An audit of product gaps in Barossa Valley tourism has identified 25 opportunities that could bring a 30 per cent growth in tourism spending by 2030, and create 670 jobs in the region, reports The Advertiser. Targeting the luxury visitor market alone could increase tourism spending in the Barossa by more than $100 million a year, the report says.

Wine Australia’s UK chief has played down the proposed move from its central London offices as part of a drive to cut costs, reports Harpers Wine and Spirit Review. Speaking at the generic body’s annual general meeting, chief executive Andrew Cheesman said Wine Australia’s funding base had decreased by 30% since 2007.

True to its word in early September that it would quickly dominate the Australian market, Chinese company Bright Food has announced plans to open an office in Sydney. Bright Food is the second largest food company in China, and following its acquisition of 75 per cent of Australia’s leading independent grocery importer Manassen Foods Australia, it wants to become a global leader in the sector. It also has eyes on the wine industry, says Food Magazine.

Treasury Wine Estates may have outperformed the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index by 18.4% in the past six months but JPMorgan, Citi, Credit Suisse and Commonwealth Bank of Australia all reckon it’s better to be underweight. The Wall Street Journal reports since spun out in May from the now de-listed Foster’s Group, the company just became Australia’s largest listed alcohol company with a market capitalization of 2.5 billion Australian dollars (US$2.55 billion).

Gecko Valley Winery has had one of its best years despite the devastating natural disasters that struck the region in 2011. Owner Tony McCray told The Observer he was not surprised to hear the Tourism Queensland Gladstone Regional Snapshot had revealed tourism in the region was doing well, since the town was experiencing such a boom due to the success of industry.

Wine and cheese platters are nothing new – just about every bar and restaurant and semi decent pub has a cheese platter on the menu – but a new phenomenon is now on the table. The wine and produce night out at your local bar is gaining popularity as small niche venues struggle to find a point of difference in an increasingly crowded market place, reports news.com.au

A small winery in Carlsruhe is making waves in the wine industry with success in Victorian wine shows. Paramoor Winery owner Will Fraser, a former managing director of Kodak Australasia, has a diploma in wine technology and a PhD in chemistry, reports the Macedon Ranges Weekly. He has also made a name in his new field of making fine wine.

There’s nothing quite like sitting down with a fine drop and a good book, except maybe sitting down with a good book about fine drops, writes Huon Hooke, in Sydney Morning Herald. It may have been a wet and dodgy year for wine but it’s been a good year for wine books. The most compelling new book is undoubtedly Authentic Wine … Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop.

Spain’s 2011 harvest looks set to strengthen the country’s reputation as a source of good value wine. Despite lower yields across the country as a whole, several of Spain’s most high profile wine regions saw large harvests and good quality, fully ripened fruit, reports The Drinks Business. In general, this was a vintage characterised by a cool July, followed for the most part by hot, dry conditions and a relatively disease free crop, although a lack of water caused problems for some growers.

The wine trade faced up to some tough accusations last week – wine aisles are “boring”, in-store signs are a “nightmare” and “wine speak” alienates consumers. That was according to a line-up of marketing and FMCG experts from outside the industry who spoke at the first consumer forum, jointly hosted by Harpers and consumer website WineOption in London. The forum kicks off Harpers’ Get Engaged campaign, which will focus on helping the trade talk to consumers in a better way, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.