The price of French wine is only partially derived from the wines objective characteristics and is also based on a social process of qualification. In this process, several market actors – wine producers, distributors, experts, journalists, industry associations, marketing specialists and consumers – participate in establishing the qualities of French wine. As a result, what qualifies as quality often depends on the social class and status position of the consumer.

SATIRE: An international wine company worth a few billion dollars has started a Givealittle page asking people in Marlborough to help them buy a vineyard. Capitalist Wines is looking to raise $8 million to buy a 40-hectare plot in the grape-friendly Awatere Valley, south of Blenheim. The company has set a deadline of next Friday so charitable Marlburians are urged to donate as soon as possible.

Name-dropping wine lovers may loathe Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s just as important as highbrow Pinot Noir, according to Oz Clarke. The opinion was expressed by the British wine writer and broadcaster at this month’s International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in New Zealand, which followed the Central Otago Pinot Celebration, which Clarke had also attended. “Sauvignon Blanc is the grape variety that wine snobs cannot bear.”

The Andrews Labor Government is helping the Grampians Grape Escape attract more visitors than ever before. Member for Western Victoria, Jaala Pulford, has announced a $35,000 grant to help the time-honoured event with marketing and advertising. The grant has been provided to enable the region to welcome visitors from all over Australia to Halls Gap.

Wine lovers, it’s time to put on your rosé-coloured glasses, because this pink lady is around to stay. Currently outselling white wine in France (and has been since 2008), it’s a trend Peter Nixon, Business Manager of Fine Wine at Dan Murphy’s Australia, expects to see replicated in Australia over the next decade. “We’ve been speaking about rosé for a few years, and it’s definitely now taking off. We’re seeing not only an increase in sales, but also just in interest

Is biodynamic farming all hype, or are there merits to this method? Erinn Klein and Ralph Kyte-Powell duel it out, providing the ‘for and against’ of this difficult practice. I grew up with biodynamics in our backyard gardens in Germany and later on our farms in Australia. I have never known any other way. I therefore instinctively didn’t entertain the thought of using chemicals to manage weeds, pests or diseases in establishing and running our vineyards and farm.

The future of some of Australia’s favourite wine varieties such as Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc is under threat from climate change as winemakers scramble to combat the impact of higher temperatures on vineyards, a leading academic says. Melbourne University professor Snow Barlow said warmer weather in many wine-growing regions across the country meant grapes were ripening an average of one day earlier per year, putting many viticulturists under pressure.

Wine makers in the Canberra district have experienced the earliest vintage in living memory with bountiful fruit, although many are concerned by a potentially devastating tax reform. Last week, a senate inquiry recommended the wine equalisation tax rebate – worth up to $500,000 – be phased out over five years and replaced by a grant scheme available to smaller vineyards.

California’s wine industry is experiencing challenging times, with growers in the Central Valley coping with the lack of water, excess supply on the low-end segment and more competition from overseas producers. The state’s total harvest was down 7 percent last year from the prior year, and some premium vintners from Napa Valley report going into 2016 with supply constraints and feeling the impact of a strong U.S. dollar and weakness in China.

Style can refer to where a wine sits on the dryness-sweetness scale; to wine characteristics that are winemaker induced; to others that literally come with the territory (ie, from the region, or even the vineyard). It can also mean grape variety. Chardonnay is a wine style, Pinot Noir another. Style was a talking point recently at the Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration (always a highlight on the New Zealand wine calendar).