Refugees are to benefit from the exceptionally good wine harvest being experienced by growers in the Canberra district cool climate region. With harvest complete and crushing underway, a surplus of Shiraz grapes produced by one winery has inspired a number of vignerons to combine their talents and infrastructure to raise money for refugees that have settled in the area. This is being done by producing a Shiraz from this year’s vintage, with the proceeds going to the Canberra-based Companion House which was founded in 1989.

Unlike the wine, craft beer and cider industries, spirit distilleries receive no tax break for their products. Co-owner of Kangaroo Island Spirits and Australian Distillers Association committee member Jon Lark said excise tax cuts are necessary for industry growth. “What we are seeing done well in Australia with other beverage industries such as wine, beer and cider is that the Government is giving excise relief, particularly for small boutique producers to enable them to compete and develop in the market,” he said.

CANBERRA: A free trade pact between India and Australia could be initiated by the year end with the mineral-rich island nation showing willingness to take into consideration New Delhi’s sensitivities in sectors like dairy and wine. The two sides are keen to build on the political will that emerged after a positive engagement between the leaders of the two nations and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Australia tour in November last year. The eight rounds of talks are expected to begin in New Delhi in the first week of July.

Australia is pressuring a reluctant Canada to lower trade barriers on its wine industry, pushing for similar concessions that were won by the European Union, The Canadian Press has learned. An internal memo from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development says Australia is pushing for greater market access for its wine in Canada as part of the ongoing negotiations of the Trans Pacific Partnership. Australia is citing gains made by the EU in its comprehensive agreement in principle with Canada — known by the acronym CETA — which was announced in late 2013, but is still being finalised.

Four out of five bottles and casks of wine will increase in price if the federal government imposes a volumetric tax on the industry, the chief executive of Australia’s second largest wine company, Accolade Wines, has warned. John Ratcliffe, head of Accolade, which is 80 per cent owned by private equity firm CHAMP, is firmly rejecting a push by his two big rivals Treasury Wine Estates and Pernod Ricard, who’ve broken ranks to advocate for a flat tax for wine. The move has angered most of the remaining 2500 wine companies in Australia, who are annoyed at the duo’s surprise stance.

WA winemakers want Coles and Woolworths in the firing line when a Senate inquiry looks at how lucrative tax rebates apply in the industry. Wines of WA chief executive Larry Jorgensen said the big retailers were pushing more of their labels onto liquor store shelves and cashing in on Commonwealth tax rebates of up to $500,000 a year. New Zealand wine producers are also claiming about $25 million a year under the wine equalisation tax rebate scheme.

Penfolds Magill Estate today unveils a new cellar door and restaurant to the public after a multi-million dollar redevelopment. The winery, one of the few single vineyards in the world located within city boundaries, will now offer a “world-class visitor experience” for both local and international guests.
Simon Marton, chief marketing officer, says the changes to Magill Estate include a state-of-the-art cellar door space repositioned at the front of the winery, and a new kitchen concept with indoor and outdoor dining.

Conducting marketing research in the wine industry is like hugging a porcupine. It’s hard to wrap your arms around, and you better know what you’re doing or else you can get hurt. The challenge is endemic to wine itself. With what other product do consumers get so overwhelmed by something so pleasurable where they doubt their own taste buds and defer to the opinions of “experts” to tell them what they should and shouldn’t like, and are often made to feel inferior for liking what they like (e.g., something sweet)?

Neudorf Vineyards is releasing the first of its wine library as it down-sizes its 35-year collection.
Co-owner Tim Finn said wine was stored from each vintage as a reference point and for vertical tastings. “The time has come to release some of these precious cellared wines. The library is full of memories of people and vintages, celebrations and heartache,” he said. “We remember each year so clearly, the interns from France Germany and the States, pickers from all over the globe, the wonderful smooth vintages and the ones of quiet desperation; 1995 springs to mind.”

The industry’s move away from BYO dining is about more than just the licensing and labour costs, writes our Industry Observer. I remember a time when you would grab a bottle from the fridge and head out to a restaurant for dinner. Seems simple and I’m not recollecting something from the dim dark past; even 20 years ago it was commonplace. A couple of companies even specialised in making little chilled carriers to get your bottle there safely – they even had one for a cask bladder – ahh the joy of youth.