Dan Traucki’s words on exporting to China. Now that the Australian dollar has dropped significantly, it is a good time to consider exporting wine to China and indeed the rest of Asia, as the potential over time is enormous. For those who are new to exporting, the first step is to get an export licence from AGWA (Australian Grape & Wine Authority). The next step is to find a potential customer/importer...

Last night, Sarah Sammon, Co-Founder of Simply Rose Petals, became the first Australian winner of the Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award. The award is part of a global initiative and recognises the success and vision of up-and-coming, entrepreneurial business women, specifically those under the age of 40. This age group is chosen in remembrance of Madame Clicquot, who, at just 27 years of age, took over ...

The third annual ‘Women in drinks’ International Women's Day Lunch took place this week on Wednesday March 4.  Near 300 women and men from across the drinks industry joined at Doltone House, Sydney to celebrate the globally recognised day and to hear Catherine DeVrye – former Australian Executive Woman of the Year, give a powerful and emotive speech on the story of her life and experience in customer serv...

According to Nielsen, the days of modest and cheap private label products have passed, and consumer support for store brands is increasing both globally and locally. Look around supermarkets and liquor stores today and you see gourmet hams and award-winning wines increasingly sporting a house brand or exclusive brand label. Private labels are no longer viewed simply as low-cost alternatives to name brands...

Prominent UK anthropologist, Dr. Anne Fox, released her paper on the underlying causes of violence and anti-social behaviour in the night time economies of Australia and New Zealand this week. The paper draws on extensive field research in both countries and over 20 years studying drinking cultures and human behaviour. In the paper, Dr. Fox delivers new insights and suggests practical measures to change c...

With pioneers of the lighter in alcohol category, such as Lindeman’s Early Harvest launched in 2007, and more and more producers entering the category each year, the lighter in alcohol and calorie wine category is no longer a ‘new’ category. Nor is the lighter in alcohol category a small market. The lighter in alcohol market is 1.5 times larger than the entire Riesling market, twice the entire sparkling M...

The final changes made to the Liquor Legislation Amendment (Statutory Review) Act 2014 became effective on Sunday, the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing reminded licensees today. The provisions include:   A liquor licence exemption for non-profit organisations for up to six fundraising functions per year. Simpler notification requirements for holding functions under a multi-function limited lic...

The 2015 Melbourne Food and Wine Legends were announced today at Melbourne’s Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex. Melbourne Food and Wine Legends are part of Melbourne Food and Wine and HOSTPLUS’ industry ‘hall of fame’ program, which pays tribute to the leaders, groundbreakers and visionaries of Victoria’s food and wine industry. The six inductees include Miranda Sharp – Founder of Melbourne Farmers’ ...

Wines of Western Australia (WoWA) has jumped behind the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) in its fight to prevent wine tax hikes. The association also joins the Wolf Blass Foundation, as well as a growing number of other leading winemakers and regional wine organisations in their campaign. Together, these organisations and winemakers will also be arguing against the separate tax rebate scheme for ...

Woolworths has announced significant changes to senior management roles in both its Food and Liquor businesses today. The most significant change sees Brad Banducci, previously Director of Liquor at Woolworths, appointed as Managing Director of the Australian Food and Liquor business. Woolworths Chief Executive Officer, Grant O’Brien said today: “We have appointed a new leadership team under Brad Banducci...