Hill Laboratories expects its Christchurch wine lab to become a one-stop shop for Kiwi wine companies. The wine-testing division of the laboratory has leased adjoining space in its existing Hornby building and employed three extra lab technicians, a technologist and former Lincoln University oenology lecturer Kirsten Creasy as the resident wine expert. Plans are to employ another four people in the next three years, reports The New Zealand Herald.

Hawke’s Bay’s reputation as a red wine creating stronghold has strengthened after a Bounty of the Bay masterclass held last Monday left a Melbourne media and trade group impressed and asking for more information about what they sampled. “Many have since requested tasting notes and more follow up information, so that’s exciting for us,” Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers’ executive officer Lyn Bevin, said. The group were so glowing in their praise for what they sampled that members wanting to be part of a second masterclass, being staged in Brisbane today had been left clamouring for spots, reports Hawke’s Bay Today.

Martinborough, nestled in the bosom of the wine region known as Wairarapa, is home to a number of smallish but stellar producers. Ata Rangi, Dry River, Palliser Estate and Martinborough Vineyard are top of mind, but there are others who are fast gaining a reputation for excellent wines from a region that continues to prove that small can not only be beautiful but affordable as well, reports The New Zealand Herald.

The Land of the Long White Cloud is bringing its best wines to Noosa Heads for the Noosa News New Zealand Wine Festival. More than 20 of New Zealand’s winemakers and wine representatives will be present, along with their best products, as they host two multi-course dinners tonight and tomorrow at berardo’s Restaurant and Bar. The meals will be prepared by executive chef Shane Bailey, to be specifically matched to the wines, reports Noosa News.

We are clean, we are green and the wines we make as near as damnit to natural as you can get. Or so we are led to believe. But the question still remains: How natural is natural? It depends on who you listen to. It’s what they do not do, and to what degree, that distinguishes producers of natural wines from those who use tools and additives to get the results they want, writes Warren Barton in The Southland Times.

Former Craggy Range winemaker Rod Easthope is to make an exclusive range of wines for online retailer Naked Wines. Funded by Naked and its 100,000 “Angel” customers, Easthope will also act as a consultant winemaker for other New Zealand producers working with Naked Wines, reports The Drinks Business. “It’s been a lifelong dream to be my own boss, and the Naked Wines’ model is finally making that dream come true,” said Easthope.

Wine tastes better if a winery is difficult to pronounce, according to new research. In a study by Brock University professor, Dr Antonia Mantonakis, it found English-speaking wine consumers were more likely to buy wine from a winery with a difficult-to-pronounce name. Participants also rated wine more highly in a blind tasting, and were prepared to pay more money for the same wine, if it had a name that was difficult to say in English, reports Decanter.

Oh bliss, I thought as I registered for the 6th Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting in Sydney at the beginning of this month. Two days of non-stop Rieslings, many of which I would never get to taste ever again. Frankland Estate’s Judi Cullam started this biennial event in 2000, and last year, joined with Chateau Ste Michelle, Dr Loosen and Robert Weil Estate to form the ”Riesling Coalition”, which will host Riesling events. Trish Burgess reports on a celebration of the quality and diversity of the world’s finest, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australians are obsessed by wine varieties. Our labels elevate grape varieties to hero worship, while often the region mostly shrinks to lesser importance and the style of wine to the obscurity of the back sticker, if at all. Even the most recognised blends emphasise fruit components more than region or producer. This isn’t the case in traditional European wines, which tend to emphasis the maker before the actual grapes crammed inside the bottle, writes News Limited national wine writer Tony Love.

The few wine companies owned by New Zealanders need to retain the status quo to benefit the country’s economy, culture, and reputation overseas, says Villa Maria Estate owner and managing director Sir George Fistonich. In an industry dominated by foreign ownership, Sir George is one of the New Zealanders who owns a wine company. He said it was important that the remaining few wine companies that were New Zealand-owned remained so, as other foreign-owned companies weren’t as passionate about promoting the wines or the country, reports The Marlborough Express.