ExportNZ is calling for the Government to encourage more collaboration between export-focused, small-to-medium-sized firms, reports The New Zealand Herald. ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard said a new generation of managers were more open to collaborative exporting than their predecessors. Beard said small firms often struggled to get noticed overseas. Wine exporters, for example, could band together to have a bigger presence on retail shelves and save on shipping costs in the process, she said.

Australian vineyards, such as Ferngrove in Western Australia’s Frankland River, facing a wine glut, slumping exports and rising competition from countries including Chile and Argentina, are turning to China for salvation. Chinese buyers are proving receptive as they seek to meet surging demand among the nation’s rich, who are developing a taste for grape wine and the expression of wealth it conveys, reports Bloomberg.

Queenstown is “underselling itself” in terms of winery tourism, a forum has been told. At a special-interest marketing forum about wine and winery tourism in the resort last week, Gibbston Valley Wines Ltd chief executive Greg Hunt said one out of 11 international tourists in Australia visited a winery, with between 5% and 15% of domestic tourists counting winery visits as a preferred holiday activity, reports Otago Daily Times. “We could be welcoming these figures. There are about 60,000 to 80,000 visits to Gibbston a year. If we can get a collective going… imagine what that number could be.”

Treasury Wine Estates will continue to share technology and other infrastructure with Foster’s after its proposed takeover by SABMiller, chairman Max Ould told shareholders yesterday. Speaking at the company’s first annual general meeting since being demerged from Foster’s in May, Mr Ould said the two companies would still have some crossover by the time SABMiller took control of Foster’s in December, reports The Australian.

One of Australia’s most celebrated wineries, Seppeltsfield, has expanded its ownership of vineyards in the Barossa Valley by 500 per cent. The winery yesterday bought a majority share of the former managed investment scheme, the Barossa Vines Limited Group, in a substantial restructuring of the business that involves the repayment of a major debt to BankSA, reports Adelaide Now.

McLaren Vale has again confirmed its reputation as a red wine region at the 2011 Cartesian McLaren Vale Wine Show. The three-day show, which featured more than 650 wines, culminated with the annual awards night at Hardys Tintara Winery last Friday, October 21. Twenty trophies and four highly commended certificates were awarded by the judges, similar to previous years, reports Southern Times Messenger.

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) says trading conditions remain challenging but that the company is well placed for growth, reports AAP. TWE’s brands include Penfolds, Wynns, Seppelt, Saltram, Coldstream Hills, Matua Valley, Beringer and Chateau St Jean. “The fundamental, long-term trends underpinning demand in our industry are robust,” TWE chairman Max Ould told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Tuesday. “While trading conditions remain challenging, the board is confident that Treasury Wine Estates is very well positioned for growth.”

Hunter Valley vignerons say New South Wales’ largest housing development proposed for the region will be a visual scar on the local landscape. The $1.5 billion dollar Huntlee development at Branxton would include thousands of new homes. But the project is currently the subject of a Supreme Court appeal, after the Land and Environment court overturned its state significance status, reports ABC Newcastle.

Wine trade figures from across the world will be hosting events to celebrate the second International Grenache Day this Friday, 23 September. The event emerged from last year’s inaugural Grenache Symposium, which saw 250 delegates from 23 countries gather in the Rhône to draw up a blueprint for boosting the profile of the world’s most widely planted red grape variety. Some of the world’s most high profile Grenache producers are supporting this year’s event, including d’Arenberg, Torbreck, Turkey Flat and Henschke in Australia, reports The Drinks Business.

The first Indian wines to be sold by a British supermarket could become a fixture on its shelves after coming close to selling out in record time. Earlier this month, Waitrose became the first UK supermarket to stock the little-known brands from the sub-continent as part of a showcase of unusual wines from across the world. Wine experts have questioned their quality and suggested the popularity is down to novelty value. But some of those trying to buy the wines – a red and a white – have found their local stores were already out of stock, reports The Guardian.