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.

Peter Lehmann Wines is IWSC Australian Wine Producer of the Year

This is the third time Peter Lehmann Wines has been awarded this trophy, having also won in 2003 and 2006.

“To win the International Riesling Trophy for the sixth time as well as 2 Gold medals for Stonewell Shiraz and Futures Shiraz, highlights not only the quality but also the versatility of this spectacular winemaking district,” said Andrew Wigan, chief winemaker at Peter Lehmann Wines.

Peter Lehmann Wines were awarded:

2 Trophies: Maersk Logistics Trophy for Australian Wine Producer - Peter Lehmann Wines

Aussies thirsty for NZ wines

Recent figures show New Zealand's table wine, contributed to the biggest growth in wine sales across the Tasman.

They accounted for $219 million in off premise sales in the year ending July.

Nielsen spokesman Michael Walton says New Zealand is dominating the Australian wine market, saying after doing analysis of all the Australian wine regions, found that New Zealand had grown the most.

Walton says New Zealand wine increased its value share of the Aussie market by 3%.

Wine harvest up by a third

A high Australian wine crush will see the sector's surplus continue, according to Winemakers Federation of Australia chief executive Stephen Strachan.

Australia’s wine crush grew by nearly a third in 2008 to 1,830,673 tonnes, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figure was an increase of 433,323 tonnes on the 2006/2007 crush.

But Mr Strachan said the industry needed to downsize.

``We have been in surplus all this year, though not as extreme as up until 2006,’’ Mr Strachan said.

``We need adjustment in the industry…it’s starting to happen.’’