Another tough year for the Australian wine industry. Another excellent year for Australian wine drinkers with strong national and international competition keeping a lid on prices, writes Jeni Port, in The Age. Spoilt for choice, we saw the continued rise of the BOB phenomenon – the Buyer’s Own Brand – with more shelf space in supermarkets devoted to anonymous wines sourced and bottled by the big two, Woolworths and Coles (and, to a lesser extent, independent retailers), at prices competing with and sometimes undercutting known Australian brands.

Australian Rieslings in all price ranges are better than they ever have been.The flavours and textures have changed from being peculiarly Australian up to about seven to eight years ago to being more internationally recognisable as Riesling, reports inmycommunity.com.au

The weekend rain has damaged some grain and cherry crops, but farmers are still counting their blessings. The bad weather has also raised the prospect of damage to wine grape crops before the harvest starts next month, reports The Advertiser. But the rain provided more good than harm with significant benefits to some crops and gardens.

The South Australian Farmers Federation says there is damage to some wheat and other cereal crops from heavy rain. There is concern grape crops also may have suffered damage from weekend rain, reports ABC Online.

The South Australian Farmers Federation says there is damage to some wheat and other cereal crops from heavy rain. There is concern grape crops also may have suffered damage from weekend rain, reports ABC Online.

The South Australian Farmers Federation says there is damage to some wheat and other cereal crops from heavy rain. There is concern grape crops also may have suffered damage from weekend rain, reports ABC Online.

The South Australian Farmers Federation says there is damage to some wheat and other cereal crops from heavy rain. There is concern grape crops also may have suffered damage from weekend rain, reports ABC Online.

Eyebrows were raised heavenwards this autumn when the trophy for a Bordeaux blend over £10 was snatched by a Chinese red from beneath the noses of Argentina, Australia and California. Anthony Rose writes in The Independent sneering journalists questioned the integrity of the Decanter World Wine Awards. Then they queried the authenticity of the wine itself. How could China possibly make a wine capable of taking on and beating the world? D Loh commented in the China Daily: “If the wine is good, connoisseurs query if it has been secretly imported and then placed in a Chinese bottle.”

This festive season is shaping up to be the booziest in Australia’s history. New research has forecast Australian spending on alcohol this December will rise five per cent – an all-time high, reports The Daily Telegraph on the weekend.The prediction, by IBISWorld, would mean NSW bottleshop sales will almost certainly top the $385 million figure recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in December last

The week before Christmas can be stressful. Organise the drinks ahead of time, from festive rosato to sparkling reds, writes Jane Faulkner in the weekend’s The Age. And firston the list, is the exciting Australian first Chalmers Nero D’Avola Rosato, a juicy Sicilian red, with fruit grown at Heathcote.