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AUSTRALIAN CIDER INDUSTRY LAUNCHES WORLD-FIRST TRUST MARK
Cider Australia has launched the worldfirst trust mark for craft ciders as a new way to identify ciders made with 100 per cent Australian grown fruit. The new mark educates consumers about the quality and the origin of ingredients and helps them make informed choices whilst supporting local fruit growers. The current labeling laws make it difficult to identify where the fruit has been sourced and less than 15 per cent of Australia’s cider market comprises craft ciders made with 100 per cent Australian grown fruit.
HALF A MILLION BOOST FOR WINE EXPORT GRANTS
Wine businesses visiting China and the United States to build export will benefit from a 50 per cent increase in funding for the Wine Export Grants program. In recognition of the high demand for these grants in the industry, the total pool of funding has increased to $1.5 million. Wine Export Grants of up to $25,000 are available for small and medium wine producers to reimburse 50 per cent of specific export promotion expenses. Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark said, “The $500,000 boost is welcome news for our wine producers. Since the grants opened on 2 January 2018 we’ve approved more than $500,000 of funding for participation in international trade shows and a high volume of claims is currently undergoing assessment. This funding boost means more support for wine businesses looking to grow their exports or secure new distribution channels in the key markets of China and the USA.” The grants are a key component of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package which aims to drive demand for wine exports and showcase the nation’s wine tourism. AUSTRALIA REIGNS AT THE DECANTER ASIA WINE AWARDS
The Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2018 is in its sixth year and considered one of the most influential wine competitions in South East Asia. Australia took home seven Best in Show medals, the most won by any country out of the 37 participating. Leading Master of Wine palates made up the 50 expert judges panel who gathered in Hong Kong to blind taste 3,138 wines. Leading UK wine commentator and judge since the launch of the competition in 2012, Andrew Jefford, was one of six vice-chairs, as was Li Demei, who was vice-chair in this year’s competition. ‘There is no question that the quality of wines being entered continues to get better,’ said Li Demei.
MAPPING AUSTRALIA’S WINE REGIONS ROW BY ROW
For the first time, artificial intelligence software will make it possible to accurately map out every vineyard in Australia’s 65 wine regions using highresolution satellite images and advanced machine learning in a national census of Australia’s winegrape area. Wine Australia has struck an agreement with Consilium Technology to use its world leading agricultural artificial intelligence software GAIA (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Agriculture) and by mid 2019 it will deliver a row by row census of all of Australia’s vineyards. This first scan will include the geolocation of every vineyard block in Australia, the area of vineyards for each geographical indication, and the length of the vineyard rows in each region. “The national scan is an exciting opportunity as it will allow Australia for the first time to have a scalable and repeatable method to measure vineyard area,” said Wine Australia’s CEO, Andreas Clark. “Through the investment, the maps will be delivered in an online interface that can be accessed by Australia’s grapegrowers.
AUSTRALIA’S BEST CIDERS AS JUDGED AT THE AUSTRALIAN CIDER AWARDS
Australia was triumphant at the Australian Cider Awards 2018 with nine out of the 13 gold medals awarded to Australian ciders. The Awards saw a total of 260 Australian and international entries judged across 25 classes by a panel of local and international cider industry experts. Willie Smith’s Kingston Black from William Smith & Sons in Tasmania won Best in Show at the 2018 Australian Cider Awards as well as Best Traditional Cider and Best Australian Cider. Jane Anderson, executive officer of Cider Australia said, “This is an exciting time for the cider industry in Australia. It’s great to see more Australian producers and their ciders scoring higher than ever before in this year’s judging. With the quality of cider produced in Australia constantly improving, our Australian producers have also been winning medals at international shows in the US, UK and the World Cider Awards.”
