End nigh for Riverina grapes

According to a recent survey it seems that the end is near for many vineyards in the Riverina, with as few as 10% of the regions grapegrowers believing that they would still be growing grapes in five years time.

Read about it here

From our point of view it's a pretty sad state of affairs to hear that so many grapegrowers are losing their livelihoods. Conversely it's widely acknowledged that Australia has an oversupply of grapes, an oversupply that will need to be rectified by pulling some vines out of the ground (amongst other measures), with the low quality, high yield Riverina vineyards the first to go.

It's a hard life this grapegrowing business!

NZ wines: Beyond Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: It's unarguably the wine that has propelled forward the reputation of New Zealand wine on a global scale, taking the exports of Kiwi vino from 19 to 120 million litres in just the past 10 years alone (with plantings of Sauvignon Blanc tripling over that period).

But beyond Sauv Blanc (and to a slightly lesser extent Pinot Noir), there is unquestionably much more to NZ wine, even though it might not always seem that way.

So what are the other wines that Kiwi winemakers finding success with (and where)?

To answer that, the best place to start is Marlborough itself. Marlborough has always been about Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay), yet more recently another variety has found favour in the region.

I'm talking about Pinot Gris, perhaps not all that 'alternate' a variety but one that is proving to be a promising one for the region, as noted by English wine writer Anthony Rose in The Independent "The Alsace variety that is often innocuous in France can produce wines in New Zealand's climate of spicy fruitiness."

In Marlborough, the planting of Pinot Gris has skyrocketed on the back of this early success, with the amount of Pinot Gris up 22% in 2008/2009 alone, with it now considered to be the variety to sit alongside Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc in the Marlborough heirachy. Beyond just Marlborough, Pinot Gris has found favour elsewhere in New Zealand too, with plantings increasing in Otago and Nelson too.

The main appeal of Pinot Gris is simply about texture and intensity, with the variety offering Chardonnay like richness, yet with the acidity and juicy musky aromas of more floral and aromatic whites such as Riesling.

Some of the top producers of Pinot Gris in New Zealand include Dry River in Martinborough (whom have produced a Pinot Gris for longer than most, although it is almost impossible to source), Villa Maria (their single vineyard Marlborough range in particular), Neudorf (from Nelson), Prophet's Rock (in Otago) and Blackenbrook (from Nelson).

Buy New Zealand Pinot Gris

Beyond Pinot Gris another variety that is striding ahead in the popularity stage is Syrah (or Shiraz in Australian terminology. We're the only ones who call it that you know).

Much like Shiraz in Australia, Syrah will grow just about anywhere, particularly given that - as a mid season ripener - it's viable even in quite cool climates, which has meant that it has been planted all over New Zealand. The hotspots for fine Syrah however are unquestionably centred around two locations: Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island.

Of these it is Hawkes Bay that is streets ahead in the reputation and popularity stakes, driven by the prominent success of Gimblett Gravels (a small sub region of Hawkes Bay) Syrah in particular, with Waiheke Island only really constrained by how little available land there is for grapegrowing.

What makes New Zealand Syrah unique/special/worthy though is it's medium bodied, peppery savoury style, with the inherently cool climate making for wines that will never be as rich as equivalent Australian styles, but instead are much more of an elegant, quasi-French style (as cliched as the expression is).

Picking the best producers of Syrah in New Zealand is a tricky one, purely due to how many great names there are. From the Gimblett Gravels alone Craggy Range, Trinity Hill, Stonecroft and Villa Maria all produce top wines, and in the larger Hawkes Bay area Bilancia and Te Mata also kick butt.

On Waiheke Island there is a similarly high level of smart producers crafting great Syrah, including Passage Rock, Obsidian, Man of War and Mudbrick, with Kusuda and Dry River from Martinborough also rounding things out.

Buy New Zealand Syrah

Finally the last variety that is gaining traction in New Zealand, though somewhat lagging considering it's international profile, is Riesling, with plantings increasing 15% year-on-year. The driver of this popularity resurgence is largely that the niche has been found, with riper or off-dry, Germanic/Alsace inspired styles proving successful.

The hit regions for this richer/off dry style are towards the southern end of New Zealand, with Marlborough, Waipara, Canterbury, Otago and Martinborough all producing top wines.

As for top producers there are a few worth highlighting, including Framingham, Spy Valley (under their 'Envoy' label), Forrest Estate (sweet wines)in Marlborough, Felton Road (sweeter styles) and Mount Difficulty in Central Otago and Pegasus Bay (particularly for the sweet wines) in Canterbury.

Buy New Zealand Riesling

Andrew Graham
Photo Credits

The West Australian government is considering adopting legislation to protect the wine-growing region of Margaret River from mining and development.

IT IS a wine worthy of Dionysus. But the Greek god of wine would probably have no better luck getting his hands on a bottle of the latest Penfolds Grange than the rest of us.

MOST petty thieves would be hard-pressed to tell a Barossa red from a Beaujolais. But one developed a taste for Australia's most collectable wine, Penfolds Grange, in the lead-up to last week's release of the latest vintage, the 2006 season.

The New Zealand wine industry should be proud of its achievements. May marks National Wine Month in Britain. In New Zealand, we currently just have Alcohol-Free February - no bad thing in itself, but given the huge growth in importance, quality and appreciation of wine in our country, the time seems ripe for us to start celebrating it too.

THE PRICE of a bottle of the very finest Bordeaux is about to soar higher than ever, driven up by a second successive exceptional vintage -- and by China's insatiable thirst for an investment.

