Ross Brown, executive director of Brown Brothers, has been named the 2015 Victorian Legend of the Vine by Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA). Brown received the award in front of 150 industry peers and guests at the WCA Royal Melbourne Wine Show awards lunch. The Legend of the Vine recognises an individual who has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the Australian wine industry and has a passion for telling its story.
More than three out of every five acres of vineyards in Sonoma County — 62 per cent of the 60,000 acres — have been through the first phase of Sonoma County Winegrowers’ campaign to have all the acres self-assessed for sustainability by 2019. “Sustainability reporting takes time and effort, but it’s worthwhile because you learn about your business and how to be more productive, protect the land and take care of people,” said Steve Sangiacomo, a Sonoma Valley-based wine grape grower and advocate for the program.
The 25-year celebrations at Bridge Pa “triangle” winery Alpha Domus received a boost with the arrival of a slice of gold. The winery was among several from Hawke’s Bay which took medals and trophies at the recent Six Nations Wine Challenge and which ensured New Zealand came out on top. Alpha Domus managing director Paul Ham said the gold for its 2013 Aviator followed up a double gold at last year’s Six Nations.
A Marlborough wine company its playing its part on the New Zealand arts scene, having resigned in a supporting role with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Nautilus Estate began their association with the ballet in 2011, and at the end of last month the contract with RNZB was renewed until the end of 2017. Nautilus sales and marketing manager Katy Prescott said the ballet company was the perfect match for Nautilus.
The winners of the ninth 2015 Young Guns Wine Awards have been announced, and all the awards have been collected by Victorian and South Australian winemakers. The trophy presentation, which was held at Sydney’s Nomad on Tuesday, included a splash of drama in a tie for the Winemaker’s Choice Award. The 12 finalists, who chose the winner, were required to vote again after the tie was announced.
Red wine grape production increased by five per cent across the 2015 vintage, compared to the 2012 vintage, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ABS figures also showed that white wine grape production decreased by two per cent over the same time period, to an estimated 764,000 tonnes. Katie Hutt from the ABS said: “We estimate that there were 86,600 hectares of red wine grapes in 2015, accounting for 64 per cent of all wine grape vines in Australia.
Barossa Valley wineries are on a mission to convince global wine snobs that it’s worth forking out more for a fine South Australian drop. The SA Government has five Barossa Valley wineries, granting almost $140,000 to help convince customers in countries such as China, Taiwan, France, United States and Canada to pay more for a “unique” glass of wine.
Finalists of the first Australian Women in Wine Awards have been announced with organisers praising the number and calibre of entries. “Reading through the entries filled me with so much inspiration,” said Corrina Wright, CEO of Oliver’s Taranga and AWIWA Board member. “What these awards have clearly demonstrated is that women are making a significant difference across the breadth of the entire wine community, and the business case for gender diversity has never been stronger.”
Australia’s winemakers are taking advantage of rising demand in Asia, flocking to wine events and tastings in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Shanghai’s richest have been given a preview of the new Penfolds Grange at an extravagant party. Australia’s largest wine company Treasury Wine Estates is pushing through the austerity measures in China, with a short documentary of Penfolds Grange, narrated by Russell Crowe.
The biggest challenge for Ruinart’s chef de cave this year will be making a NV Champagne that’s “not too good”, given the high quality of the 2015 vintage and the need to maintain consistency each year. At a tasting of Ruinart’s blanc de blancs NV and vintage Champagnes in London yesterday, Frédéric PanaÏotis, chef de cave, reported that while 2015 yields in Champagne had dropped by around 20%, the quality of its harvest had been exceptionally high.