Category Comment - Wine

Why Australia’s wine industry is approaching crunch time

Usually, a wine event that featured a lot of older vintages would be a cause for celebration. But the string…

Why wine remains laggard amid rise of alcohol-free

A couple of years ago there was a clamour on social media for ‘Try January’. It was a reaction to…

2023 outlook – economic clouds to linger as wine industry seeks right blend

After another challenging 12 months, the global wine industry is preparing for a year ahead that promises continued economic turbulence,…

Beaujolais needs a brand. Could a label like Penfolds be the answer?

Wine gives the impression of being an industry where nothing much ever happens. Where companies metaphorically slumber in cool darkness,…

Why wine industry must be ready for more warning labels

The series of shocks to the wine world over the last three years has been relentless and unprecedented. From (in…

Vine-pulls back on agenda as Bordeaux’s wine struggles continue

By common consensus, this year’s en primeur campaign in Bordeaux was another lethargic one. Uninspiring in quality, high in price and…

China tariffs can’t hide Australia’s wider wine woes

Ten years ago I was talking to a very exasperated brand manager for one of the big Cognac houses. He’d…

Global heating should make wine industry rethink relationship with water

As I was researching this month’s column, a startling picture appeared in my Twitter feed of a sunken boat at…

The rise of the hybrid in wine

A few years ago we almost bought a Boston terrier – a small, square-headed, snub-nosed dog breed with character to…

How COVID-19 reshaped the wine landscape forever – comment

Two years on from the start of the global shutdown, are we now living in a post-COVID world? On the…