In economically slow times, consumers respond with frugality and examine a coin twice before spending it. The same is true for wine, as a glance at the statistics shows, reports Beverage Manager newsite. In Germany, for example, 2010 sales dropped by only 0.7 percent whereas spending on wine decreased by 2.7 percent.

Kingsland Wines and Spirits has announced the launch of a new division called Legacy Wines, through which it will plans to focus on the Impulse, On-Trade and European export sectors. The division will initially focus entirely on wines from South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Chile, and Australia, with products being introduced in the UK over the next few weeks.

The wine industry is facing a worrying shortage of high quality national account managers, according to Paul Schaafsma, general manager for UK and Europe at Australian Vintage. Schaafsma has called on the industry to work together to introduce an accredited training program to help nurture young talent in order to reverse the decline. Speaking to the drinks business at last week’s A+ Australia tasting in London, Schaafsma said: “One of the main challenges in recruiting national account managers at the moment is that there is not a lot of talent out there”.

In the tiny wine-producing region of the Waitaki Valley, there is no place for anything but excellence and “that’s a wonderful challenge”, Jim Jerram told Otago Daily Times. It might only be a drop in the glass in terms of size but the area is “punching above its weight” in terms of what it is producing and the exposure it is getting, Dr Jerram, who is chairman of the Waitaki Valley Wine Growers Association, said.

In the tiny wine-producing region of the Waitaki Valley, there is no place for anything but excellence and “that’s a wonderful challenge”, Jim Jerram told Otago Daily Times. It might only be a drop in the glass in terms of size but the area is “punching above its weight” in terms of what it is producing and the exposure it is getting, Dr Jerram, who is chairman of the Waitaki Valley Wine Growers Association, said.

One of South Australia’s most-loved wineries is preparing to celebrate reaching triple figures.
But if you think that marks the time to slow down and smell the roses for its dynamo father and son proprietors, then forget it, writes Tony Love in the weekend’s Advertiser.

Firefighters in WA’s South-West are enduring a testing day, with two blazes contained but not yet controlled and still posing a potential threat to homes and lives. Residents in towns near Busselton and also on Mann Road, Nillup are under a watch-and-act advice from the Fire and Emergency Services Authority. The area is one of WA’s best known wine producing spots with Sandalford, Cullens Wines and Evans & Tate all nearby, WA Today reports.

New research shows how much damage the high Australian dollar is doing to the country’s wine exports while rival producers forge ahead. The Newcastle Herald reports Rabobank’s 2011 Wine Quarterly report said global wine exports were growing unless the wine was from Australia or South Africa. Italian exports are up almost 13 per cent in volume and nearly 13.5 per cent in value and the French are enjoying a 3.8 per cent volume growth and by nearly 15 per cent in value.

Kiwi winemakers are experimenting with Grüner Veltliner – which they believe could be the next big thing from New Zealand. Nine examples were shown at a masterclass at the New Zealand Wine annual trade tasting, reports Off Licence News. Saint Clair winemaker Matt Thomson, who led the class with Yealands Estate’s Tamra Washington, said: “We find this really exciting. There is no preconception about how it should be made.

Cooler-climate wines could be the answer to Australia’s problems of shrinking off-trade volumes and under-representation on restaurant lists. The category saw take-home volume sales drop 2.7% in the year to September 2011, while value sales remained static at £1.1 billion, according to a recent Wilson Drinks Report commissioned by Wine Australia. In the on-trade, the country only has a 9% share of red listings and 7% share of white on wine lists. But the future is bright if it gets its cool-climate offering right, reports Harpers Wine & Spirit.