McLaren Vale’s Irrigators Council yesterday received a $2.5m commitment from the Coalition to construct a 1200ml dam for water storage – securing a sustainable irrigation future for our region’s growers. The announcement, held at Torresan Estate bottling facility in McLaren Vale, was attended by Minister for Trade and Investment Steven Ciobo, State Liberal Leader Steven Marshall and Member for Mayo Jamie Briggs.
Treasury Wine Estates today unveiled a new range of wines by Victorian winemaker St Huberts, representing the first major relaunch under the company’s Regional Gems strategy. Treasury said the range of wines, named The Stag, included a Chardonnay and Shiraz, both made in the classic cool climate style with grapes sourced from winemaking regions across Victoria. Angus McPherson, Treasury Wine Estates managing director for Australia and New Zealand, said The Stag launch was one of the most important innovations for the Regional Gems portfolio this year.
A billionaire couple lambasted for removing a swathe of oak trees at their Paso Robles vineyard have apologised stating that they are “ashamed and sorry” for their actions. Estate Vineyards LLC, a holding company which is managed by Justin Vineyards in Paso Robles and is a subsidiary of the multinational Wonderful Company, cut down hundreds of oak trees earlier this month to make room for more grapes on its 742-acre Sleepy Farm Road estate.
Odilon de Varine has been appointed as the new Gosset chef de cave, with immediate effect. The appointment follows the sudden death of previous cellar master Jean-Pierre Mareigner in May. A trained oenologist, de Varine joined Champagne Gosset in 2006 as deputy managing director. He will be continuing in this role, but will also be working closely with oenologists and the existing Gosset team as chef de cave, to carry on the work done by Mareigner.
Investors looking for a safe bet following Britain’s decision to leave the EU are being told that fine wine could be the way to go. This week has seen the pound sterling drop to a 31-year low and that is set to make wine in cheaper in foreign currencies and stimulate demand from overseas, according to City A.M. And because of that, fine wine is expected to rise as it has definitive characteristics that tend to see it perform well when the pound is down.
I’ve been catching up on my wine industry reading and one report that grabbed by attention is Rabobank’s May 2016 Industry Note, “The Premiumization Conundrum”. The gist of the analysis is that the premiumization trend in the U.S. wine market isn’t simply a case of what Paul Krugman calls “up and down economics” — in this case demand for $10+ wine is up, demand for cheaper wines is down –but rather it needs to be understood in the context of a broader set of wine market changes.
Last week’s “Brexit” vote will have vast and as-yet-uncertain consequences for the economies and politics of the United Kingdom and Europe overall. Today’s column tries to ground the wide-ranging conversation by focusing attention on one particular category of the wine industry, namely sparkling wine.
HE may have been working in the wine industry for more than 20 years, but it’s Marty Singh’s own wine venture, just four years old, that’s gaining him most recognition. Mr Singh developed Precipice Wines during the “wet and soggy vintage” of 2011, but despite the difficult start, the confessed “young at heart” winemaker has been named as a finalist in the Young Gun of Wine Awards.
There are two reasons Canberra’s David Osmond puts his money into solar panels rather than stockpiling it in the bank. “The returns are better plus it’s going towards a cause I’m very passionate about,” he said. The latest solar project Mr Osmond will invest in will be the largest community-owned solar farm in Australia – and it will be right here in Canberra.
As the impact of Brexit plays out on markets and commodities around the world, Australian winemakers could emerge as unlikely winners. Britain is the largest export destination for Australian wine by volume and the national industry body Wine Australia believes the fallout from Brexit could make it less expensive to send local wine to the United Kingdom.