Wine Atlas

THE Hunter Valley wine industry has sniffed, swished and spat out a report that says its wines are the most profitable in Australia.

Local experts say the industry is straining under intense competition from supermarkets and most of its wineries are financially threadbare.

The annual financial benchmarking survey for the wine industry, released by Deloitte last week, found the Hunter region kept the highest proportion of its revenue as gross earnings, at 23 per cent.

South Australia's Mt Lofty region was the least profitable, with just 8 per cent of its revenue as earnings.

Earnings in the Barossa Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula, both in SA, were 16.5 and 15.9 per cent respectively.

Continue reading

THE Coonawarra springs to life in October, both on its home turf and as the focus wine region at Tasting Australia in Adelaide. The annual Cabernet Celebrations kick off on Friday, October 14, with the event's feature master class looking at how the region compares to the rest of the world in tackling this tricky variety.

Presenters include Peter Forrestal, new Master of Wine Toni Paterson and Majella winemaker Bruce Gregory.

Continue reading

Bethany Wines' Geoff Schrapel says the Barossa "brand" could be marketed more strongly for the benefit of the whole region.

This comes after Mr Schrapel attended the fourth Australian Wine Marketing Conference held in Adelaide recently - where industry experts explained that opportunities still exist across all markets.

Keynote speakers at the conference included wine experts from Asia, Europe and the United States as well as financial and retail specialists.

All speakers agreed the wine industry must work harder to understand its customers, while growth areas were recognised in Japan, China, the USA as well as bistros and cafes within Australia.

Continue reading: barossa.yourguide.com.au

CAPE TOWN — Johan van Rooyen, CEO of the South African Wine and Brandy Company (SAWB), and Paul Chambers, president of the Winemakers Federation of Australia (WFA), yesterday said that a closer relationship was necessary to boost sales in the face of competition from Europe and the US.

Continue reading

While most wines are for immediate enjoyment, some mellow with the years. Winemaker Ian Hollick makes some stellar reds that get better after a few years of bottle ageing. EU HOOI KHAW writes.

Continue reading

New statistics show the United Kingdom remains the main market for Australian wine exports.

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation says in the last financial year 661 million litres of wine, worth nearly $3 billion, were exported from Australia.

The corporation's manager of information and analysis, Lawrie Stanford, says that is an 80 million litre increase on the previous 12 months.

Mr Stanford says Australian wine remains popular in Europe.

Continue reading : abc.net.au

Australian wine exports hit a record high last financial year - 661 million litres, up 14 per cent.

And in an encouraging sign for Australia's struggling wine companies, the latest Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation figures show that after two years of splurging on cheaper booze, overseas drinkers are taking to higher-priced, and more profitable, Australian wines again.

Australian wine companies shipped $2.75 billion of wine overseas in June, up 8 per cent on the previous year's figure.

AWBC information and analysis manager Lawrie Stanford said: "The really pleasing outcome for 2004-05 was the 18 per cent growth in shipments in the $5 to $7.49 per litre price bracket. That's where the good profits are... and that's where we'd like to see continued growth."

But the big driver of growth in sales remained in the $2.50 to $4.99 per litre price bracket.

Wines in that segment accounted for just over half of all wines shipped in 2004-05.

Continue reading

LISA McGuigan of Tempus Two was raised on a vineyard and although she resisted family pressures, it was inevitable she would wind up making wine.

Sum up your business in one sentence More than I ever dreamed of – an international wine brand, making prestige wines with a boutique, hand-crafted approach.

You are the fourth generation of one of the Hunter Valley's most famous winemaking families. Did you ever think about not having a career involved in wine?

For years I wanted to step out of my father's shadow by avoiding the wine industry. Expectations were always high. I was to follow in not only my parents, but also my grandfather's famous footsteps. After completing a diploma in hotel management, I started my career at the Renaissance Hotel where I began as a waitress however within a year I was managing the restaurant. A year after that, I ran three restaurants in the hotel and was soon in charge of all the marketing for the food and beverage department. I loved working in hotels however for years my father was wanting me to work for the company and his persuasion and the long hours were starting to take their toll. I'm a bit stubborn, a bit like him. I wanted to be my own person, and not 'the daughter of', and I suppose doing all those other things that I did really helped me to become my own person. If I had been in his shadow, I might not have had the confidence that I have now.

Continue reading

FINANCIAL strife at Western Australian winemaker Evans & Tate proves again that it is a drinker's market at the moment.

Evans & Tate executive chairman Franklin Tate.

E&T halted the savaging of it shares yesterday with an announcement it would sustain its first ever loss and slash the value of its stock by nearly 10 per cent.

There had been fears that the winemaker was on the brink of collapse, prompting a massive 50 per cent slide in its share price over the past week.

By HEATH ASTON

Continue reading : dailytelegraph.news.com.au

LONDON - Jacob's Creek has become the first wine brand to introduce temperature-sensitive labels that will indicate when the wine is cool enough to drink.

The Pernod Ricard-owned brand is introducing the labels on bottles of its sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Sparkling Rose and Shiraz Rose to advise consumers when the wine is at its optimum temperature to drink.

Source : brandrepublic.com

AUSTRALIAN wine producer Palandri is drawing up plans to hire a Scottish broker to grow its investor base north of the Border. Palandri, which is based in Perth in western Australia, is understood to be ready to ditch its house broker, Panmure Gordon, and replace it with a Scottish company.

Darrel Jarvis, Palandri's chief executive, and Gordon Grant, chief operating officer, were in Edinburgh last week for a series of meetings with fund managers, private client brokers and stockbrokers, including Bell Lawrie White...

By GUY DIXON

Source : business.scotsman.com

Australia's wine industry is being warned to look to new markets or risk further price drops.

Production has peaked at 1.3 million litres of wine, with the UK our biggest customer.

But while exports are on the rise, the value of wine is falling, to average $4.19 a litre.

Continue reading