New Zealand sweet wines permitted in UK

The generic trade body, New Zealand Wine Growers has welcomed a ruling that will allow the import of sweet wines into the UK.

The IWC's Discovery Tasting New Zealand medal winners

Port house Quinta Do Noval is releasing the latest vintages of its still red wines through Gonzalez Byass UK.

On-trade range for New Zealand's Ara

New Zealand producer Winegrowers of Ara has produced a new range for the on-trade.

New Zealand Wine Fund sold

One of New Zealand's largest wine producing companies has been sold to an American business.

Anne Krebiehl: Final blog from New Zealand harvest

So very few days are left in the gorgeous Central Otago autumn sunshine and still a little hung over after the harvest celebrations, my picking mates James and Martin and I have a tour of the Felton Road Winery:  spotlessly clean and pervaded by the smell of the fermenting fruit.

Anne Krebiehl: Penultimate blog from New Zealand harvest

Penultimate Instalment - End of Harvest

Anne Krebiehl: Tenth blog from New Zealand harvest

Picking continues apace. When we get to the vineyards now, we can see more and more picked rows with foliage of burnished yellow, rust and red. By now we are all comfortable with each other and already have a well-used stock of in-jokes. It all makes for pleasant days and lots of laughter, but speed remains of the essence.

anne Krebiehl: Ninth blog from New Zealand harvest

As the days and weeks in Central pass, late summer turns into autumn. The poplars have turned into glowing colours; their heart-shaped leaves are flying in the gusts of wind, covering the road in a carpet of bright yellow.

David Cox to head New Zealand Wines

David Cox is the new chief of New Zealand Wine Growers for the UK and Europe.

Anne Krebiehl: Eighth blog from New Zealand harvest

The harvest steps up. Our days just evaporate, there is no standstill: we generally turn up at a quarter to eight so that picking starts promptly at 8 o'clock. On some days we are all muffled up in woolly hats, on others a jersey will do.

Anne Krebiehl: Seventh blog from New Zealand harvest

For the duration of the harvest I am staying at Jackson's Orchard just outside Cromwell. Before stubborn pioneers like Sue Edwards and Verdun Burgess of Black Ridge, Lois and Rolfe Mills of Rippon and Alan Brady of Gibbston Valley started planting vines in 'Central' in the 1980s (more of their wines in a later instalment), horticulture was and to a degree still is the mainstay of this area: Central Otago cherries and apricots are famous and there are many apple orchards, too.

Now in autumn the roadside stalls are fully stocked. I can stay at the orchard amidst rows and rows of trellised apricot trees since the season is over. Usually the huts, former motel units that were moved here, are occupied by the cherry, peach and apricot pickers and when I arrived, I saw the last fragrant batches of peaches being despatched. Since I moved in, the orchard has turned colour and I can walk ankle-deep through russet-coloured leaves to State Highway No. 6. From Jackson's own fruit stall I can buy milk, apples and tomatoes and one of these days I will have to try the Otago cherries in Kirsch. My neighbours are two Ecuadorean girls harvesting for Mount Edward and three Thai fruit pickers who keep making Tom Yum Soup in our shared kitchen shack. It is very quiet and very beautiful here and having my own little hut is luxurious.

Anne Krebiehl: Sixth blog from New Zealand harvest

Excitement: the first day of picking! After the night frost I am dressed in layers of clothes. I was told to be ready for pick-up at 07.45 and Bruce, an athletic Englishman who made New Zealand his home and works for Felton Road full-time arrives promptly.

We drive to the Cornish Point Vineyard on Lake Dunstan and bit by bit various pickers arrive. As of yet they are nameless, but we are well-mixed in age and origin. We try and stay warm in the early morning and smile tentatively at each other, some of the older hands clearly know each other and we strangers laugh at their familiar banter.

Anne Krebiehl: Fifth blog from New Zealand harvest

On the coach again southbound from Blenheim to Christchurch: the route runs along the coast and to my right there is bush and steep cliffs, to my left is the Pacific Ocean. Fresh crayfish is sold at roadside stalls and I regret that I cannot just hop off to sample some of it.

Anne Krebiehl: Fourth blog from New Zealand harvest

Red eye: am on the early coach from Nelson en route to Renwick. State Highway 6 winds its way through coniferous forests, crosses the turquoise Pelorus River in a picturesque, narrow valley and continues south to reach the expansive vineyards of Marlborough: Renwick, a sleepy highway village, sits amidst these and it's yet again a case of dropping the rucksack, grabbing bicycle, helmet and map and heading off to hit the cellar doors.

Anne Krebiehl's third wine harvest blog from New Zealand

South Island - what a difference! Anne Krebhiel continues her tour around the wine regions of New Zeland - this week she crosses over into the South Island.

Anne Krebiehl, wine writer's blog from the New Zealand harvest

Kia Ora from New Zealand and welcome to the first instalment of my Kiwi wine adventure: I have come here from London to harvest grapes at the illustrious Felton Road estate -- one of the world's most southerly vineyards -- in Central Otago on New Zealand's South Island. To make the most of this long journey I decided to come early and taste my way through the various wine regions to give my shamefully Eurocentric palate a real understanding of Kiwi wines and their huge success on the world stage.

Anne Krebiehl, wine writer's blog from the New Zealand harvest

Kia Ora from New Zealand and welcome to the first instalment of my Kiwi wine adventure: I have come here from London to harvest grapes at the illustrious Felton Road estate -- one of the world's most southerly vineyards -- in Central Otago on New Zealand's South Island. To make the most of this long journey I decided to come early and taste my way through the various wine regions to give my shamefully Eurocentric palate a real understanding of Kiwi wines and their huge success on the world stage.

SABMiller in China expansion

Brewing giants SABMiller has acquired one of China's largest breweries in a $42 million joint venture that will expand its influence in one of the world's most lucrative markets.

New Zealand screwcap pioneer dies

New Zealand winemaker Ross Lawson, founder of Lawson's Dry Hills, has died aged 66.

China boosts Remy Cognac sales

Continued growth in premium categories of Cognac in China helped Remy Cointreau post a 0.9% increase in turnover on its own brands in the nine months to Dec 31.