Wine makers in Western Australia's Swan Valley say they've had one of their best vintages in years. About 50,000 tonnes of grapes were crushed in the 2011 vintage, which began in mid-January and has continued on into April.

Extreme weather, poor prices and a lingering grape glut make for cheap wine, but the industry is close to breaking point, writes Mark Russell.

Where does one go for the full oenophile experience? Men's website AskMen.com offers its Top 10 list of wine destinations for those keen to travel for the grape:

A Hunter real estate agent says he is fielding an increasing number of enquiries from Chinese buyers looking to invest in the region's wine industry. Cain Beckett says he is receiving at least two phone calls a day from potential Chinese investors, some of them Australian firms with established wine businesses in China.

South Australian vintners are polishing glasses and uncorking bottles as 40 Chinese wine professionals arrive in the state to taste its best.

There is a preconception about French wine that average consumers find hard to shake off: French wine is expensive. With wines such as the famous Chateau Mouton Rothschild or any other offerings from the five greatest Bordeaux estates easily exceeding several million won a bottle, the reputation is partially justified.

The Adelaide Hills are a happy accident of soil, landscape and cool climate - an eyeful of scenery and a basket of premium produce. They're also some 30 minutes' drive from Victoria Square in the heart of Adelaide and lay claim to being the world's closest wine region to any major centre.

For lovers of fine wine, March 1 is coming to mean only one thing every year: the annual release of Penfolds highly sought after Bin selection.

WINES from the Margaret River region had judges seeing red, and gold, at the 2011 Sydney Royal Wine Show last week.

VINEYARDS struggling to recover from oversupply face closure from water cuts, winemakers warn. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority yesterday published more than 160 official responses to its plan to return the system to health by mandating large reductions to water consumption.

The 2011 New Zealand grape harvest is underway with grape growers and wineries buoyed by recent developments.

Perhaps the greatest wines are grown in regions where viticulture has the most obstacles, where vignerons take the most risks and often teeter on the brink of failure; where the difference between great and poor harvests is widest. Regions such as the Hunter Valley.

Italian sparkling wines outsold France's famed champagne this year by about 10 million bottles, the Italian winemakers' group says.

Here is the annual review - albeit lightly - of how the last year shaped up or down, depending on whether you're a producer, a drinker or both.

Wine-drinkers are more likely to pick pinot noir from the shelf than sauvignon blanc, a survey shows. A Herald-DigiPoll survey showed that slightly more New Zealanders (31.3 per cent) chose red wines over white (30.1 per cent).

South Australia has a new wine region and it's the coolest on the mainland. Mt Gambier, famous for its blue lake, sea breezes and fogs, has been officially named Australia's newest wine region.

Hawkes Bay may be a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the wines that it makes, but it's also master of many, including some of country's most exciting up-and-coming varieties. This diversity was once considered a weakness, but in a market flooded with Marlborough sauvignon blanc, its winemakers are hopeful that in the coming years this may well turn out to be its strength.

THE Margaret River wine region is a pimple on a pumpkin, crushing about 217,000 tonnes of the total Australian crush of 1.5 million tonnes. But the region punches far above its weight. Consistently, Margaret River wines are at the pointy end of wine shows.

A great wine relies on similar attributes including instinctiveness - that characteristic that takes the wine from being a clinical industrial beast to something memorable.

Land hailed as Australia’s finest undeveloped vineyard site is under threat from developers. Construction company Fairmont has submitted plans for at least 1,200 homes and a major retail park on a 77-hectare site in McLaren Vale, just south of Adelaide.

It wasn't too long ago that Australia was known for beer and "shrimps on the barbee," conjuring images of Paul Hogan in his role as "Crocodile Dundee," the most successful Australian movie in history. That was then. Now Australia has established itself as the world's seventh-largest wine producer – up there with the likes of France, Italy and California. There are 68 wine regions supplying fine wines that are sold in more than 100 countries and found in many of the world's top restaurants. And Australia is winning more and more awards at international wine competitions.

If you like drinking wine half as much as you enjoy cricket, Australia is a brilliant place to follow a cricket tour. Australia's winemakers are second to none when it comes to welcoming visitors into their vineyards and cellars.

There wouldn't be much doubt that if I asked people around the world to name just one Australian wine region, most would say "The Barossa Valley", which produces some of the best Australian wines. Why is this? Well, some excellent promotion over the years has helped, it is the home of Penfolds Grange, plus there are a myriad of other reasons.

Check out any wine shops and there is a fair chance you’ll notice that things have changed a bit on the wine menu over the last five years. Firstly there are new wineries and grape varieties coming out of the woodwork all over this wide, brown land, giving us a greater range to choose from than ever before. The second is that alongside these new local wines is an expanding range of imports from countries such as New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain.

Let me say this straight away - I love everything Italian, especially a great wine list. Great food, great people, and most important of all, fabulous wines. Not only does Italy make some of the greatest wines in the world, historically they have also helped to spread wine around the world. For example, around 2000 years ago the Romans bought wine to much of Europe, including France. And the same thing happened in Australia. When the flood of Italian refugees came here after the Second World War they bought with them a great love of wine that has spread so that most of us now like a glass of wine or two.

Thirty years ago you’d have been lucky to find more than a handful of wines direct from New Zealand wine on shelves anywhere in this country. At the time there were only small, isolated pockets of vines spread largely around the North Island, and few had tasted, or even heard, of the miracle that is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.