The peak body for Australian winemakers has appeared before a Senate hearing in Western Australia to make the case for industry reform. Winemakers’ Federation of Australia president Tony D’Aloisio and chief executive Paul Evans appeared at a special Senate committee hearing in the Swan Valley winemaking region today. The Rural and Regional Affairs Transport Reference Committee has been hosting Australian Grape and Wine Industry hearings around Australia as part of an inquiry into the wine industry.

The soaring popularity of English wine has fuelled a rush to develop UK vineyards, with applications rising by more than 40% in the past year, new figures reveal. As producers must pay wine duty, they need a licence from HM Revenue and Customs. Last year, HMRC received 65 applications from new entrants, up from 46 in the previous year, according to accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.

Angelo Gaja is a master of growth, innovation and change. The star vintner took over his family’s Piedmont winery in 1961, building it into a powerhouse for the region. “Along the way he pioneered the concept of single-vineyard Barbaresco, estate bottling, and modernized winemaking,” said senior editor Bruce Sanderson, introducing Wine Experience attendees to the man who “needs little introduction.”

Retailer Majestic Wine has abandoned its six bottle minimum purchase rule as part of a new pricing strategy throughout its store network and online. The result of a strategic review conducted by new Majestic Wine CEO Rowan Gormley, the removal of the six bottle rule takes effect today (27 October) with the aim of ‘making the shopping experience simpler and easier for both new and existing customers’.

For the first time, the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards (RMWA) will be showcased at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair to be held from November 5-7. The RMWA is one of Australia’s most respected wine shows, recognising and rewarding excellence in Australian winemaking. First conducted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in 1884 the Awards continue to grow each year with more than 3,000 entries received annually from over 530 vineyards from Australia competing for Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.

Casella Family Brands has made two new appointments to its senior marketing team to meet the demands of the company’s recent expansion. Clive Coleman has been appointed as global head of marketing and Olivia Barrie as marketing manager for Premium wines. Coleman comes to the company from Carlton and United Brewries where he was the head of brands cider and contemporary beer. Prior to that he spent six years leading brand marketing at Coca Cola.

A GRANITE Belt winery has been awarded gold at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards. Symphony Hill Wines were awarded a top gold medal for the fourth time in five years, this year for their new vintage 2015 Gewurztraminer. Owner Ewen Macpherson, with wife Elissa, said the wine was also a finalist for the Best Single White Variety trophy and was selected to be served the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards lunch. He said the judges called their wine a “wine to watch from an exciting new generation producer”.

Oenophiles sometimes disparage ordinary consumers for unimaginative wine purchases, but the wine trade, as a whole, is far more conservative, even young sommeliers who consider themselves open-minded. Once somms and wine buyers get an image of a wine in their head, even if it’s not true anymore, it’s really hard to change. Australia has probably suffered more from U.S. trade perception than any other country.

The strategic review of the WA wine industry undertaken in 2013-14 identified industry representational structure and adequately funded representation as critical to the future success of our industry. The resulting industry stakeholder endorsed strategic plan provided a template for industry representational structure that is unified, focused, lean and influential. The strategic review process also confirmed that industry supported the investigation of a secure funding model for industry representation and development.

China is a very big place. And very big places that go through an evolutionary period of intense development and subsequent demand for things fine and sophisticated can become very big markets. Put simply, China is now believed to be among the top five wine-consuming countries in the world.