Tasmania now Australia’s top wine tourism region

Tasmania now Australia’s top wine tourism region

Tasmania has long been the butt of jokes from the ‘mainlanders’, as Tasmanians refer to other Australians, but this rugged little island that started out as a prominent penal colony is fast becoming Australia’s premier wine tourism region. This has come about thanks to outstanding wines that keep getting better and better, enchanting cellar doors, stunning scenery, excellent hotels and restaurants, as well as a fine road network and zero pollution. Throw in one of the most interesting museums in the southern hemisphere in MONA, as well as Australia’s top golf links course in Barnbougle, and you have all the ingredients for a memorable visit.

AnalogFolk run digital promotion of Jacobs Creek

Digital creative agency AnalogFolk Australia has been contracted by Pernod Ricard Winemakers to take control of the global digital development of Jacob’s Creek wines. The portfolio will include the brand Jacob’s Creek itself, as well as other wine brands available worldwide. “AnalogFolk already has strong credentials with other global brands in the Pernod Ricard portfolio, and will work towards our goal of a data-driven, consumer-first approach to marketing,” commented Kate Whitney, global digital director of Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

SA winemaker opens door to Moroccan market

Coonawarra winemaker Gavin Hogg and his business partners have established a warehouse in Morocco and are working with two local distributors before sending the first shipment in March. Hogg said the Hoggies Estate Wines shipment would be a range of wines from his three brands – Kopparossa, Hoggies and Olivia. He said he and his colleagues had invested a lot of time and effort to procure a licence to import alcohol into Morocco. “The first lot will be a container, which is 1000 cases, and that will be mixed. It’ll be a bit of a scattergun approach to show everyone what’s there and then see how the market responds,” Hogg said.

San Miguel buys Australian packaging firm

San Miguel Corp. said its international packaging business, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd., acquired all of the shares of Australian firm Portavin Holdings Pty. Ltd. Portavin is located in four key regions in Australia—New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia—and is involved in the bottling of wine, trading and distribution of packaging products. Last year, in line with its packaging arm’s bullish stance on the Australian and New Zealand markets, the San Miguel’s packaging group acquired the assets of Endeavour Glass Packaging Ltd.

Aussie Wines, Culture and Yoghurt

A bit like the old Irish gags which were equally as racist, they will die out and the wine area will have made a significant contribution to the sophisticisation of Australia. Fifty years ago the idea that wine of any sort of elevated level came from Australia was laughable. One of the biggest importers of Australian, wines at the time, would have been Yates Wine Lodges, renowned in my northern home town for the pre-modern cocktail of Yates Blob (Yates sweet Australian wine, brandy, sugar lemon and hot water). It was as sophisticated as an Australian’s (or Boltonian’s) night out!

Wine experts taken trip of Hawke’s Bay

International wine connoisseurs sipped on Sauvignon Blanc, and celebrated Chardonnay yesterday – all while soaring through the air bound for Hawke’s Bay. A unique “Wine Flight” shepherding about 60 international wine media and experts flew into Hawke’s Bay yesterday afternoon for this weekend’s inaugural “Classic Reds Symposium”. This was the final event of a bustling fortnight, which included enjoying New Zealand wine at two consecutive wine conferences in Nelson and Wellington.

Yealands Wine appoints new chief exec

The new chief executive at one of the largest wine exporters in New Zealand says its growth is nothing short of miraculous, but there are still opportunities to expand.Yealands Wine Group, which was founded by sustainability pioneer Peter Yealands in 2008, has appointed a new chief executive, Master of Wine Adrian Garforth. Garforth replaces Jason Judkins, who resigned last year after nine years at the helm, during which time the company grew rapidly to become a major player in the industry. The new chief executive has more than 30 years’ experience in the wine industry across a wide range of roles, from marketing and distribution to managing a winery in South Africa.

Why volcanic wines may blow your mind

There’s not much innovation in wine publishing. Having judged two awards in the last 12 months (the Louis Roederer and Andre Simon), I get the impression that publishers think wine-lovers want only beginners’ guides and outsize volumes on the world’s poshest wine regions. So credit to Jacqui Small for publishing our Andre Simon drink book winner, the refreshingly original Volcanic Wines, by Canadian sommelier John Szabo. Szabo doesn’t claim that soil is the only factor at play; the preservation of indigenous varieties and ancient growing methods in these hard-to-work vineyards also make the wines distinctive.

Wet season for vintage 2017

On Tuesday 31 January, Jacob’s Creek kicked off its 2017 vintage with Chardonnay destined for Jacob’s Creek sparkling wine. The first fruit to be picked was from the Murray Darling, with the Riverland commencing the following day. “The 2017 growing season saw an extremely wet winter which has resulted in a later harvest in January this year, more closely aligned with typical timings we’ve seen in the past. The below average temperatures and above average rainfall have delivered healthy and strong vine growth. More rain means less supplementary water used to irrigate, whilst also requiring growers to be more precise with their canopy management” says Ben Bryant, of his first vintage as Chief Winemaker at Jacob’s Creek.

Warrnambool’s inaugural wine weekend

OZONE Walk’s boutique bar Lucy will host Warrnambool’s inaugural wine weekend on Saturday. Fine natural wines from across Australia will be showcased, as well as craft beers. Bar owner Will Shepherd said the event was all about showing off “lo-fi” wine that was made in the traditional way. Chevre, Good Intention and Dirty Black Denim wines will be featured. “They are all natural, made by young Australian wine makers,” Mr Shepherd said. “It’s about minimal intervention, using proper wine making techniques.”

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