One of the biggest international promotions of Riesling starts on Monday at the Albert Hall in Canberra.
The 17th Canberra International Riesling Challenge (CIRC) over this week, 10-15 October, will see the judging of 512 Rieslings from 241 wineries across eight countries. Then winemakers, consumers and the wine trade will learn about the secrets of Riesling at Master Classes and Seminars, before the week concludes with one of the biggest consumer tastings of Riesling in the world.

Australian officials are ready to begin work on a free-trade deal with the UK, and have recently flown in to begin hammering out the details of a landmark pact, the country’s top official in Britain has revealed. A deal could make goods such as wine, beef and dairy products cheaper.

Hugh Hamilton Wines are pleased to announce that talented winemaker Nic Bourke has joined the team. Nic comes to this iconic family business at an exciting time as 2017 marks that 180th anniversary of the Hamilton’s arrival in South Australia.

In the spirit of collaboration the wine community is famous for, Australia’s First Families of Wine’s (AFFW) ‘Next Gens’ will be heading over the ditch in just over a week’s time, immersing themselves in New Zealand’s most famous family owned wine businesses. The three-day tour, hosted by New Zealand’s Family of Twelve, starts in Auckland on 13th of October, when 19 of AFFW’s ‘Next Gens’ hit the ground running, starting their journey through Aetearoa, learning, tasting, talking and tweeting about their experiences.

EIT researchers may have achieved a breakthrough in ‘making’ quality low alcohol wines in the vineyard. Over two seasons, a School of Viticulture and Wine Science research team investigated the use of antitranspirant spray on vines to reduce photosynthesis and, as a consequence of that, the influence on berry ripeness including sugar accumulation in the berries.

Regular readers will know that for over two years now Amphora has been sending executives out to India every three months or so with a view to spreading the fine wine investment message. Last week we were lucky enough to be able to spend a day at the delightful Sula Vineyard, a hair-raising three hour drive north east of Mumbai. What has that got to do with wine investment, you may ask? Or was it simply an arduous perk?

Dogs can be used as pest and disease detectors in vineyards, according to a Melbourne University researcher. Sonja Needs, a lecturer and tutor in wine, climate change, adaptation and animal science, says dogs can detect for beehive collapse, termites and fire ants.

A cheap dessert wine from Aldi has won a top international award – beating out bottles that cost three times as much. The budget supermarket’s £5.99 Berton Vineyards Botrytis Semillon from Australia took out the gold medal, awarded by industry experts at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Historic Australian producer St Hugo is aiming to take wine tourism to the next level with a range of luxury tourism experiences at its new home in the Barossa Valley. St Hugo was created in 1980 to celebrate the legacy of Hugo Gramp, the Aussie wine pioneer and managing director of Gramps & Son’s winery from 1920 to 1938. The new brand home honours the wine magnate who was born, lived and worked his entire life in the Barossa Valley.