John Buck, OBE, Chairman of Te Mata Estate Winery, is the 2012 inductee to the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame. His selection was announced at a glittering black tie dinner at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds on Saturday night, reports Voxy News. His award was presented by the Chairman of The Hall of Fame Trust, Michael Brett, who said “John Buck has made notable contributions to the New Zealand wine industry. His Te Mata Estate has been the standard bearer for New Zealand. In Coleraine, he has produced, year after year, a wine that brings international acclaim both to Te Mata and the New Zealand industry.”

Wine Marlborough is offering a member of the UK wine trade a chance to spend up to six weeks studying the New Zealand wine industry. Called the John Avery Scholarship, the award is part of the New Zealand-UK Link Foundation, designed to further connections between the two countries. The recipient will be awarded flights to New Zealand and an all expenses paid 3 to 6 week-long stay in Marlborough to study the region, reports The Drinks Business.

Wine critic Robert Parker has hinted that Neal Martin could replace him as Bordeaux critic at The Wine Advocate but not “for at least five years”, reports The Drinks Business. In the second part of an interview conducted by Liv-ex, Parker responded to a question about his future successor as Bordeaux critic by saying: “I don’t think you have to worry for at least five years! I obviously have the young Englishman Neal Martin on my team. He is very talented and he gets better every year.”

Costco cemented its name as the biggest wine retailer in the US by selling bottles of Dom Perignon for $US100 a pop in 2006. That little bit of marketing chutzpah reportedly moved more than 100,000 cases of Dom that year and helped propel what had been regarded as simply a “big box” discounter into the orbit of the serious wine drinker. It was like honey to a bee. Has Costco’s first venture into Australia provided the same alluring honey? It’s not $100 but relative to its competitors (the ’02 ranges from $199 to $332 in Melbourne) it’s a bargain, writes Jeni Port in The Age.

There are many not quite empty wine bottles hanging around my kitchen. They are remnants of recent tastings; a brilliant Clare Riesling here, a blockbusting Barossa Shiraz there, both mega trophy winners and priced accordingly. They now queue up beside the stove or barbecue, waiting for a marinade. The perennial advice is always: don’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. This seems fair if you drink el cheapo de plonko, but what if you fancy a bottle over dinner for $30 or $50, asks News Limited’s national wine writer Tony Love.

Villa Maria Estate’s managing director and founder, Sir George Fistonich, was honoured with a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his services to the New Zealand wine industry at the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards. This award follows Sir George’s induction into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame at the same show last year. In addition, Villa Maria Estate also received two trophies and the Heritage Rose Bowl at the awards dinner on Saturday night, reports Voxy News.

Patience is a virtue in the slow-moving world of wine, but few take the principle as far as the R López de Heredia bodega in Rioja. When the López de Heredia family were harvesting the grapes for the most recent vintage of what many regard as Spain’s best white wine, Barcelona was preparing to host the Olympics, and Neil Kinnock was still looking like a prime minister in waiting. That wine, the 1991 Viña Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva (£65, Berry Bros, bbr.com), was finally released a year ago, but like all the bodega’s production it was worth the wait, reports The Guardian.

When the seventh edition of the World Atlas of Wine comes out next year, Queensland winemakers will be saying cheers, because for the first time the Granite Belt will be mentioned as a wine region in its own right. It follows a recent visit by English wine writer, Sarah Ahmed. Dubbed “The Wine Detective”, what she says about this cold climate enclave will be read by millions of wine buffs around the world, reports ABC’s Landline.

The reputation of Central Otago wine, along with a carefully limited volume of fruit and good marketing, is keeping the industry alive in the region despite signs it is facing tough times in other parts of New Zealand. The twice-yearly survey by business advisers Markhams said adverse weather, bulk wine sales and exchange rates were “dealing blows to an already fragile industry”. A lack of confidence in government policy and vagaries of fruit supply were adding to the situation. However, the survey showed that 67% of Central Otago respondents were positive about the coming year, reports Otago Daily Times.

The California wine market is experiencing a structural shortage and likely won’t return to balance for at least four years, according to Matt Turrentine, who spoke Thursday during the Central Coast Insights Conference. The partner with Turrentine Wine Brokerage said, “We’ve undisputedly entered a period of shortage for all areas and varieties,” reports Wines & Vines.