The ability of some Australian winemakers to be able to commit to memory a library of their wines’ flavours and aromas has helped the country become increasingly renowned for its blends, writes Simone Madden-Grey.n The art of blending and the ability to assess individual parts, commit them to memory and create a vast library of aromas, flavours and structures from which to draw on at a point in the future is a unique talent. It is one that helped define the modern era of winemaking in Australia.

After months of frustration and calls for more information, Riverland irrigators will finally learn their minimum opening water allocations by the end of this month. The irrigation community has been desperate for updates about looming water restrictions, after recent dry conditions across the region and lower than average in-flows into the Murray’s South Australian stretch.

French wines must resist the temptation to become “like haute-couture”, a leading French marketing agency has warned. As French entry- level wines have been replaced by entry-level wines from other countries, consumers seem to be increasingly worrying they are “knowledgeable” enough to buy French wine, Anne Burchett, of wine marketing agency Sopexa, argues. The marketing company which represents French wine supplier Les Grands Chais de France, described it as “worrying”.

New Zealand’s 1.5 billion-dollar wine industry will gain duty-free access into seven new countries under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Trade Minister Todd McClay, on a visit to Marlborough to discuss TPP, told exporters that the region’s 140 wineries would be significant winners under the agreement. “We already sell almost a billion dollars’ worth of wine into TPP countries. The United States is New Zealand’s biggest wine exporting destination and it, alone, is worth almost half a billion dollars each year.”

Drinks writer and restaurateur Jules van Cruysen’s project Aotearoa Nouveau has just passed $10,000 in funding on the crowd funding platform Kickstarter, halfway to the $20,000 goal. Aotearoa Nouveau is van Cruysen’s second book project to be funded by Kickstarter. Readers will be able to discover the most exciting, cutting-edge wine producers in New Zealand and van Cruysen says “it is an exploration of where the New Zealand wine industry has come from, where we are at now and where we are going”.

The convenience channels could prove the best route to market for more individual wine producers, The Co-op’s BWS boss has claimed. Simon Cairns, head of beers wines and spirits at The Co-op said convenience had advantages over other types of retailers as it tapped into the twin trends for impulse buying and top-up shopping, which had been fuelling changing shopper behaviour.

A new report released by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre at Curtin University outlines major considerations for wine producers when exporting Western Australian wines to China. The report, titled WA Wine Exports: Building an economic future with China, was completed in consultation with six key industry stakeholders and 26 wine producers across all WA wine regions to gain insight into expert issues and the Chinese market.

South Australia was left reeling yesterday with doubts over the future of its Whyalla steel plant, but elsewhere the news from the grape regions was nothing but good, with a boost to Treasury Wine Estates’ long term estimates. Arrium, as expected, went into voluntary administration, with industry minnow Grant Thornton appointed administrator.

In what has been described as an extraordinary move the Riverina based Wine Grapes Marketing Board has written to all of its growers advising them to seriously consider whether it is worth remaining in the wine industry. After discussions with eight wineries, Board Chair Bruno Brombal has told the ABC the board has no confidence that growers’ returns will improve over the next two to three years.

The abuse of the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) rebate by bulk wine traders must be addressed by the Federal Government, according to Australian Vintage CEO Neil McGuigan. The eligibility of New Zealand wine producers has attracted much of the air time in discussions over the WET rebate, but McGuigan told drinks bulletin this is something of an “emotional” issue, in terms of what it actually costs the Federal Government.