What beverage has grown continuously in consumption for the past 20 years in America? Wine. According to the Wine Institute, in 1993 Americans only drank 1.74 gallons of wine per capita. In 2013 that figure…
China may not be poised for world domination in wine, but it’s industry has grown wildly in recent years, and it’s now producing some well-regarded vintages.
In a letter to the Abbe Morellet in 1779, Benjamin Franklin mused that the strategic location of the elbow is proof that God desires us to drink wine. After all, had God placed the elbow lower on the arm…
If you’re a teetotaller, your friends have likely tried to convince you to taste red wine by swearing on its multiple health benefits. These benefits have been credited to a compound found in red wine…
Do you inspect the appearance of a wine before swirling it around the glass (holding the stem, naturally)? Inhale deeply while describing the flamboyant nature of your Shiraz? Do you do that slurpy thing…
The discovery of a 4,000-year-old wine cellar in Israel has provided the best direct evidence yet of the raucous, boozy celebrations that were a key part of the region’s culture at the time. The cellar…
Rudy Kurniawan this week became the first person to go to jail for selling fake wine. In addition to his ten year sentence he was ordered to pay US$20m, plus millions in restitution to victims, including…
Penfolds Grange is in the news again, a month after a 1959 bottle of Australia’s most iconic wine figured in the resignation of New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell. This time it is attracting attention…
Since the late Stone Age, people have been drinking alcohol to help them feel better. For the most part, this has been in order to “remember their misery no more” (Proverbs 31:6-7). But it’s widely believed…
Political scandals, the perennial product of the grinding gears of greed and governance, proliferate in the age of digital media, the 24-hours news cycle and anti-corruption bodies with wide powers. Constant…
The world’s wine markets have become far more competitive over the past decade, but despite the competition, Australia’s mix of winegrape varieties is not very different from the rest of the world’s. Since…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Broede Carmody, The Conversation
Wine businesses around the country are taking steps to offset the potential effects of climate change, a study has found. Associate Professor Jeremy Galbreath, of the Curtin Graduate School of Business…
Think of alcohol in Australian life and you probably think of beer: a “hard-earned thirst” and all that. Yet our national drinking taste is undergoing a dramatic change. Not only are we drinking less overall…
Wine grapes are a sensitive bunch. As Australia’s climate changes, the future of Australia’s viticulture will depend on the adaptability of its wine-growers. Tasmania produces wine with unique, cool-climate…
Australia has some of the world’s most ancient soils, many of which grow delicious produce. In this series, “The good earth”, soil scientist Robert Edis profiles some of those soils and the flavours they…
Dieters can now have their wine and drink it, guilt-free and minus the hangover. That’s the promise of so-called “light” or low-alcohol, low-calorie wines. But these wines are not considerably lighter…
Alcohol is a prime target for taxation. It’s a good source of government revenue; it allows governments to recoup costs for providing services to drinkers (such as accident and emergency care and policing…
A claim by Australia’s peak wine body that warning labels on bottles could prompt pregnant women to seek terminations is an “outrageous attempt to put commercial interests ahead of public health”, a drugs…
Wine grapes in Australia’s south are ripening on average 20 days earlier than they did in 1985, according to a study that attributes the trend to climate change, smaller harvests and improved technology…