Wines have announced the first recipient of the Elderton Winemaking Excellence Scholarship. Cameron and Allister Ashmead of Elderton Wines announced that fourth year Bachelor of Oenology and Viticulture student Thomas Darmody will be the inaugural recipient of the scholarship. “We are excited to announce that Thomas Darmody is the inaugural recipient of the Elderton Winemaking Excellence Scholarship.”

Winemakers in Australia’s oldest growing region fear a ruined harvest after heavy rainfall, while vineyards in the country’s west are under threat from bushfires, undermining efforts to recover from a near decade-long run of lower exports. Just weeks out from the 2016 harvest, the contrasting events highlight the challenges from climate change, particularly extreme weather, faced by the world’s fourth-largest wine exporter. Not only are wine growing regions getting hotter, weather is also becoming more unpredictable, scientists say.