Wine markets in South-East Asia are calling out to be explored, with the short South American harvests and Brexit leading developments in global wine supply and trade. The Rabobank Global Wine Quarterly Q3 2016 says headwinds for wine consumption in SEA still dominate the outlook in the near time, but opportunities are apparent and longer term fundamental drivers with appropriate catalysts could see some benefit. “The rapid economic development in recent years has been effective in elevating many more of the region’s 622 million residents into the burgeoning middle class,” says senior analyst Marc Soccio. “These budding consumers are still not very evenly distributed across this diverse region, but it is this economic dynamism, further supported by the youthful demographic profile of the region, that is widely regarded as the promise of South-East Asia as a market.” The British pound’s depreciation and aftermath are cause for concern in the world’s largest wine import market, and the challenging harvests in Chile and Argentina have reduced global supplies of some lower-end commercial varietals, Soccio says. THE LATE NZ Wine Hall of Famer Richard Riddiford, who founded and co-owns Martinborough-based Palliser Estate Wines, has died after a short illness at the age of 65. The wine industry personality – a key figure in industry initiatives including the Family of Twelve, a group of 12 wineries that promotes New Zealand wines in export markets – stepped down as managing director in 2015 after a quarter century of running the winery that exports the majority of its product. He also developed the Toast Martinborough annual festival, and was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000 for his contribution to the industry. Riddiford owns around 16 per cent of Palliser. MARKET DOMINANCE RICHARD RIDDIFORD THE VINEYARDS OF BANNOCKBURN In a New Zealand first at this high level of detail, vineyard owners of the Central Otago area of Bannockburn have collaborated to produce a vineyard map for an entire sub-region. The A1-sized map contains features and details such as vineyard ownership, varieties planted, topography, row orientation and individual vineyard blocks. It also outlines the boundaries of the Bannockburn sub-region, which is the land south of the Kawarau River and east of Walkers Creek (Kawarau Gorge) across to the Clutha Arm of Lake Dunstan below the 400m contour line. A vineyard register links the vineyards to the owner or winery and lists the vineyard size, while another key indicates varieties planted and other features. Bannockburn currently has 325ha of vineyards, with little bare land on vineyard suitable sites left available to plant, and consists of 78 per cent Pinot Noir, eight per cent Pinot Gris, six per cent Riesling, five per cent Chardonnay and three per cent of another seven varieties. The area’s brands include Carrick, Mt Difficulty, Domain Rd, Wild Earth Wines, Bald Hills, Remarkable Wines, Black Quail Estate and Doctors Flat. As a number of the Bannockburn wines are bottled as single vineyard wines, the map will be a useful tool for wine enthusiasts, educators and wine writers to better understand the origins of these wines, the collaboration believes. The completion of the map has also encouraged the vineyard owners of Bannockburn to consider applying to have the sub-region registered as a formal GI in the registration of the New Zealand Geographical Indications (Wines and Spirits) Registrations Act. The registration of the major regions and interested sub-regions is expected to come into force early in 2017. The maps will be available to purchase from Bannockburn wineries and more information is available from Felton Road’s Blair Walter at Blair@Felton- Road.com W I N E G R A B S
FT AUG 16
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