Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke has announced a $429,00 0 grant from the government’s Promoting Australian Produce program for Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW), a collaboration of high-profile Australian winemakers. The grant is being used to present a series of promotional events in the UK in an effort to bolster Australia’s second largest export market for bottled wine - worth almost $489 million a year.

nese consumers’ growing thirst for premium Western Australian wine has led to a new book profiling top local wineries.Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman will tonight launch the ‘Western Australia Wineries’ book, as part of a WA wine masterclass in Shanghai. The publication is printed in Mandarin and features 100 local wineries.

Here in Western Australia the Department of Agriculture and Food is trying to sell off more WA wines. This week representatives are busy plugging local wines at the World Expo in Shanghai.

This is Australia’s highest profile wine flavours style, and arguably its best red wine. The grape is believed to have come to Australia first from its home, Hermitage in the Rhone area of France many years ago. Some believe, again arguably, that due to extensive re-planting in France due to Phylloxera, our older vineyards are more like Hermitage used to be, than that region is today. Some vineyards of Chateau Tahbilk for instance date back over 100 years unchanged (and small amounts of wine are still made from these old grapes.)

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.

Despite Australia‟s legendary success in developing wine export markets, the industry has recently come under severe stress and must take action to deal with the challenges it faces, according to a recently-released global industry report.

The State Government is eyeing off more export opportunities in the East, with an attempt to tap into China’s burgeoning wine market with the best Australian wine. 12 SA wine companies are being represented on a mission to China and Taiwan, visiting Shanghai, Qingdao and Taipei.

THE wine industry has gone to war over likely changes to alcohol taxes that could more than triple the price of a $10 cask of wine but cut the price of bottled wines over $27. High-end winemakers are at loggerheads with bulk wine producers over how to respond to the release next week of the Henry tax review that will recommend Australia move to a volumetric tax on wine.

Spring has finally well and truly hit and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of chilled Rosé from your wine library. For the last decade or two Rosé has been in the wilderness. There were very few wines available and most were sweeter than a slab of chocolate cake

With so much talk around these days of sustainability, organic produce and other ecologically friendly practices it really comes as no surprise to see producers all round the country taking a greener approach to making organic wine and preservative free wine. In fact, as the health of the environment has a clear effect on wine quality, many producers have for some time been making changes in their day to day running of vineyards and wineries to help preserve our environment. The best news for us is that the result is often better wines and here is your wine guide to them.