The South Australian wine industry is sceptical of a Government proposal to replace an “unfair” subsidy scheme with an industry fund, which would inevitably cut investment by $900,000. Under the proposal being presented to wine businesses, the $2.7 million ‘cellar door liquor subsidy scheme’ would be scrapped and a $1.8 million industry fund created instead. As it stands, wine businesses that sell at least $1 million of product into the domestic market can receive a rebate of up to $50,000 on wine or brandy sold from the cellar door.

The Australian food and wine industry must grasp opportunities for co-investment by potential overseas trading partners to open up huge, long-term markets, according to Rob Kerin, Primary Producers SA executive chairman. Kerin said the advent of free trade agreements with countries including China, and the easing of the Australian dollar, can result in win-win situations for growers, producers and overseas investors.

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference Inc. (AWITC) announced they will be joining forces to deliver a combined business and technical conference for the Australian wine industry in 2016. The 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and WFA’s Outlook Conference will be held together in Adelaide from July 23-28 2016. This alliance will bring together comprehensive industry policy, business and marketing content in grapegrowing and winemaking with both conferences complemented by the Australian Wine Industry Trade Exhibition (AWITE).

THE average prices of major red grape varieties harvested this year in the Murray-Darling and Swan Hill wine regions were the lowest in a decade, falling to under $300/tonne, according to the Murray Valley Winegrowers Inc. Data provided by wineries to Wine Australia for the Murray-Darling and Swan Hill Wine Grape Crush Report revealed average prices for Cabernet Sauvignon of $295/tonne (-10%), Merlot $293/tonne (-5%) and Shiraz $289/tonne (-8%).

Two renowned Marlborough wine brands are joining forces, with the backing of former employees.
Highfield and TerraVin Wines will now be known as Highfield TerraVin Ltd. Winemakers Alistair Soper and Gordon Ritchie have joined with General Manager Pete Coldwell to run the new company, with all three men having some strong goals in mind. “Both brands have made names for themselves with high quality wines,” Mr Coldwell said. “Highfield is renowned for its Sauvignon Blanc and Méthode Traditionelle, while TerraVin is celebrated for Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.”

Caleb Dennis from Craggy Range has been named the Bayer Hawke’s Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year 2015 and now goes through to the National Final. This annual competition is now in its 10th year and has become an important fixture in the viticultural calendar, giving young vitis the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge as well as make a name for themselves within the industry.

Rosemount Estate is launching a new ‘Meal Matchers’ range of wines through Liquorland stores nationally, from 15 July. The range features Rosemount Estate ‘Shiraz & Steak’ 2014 and Rosemount Estate ‘Chardonnay & Chicken’ 2015 with screen printed packaging to create a fun and casual interpretation on the traditional wine label. The new range places classic food and wine pairings on the front of the bottles to give consumers an easy choice for a wine match with meals.

Rosemount Estate is launching a new ‘Meal Matchers’ range of wines through Liquorland stores nationally, from 15 July. The range features Rosemount Estate ‘Shiraz & Steak’ 2014 and Rosemount Estate ‘Chardonnay & Chicken’ 2015 with screen printed packaging to create a fun and casual interpretation on the traditional wine label. The new range places classic food and wine pairings on the front of the bottles to give consumers an easy choice for a wine match with meals.

Vignerons in the Hunter Valley say a decade-long battle against gas company AGL has paid off, now they have secured their land against coal seam gas exploration. The New South Wales government has cancelled two petroleum exploration licences in the Hunter, covering much of Wine Country and the Upper Hunter. The licences were sold back to the government under a buy-back scheme and has reduced the coal seam gas exploration footprint in New South Wales to nine per cent.

A West Australian winemaker has been paid by consumers to convert to organic, after a successful crowdfunding campaign helped him buy a Margaret River vineyard. Ben Gould used the money raised through crowdfunding for a deposit to buy the vineyard in Yallingup Siding, where he will produce his wine organically on site. “We told our mailing list: ‘Look, here’s a big place we want to get. We need a deposit, we want to convert it organic, buy your wine from us just for this period of time and we might be able to get it’,” he said.