A new advertising campaign has been launched warning people that drinking alcohol greatly increases their risk of being diagnosed with breast or bowel cancer. The Cancer Council of Australia’s Ian Olver says the campaign will warn people that alcohol is a grade one carcinogen. Professor Olver says anyone who consumes more than two standard drinks of alcohol a day is at risk, reports ABC News. He says a couple sharing a bottle of wine over dinner would be four standard drinks each, which is too much.

A Hawke’s Bay wine has hit the spot in one of the world’s most prestigious wine districts – Bordeaux in France. The Councours Mondial du Savignon, staged in the heart of the European winemaking region, is a varietal-based competition which draws the best of Sauvignon Blanc wines from around the world. The judges gave a winning nod to the Esk Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011, which took the gold medal in the non-oaked Sauvignon section. It was the only Hawke’s Bay winery to score in the competition, reports Hawke’s Bay Today.

Consumers need to be educated that ‘less is more’ when it comes to trading up, according to Australian Vintage boss Neil McGuigan. He said internationally focused wineries face a challenge because the trade has educated consumers towards entry level wines full of obvious “in your face” flavours, and now is trying to convince them to “pay more for wines where they are getting less, more subtle flavours”. He called on the trade to work together to educate consumers around the quality of more “elegant” and “refined” wines, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.

Maitland will make its mark on the foodie map with this weekend’s fourth annual Maitland Taste Festival. The two-day event runs Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. Formerly held in Maitland’s mall, this year’s event has been expanded to incorporate the wider city area. Not only will you be able to wander among stalls offering food, drinks and plenty more, but the festival also includes cooking classes and demonstrations, as well as wine and cheese masterclasses. Wineries taking part include Lovedale’s Allandale Winery, Rothbury’s Macquariedale Organic Wines and Pokolbin’s Drayton’s Family Wines and Mount View Estate, reports the Newcastle Herald.

Winemaker Garry Crittenden has been inducted into the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Legends hall of fame. Each year, the hall of fame pays tribute to the leaders, ground-breakers and visionaries of Victoria’s food and wine industry, including chefs, producers, culinary communicators, wine producers and restaurateurs. Mr Crittenden was inducted into the vigneron category of the legends hall of fame for his pioneering efforts in winemaking on the Mornington Peninsula, reports Peninsula Weekly.

Unorthodox is a tag David Anderson wears proudly and applies to both making and selling his immensely rich, powerful and fleshy Wild Duck Creek Estate wines. At a time when most producers are turning somersaults to get sales, anyone wanting Wild Duck Creek wines has to sign up as a subscriber and, in the manner of the enprimeur system of Bordeaux, apply for an allocation from the new releases made each June. The system reflects the cult status Wild Duck Creek has enjoyed since 1998 when US wine guru Robert Parker gave favourable reviews to its reds in his Wine Advocate newsletter, reports the Newcastle Herald.

The final part of the collapse of Mudgee’s biggest winery is now in place with McGrath Nicol being appointed administrators for the troubled Prince Hill Wines Group. Financier Commonwealth Bank appointed Ferrier Hodgson as receivers and managers on March 14 to a property owned by Coonawarra Australia Property Trust subsidiary, CPV Wines, and the Trust’s responsible entity, Coonawarra Premium Vineyards. The vineyard management company Prince Hill Wine Services is also being managed by Ferrier Hodgson, while the listed entity has been suspended from trading, reports Adelaide Now.

Turkish authorities are investigating the country’s former ambassador to the European Union, following allegations he embezzled wine worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Daryal Batibay is suspected of using around €200,000 of public money to buy the wines, before attempting to smuggle them into Turkey. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to Decanter that it and other government agencies are investigating Batibay, who retired as the country’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe late last year.

It’s a “scary” time for wine brands as supermarkets’ own versions are leaving them out in the cold, say experts. Suppliers and branding experts are warning that brands have to change their approach and offer a point of difference in order to appeal to retailers, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit. Nick Bauer, co-director of Free Run wines said: “The is the scary bit – some of the supermarkets have created soft brands that look like they are ‘proper brands’ with heritage and a big story behind them, when they have in fact manufactured it.”

Now clocking up over 20 years, the Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction, an iconic event that is the oldest in the country and has raised more than $2 million for Cranford Hospice, is having a makeover. To be held at Queen’s Birthday weekend on Saturday 2 June, this year’s refreshed auction with its limit of 200 guests, will move from a formal dinner to a more interactive cocktail style afternoon-into-the-evening event. Bidders and guests will be able to sample the auction lots and enjoy tapas style food throughout, reports Voxy News.