Gourmet news

• Weeds big topic at organic field day

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Increased herbicide resistance in ryegrasses and weeds will be a real threat to farming and viticulture in the future, says scientist Dr Charles Merfield, of the BHU (Biological Husbandry Unit Organics Trust) Future Farming Centre at Lincoln University.
  He was speaking at a Southern Organic Group field day on Bruce and Merril Catto's Waipahi property in front of 115 people on November 23.
  Organiser Allan Richardson said the theme of the event was ''Growing great crops and pastures with less chem
  
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• Plucking the foreign goose

  06-12-2016 01:28
  The morning news on the ABC network featured blondes, and more blondes, riding a derelict van along a non-descript street in sunny Australia. It did not matter who they were, or even where they were. They were simply “backpackers”, the sort of culturally designated code for all that is money, and all that is budget. Accustomed to the politics of plunder, the Australian budget minders have been wondering how best to cut hands that feed them over the years. Of late, the only story that
  
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• Pernod Ricard lauded for corporate responsibility

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Drinks company Pernod Ricard has secured the top spot in Vigeo Eiris’ international corporate responsibility index for September 2016. It was awarded for its environmental protection policies and its mitigation of products' 'societal impacts', the company announced last week.
  It currently possesses an ‘A-’ grade from the UK’s Carbon Disclosure Project for its actions to better manage climate change, which include its pledge to reduce CO2 emissions per unitproduced on prod
  
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• Martinborough vineyards contaminated by spray-drift

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Up to eight vineyards in Martinborough have reported damage to vines, and some could experience significant crop losses. Samples have been collected by the Greater Wellington Regional Council to try to discover exactly what has caused the damage, but some wineries suspect the cause is most likely to be agricultural spray-drift. The regional council confirmed it was investigating an incident reported on November 21 relating to a helicopter in the area several weeks before. The council said sample
  
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• China still a ‘big question mark’

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Despite Asia now accounting for 30% of its exports, Gaja, one of Italy’s most well-known wineries, still finds the Chinese market something of a puzzle, admitted Gaia Gaja.
  Speaking to dbHK during her Hong Kong trip to launch the new 2013 vintage, the capable heiress confessed that even after 15 years in China, the winery still faces hurdles to expand its share in the market, hampered by the country’s market segmentation, a result of different drinking cultures and distribution netwo
  
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• Blossom Hill: Emphasis on fizz for wine re-brand

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Treasury Wine Estates is re-naming its Blossom Hill Fruit Bloom range in order to stress bubbles over fruit. Investment has been funnelled into the sparkling range which will be known as Blossom Hill Spritz. The ingredients won’t change, but the name and packaging have undergone a refresh in order to better match the name and the product, “namely a slightly bubbly, refreshing, lighter proposition, compared to others in the market”.
  
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• A new kind of bottle shop

  06-12-2016 01:28
  The selection of wines on tap at The Drink Hive in Rosebery changes monthly, and customers are encouraged to bring along old bottles to refill. This month’s selection includes a Pinot Rosè, a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes from the Swinging Bridge winery in the Central Ranges, NSW. Re-using bottles reduces the impact on the environment (Bertaud and Farrell are against plastic bags and wear aprons made from recycled material), but also allows Bertaud to stock varieties tha
  
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• $100,000 cellar door grants through WET rebate

  06-12-2016 01:28
  Winery owners will be able to spend up to $100,000 on sprucing up their cellar doors under a Federal Government grants program to boost the wine and tourism sectors. The grants will be available to eligible wineries as part of an overhaul of the Wine Equalisation Tax Rebate scheme, intended to put an end to rorting by “phantom winemakers”. Revenue Minister Kelly O’Dwyer and Assistant Agriculture Minister Anne Ruston have announced the Government’s final plan for the WET o
  
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