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.

In other words, Putin wants politicians to stop spending taxpayers’ hard earned rubles on expensive Burgundy and Bordeaux. Rather, he says, they should spend money on Russian-made wines. Bloomberg News Moscow correspondent Jason Corcoran wrote that the combination of a crashing ruble and US and EU embargoes make foreign produced wines too expensive and hard to get. However, when one door closes, another opens. Russians wines have been enjoying a sort of “renaissance,” in part because of the country’s financial woes.

WELLINGTON: Many overseas consumers are unaware that their food comes from New Zealand, undermining attempts to promote the country’s “premium brand” image, according to a study out Tuesday. A report from Lincoln University’s Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit said food and beverage producers were missing out on significant opportunities in overseas markets because they were not communicating with consumers.

After a successful 2014 event, this year’s VIC100 Wine Awards have opened registration for all Victorian wineries. Held at Federation Square on 5 September 2015, the award show has put a call out for wines spanning across all regions and varieties. Nick Stock, head judge and curator, said he was expecting big things for this year’s event after the 2014 debut of VIC100 was deemed a success. “Whilst the numbers were terrific, it was the calibre of wines and wineries that entered that really set it apart,” Stock said. “VIC100 is not like every other wine show. It looks to build and promote the inherent connection between great wines and their origins.”

Marlborough wineries are being urged to cater for the needs of increasing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the region, on top of more Marlborough wine being sold to China. Chinese visitors to Marlborough represented a small but growing market for the region compared to other countries. Destination Marlborough general manager Tracy Johnston said the wine industry was a logical introduction to enhance Chinese visitors experience here.

IT all began with Russell and Dennis, two school-teacher mates who shared a taste for a good drop of red but whose financial resources didn’t match their vinous aspirations. So in 1992 the pair teamed up to make a barrel of their own Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which was bottled, proudly labelled Rusden and consumed with great gusto. Russell Gehling and Dennis Canute followed up in 1994 with a home-made Rusden Shiraz, which earned considerable local appreciation and was nicknamed “Black Guts” and “alcoholic Ribena”.

SYDNEY: California’s longest and sharpest drought on record has its increasingly desperate water stewards looking for solutions in Australia, the world’s driest inhabited continent. The struggle to survive with little water is a constant thread in the history of Australia, whose people now view drought as an inevitable feature of the land poet Dorothea Mackellar dubbed “a sunburnt country.”

Two of the Yarra Valley’s most distinguished wineries, Coldstream Hills and Toolangi, are joining forces to celebrate two varieties the region is famous for: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. ChardonnayPinot15 will be held between 11 and 12 July at the RACV Healesville Country Club with a range of activities for both producers and consumers. According to Garry Hounsell, Toolangi Vineyards owner, ChardonnayPinot15 is the ultimate event for lovers of Burgundy-style wines. “It’s not every day that you get to indulge in a selection of the finest expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot noir from Australia, France, New Zealand and the USA, whilst being tutored by a panel of esteemed wine critics.

Lucrative deals have been struck between the South Australian Government and China during a trade mission overseas but details cannot yet be divulged, Premier Jay Weatherill said. Using wine as his prime example, Weatherill said: “Across China, on average, they consume a litre per person per year, whereas in Australia it’s more than 20 litres. If China’s (consumption) was to grow to 15 litres as they project, there’s massive opportunities there.”

The Cresswell Jackson New Zealand Wine Trust has awarded funding for two University of Otago projects, both designed to benefit the country’s wine industry. The first was awarded to Associate Professor David J Burritt of the Department of Botany to undertake research concerning the process of extracting phenolics during the winemaking process. Professor Burritt said, “The wine industry is incredibly important to the New Zealand economy.”