Our summer drinking guide is big on the wine styles that suit a hot climate. Cold is good and hot means not your hearty roasts and heavy French sauces but barbecues and grilled foods. In this spirit, the recommended wines are lighter weighted white wines: dry rather than sweet and unwooded rather than oaky; refreshing and gulpable, not heavy. That means drier-style roses and a few light-bodied reds, such as gamay and lighter, less tannic Pinot Noir. And, of course, sparkling wines, writes Huon Hooke in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Bimbadgen Estate general manager, Rebecca Poynter is the new president of Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism. Ms. Poynter was elected a meeting of the new board last Tuesday, winning a two way contest with John Drayton. The Special Resolution relating to the new constitution was passed at the annual meeting and four new board members appointed, including an additional Community representative, reports The Cessnock Advertiser.

Leogate Estate has popped up regularly in wine show trophy and gold medal lists this year and it is now on the cusp of a new chapter in its development. It will have its own winery and cellar door on the former prized Rothbury Estate Brokenback vineyard, in Broke Road, Pokolbin. Leogate has its winemaking and cellar door in the leased Roche family-owned former Tempus Two winery, on the corner of Broke-McDonalds roads, Pokolbin, reports The Newcastle Herald.

The area’s tourism businesses have welcomed Barossa’s new iPhone app. Launched last month; the app allows access to Barossa’s large network of services at the touch of a button. The free download is available to both iPhone and iPad users. According to Elaine Ratcliffe, chairperson of Barossa Tourism, the new tool also means businesses can highlight current information. Businesses that are members of Barossa Tourism and Barossa Grape and Wine are already connected to the app at the highest level of participation for a free trial period, reports The Barossa Herald.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, will seek to strengthen Australia’s $12.6 billion agricultural trade relationship with North Asia as a part of a three nations visit this week. Minister Ludwig, who will visit China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, will be joined by a delegation of representatives from Australia’s cattle, cotton, fodder, grain, wool, and seafood industries, reports Stock and Land.

The emerging Ukrainian wine industry is looking to raise winemaking standards to European levels – by working with foreign consultants and setting up a professional wine body. Ivan Plachkov, the country’s former energy minister and founder of Kolonist Winery in the Odessa region, has set up the Ukrainian Bureau of Vine and Wine and the OIV about how to professionalise the industry, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.

A new smartphone app has been created, which promises quick, accurate winemaking calculation tools. Developed by Oenobrands, a Montpellier-based design firm, the Oenotools app has been created in collaboration with French oenologist Olivier Zébic. The app’s functions cover a number of aspects involved in the winemaking process. This includes the addition of any powder, liquid or gas, such as gum arabic, which helps red wines retain pigmentation, enzymes, tannins and fining agents, reports The Drinks Business.

Chinese film star Zhao Wei has bought a St Emilion chateau for an undisclosed price. Although the price Zhao paid for the 7ha Château Monlot has not been revealed, local property agents put it at between €4 and €5m. Separately, local land agency SAFER (Société d’aménagement foncier et d’établissement rural) said prices per hectare in St Emilion now range from €200,000 to €500,000, reports Decanter.

Tesco has launched the first lighterweight Champagne bottles to its range, as part of its drive towards sustainability. The lightweight bottle initiative, which is being led by the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), will see a 7.2% weight reduction in standard 75cl Champagne bottles – taking them from 900g to 830g. Its exclusive De Vallois Champagne will take the lead which will be followed by the rest of its range over the next few years, in order to reduce glass waste, cut carbon emissions and lower transportation costs, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.

You can pick a wine-lover’s house on Christmas Eve. It’s got a plate of super-delicious Tuscan cantucci almond bikkies set out beside a big glass of vin santo, maybe a Castello di Ama or Castellani. Or maybe a shortbread and a wee dram, or a Rutherglen muscat and a florentine. Does that sound too obsessive? If it doesn’t, here are a few little vinous somethings to put under the tree for the wine lover in your life, writes Jeni Port in The Sydney Morning Herald.