Gorgona, a northern island in the Tuscan Archipelago, is Italy’s answer to Alcatraz: the only remaining penal colony in Europe. But unlike the notorious former jail in the San Francisco bay, prisoners on Gorgona spend their days tending a vineyard on sun-baked slopes surrounded by aromatic pine trees, rather than locked in high-security cells. The Telegraph was granted a rare visit to Gorgona, where the inmates are part of a unique experiment in rehabilitation.

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler and exporters alike will be taking some comfort from the devaluation of the New Zealand dollar over recent weeks and analysts are calling it lower still. The catalyst for the latest shift lower was the Reserve Bank’s surprise 25-basis-point rate cut on June 11. The central bank specifically singled out the sharp decline in dairy prices for comment in its monetary policy statement, and once again said the currency was overvalued.

Wine tourism is the ”next frontier” for the Central Otago wine industry. The findings of a recent Lincoln University survey of wine tourists would be invaluable, Central Otago Winegrowers Association president James Dicey said yesterday. ”Wine tourism is really the next frontier for winegrowers. ”Until now we’ve been focused as an industry very much on the trade – wine writers, buyers and retailers … a small number of people with influence.

From this month, Wyndham Estate will be renamed to George Wyndham, recognising the man that planted Australia’ first commercial vineyard of Shiraz grapes in 1830. The new packaging features George Wyndham’s signature and pays homage to his character, said the company’s chief winemaker, Steve Meyer. “This change bestows full honour to our founder. George Wyndham epitomised the Australian spirit. With vision and courage, he embraced the enormous potential of the land around him to create rich robust wines.

GOVERNOR General Sir Peter Cosgrove has praised Australian farming industries in describing agribusiness as an industry the nation can’t do without. “Here in Australia we are fortunate to have an agribusiness sector that delivers bountiful, fresh, high quality and delicious food to our table and to the tables of 60 million people right around the world,” Cosgrove said. “So on this – the longest night of the year – we come together to feast and to give thanks for all that we have.

Wine Australia and the Daniel Pontifex Memorial Trust are searching for the next big name in hospitality. The Daniel Pontifex Scholarship recognises the passion and enthusiasm of tomorrow’s leading hospitality professionals, rewarding them with a place on Wine Australia’s trade and press visit to Australia in November. Daniel Pontifex, whom the scholarship commemorates, was killed in a car accident during his employment at Kensington Place Restaurant in London.

Wine grape growing is Australia’s largest fruit industry and you’ll find few climate sceptics among winemakers. Many are already seeing their grapes ripen earlier because of temperature rise. By the middle of the century, places with a Mediterranean climate – such as South Australia, Victoria and Margaret River in Western Australia – will be less suitable to grow current grape varieties, particularly red ones used for Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

In the midst of the Greek financial crisis, a contingent of Greece’s top wine producers is touring Australia hoping to capitalise on the lucrative Australian wine market. Twenty-five of Greece’s leading wineries are undertaking the tour which, according to producers and officials, will hopefully increase both consumer awareness of Greek brands and exports to Australia. The Trade Commissioner from the Greece Embassy, Vaianos Oreopoulos-Kelenis, said that Greek wine exports to Australia were currently worth around $1m.

It wasn’t exactly California weather but one of the bright lights of the American wine industry, Charles Banks, was not too bothered by the distant dark skies and low-teen temperatures of rural Hawke’s Bay yesterday. He was more interested in taking in the “remarkable” landscape of the Gimblett Gravels and being back in a part of the world he confessed he had fallen in love with. “Hawke’s Bay is a very special place and it has great people – and nothing works without great people.”

The Organic Focus Vineyard Project followed the experiences of three prominent wineries – Mission Estate in Hawkes Bay, Wither Hills in Marlborough, and Gibbston Valley Wines in Central Otago – while each company transitioned one of their vineyards to BioGro-certified organic production. The vineyard managers agreed to participate the reality show by switching half of their land to organic methods while the industry watched their every move via the internet, scientific reports, and on the ground at public events.