LOWBURN FERRY WINES from Central Otago has won top honours at the Sydney International Wine Competition notching another success for its Home Block Pinot Noir. While the enormous cup won’t be coming home to sit in the trophy cabinet after the awards function this weekend, Lowburn Ferry owners Jean and Roger Gibson hope it will help them build sales and find new distribution channels across Australia.

More than 60 of the world’s most influential wine media, trade and sommeliers enjoyed a unique wine flight today thanks to Air New Zealand and New Zealand Winegrowers. Two Air New Zealand Q300 aircraft took off from Blenheim and cruised at 11,000ft, taking in spectacular views of some of New Zealand’s best known wine regions, including Marlborough, Nelson, Martinborough/Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

FEARS THAT some of Australia’s most important climate research institutions will be gutted under a Turnbull government have been realised with deep job cuts for scientists.
Fairfax Media has learnt that as many as 110 positions in the Oceans and Atmosphere division will go, with a similarly sharp reduction in the Land and Water division. Total job cuts would be about 350 staff over two years, the CSIRO confirmed in an email to staff, with the Data61 and Manufacturing divisions also hit.

IT’S AN ILL WIND that blows nobody any good; an old and often misunderstood proverb. Say it slowly and it makes sense… one person’s misfortune most often benefits another; like when storm damage creates work opportunities. The ill wind has been howling since about July according to the latest report from the Riverland Wine representative body.

THE 2015 VINTAGE in Australia was described as early by some, and several producers have reported yet an earlier start to vintage in 2016. Increasingly earlier harvests have been linked to global warming due to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and an article in the just-released January-February issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal fills some knowledge gaps by reporting on the preliminary results of a local trial into the effects of higher carbon dioxide on winegrapes.

WHILE THE CURRENT VINTAGE is an immediate focus for grapegrowers and viticulturist, there is also lots of industry development for smart operators to keep track of. In this Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine article, Sam Bowman explores the latest in vineyard machinery and reports on what could work well in Australia and what will make good economic sense for growers and managers.

A STUDY looking at a particular characteristic in Shiraz that appeals to drinkers in Asia could open doors to export markets for Victorian winemakers, according to the Weekly Times.
Rotundone, a compound that occurs in some Shiraz grapes giving it a peppery aroma and flavour, is being tracked by a researcher from the University of Melbourne with the aim of providing ­information to Asian ­consumers who want to buy wine featuring the ­component.

New Zealand winemaker Invivo has secured a long-term lease on a 114-year-old winery originally operated by New Zealand wine pioneer Romeo Bragato. The winery, which is situated to the south of Auckland, is listed by the Historic Places Trust. It was built by the Government in 1902 as the country’s first viticulture research station. In 1908, Bratago became the first New Zealand winemaker to wine awards in an international competition.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is going through a “mid-life crisis”, US wine writer Matt Kramer has said. Addressing attendees of the first ever international Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Marlborough, Kramer said this morning that the New Zealand region was facing a transitional stage, charting a shift from an initial 40 year-period based on “luck” to a new stage requiring “talent”. “There’s some sense of a mid-life crisis here in Marlborough… a sense that somehow you’ve missed something,” he began.

The late winemaker Ken Maxwell spruiked the virtues of drinking mead way back in the 1950s, when he began experimenting with the ancient drink. In the 1960s, when he managed The Barn restaurant in McLaren Vale, he gave away free tastes of his home brew to guests on arrival. Later, Maxwell became the first commercial producer of mead (under the Daringa label), but it wasn’t until he started Maxwell Wines at McLaren Vale in 1979 that he began producing under the Maxwell Mead label.