The latest ABS research report on alcohol consumption in Australia reveals a remarkable drop to a 50-year low, with beer consumption at a 68-year low and wine uptake at its weakest in 8 years. That ties in with global trends. OECD figures also show alcohol consumption in developed countries has dropped by 2.5 per cent in the last 20 years, albeit with widely varied findings between countries and a rise in what is deemed ‘risky drinking’.
McLAREN Vale winemakers are uniting to create the region’s ultimate blend that would challenge Penfolds Grange. The Australian Wine Research Institute and the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association are behind the project to create VALO – a blend of some of the region’s finest 2014 premium reds. Oliver’s Taranga winemaker Corrina Wright said VALO’s quality would compare to SA’s most celebrated wine. “I don’t think we will have too much trouble with (reaching the quality of Grange) – we have got some pretty strong vintages,” Wright said.
IRELAND: Over €5 (A$7.17) from a typical €10 (A$13.35) bottle goes in excise duty and tax and this has soared by 35pc over the last four years. Off-licences are now demanding a reduction in the tax on wine, which they say is 624 per cent higher than the average in the EU. Evelyn Jones, who owns The Vintry off-licence in Rathgar, Dublin 6, said that high excise is squeezing the quality out of wine. “It’s extremely difficult to source quality wine that can sell for €10 a bottle, which is a price-point many people seek,” she said.
A Marlborough winery is counting on the feet of their staff to again produce an award winning sweet wine. Giesen Wines began treading up to three tonnes of late harvest Sauvignon Blanc grapes by foot this week at its Riverlands plant, near Blenheim. Giesen Wines winemaker Hamish Kempthorne said the grapes picked from the company’s Alma St vineyard in Renwick would be bottled as sweet late harvest sauvignon blanc dessert wine. The foot treading method had become an annual event for staff with the wine recognised at major wine awards for the past three years
Constellation Brands NZ has hailed the figures from North American wine industry media sources over the weekend that show soaring growth in New Zealand wine sales to the US in 2014 and early 2015. Two of the three top wine brands are made by Constellation Brands NZ and New Zealand wine is reported to be advancing rapidly in the U.S. ‘delivering impressive growth in both volume and value. Described as a ‘New Zealand wine boom’, Impact Databank, a North American wine industry analyst, has reported a 55% increase in growth over three years.
Perhaps the best word to describe the main philosophical difference between Old World and New World wines is “tradition.” Old World winemakers in Europe, where wines has been made for more than 2,000 years, embrace tradition with a sense of reverence and pride. Although in recent years some European winemakers have started producing more modern-styled wines, most make wines the way they’ve been made for centuries.
THE loss of the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival would send the local economy reeling, and local businesses have vowed not to let the festival die. Noosa Boathouse managing director Phil Bradford told the Daily Noosa businesses would rally behind the festival vision after its parent company, Noosa Food and Wine Events, went into administration on Friday. This year the festival was lauded as a huge success, attracting 30,000 visitors to the region.
The board of Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) has announced the appointment of Richard Davis as its chairman of the board, effective from today. In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange, AVL confirmed the appointment following the retirement of current chairman Ian Ferrier. Non-executive director Brian McGuigan has also confirmed his retirement. Davis, who joined the AVL board as a non-executive director in May 2009, said he was very pleased to have been asked to serve as AVL’s chairman and that it was an “honour” to succeed Ferrier.
One of the Barnett Government’s most senior MPs has lashed out at the decision to axe a rebate scheme for WA winemakers, saying it had “sideswiped” the industry and should be reversed. Barry House, the Legislative Council President who is also South West Liberal MP, criticised the decision to scrap the so-called cellar door subsidy to save $11 million over four years. The subsidy is paid as a top-up to wine producers once they have exhausted their maximum entitlement of $500,000 under a Federal rebate scheme.
In the South Australian Riverland a group of women in agriculture say there is a crisis looming. They say years of poor wine grape prices are crippling local farmers and threatening the future of the family farm in the region. The Riverland produces over half of South Australia’s wine grapes and much of this goes into bulk wine production. Women in Horticulture group member and wine grape grower Margaret Duggin said they had serious concerns about farm viability as wineries increasingly grew their own grapes.