Australian wine companies are already beginning to see benefits of the Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) just two months after its initiation, according to The Australian Grape and Wine Authority’s (AGWA) Wine Export Approvals database. Under JAEPA, the tariff on bulk wine has immediately been reduced to zero, while the 15 per cent import tariff on Australian bottled wine is planned to be eliminated over seven years.

A vicious, four-year drought may be close to catching up with California’s winemakers, and it’s the small producers of inexpensive wine that are likely to be hit hardest. The California drought has left some vineyards with a fraction of their usual water allotment. State Water Project allocations hover around 20 percent of normal, while the San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts are delivering no more than 30-35 percent of normal supplies, according to Jay Lund, professor and blogger for the University of California-Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.

Truth: The wine investment industry want you to believe this, after all it’s in their financial interest that you buy into this belief, but try telling this to the clients that lost huge amounts of money in this unregulated market. Try telling the clients of APW Asset Management Ltd that wine investment is safe. The company sold Australian wines to clients for investment and capital growth purposes, and it is the latest company to be wound up by the High Court in March 2015.

I’m no longer sure what people eat at Easter and Passover, but I’m pretty certain that many will be sitting down to a diverse range of food this weekend. Ham and lamb might be traditional, but you know traditions: they keep changing. For all I know, the paschal lamb has given way to street-food inspired barramundi tacos with a side of ancient grains and a glass of artisanal ale. But suppose you plan to bake a ham or roast lamb this weekend. Which wine might go well with them?

Hopes of price restraint are dashed as châteaux look to cash in on a better vintage. Bordeaux producers have indicated that they are highly unlikely to heed pleas from their customers to keep 2014 prices down. At the first tastings of the 2014 en primeur week, château owners have said that prices will be higher than recent vintages, to reflect the quality of the vintage, which they believe is one of the best of the last decade.

Marlborough wine brands may be forced to stop most of their advertising if a proposed alcohol advertising ban goes ahead. Wine industry leaders say the industry could lose the ability to advertise products if the Government adopts the 14 recommendations put forward by a ministerial forum in relation to alcohol advertising and sponsorship. The recommendations include a ban on all alcohol sponsorship for sports, a ban on alcohol sponsorship for cultural and music events, where 10 per cent or more of guests are under the age of 18, and a ban on alcohol advertising in general.

Villa Maria’s first ever chief operating officer talks to the drinks business about a new brand for the UK, how to raise the profile of Hawke’s Bay and why this producer’s biggest selling wine in China is white. Having built an international career working for major advertising agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather, with clients ranging from Unilever to McDonald’s and Singapore Airlines, Richard Thomas joined the New Zealand wine producer at the start of this year as its first COO.

CONSERVATION efforts in South Africa’s wine industry have been so successful that the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-South Africa) feels there is no longer a need to educate SA’s wine farmers on this issue, the environmental organisation said on Monday. From now on the WWF-South Africa is endorsing the industry’s “Sustainable Wines South Africa” seal, found on the neck of wine bottles, as indication enough that the wine estate is environmentally responsible, said WWF-South Africa agricultural programme manager Inge Kotze. This would make things easier for consumers.

GrapeSeed™ Wine Fund has launched as the first company to marry consumers’ desire for choice and exclusivity with winemakers’ passion for creating distinctive, small production wines. Leveraging a crowdfunding model, GrapeSeed enables members, or “Partners,” to pay a subscription fee to fund one-of-a-kind wine projects from its growing roster of iconic winemakers. This discreet channel of distribution effectively breaks down barriers that exist between consumers and artisan winemakers, creating a unique new community of wine lovers.

A New Zealand winery has become the country’s first business to attract the NZ$2 million (A$1.96m) maximum investment permitted via a crowdfunding campaign. Invivo Wines reached this limit less than two weeks after launching its offer on the Snowball Effect crowdfunding platform, bringing on board 439 new shareholders in exchange for 20% equity. The response raised 400% more than the Auckland-based company’s original target, which founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron were seeking in order to expand their export business.