COMMENT | Riverland grapegrowers are more water-efficient and contribute to better wines than they’re given credit for, argues Waikerie grower Henry Crawford. Last Tuesday, InDaily readers were treated to the reflections of wine writer Philip White on the change of Prime Minister and the possible ramifications for wine tax policy in this country. Philip, like all of us, is entitled to his opinion, however his comments got the heckles up of many in the industry.

SANTA ROSA – The first method for sanitizing large capacity 100,000 gallon stainless steel wine storage tanks without using any water or chemicals – and the only one commercially available on the market today – was demonstrated at the Jackson Family Wines production facility in Santa Rosa on Friday. The new system uses advanced short-wave ultraviolet ray technology in the “C” band of UV light, called UVC, to sanitize large stainless wine storage tanks using low pressure mercury lamps.

California’s wine industry will continue to split most of its sales above and below the $10-dollar-per-bottle mark, enjoying a rise in overall consumption and a growing emphasis on premium, rather than economy, wines, reported wine industry leaders surveyed by UC Davis. Challenges remain in the form of consolidation in the distribution and retail arms of the industry as well as in water and other environmental issues, the survey respondents said.

The New Zealand premium sparkling brand, Daniel Le Brun, scooped three gold medals at the recently held 2015 New Zealand International Wine Show. In an exceptional display of consistency, the Daniel Le Brun Brut Non-Vintage, Daniel Le Brun Rosé and the Daniel Le Brun 2009 Blanc de Blancs were all awarded with gold medals, from a pool of over 2,000 wine entries worldwide. Daniel Le Brun’s three winning wines will be formally honoured along with other medallists at the 2015 Awards Dinner, to be held at Auckland’s Crowne Plaza Hotel on September 26 2015.

A Sauvignon shortage in Marlborough could be healthy for the image and profitability of the famous New Zealand region, according to one producer. Clive Jones, winemaker at Nautilus Estate and chairman of Wine Marlborough, told db that this year’s smaller vintage will ensure the sell-out of Sauvignon stocks ahead of next year’s harvest, removing the need to sell wine at low prices, which damages both the region’s reputation, and producers’ margins.

There are two types of people in the wine-buying world. There’s the “it wouldn’t have won this many awards if it wasn’t a good wine” camp, and then the “wine awards can tell you nothing aside from the size of a winery’s budget” camp. Which one are you? Are those shiny medals useless, or a handy shortcut when looking for a quality wine? Welcome to Part 3 of Lifehacker’s wine guide, where we decipher what — if anything — a wine’s medal collection can teach you.

AS a one-time Penfolds winemaker he oversaw several Grange vintages, he was a key figure in Rosemount’s growth from a small Denman grape-growing operation into an industry giant and now at the age of 74 Chris Hancock has launched a new eponymous wine brand. It’s called Hancock and Hancock and is a joint venture between Chris and his younger brother John. The inaugural releases are 2014-vintage McLaren Vale shiraz-grenache and cabernet-touriga reds.

PREMIER Jay Weatherill yesterday spruiked the potential of South Australia’s clean, green food industry at a newly-opened winery — 400m from a proposed underground gold mine. Petaluma’s new winery at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills is just 400m from a potential gold mine planned by Adelaide company Terramin Australia. Bird in Hand winery is also right next door. Last month Terramin said it had bought 365,000sqm of land at Bird in Hand, in preparation for the development of a gold mine which would operate for four years.

CASK wine sales in the city could be restricted under a proposal being considered by the Adelaide City Council to combat problem drinking in the Parklands. Councillor Sandy Wilkinson yesterday suggested making a submission to the Senior Officers Group responsible for administering the Parklands dry zone — which includes representatives from the council, health agencies and police — to consider whether restricting the sale of low-cost and high-volume alcohol, such as cask and fortified wines, in the city would reduce problem drinking and anti-social behaviour.

Laurance Wines owner and founder Dianne Laurance has been named as a finalist for the 2015 Telstra Business Women’s Awards in the entrepreneur category. The announcement was made last week and Ms Laurance told the _Times _ she was “extremely excited” when judges called to tell her the news. “It has been a very tough and challenging 12 months for me on a personal side,” she said.