The ambassador for this year’s National Multicultural Festival is one of Australia’s best known winemakers, reports ABC Canberra. Wolfgang Blass AM has lived a life full of experiences. As a young boy growing up in Germany during World War II, Wolf Blass suffered his fair share of hardship and battles. At the age of 13 Wolf felt no choice but to flee Eastern Germany into Western Germany, where he was pushed into winemaking against his wishes by his family who were looking to make him self sufficient. As he completed diplomas in winemaking he knew that he wanted to go far.

McLaren Vale producer Serafino Wines is soaring on the wings of a deal with Virgin Australia to serve its 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon to business travellers. The airline is now serving its 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon to business travellers between Australia and Los Angeles. Serafino – founded by Steve Maglieri, after he sold his Maglieri brand to then Foster’s for $30 million in 1998, and operated by his daughter Maria – has the only full-bodied red on offer in flight, reports Adelaide Now.

There is a new destination for wine lovers in the Yarra Valley. Family-run winery Soumah, in Gruyere, has officially opened its doors to the public. Owner Brett Butcher said the vineyard was established in 1997, and they sold their grapes to other wineries. In 2010, they created their private label and began selling their wine. They opened their new cellar for the first time on Australia Day, reports the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Leader.

An advertising campaign has been launched to encourage people to holiday in Western Australia’s Margaret River wine region. It follows a downturn in bookings since the November bushfires in the state’s southwest. Tourism Minister Kim Hames said while the fire-ravaged area in Prevelly was relatively small, less than 1.5 per cent of the region, its effect on tourism had been felt across the entire region between Busselton and Augusta, reports Perth Now.

The February 2012 issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker is now available. This month in our special ‘innovation & technology’ issue we look at some of the outstanding and world-leading work being undertaken to shape the future of Australian viticulture and winemaking.

Boutique vineyard Stanley Estates will be testing a popular Spanish “light white” on the New Zealand palate at a wine tasting in Blenheim today. In 2009, the Awatere Valley vineyard was the first in the South Island to plant Albarino, a premium white grape variety from the Rias Baixas area of northwest Spain and from northern Portugal along the Atlantic coast. Owners Steve Pellett and Bridget Ennals said they first sampled the wine while working in Spain as fruit technologists for import companies in Britain, reports The Marlborough Express.

Marlborough will be among the country’s top wine producing regions attending the fifth annual Pinot Noir NZ on Wellington’s waterfront next January. Pinot Noir 2013 will be held in Wellington from January 28-31, reports The Marlborough Express. The waterfront would be awash with New Zealand’s best Pinot Noirs, the world’s leading wine media and wine lovers and traders, makers and viticulturists for four days at New Zealand’s premier wine event, said Pinot Noir 2013 chairman Alastair Maling.

Marlborough growers need an appellation system with strict controls on production levels to avoid losing quality and reputation, according to a leading producer. John Forrest, owner of Forrest Wines in Marlborough, New Zealand, told Decanter he would be campaigning over the next year to encourage local producers to introduce a ‘self-enforced appellation system’.

A wine lover has made the first major Chinese purchase in Burgundy. The Burgundy deal differs from the spate of purchases in Bordeaux in that it is a partnership, with local grower Pascal Chevigny selling two hectares of vines to 28-year-old businessman Shi Yi. The two, who are the same age, met while studying for a masters in wine and spirits at Dijon university, reports Decanter.

Coonawarra grape harvesters are out earlier than ever in the paddocks this year. The ideal growing conditions have seen the fruit ripen faster than usual. Coonawarra Vignerons Association president, Sue Hodder, says there’s been a trend towards earlier vintages in recent years, reports ABC Rural.