A Barossa Valley winery will soon be sending one point five million litres of wine to China in a deal struck with a private company. Seppeltsfield winery will send two million bottles of wine to company Nanshan, China’s largest private winemaker. Managing Director, Warren Randall, said Australian wineries must tailor their product to the Chinese market. He said Chinese wine consumption is set to rise by one billion litres in the next five years and much of the growth will be imported.

Name the grape varieties behind these famous Italian wines: Gavi, Soave, Frascati, Valpolicella, Barolo, Brunello. If you’ve more than a passing interest is this hugely diverse wine country – there are hundreds of grape varieties in Italy, although many are the same but bearing different names – you might have heard of a few of them. They are, in order: the white grapes cortese, garganega, and malvasia (blended with trebbiano); and the black-red wine varieties corvina (blended with rondinella), nebbiolo, and sangiovese.

Winners of the Hunter Valley Legends Awards were announced last night at a ceremony held at Brokenwood Wines. A celebration to recognise the achievements of those who have made a major contribution to the region’s wine and tourism industry, the awards include winners in multiple categories. All eyes were on Ken Bray, Braemore Vineyard owner, as he was inducted into the “hall of fame” and named the 2015 Hunter Valley Wine Industry Living Legend. A significant addition to the “hall of fame”, Bray is the first viticulturist in the region to be awarded legend status.

Brand New Zealand can play a big role in the international market and create its own loyal followers, as its appeal of “clean and green” is very strong. However, a majority of overseas consumers are still unaware that their food originates in New Zealand, which is undermining the potential and opportunities of New Zealand food and beverages to leverage its international standing. So, the efforts to promote the premium brand image of New Zealand as “clean and green” needs a new approach.

THOSE pondering which elements make the best drop of wine may be surprised to learn different climates produce mixed results when it comes to wines made using the ‘cold soak’ process. Department of Agriculture and Food WA researcher Richard Fennessy compared Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Swan Valley and Mt Barker to determine differences between hot and cool climate regions using the cold soak process.

Producers of Australian-made Lagrein and Lagrein-blends are being invited to register their interest in an upcoming tasting of these wines by the Wine & Viticulture Journal. This will be the first time the Journal has held a tasting of this Italian variety which nearly 30 Australian wine producers are now dabbling with, according to The Australian & New Zealand Wine Industry Directory, the Journal’s sister publication.

South Australian winery Seppeltsfield has answered the question by stepping into the world of high culture and design with its latest blend of Barossan fortified. The winery has partnered with luxury French crystal house Lalique to release a rare 100-year blend of tawny “port” in an exclusively crafted decanter to go on sale this week for $10,000. Only 150 of the pieces have been made worldwide, to be unveiled Wednesday and Thursday in $150 a head tasting events in Melbourne and Sydney.

Wine Communicators of Australia hosted a panel discussion and tasting looking at the opportunities for Australian Rosé on the domestic and international markets. The key outcomes from the evening were the potential to position Australia as leaders of Rosé wine, the opportunity to demonstrate the versatility of Rosé as a complement to food and how we might influence consumers at the point of purchase to both navigate the many styles and ultimately to purchase Rosé wines.

After a record number of applications were received for the 2015 Future Leaders program 15 rising stars from the Australian grape and wine community been picked to contribute to the future success of the Australian wine community. Among the 15 people picked was Nigel Blieschke, a viticulturist from Peter Lehmann Wines. “It is an honour to be chosen,” Nigel said. “I have worked in many of Australia’s diverse wine regions, mostly in grower liaison and vineyard management.”

McGuigan wines owner Australian Vintage expects its full year profit to drop about 10 per cent because the winemaker has not produced as many grapes as expected. The company says grape yields from its vineyards have been disappointing. “Yields from owned vineyards are below expectations due to the effects of the previous year’s frost on our own vineyards,” Australian Vintage said today. The winemaker (AVG) also processed fewer tonnes of grapes for other customers.