Central Otago is progressing ever closer towards a Burgundian model of wine production, according to one of the region’s most respected viticulturists. James Dicey, viticulturist for Mt Difficulty Wines and his own family Ceres Wines, said the region was on the “same journey of discovery” as Burgundy, with an increasing focus on individual vineyard parcels and vine clones for its Pinot Noir wines.
Speaking to the drinks business at New Zealand Wines’ Central Otago tasting in London, Dicey emphasised the importance of soil age on varietal expression in the region.

Australia’s very first Winery InstaMeet attracted more than 60 influencers at Scarborough Wine Co. in the Hunter Valley last weekend. A growing phenomenon across Australia, an InstaMeet sees a group of Instagrammers join forces at a pre-organised location to take photos and videos to post on their social media accounts. Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social platforms in Australia with more than five million monthly users and boasts growth of over 30% in the last year. Scarborough Wine Co. took up the opportunity to connect with a distinct group of enthusiasts and share its Hunter secrets.

Chief winemaker at Sutton Grange Winery in Heathcote, Melanie was announced the winner at the Gourmet Wine Traveller awards night on October 1, which Sutton Grange marketing and events manager Jacqui Sidwell described as a magnificent personal achievement. “Melanie only recently took over the reins at Sutton Grange Winery having previously worked with the Seppelt team at Great Western,” Ms Sidwell said.

One of Australia’s First Families of Wine, McWilliam’s has welcomed a Chardonnay and Shiraz to its flagship range, both of which champion two of NSW’s emerging cool-climate wine regions, Hilltops and Tumbarumba. Hospitality recently caught up with McWilliam’s winemaker manager, Bryan Currie to discuss the release of the new drops and the excitement that surrounds some of Australia’s most promising (and relatively) new wine regions.

A new, free phone app developed by University of Adelaide researchers will help grapegrowers and viticulturists manage their vines by giving a quick measure of vine canopy size and density. The iPad and iPhone app uses the devices’ camera and GPS capability to calculate the size and density of the vine canopy and its location in the vineyard. The aim is to help users monitor their vines and manage the required balance between vegetative growth and fruit production.

The region of Cuyo in west-central Argentina is famous for its vineyards. But it is one of the areas in the country hit hardest by the effects of climate change, such as desertification and the melting of mountain top snow. And local winegrowers have come up with their own way to fight global warming. In the cup, malbec, Argentina’s flagship red wine, still has the same intense flavour and colour.

Assessments of the 2015 harvest in Europe and California vary from the ecstatic to the more measured – but all are agreed that this year will produce something special. There is one unifying factor across almost all wine regions: the excellent harvest weather, allowing vignerons to bring in their grapes as and when they like.

New research from Wine Intelligence has revealed that the Australian sparkling wine market is continuing to slow, but imports are now taking an increased share. The Sparkling Wine in the Australian Market 2015 report examines year-on-year consumer behaviour within the sparkling wine category. The report found that overall volumes are declining and domestic sparkling wine is showing particular signs of slowing.

With seasonal conditions worsening in parts of South Australia, Australian Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston, highlighted the assistance measures that were available to help farmers in need. Joyce said livestock, dairy, wine and horticulture producing regions across South Australia, and in the South-East in particular, have experienced very challenging conditions for some time now, while ABARES has also forecast an almost 10 per cent drop in winter crop production.

Australia’s three national grape and wine community organisations have welcomed news that legislation for the landmark China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) will pass through the Australian Parliament. Brian Walsh, chair of Wine Australia, Vic Patrick, chair of Wine Grape Growers Australia, and Tony D’Aloisio, president of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, all agreed that the Australian grape and wine community would be significant beneficiaries of ChAFTA.