Apple Works Winery just wrapped up its first month of business in Germantown after opening its doors on July 1. Kevin Behnke has owned the property located on W179 N12536 Fond du Lac Ave., between Highway G and Maple Road since 2002. The site of Apple Works was once an apple orchard of the same name, which opened in 1983. “The area needs something like this because there is nothing else quite like this,” Behnke said.

The Soberanes Fire that grew to more than 23,000 acres near Big Sur today already has claimed one vineyard and is threatening the 2016 vintage in parts of Monterey County. According to Kim Stemler, executive director of the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association (MCVGA), Big Sur Vineyard owner Lenora Carey was informed Monday night that her property, which included a small estate vineyard, had been lost in the fire, which started July 22.

Six of the nation’s leading independent wine experts have come together to create “The Fine Wines of New Zealand” – a list of the country’s most prestigious wines. A selection panel comprising Masters of Wine Alastair Maling, Michael Brajkovich, Sam Harrop, Simon Nash and Steve Smith along with Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas has agreed on the list for 2016 which includes 47 wines representing seven varietals.

It’s been a busy and successful decade since Rod McDonald won Winemaker of the Year. He talks about the past and the future of his Hawke’s Bay wine career. A record-breaking summer is set to translate into magic in wine bottles. So predicts Rod McDonald. The award-winning Hawke’s Bay winemaker should know. He has dedicated the past 23 years to creating delicious wine and has nabbed numerous successes along the way to prove his prowess.

For Scott McWilliam, winemaking is a vocation. He is a sixth-generation winemaker and started working in the family business from the moment he was big enough to help out (age 14). Armed with a Post Graduate degree in Oenology from the University of Adelaide, McWilliam has established himself as one of Australia’s most promising young winemakers and belongs to the Winemaker’s Federation of Australia Future Leaders program.

Iconic Winemakers is a new online venture that is the first retailer to focus exclusively on Australian wine from selected independent winemakers. As an online only site, Iconic Winemakers aim is to supply wines from quintessential Australian winemakers that are not available in bottle shops or large retail chains. Launched by wine expert John Quinn and Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane, the pair have assembled a virtual ‘Dream Team’ of Australia’s most decorated winemakers.

While a wet and stormy winter has many South Australians counting the days until summer, flooding at Langhorne Creek south of Adelaide has grape growers smiling. Above-average rainfall means the Bremer River, which flows through Langhorne Creek and to Lake Alexandrina, has overflowed into vineyards. Robbie Potts and his family have grown grapes on the flood plain for 165 years, and use levee banks and floodgates to irrigate their vines.

Tannic Italian grape Sagrantino will one day rival Shiraz as the best red variety in Australia according to Chester Osborn of d’Arenberg. Speaking to the drinks business during a recent visit to London, Osborn said: “One of the grapes I’m most excited about at the moment is Sagrantino, which will rival Shiraz one day as the best red variety in Australia as it works all over the place and has great acidity.

Hailstones the size of golf balls pelted the Chablis region, about 200km south of Paris, last month. It was the final nail in the coffin of this year’s crop following unseasonable frosts and rain in April. More than 1,000 acres of prized Chardonnay vineyards, especially in the southwest of the region, were all but destroyed by poor weather which also hit the Cognac and Beaujolais-producing region of Burgundy.

OPINION: There has been much talk in the media in recent months about independence of wine writers, paid reviews and gold stickers on wine bottles that promote things other than success, all with the aim of trying to get you and me to select one bottle over another when we browse the shelves of our favourite wine supplier. In this column I want to have a look at wine shows and the judging process that means you can rely on a gold, silver or bronze wine show medal as a solid indicator of quality.