An innovative wine company has been described as “primed for growth and investment” thanks to its focus on getting the basics of business right. WineFriend, which launched late last year, is a subscription service that takes the hassle and guesswork out of choosing a great bottle of wine at a reasonable price. It is the first company of its kind in New Zealand, delivering a customised selection of wine to its subscribers, based on their individual taste preferences.

LOVERS of Australian whisky should consider it their patriotic duty to drink a sherry for mum, a port for dad and a Tasmanian dram for the country. That way they’ll continue to support the local whisky industry and protect the future supply of sherry and port barrels for whisky maturation. Folks, whisky derives many of its flavours and characteristics from the barrels during maturation. The US supplies bourbon barrels, leaving port and sherry casks, which complete the trinity of whisky flavour profiles, to come from Australia and Europe mostly.

The fruit infused wine category is relatively new to Australia but has been making waves over in the UK, so should retailers be paying attention? Led by a growing trend in the UK, the fruit infused wine category is one to watch, with retailers and suppliers who are looking to capture that 18 to 35-year-old female demographic, or entice new entrants into the wine market.

THE Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) will give growers some guidance on expectations for next year’s vintage at a grape and wine roadshow to be held at Irymple this week. Key topics will include the latest news on water availability in the coming season and whether a surge in wine exports points to industry recovery. Murray Valley Wine Growers (MVW) executive officer Mike Stone said that while the 2016 harvest finished only two months ago, growers were about to start preparing for next year.

ONE of South Australia’s wine luminaries is involved in a legal battle with a global winemaker over the use of the word “signature” on its labels. Adelaide based wine merchant Samuel Smith and Son — owned by the Hill-Smith family — has taken its dispute with Pernod Ricard to the Federal Court. The Hill-Smith family runs one of Australia’s oldest family owned wineries, Yalumba, at Angaston, which carries The Signature range.

Wine Grape Council of SA (WGCSA) yesterday annnounced the finalists in the 2016 PIRSA Vinnovation Award, created to recognise innovations which produce gains in efficiency, reduce OH&S risk and increase vineyard profit potential. Five entries have been chosen as finalists, with two entries being from one person.

The original Matua winery in Auckland has been bought by a family-owned business. Sutton Group Holdings Lts has acquired the Waimauku winery where Matua claimed to have planted the first Sauvignon Blanc vines in New Zealand. Sutton Group is a family-owned business with a 30 year history of engineering, packaging, food and beverage experience.

The original Matua winery in Auckland has been bought by a family-owned business. Sutton Group Holdings Lts has acquired the Waimauku winery where Matua claimed to have planted the first Sauvignon Blanc vines in New Zealand. Sutton Group is a family-owned business with a 30 year history of engineering, packaging, food and beverage experience.

Wine in New Zealand has become both big business and a big talking point. So anyone arranging an incentive event needs to ‘know their onions’ when it comes to wine. Wayne Harris, general manager of planners Go Conference & Incentive in New Zealand, says Kiwis’ wine knowledge has grown exponentially – and woe betide the planner who does not arrange wine of a quality consistent with the group’s knowledge in any incentive event in Australia.

RULES were meant to be broken, or so the old saying goes. Winemaker Chris Archer certainly thinks so. The Tyrrell’s protégé who gets a kick out of “blending” glasses of wine at restaurants to improve the flavour has gone one step further and blended Australian and New Zealand Riesling grapes to create a consumer-friendly sparkling wine in a 250ml bottle. Archer describes it as “the first Australasian sparkling” and in direct competition with so-called lifestyle drinks.