Tesco has reported the worst annual financial results in the retailer’s 96 year history, showing a loss of £6.376bn (A$12.36) and underlying profit before tax fall just over 70 per cent for the year. Dave Lewis, Tesco chief executive, said it had been a very difficult year for the supermarket giant. “The results we have published today reflect a deterioration in the market, and more significantly, an erosion of our competitiveness over recent years,” he said.

Giesen Wines is celebrating International Sauvignon Blanc Day on Friday, April 24, with its Marlborough growers. It is the sixth annual International Sauvignon Blanc Day – an online initiative that started in California with St Supery Winery as a global social media wine tasting. Giesen has one of the most diverse Sauvignon Blanc portfolios in New Zealand, producing eight main styles ranging from its ever popular Giesen Estate, which is exported to 30 countries, through to the super premium Fuder range.

Global markets are in the sights of Archer McRae Beverages after closing a $1.35 million funding round this month, with their flagship beverage ‘Joiy’ – the largest single capital raise of a Creative HQ start-up. Helmed by founder Chris Archer, Joiy is the product of 25 years of award winning wine making, coupled with global ambitions and a customer centric approach. Joiy was part of business incubator Creative HQ’s global growth programme last year.

Wine Australia has launched its updated Market Program Guide outlining upcoming user-pays activities available to wine brands, exporters, importers, regions and states to promote Australian wine both domestically and in key export markets. The guide currently includes 53 user-pays opportunities in 16 markets ranging from trade-focused events, consumer events, retail promotions, tastings and masterclasses, educational initiatives and advertorial opportunities to sommelier and trade immersion activities, that all aim to promote the diversity, quality and regionality of Australian wine.

SYDNEY: WineVine.tv announces the launch of its digital TV channel dedicated to all things wine. www.winevine.tv offers the global wine community a place to view, discover and enjoy a full-bodied blend of knowledge, information and entertainment, delivered by a collection of expert hosts. The channel will include every aspect of wine enjoyment, delivering expert opinion and commentary to consumers on all wine matters ranging from varietals to vintages, grape growth to winemaking, and retail to consumption.

Australia’s four largest newspaper publishers have come together to launch a campaign named “Influential by Nature”. The campaign is the largest marketing initiative ever undertaken by The Newspaper Works – the industry body that represents APN News & Media, Fairfax Media, News Corp Australia and West Australian Newspapers (Seven West Media) – and aims to convey the influence of newspapers in consumer alcohol spend.

Winemakers in one of Australia’s premier wine regions have finished this season’s grape harvest early. The Rutherglen region, which is famous for producing some of the world’s best Muscat and Topaque, has battled a number of natural disasters including frosts and flooding rains in the last decade. This season growers avoided disaster and were ready to make great wine. For Colin Campbell, senior winemaker and director of Campbells Wines, the tough years have been infuriating.

It’s not just the beer, the crocodile hunters and the Great Barrier Reef that bring smiles to the faces of foreigners. This past week the University of Adelaide’s Wine Business department released the results of a worldwide research project which says overseas consumers like the Aussie quaffers. The results were published in Australia’s Food Magazine and in a press release from the university. “Our international customers and consumers believe that our wine and our winemakers are authentic and exciting,” said Dr Roberta Crouch, lead researcher on the project.

For over 15 years, Agrifrance, a specialist division of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, has published an annual report on France’s rural economic situation, providing insights into rural property investment. This year’s report focuses on the major changes that have taken place in the global wine market over the past 20 years such as the arrival of wines from the New World and the rise of new consumers, according to BNP Paribas.

Sauvignon Blanc might be the darling of New Zealand, but this rugged winemaking region is far from a one trick pony. True, the aromatic variety accounted for 72.2 per cent of the country’s total harvest in 2014 and 85.5 per cent of its exports, (New Zealand Winegrowers 2014 annual report), but this southern hemisphere outpost has far more to offer than Marlborough Sauvignon. Having established a stellar reputation for the variety on the world stage, its premium heartland of Marlborough is now almost completely planted – which begs the question of which regions and varieties will producers now choose to invest in?