BUNDABERG RUM CELEBRATES 130 YEARS AT SPIRIT OF BUNDABERG FESTIVAL
This year the celebrations at the Spirit of Bundaberg Festival were bigger and brighter than ever as Bundaberg Rum and food fans came together to commemorate 130 years of Australia’s much loved rum. The party took place at the traditional spot, on the grounds of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery and the family friendly festival served up great food, local produce, cocktails and more than a dozen rum-inspired food vendors. Local music talent competed for a $5K prize in the Battle of the Sounds competition while all festival goers were encouraged to dress as their favourite ‘Aussie Legend’. They were also the first to try the Bundaberg Rum Small Batch Spiced Rum launched on the day and released nationally following the festival.
The results from the tasting section of the 2018 Master Sommelier Examination held in St Louis, Missouri have been invalidated due to clear evidence that a Master breached the confidentiality with respect to the wines on tasting. The Americas Board of Directors found the tasting section of the exam was compromised by the release of detailed information concerning wines in the tasting flight. The Board voted to fully void those results to protect the integrity of the examination process, the reputation of the Court of Master Sommeliers, and the title of Master Sommelier. Devon Broglie, Chairman and Master Sommelier said, “We understand this decision is a shock to those who recently passed this examination, and we carefully considered the impact our decision has on our newly pinned Masters and their careers. We are committed to developing an expedited process so that all eligible candidates can retake the tasting examination.” Amongst those required to retake the exam is Jane Lopes, wine director at Attica, Melbourne, and prior to the ruling, the first female residing in Oceania to be awarded Master Sommelier.
THE FIRST CHINESE EDITION OF HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION LAUNCHED
From November 2018 consumer wine publication Halliday Wine Companion published by Hardie Grant will be printed and released in Shanghai and Beijing in Chinese. Established in 1986 under James Halliday’s Australian Wine Guide, the Halliday Wine Companion in its first Chinese edition will cover more than 3,500 winery reviews and hundreds of wine education articles from James Halliday and his tasting team. China is of great importance to the Australian wine industry. “China will be the largest market for exported wine very soon,” James Halliday said.
CHINESE CONSUMERS VOTE DE BORTOLI #1 ON-PREMISE RED WINE BRAND
A survey conducted in Beijing by wine analytics experts MiBD Markets found consumers rate Australia’s De Bortoli Wines as top red wine brand by glass under 100 Yuan or AUD$20. The recently published results were from a store-check survey of 160 venues during 2017. De Bortoli wines led amongst almost 12,700 wines from around the world. This year the fourth-generation, family-owned Australian winery is celebrating 90 years of winemaking and has been exporting to China for 20 years. To commemorate its 90th anniversary De Bortoli Wines has released a limited edition Black Noble, the world’s only fortified made from botrytis grapes.
BELLA VISTA HOTEL STAFF SAVED A YOUNG MAN’S LIFE
The general manager, Salvatore Bellomo, junior manager, Chelsea Zadravec, and security guard, Reda Hanna, of the Momento Hospitality venue Bella Vista Hotel in Bella Vista, Sydney, were awarded a Commander’s Commendation for their response to an incident at hotel in 2017. Salvatore Bellomo, found a young 19-year-old man unconscious and not breathing in the hotel’s VIP lounge on a very busy Saturday night. Along with his staff, Chelsea and Reda, Salvatore urgently cleared out the VIP room and public bar, called emergency services and performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. As a result of the staff actions, the young man’s life was saved. “As soon as we discovered the young man unconscious and not breathing, Chelsea, Reda and I acted fast. It was a very busy Saturday night, but together we cleared out the public bar and VIP room, called an ambulance and began CPR. Salvatore and I took turns performing CPR for about ten minutes while Chelsea was on the phone to the paramedics relaying instructions to us. The paramedics then arrived to continue saving the young man’s life,” said Salvatore Bellomo. “We found out later that the young man had a heart defect and that, had we not begun CPR immediately, he would have likely passed away. He visited our venue after the incident, and it was great to see him happy and healthy again. We’re so proud to receive this commendation from Commander Kritchlow. It’s such an amazing feeling to know that you helped in saving someone’s life.” 12|drinks trade
BROKENWOOD ANNOUNCES NEW CELLAR DOOR AND RESTAURANT COMPLEX
The Hunter Valley is about to gain a new eatery for foodies to get excited about. The Wood Restaurant and Cru Bar and Pantry will centre around a brand new Cellar Door complex at Brokenwood Wines which will include circular tasting bars or ‘pods’, an expansive terrace, two private tasting rooms, two private dining rooms and a wine museum. Well known residents of the Hunter Valley since 1997, Andrew and Janet Wright, will run the two new dining establishments. Prior to the new appointment they ran The Cellar Restaurant in Hunter Valley Gardens for the past 18 years. The Wood Restaurant, the Cellar Door’s modern dining room will offer contemporary Australian dishes and an extensive wine list including premium and iconic Brokenwood wines. The Cru Bar and Pantry will be a casual eatery serving a selection of shared plates, cheese and charcuterie, wood-fired pizza made to order and picnic packs or the lawn to take away. Chief winemaker and Managing Director, Iain Riggs said, “This marks a significant moment in Brokenwood’s history. Our current Cellar Door was built in the ‘70s so this new venture means a lot to us, but most importantly it will allow for more fun and exciting wine experiences with our dedicated customers.”
