There would not be too many places better than a Hawke’s Bay hillside to watch a great movie or two on a summer’s evening. “Hawke’s Bay is climatically perfectly suited for movies under the stars,” is how Doris Blum puts it, as she and partner Urs put the final planning stages to the 12th OpenAir Cinema season which kicks off at Black Barn Vineyards in Havelock North on December 27.

Hunter Smith grew up and still lives in a remote farming region in the Great Southern, WA. Frankland Estate’s Isolation Ridge was established by his parents Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam, and is renowned for its pristine Rieslings. For Hunter, making and enjoying wine has always been a family affair. Growing up on the farm was wonderful and we didn’t feel isolated at all. It was home. There was no curfew. You could roam freely.

The Family is the new name for Trentham’s Italian range of wines and it has a fresh new look to match. Previously known as La Famiglia, the packaging has been refreshed for the first time since the range’s release 10 years ago in 2005. The quirky illustration featured on the original packaging has had a slight makeover; making it a more prominent feature to give the label a more contemporary feel.

Treasury Wine Estate’s brand Lindeman’s has launched its latest campaign for its new wine collection, and it wants Australian men to up their gentlemen-ness. The 15 second ad, complete with an open fire, a bearded man and a glass of red is encouraging Australian men to “bring out the gentleman”. And buy its wine, of course. The campaign, developed by J. Walter Thompson, is aiming to tap into the trend of ‘gentlemanliness’ in young Australian men and positions the new wine range for a ‘gentleman who is, and the gentleman who wishes to be’.

The U.S. liquor and wine industries are raising their glasses to an expansive Asia-Pacific trade deal they argue will help their exporters. The Distilled Spirits Council said they will support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact, joining the Wine Institute to highlight provisions in the deal that will boost growth for them and the broader economy.

Susan Swain enjoys a good glass of wine and tours the state visiting the different vineyards and wineries that are popping up. “Friends and I travel around in the summertime and check out several of them in a trip,” Swain said. Over the years, the New Haven woman has thought about making wine herself. “My husband and I were toying with the idea as I had some elderberries in our backyard,” she said.

China is set to leapfrog the US and UK in a matter of months to become Chile’s largest wine market, according to Julio Alonso, Asia director at Wines of Chile. Speaking to the drinks business at ProWine China on 11 November, Alonso stated confidently, “Give me four months and China will be first”. His bullish forecast is based on the fact that Chilean wine exports to China are growing at 34% in volume and 32% in value over the past 12 month period ending September this year.

Grapegrowers in Niagara are getting a little nervous tonight. They’ve left almost 4800 tons of grapes on their vines for ice wine this year, but this stretch of above seasonal weather is a cause for concern. “As we get moving through the winter, it starts to get browner and browner.” And that brownness are the flavours being created for ice wine.

Opposition parties are calling for mandatory country of origin labelling on New Zealand foods after four cases of hepatitis A were linked to frozen imported berries. But Minister for Food Safety Jo Goodhew says the Government has no plans to do so. The call comes after the Ministry for Primary Industries identified the source of three of the four cases of hepatitis A infection, but refused to release the name of the brand or the berries’ country of origin.

In December 30 years ago James and Suzanne Halliday gathered with a group of friends to push the limits of viticulture and plant two vineyards straight down very steep, undulating hills in the Yarra Valley, calling them the Amphitheatre and House Block Vineyards. It was only three months earlier that James and Suzanne first admired the magnificent views from the top of the property and considered its potential for producing pinot noir and chardonnay in the style of Burgundy – 30 minutes later they agreed to buy it, and Coldstream Hills was born.