The Orange Region Vignerons Association (ORVA) has been investigated by NSW Fair Trading after allegations that it has breached laws regarding disclosure of interests and financial gain to members.
The Central Western Daily has reported that NSW Fair Trading wrote to ORVA late last year to outline a number of allegations that the association was in breach of the Associations Incorporation Act 2009. NSW Fair Trading wrote that the matters warranted further review and requested information including a disclosure of interests register by January 31.

THE Orange wine region’s participation in Wine Australia’s Regional Heroes Foundation Partnership (RHFP) program has benefited all ORVA members and the region as a whole, ORVA president David Crawley says. Mr Crawley said Orange had hosted a number of international trade ambassadors under the program and would host a delegation of Chinese visitors next week.

Ray Beckwith can toast the preserving effects of alcohol when he celebrates his 100th birthday today.
Working at South Australian winemaker Penfolds in 1936, Dr Beckwith, a scientist whose innovations laid the foundations of the Australian wine industry, hit upon the idea of using pH — a measure of acidity — as a means of preventing the microbial spoilage that had until then ruined 30 per cent of its annual production, writes Blair Speedy, in The Australian.

Greg Gallagher is known for sparkling, but he came to Canberra for Shiraz, Chris Shanahan writes in Sydney Morning Herald.These days, Canberra and Shiraz is a no-brainer for aspiring vignerons. It’s our most successful grape variety thanks, initially, to Clonakilla, but now thoroughly bedded down across the district. But when Greg and Libby Gallagher planted Shiraz at Murrumbateman in 1995, Canberra’s reputation for fine wine was a fraction of what it is now – and Shiraz had barely emerged as a contender for top spot.

New Zealand is on track to outperform world trade growth as increasing demand from Asia and Latin America fuels agricultural exports, say economists for the HSBC bank. New Zealand’s trade will grow at an annualised rate of 5.9% over the next five years, outperforming forecast world trade growth of 3.8% annually, according to the latest HSBC Global Connections report.

The colour we admire in a white wine tends to be finely nuanced – especially when we’re talking young whites. There’s everything from virtually colourless to straw, straw yellow, straw gold, straw with a pink or green tinge – so many permutations, and we haven’t arrived at pale gold yet.
Deborah Walton-Derry and Peter Morice write in Marlborough Express this points to the obvious – white wines aren’t white, although a very young wine may be colourless. Pale green, pale copper or even amber are the colours associated with “white” wine.

Moet Hennessy, the wine and spirits arm of France’s LVMH luxury group, says it will make red wine in China where a taste for the better things in life has boomed along with the economy. AAP reported Moet Hennessy said it had joined forces with VATS, a Chinese wine firm, to develop a vineyard of 30 hectares in Yunnan province, southeastern China.

A new trade agreement will remove the duty on U.S. wines exported to Korea, a growing market for California vintners.The agreement, announced this week by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, will take effect March 15. Korea’s import duty on U.S. wine is currently 15 percent, reports Press Democrat.

Hunter Valley winemakers may have raised their eyebrows when local bar manager Jamie Walker began using their wines in his cocktails, but he says the concept is taking off. Walker, of Goldfish Hunter Valley, told The Shout the idea of wine-based cocktails came from his experience bartending in fine dining restaurants with cocktail bars attached in his native home of Scotland. As well as creating drinks that were local and unique, Walker said the lower alcohol wine-based cocktails on the menu were well suited to the bar’s rural location, which is only accessible by car.

Having moved up “through the ranks” as part of the Craggy Range winemaking team Matt Stafford has been appointed the widely acclaimed Havelock North vineyard’s chief winemaker. Mr Stafford, who joined Craggy Range in 2006 as an associate winemaker, will take the reins from Rod Easthope on June 1 and his first major focus will be preparing the winery for the challenge of the upcoming harvest, reports Hawke’s Bay Today.