A detailed overview of US wine, beer and spirits market data, brand entry strategy and the history of the three tier system. Dive into a unique perspective on brand economics and how the U.S. three tier system works with John Beaudette, President and CEO of MHW – one of USA’s leading nationally licensed importers, distributors and service providers. Beaudette’s presentation highlights the state of the US industry through an extensive synopsis of recent data.

The devastating earthquake that hit Chile last night, causing the evacuation of around one million people, had its epicentre in the country’s Coquimbo wine region. At least 5 people have died as a result of the 8.3-magnitude earthquake, which struck off the coast of Coquimbo at around 8pm local time (11pm GMT). According to reports, the resulting tsunamis have been battering the coast of the country with waves up to 4.5m high, threatening the country’s coastal vineyards.

Consumers and retailers are increasingly demanding more information about the broader impacts of the food they purchase, including a wider range of issues such as food safety, environmental impact, human ethics and overall sustainability. Organic certification already accounts for these demands. It ensures and verifies that organic products have been produced, stored, transported and handled in accordance with precise technical specifications. It ensures that the “chain of custody” between producers and consumers is secure.

Josh Scott talks beer snobs, supermarket wine, and reaching “peak hop”. If you need something done, ask a busy person, they say. If that’s the case, feel free to pass on any important tasks to New Zealander Josh Scott. The son of well-known Marlborough wine figure Allan Scott, Josh not only looks after the winemaking for the family winery but he is also the founder and brewer of Moa Beers, one of the biggest craft breweries in New Zealand.

Bangkok aficionados hone their knowledge with an evening at the “Wolf Blass Academy”. Wolf Blass has had a presence in Thailand for four years, but only last week did the Australian winery treat local connoisseurs to a “Wolf Blass Academy” – an evening of tastings and tips that was, by all accounts, well worth the wait. The firm’s head winemaker, Stuart Rusted, led the appreciative crowd at the Dusit Thani Bangkok through a course on its labels, pointers on how to taste wine, what to look for when buying wine and, most interestingly, how to actually describe wine.

Steve James, Manager of Winemaking and Viticulture at Voyager Estate in Margaret River, is currently touring the US, visiting vineyards and comparing notes with his American counterparts. Whether overseas or at home in Margaret River, he is dedicated to making wine that exemplifies its origins. He took some time out to talk us through his passion for winemaking.

THE director of the failed Noosa International Food and Wine Festival, Jim Berardo, has denied claims by the company liquidator that he was trading insolvent, and that money problems should have been obvious from as early as June, 2012. Berardo said his company was “absolutely not trading insolvent”, as the liquidator charged with getting the best deal for creditors considers further action.

Falling embers from a bushfire in the summer of 2013 were a wakeup call for vineyard owner, Lindy Bull. “I was made aware two years ago just how long it took for us to get everyone out of the vineyard,” she said. “How upset were the tourists, as it closed the area down. “There’s so much damage with an uncontrolled fire, particularly in the height of the tourist season.” Bull owns Freycinet Vineyard on Tasmania’s east coast not far from the popular Freycinet National Park.

Recent changes to the maximum residue level (MRL) and residue definition for captan in wine by the European Union may require many wine grape growers to reconsider their fungicide options for the 2015/16 growing season. Captan is a proven option in fungicide spray programs for the management of key grapevine diseases including Phomopsis Cane and Leaf Blight, Black Spot, Botrytis Bunch Rot and Downy Mildew.

The last 25 years in wine have been signified by the discovery or rediscovery of regions unknown, obscure or half-forgotten. Consumers, and critics for that matter, have often embraced wines from these regions. But they have occasionally rejected them, too, with no small measure of befuddlement. I heard an entire spectrum of responses to the latest subject in Wine School: white Bordeaux from Pessac-Léognan and Graves, one of those half-forgotten styles. It reminded me yet again of the subjective nature of taste.