Brokenwood Wines new Cellar Door is set to open 7 December 2018.
OOTRA APP FOR WINE RETAILERS AND PRODUCERS
New app ootra was launched in Melbourne in September 2018 and allows wine producers to sell direct to bars, restaurants and wine merchants and is already being used by well- known establishments such as Melbourne’s Movida, 2KW in Adelaide and State Buildings in Perth. “Restaurants and retailers can streamline their ordering process and connect directly with the winemakers involved,” said ootra founder, Richard van Ruth. “In an age where the public are increasingly demanding and expecting their favourite bar or wine shop to stock new, boutique, well-crafted wines ootra is making life far easier for the wine trade. For example if a customer has a question about a wine, ootra allows the retailer to connect directly with the winemaker and provide a level of customer service that will bring customers back to their bar or shop again.”
XANADU 2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON TAKES THE JIMMY WATSON
The Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2018 was recently held in Melbourne and Australia’s winemaking elite gathered together at Luminare in South Melbourne where the winners of the trophies were announced. Top gong, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red Wine, went to Margaret River winery Xanadu Wines for the 2016 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon. The white wine equivalent, the Francoise De Castella trophy for Best Young White Wine, was awarded to Tasmanian winery Tolpuddle Vineyard for the 2017 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay. Tolpuddle also won the Douglas Seabrook Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine and vineyard manager, Carlos Souris won the Kym Ludvigson Trophy for Viticultural Excellence. Other honours went to Bay of Fires for the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir for the 2017 Bay of Fires Pinot Noir and the Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz to Yarra Valley winery Tokar Estate for its 2017 Tokar Estate Shiraz.
A full list of trophy winners can be viewed at winningtastes.com.au
BRAND PRINT WINS AT WINE INDUSTRY IMPACT AWARD (WIIA)
New business intelligence tool BrandPrint won the WIIA Marketing and Communications Award at the presentation recently held in Adelaide. Brandprint enables its liquor supplier clients to extract meaningful sales and marketing insights from their own data. The service empowers people across an organization to make informed decisions to drive sales without needing high-level skills in data analytics. Since launching BrandPrint to the Cloud this February it has experienced a steady acquisition of clients across wine, beer and spirits. Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) was an early adopter of Brandprint. “It has been a real game-changer for our business,” says Manouel Vlandis, National Business Manager – Independents – AVL.
With a career spanning over twenty years, David Segreto will join Bacardi-Martini Australia as its new Commercial Director, Australia and New Zealand, from McWilliam’s Wines, where he has held the roles of Sales Director and Regional Director Asia Pacific for the past seven years. The re-scoped role will see David take on overall leadership of the Australian and New Zealand commercial teams. David’s earlier career started with Cadbury Schweppes before joining Diageo as a Regional Director GTR, based in both Sydney, then Singapore. David has strong foundations in customer relationship management and team leadership, working within high profile companies with strong brand presence. Denis Brown, Bacardi’s Regional Vice President North Asia Pacific said, “We are delighted to secure the calibre of talent that David will bring to both this role and our business overall.”