So: what will we be drinking this year? As the last hangover of 2015 fades, it’s time for me to make some predictions. We’ll be drinking more very young red wines. A decade ago, it was unusual to see reds hit the bottleshop shelves in the same year they were harvested, but in the past few months I’ve slurped my way through dozens of crunchy, juicy, smashable 2015 vintage pinots and grenaches and gamays and shirazes.
CHEAP wine would become more expensive but the cost of spirits could drop under a new push for an overhaul of alcohol taxation. As the Federal Government considers options tax reform options to take to the next election, which must be held by mid-January 2017, the Distilled Spirits Industry Council is calling for all alcoholic beverages to be taxed according to alcohol content.
Australia’s second-largest wine company, Accolade Wines, has laid the groundwork for a return to the stock exchange in 2016 after a 10 per cent rise in sales from its Australasian operations. Accolade, which owns the Hardys, Leasingham, Banrock Station and Grant Burge brands, notched annual sales from the Australia and New Zealand businesses of $486m in the year to June 30.
Students at Birdwood High School have turned an act of goodwill into a chance to learn as Adelaide Hills communities continue to recover from the Sampson Flat bushfire. The bushfire burnt 12,500 hectares over six days during January, tearing through Kersbrook Hill Wines (KHW) and destroying vineyards and buildings. Birdwood High School teacher Lauren Smith had the idea of donating wine grapes grown by students at the school to KHW.
Barrels are one of the icons of winemaking, usually seen laying on their side in the corner of a production area, aligned in rows and stacked on metal arms. They speak to the romance of a product that’s tied to the gods and immortalized in a way unlike any other beverage. In many wineries, they’re a crucial part of preparing that product, offering a breathable compartment that’s so crucial for aging.
Chili, chocolate and hop flavoured wines will be available in off-licence stores in February, thanks to a Marlborough wine company. Allan Scott Family Winemakers have been making craft wines, inspired by the experimentation of craft beer, since March last year. The first of these, the Green Hopped Gooseberry Bomb Sauvignon Blanc, combines Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc grapes with green Sauvin hops from Nelson, while other varieties have added chili, coffee and chocolate.
Water restrictions are likely for residents in Marlborough as the region prepares for what could be one of the driest summers in decades. The Marlborough District Council said the region would experience a severe drought unless there was a substantial amount of rain soon. Yealands Family Wine founder Peter Yealands said the area was as dry as he could remember.
NOBEL Prize-winning astronomer and winemaker Brian Schmidt says Tasmania is Australia’s home of pinot noir and because of climate change may bec¬ome the only region able to produce the wine. Last Wednesday, Professor Schmidt will give the keynote add¬ress at the Taste of Tasmania, a venue he says has some spectacular reds.
The wine group backed by former BRL Hardy chief executive Stephen Millar is poised to make its second investment in an embattled Barossa Valley producer in six months as more cash-strapped boutique winemakers look for ways to keep their companies afloat to take advantage of improving conditions in the local industry.
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. is making another big run at the U.S. market, after overly rosy estimates about demand there a few years ago led the Australian wine producer to famously dump thousands of gallons of unsold inventory. Now Treasury is focusing on pricier wines in the $10 to $100-plus range a bottle, rather than popular but cheaper wines such as its $6 a bottle White Zinfandel. Treasury is the world’s eighth-largest wine producer by volume, according to data provider Euromonitor International.