Not content with freaking us all out with black burger buns for Halloween, Burger King has now launched Whopper Wine – with the strapline: ‘fire is what we do best’. Which doesn’t really make any sense, but then none of this really makes sense. The red wine has been launched in Spain to celebrate 40 years of serving burgers to the country’s senors and senoritas.
Mark Robertson has been keeping a close eye on the Hawke’s Bay wine industry since he left the region. The Australian-based winemaker has a close connection with the Bay. And now the former Raureka Primary School student is a judge for the oldest regional wine competition in New Zealand – the Hawke’s Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards. He spoke at a sponsors’ function at Black Barn Vineyards last night after completing two days of judging.
Sauvignon Blanc producers from around the world will gather in Marlborough in February next year for the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration. The event, organised by New Zealand Winegrowers, is the first of its kind in New Zealand and is set to become a fixture on the wine calendar. The celebration will provide an opportunity for the wine industry to host producers and experts from seven countries, including Australia, South Africa, Chile, France, Italy, the United States and Austria.
The IWSC has announced its 2015 varietal wine trophy winners, following seven months of judging wines from more than 30 countries. A total of 24 trophies have been awarded, with wines from the Southern Hemisphere faring particularly well. Both South Africa and Australia received four trophies each. urning toward Australia, which was awarded a total of 50 gold medals this year, House of Arras’ EJ Carr Late Disgorged 2002 was awarded the Bottle Fermented Sparkling Trophy.
Young winemakers say they are still optimistic about the future of their industry despite difficult conditions faced by Australia’s wine sector. A senate inquiry hearing last week heard evidence of the economic woes faced by growers and wine producers, with an oversupply of grapes among key factors driving the industry’s downturn. Stuart Horden, from Brokenwood Wines in the Hunter Valley, is among a group of young winemakers taking part in a future leaders program in South Australia’s Riverland region this week.
The quality improvements that concrete fermenters and tanks can bring to wine and the potential pitfalls inherent in their use is explored in the just-released September-October issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal. Tackling the subject is the Journal’s regular contributor Cathy Howard, who recalls her first encounters with concrete tanks during her early winemaking career when open-topped versions were used extensively throughout the Australia wine industry.
Cross-regional sourcing is key to Penfolds latest release – a Grange from the extremely challenging 2011 vintage in South Australia. Speaking yesterday to the drinks business at the London release of the flagship wine, Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago said that the 2011 marked the third really difficult year since Grange was launched in 1951, but stressed that the wine was made possible by selecting grapes from across South Australia.
The vintage Champagne category is being exploited by certain houses who are upping production to raise their prices, according to one producer in the region. Speaking to the drinks business during a lunch at Le Gavroche last week, Antoine Malassagne, winemaker at Champagne AR Lenoble said: “A vintage Champagne should be something special with huge character and ageing potential.
English vineyards are forecasted to double in capacity and production over the next seven years, British MPs have been told. The prediction was revealed as politician’s toured one of the UK’s biggest wine producer’s, the Rathfinny Wine Estate, where they also heard about the Sussex winery’s application to the EU to have the county fully recognised as a wine appellation. Tim Loughton MP, said it opened MPs eyes “to see at first-hand what an important British success story our domestic wine industry is becoming.”
September is wine harvest month. For Shed Horn Cellars in California’s Lake County, it has been a disaster. A wall of flame from the Valley Fire, which started on Sept. 12, burned the winery to the ground. For nearby Hawk and Horse Vineyards, this harvest is a miracle. Though the same fire charred hundreds of forest acres on the 1,300-acre property, the 18-acre biodynamic vineyard was barely touched. “No one can explain why it was spared,” said an emotional Tracey Hawkins, whose family owns the estate.