Craggy Range director of wine and viticulture Steve Smith, is one of 12 senior executives and business owners given the opportunity to attend the world’s most prestigious business schools after receiving a Prime Minister’s Business Scholarship. Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said the scholarships allowed top executives to expand their international expertise and were designed to help make New Zealand firms more internationally competitive.
The Xylella fastidiosa bacteria has been discovered on the island of Corsica, just over 18 months after its first recorded appearance in Europe, in olive groves in Italy. News of its spread to Corsica prompted a fierce reaction from Europe’s plant protection organisation (EPPO), which said this week that ‘eradication measures have been immediately implemented’. It is a potentially worrying development for wine producers – and wine drinkers.
After a lousy 2014 harvest, growers and producers are keeping their fingers crossed as the grapes ripen. It’s still early to be talking about the quality of the 2015 vintage, but Italian growers are simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief and keeping their fingers crossed after a poor 2014. Generally, life is looking up for growers across Italy this year, with good rain levels in the early part of the season offset by blazing heat in July. So far, so good, but there is some concern among growers about the intensity of the heat, although weather forecasts suggest a cooler August.
To the uninitiated, the large, wooden, punctured A frame in the darkened corner of a tin shed, could be mistaken for an instrument of torture, not out of place during the Spanish inquisition. The shed at Hall, in Canberra’s cool climate wine district, is also filled with some of the more expensive, high-tech wine making equipment available. But, even in this day and age, winemaker Greg Gallagher holds on to his champagne or “riddling” table, in his pursuit of making the perfect sparkling wine.
Waitrose says sales of mini bottles of wine have soared in recent weeks as the trend for single serve sizes accelerates. Last week’s sales of small bottles- 18.7cl to 25cl instead of the usual 75cl- were up 82 per cent from last year, with its mini version of San Leo Prosecco leading the way at 230 per cent ahead of 2014. The retailer said popularity of the bottles at events such as music festivals, Wimbledon and the Ashes cricket has boosted sales.
A forest fire raging near the southwestern French city of Bordeaux was advancing again Sunday afternoon after strong winds crushed firefighters’ hopes of a break in the weather. Efforts to put out one of the country’s worst fires in five years were considerably stepped up on Sunday, after fire crews had spent almost two days battling the blaze. While most of Bordeaux’s vineyards are situated mostly to the east and north of the city, there are wineries in the fire affected area of Pessac-Léognan, including the famous Château Haut-Brion estate.
Wine enthusiasts may soon have a new event on the calendar in Central Otago to look forward to. A 10-day regional wine event called the Down to Earth Wine Celebration is being planned for around Labour Weekend. Down to Earth Wine Celebration Ltd has applied for $4700 from the 2015-16 Earnscleugh-Manuherikia Promotions budget, the request to be discussed by the Vincent Community Board meeting today.
Blenheim could become an educational hub for winemaking and viticulture under ambitious plans to develop a New Zealand School of Wine in Marlborough. Marlborough Boys’ and Marlborough Girls’ College have submitted proposals that college staff teach year 12 and 13 students level two and level three NCEA in wine production and viticulture from 2016. The colleges are in talks with the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology for the centre to be based at their Budge St campus in Blenheim.
Establishing a vineyard in the middle of a grape glut has its challenges. But, Kirsten and Pat Hardiker, from Cannibal Creek Winery in Tynong North, west Gippsland, have been able to turn that around. They are targeting the $30 a bottle wine market and a unique connection to sport is helping to attract high end drinkers. Hardiker said the whole experience of establishing a vineyard, and then a winery, had been a challenge.
The Shoalhaven wine vintage is usually a busy, but sequential process of harvesting, crushing and fermenting grapes as they become ripe. But a general lack of warmth and sunlight during the ripening period has meant many of the region’s grapes were ready to be harvested at the same time.
“All the reds came in on top of each other, so it was a logistical nightmare for a few weeks while we fermented reds and worked out the tank spaces,” Two Figs winemaker Simon Hall says.