Australian consumers start demanding more from winemakers

Palate fatigue has set in throughout Australia. Randall Pollard of Randall's Wines and Spirits in Melbourne says consumers have started complaining of the "sameness" of domestic wines. "In the past, Australian winemakers aimed for consistency, and I suppose allied with that there is a sameness," Pollard said. The sentiment is forcing Australian winemakers to step up their games to compete with their rivals in Italy, France, Spain and New Zealand. Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), The (16 Dec.)

Cheap wine and too much growth

First the good news: Australia's wine grape growers are looking at another big vintage, probably close to last year's 1.837 million tonnes, meaning consumers will continue to enjoy plentiful cheap wine - the glut continues.

And now the bad news: Australia's wine grape growers are looking at another big vintage, probably close to last year's 1.837 million tonnes, meaning our wine industry remains under stress, with vineyard values falling, plenty of smaller wineries going under and our biggest wine makers being steadily reduced to slave-status by the supermarket giants.

But wait, there's more: We're exporting less wine and doing it at lower prices. The mainstay UK market has turned particularly sour - supermarket gorilla Tesco almost makes Woolworths and Coles appear supplier-friendly.

Latest News 5 Filipino troops killed in clash with militants Penfolds recognised as Australia's best export wine

Kym Schroeter, Penfolds Senior White Winemaker, reported that the climate in 2005 had been favourable for the Adelaide Hills region, helping produce high quality wine. "Vintage 2005 was a cool year and particularly suited the Adelaide Hills," he advised. "The wine is normally a multi-regional blend, sourcing the best parcels of fruit available. After a very strict culling of barriques, the resulting blend was exclusively Adelaide Hills, for the first time ever."

The trophy was established in memory of a former chairman of the AWBC, Mr George Mackey, who died in office in 1990.

The award is presented annually by the AWBC to the most outstanding export wine of the year. Initial nomination is made by AWBC wine inspectors, who set aside the best wines during the routine inspection of every exported Australian wine.

Europe Gets Protection in New Wine Accord With Australia

The European Union and Australia sealed an agreement that safeguards wine production in the EU by establishing principles for the protection of regional names as the bloc faces growing competition from “New World” rivals.

The accord signed today in Brussels specifies when Australia will phase out terms such as Champagne, Port, Claret and Sherry, the European Commission said in a statement. It also outlines the conditions for Australia to continue to use certain quality wine terms such as “vintage,” “cream” and “tawny” to describe wines exported to Europe and sold domestically.

“Crucially, we have obtained protection for our geographical indications and traditional expressions, which was of the utmost importance for European producers,” said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.