ABOUT 14 years after suffering a demoralising takeover, the tenacious Croser family has its Adelaide Hills winery back — and has opened a new Piccadilly Valley cellar door. According to Lucy, one of three Croser daughters, this time it’s back for good. “We will be keeping it in the family from now on,’’ she said. Lucy was in her early 20s when she had to watch her parents crumple in sadness during the takeover. “My dad was devastated, the label was lost, but we always hoped to get the land back.

Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is set to throw an accelerant on a debate in the wine industry with the release of a discussion paper into the wine equalisation tax (WET) rebate. It is understood that the discussion paper, to be released within the next two weeks, will not make any recommendations but will include case studies that show how the WET rebate is being manipulated and rorted.

Meeting Asia’s increased interest in Chilean wine, Wines of Chile has established the first WoC Academy in China and Hong Kong. The Academy will offer structured courses for wine professionals and enthusiasts to discover the history of Chilean wine, regions, grape varieties and styles and WoC hopes to tap into the market potential of Asia – especially China.

There were raised glasses at Ash Ridge Wines at Bridge Pa this week as the crew toasted Lauren Swift who has taken out the inaugural Hawke’s Bay Young Winemaker of the Year title – although she was pretty relaxed about what was coming next. By taking the title, from five other young winemakers she described as “really top people”, she will now take part in the New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year competition set to be staged as part of the 2015 Romeo Bragato conference being held at the Pettigrew Green Arena later this month.

New Zealand wine and design combine to celebrate the perfect partnership once again this year as Brancott Estate release the new vintages of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir in limited edition bottles ahead of the 2015 World of Wearable Art (WOW) Awards Show season. Having supported WOW since 1998 and released limited edition bottles annually since 2012, this year’s Brancott Estate WOW Series includes the Brancott Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 and Brancott Estate South Island Pinot Noir 2014.

Clark Island in Sydney Harbour will be turned into mecca for all things wine and food this November as part of the inaugural Wine Island Festival. Spanning over three days, the festival will boast an impressive line-up of winemakers, sommeliers and chefs who will showcase some of the best food and wine that the nation has to offer through wine cellar door experiences, gourmet food huts, a VIP Island Bar and complimentary master classes hosted by Wine Australia.

Three Mudgee wineries have been named among the best in Australia by the 2016 James Halliday Wine Companion. Huntingon Estate, Robert Oatley Vineyard and Robert Stein Winery all received red five star status for the 201516 season, joining 279 other wineries from across the various wine regions at the top of the list. Red five star status was awarded to only 10 per cent of wineries in Australia this year for an “outstanding winery regularly producing wines of quality and typicity”.

Washington State is known for its greenery, apples and wine. In fact, Washington wines could be sitting at Australian dinner tables one day soon. Right now, Australia only imports about $3 million of its $600 million dollar wine market, from the U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse met with winery owners and a member from the U.S. Embassy in Australia to talk about the possibly of more exports.
Doug Hartley, with the Department of Commerce in Australia told NBC Right Now starting with local wineries in the state is important, because we can all reap the benefits.

THERE were some excellent snowfalls around the Orange district in July. Snow is great – it looks pretty, it fills dams and snow puts moisture deep into the subsoil. With over 150mm of precipitation, half of which was snow, the soil moisture profile is close to saturation. This is very good for vine growth as we head into spring. The only downside is that these classic Orange winter conditions mean that pruning is challenging.

Bernard Hickin has announced his intention to retire as chief winemaker for the Australian branch of Pernod Ricard Winemakers, handing the reins over to Ben Bryant in June 2016. Joining the business in 1976, Hickin has made many significant contributions to the business and its brands throughout his 40 years in winemaking. Brett McKinnon, Pernod Ricard global operations director said the company were extremely grateful for the contribution Hickin made towards their success.