British Prime Minister David Cameron has risked the ire of the drinks industry by suggesting he could follow Scotland’s lead and introduce a minimum price for alcoholic drinks in England. Leading drinks and pub companies have reacted with fury to revelations in The Daily Telegraph that Cameron has ordered officials to develop a scheme in England to stop the sale of alcohol at below 40p to 50p a unit, reports The Drinks Business.
The Scottish Parliament is gearing up for a legal battle over its controversial plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol. Responding to a question from Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told a Holyrood committee that it was ‘almost certain’ that the plans will be challenged in the Scottish courts, reports Decanter. ‘Any piece of legislation that this parliament passes is potentially subject to legal challenge,’ she said.
Patrons of the Taste of Tasmania food and wine festival have been assured there will be no entry fee next year. Lord Mayor Damon Thomas flagged the possibility of an entry fee if the State Government does not provide about $300,000 a year in funding for the event. But the council’s Taste Committee chairman, Ron Christie, is adamant that will not happen, reports ABC News.
Regarded plant physiologist Mary Cole will deliver a two-day workshop this month on the current thinking around Botrytis control and vineyard soil health, in north east Victoria. The workshop will take place on 17 and 18 January, and will look at using soil biology and management options to improve vine health and reduce disease incidence.
Sir George Fistonich, owner and managing director of Villa Maria Estate, one of New Zealand’s top wineries, is a winemaker known throughout the world. From California to Chile, from the supermarkets of London to Dublin and beyond, Villa Maria wines are renowned for their quality. It is exactly 50 years since George Fistonich founded the Villa Maria winery in Auckland. It has been 50 years of growing success, of enormous commercial success and a business that is one of the best anywhere in New Zealand, reports The New Zealand Herald.
Tourism operators in Margaret River say they have had record crowds during Christmas and New Year, despite devastating bushfires in the area. The fires destroyed 41 properties and tore through 3,400 hectares of bush when a Department of Environment and Conservation prescribed burn got out of control in late November, reports ABC News.
Unless the global and U.S. economies weaken, wine industry experts predict 2012 could be the year of the vineyard, considering a number of fine wine producers have worked through ample inventories, wine sales continue to grow and few new vines are going into the ground, reports North Bay Business Journal.
Young binge drinkers have simply switched to cheaper booze to beat the Federal Government’s controversial “alcopop” tax. New research shows 15 to 29-year-olds have dodged the 70 per cent tax on popular pre-mixed drinks by changing their drink of choice. The University of Queensland study found no significant reduction in binge drinking-related hospital admissions since the tax was introduced in 2008. It has prompted fresh calls for a minimum price on alcohol. And it follows moves this week by the United Kingdom to crack down on cheap alcohol sales, reports News.com.au.
It may be Coonawarra’s new kid on the block, but the Raidis Estate family winery is fast gaining a loyal following; and a swag of awards. Steven Raidis and fiancée Emma Graney run the winery along with Steven’s parents Chris and Fran. The family has lived and worked at Coonawarra for more than 40 years. Steven, 29, had always wanted to create his own wine label. After a couple of years playing football with the Glenelg Football Club in Adelaide, he returned to his hometown and began to give shape to his dreams, reports the Stock Journal.
Plans to develop coal mining in Australia’s Margaret River wine region have been rejected – but campaigners fear their fight is not yet over. Bill Marmion, Environment Minister for Western Australia, dismissed an application from LD Operations, acting on behalf of partners Vasse Coal and South West Coal, for the black coal operation. The announcement follows more than a year of campaigning from local groups, who feared the Vasse Coal project at a site 15km from Margaret River might threaten local water resources, reports Decanter.