The Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest is set to return for its third year this July, running between Friday 15 - Sunday 17. Over the three days, festival goers and local cider producers will celebrate the history of Tasmania’s ‘apple valley’ by reenacting pagan traditions used in the cider producing regions of south-west England. The festival will be located at The Apple Shed in the Huon Valley, where Festival Director Sam Reid and his ...

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is set to release the 821 South Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc exclusively to the on premise mid-March, 2016. Named after a vast mountain range in the Southern Alps of Marlborough, 821 South is a crisp wine that is ripe with citrus and tropical fruits. “It’s no secret that Marlborough sauvignon blanc is a must have varietal on premise, accounting for one in every five glasses sold,” Angus ...

Pith & Vinegar is the new bar and beverage consultancy that’s quickly making a name for itself on the Melbourne scene. The business is being headed by well-known, former Senior Bartender of The Black Pearl, Fred Siggins, who has hung out his shingle to help the independent brands of the south. The business officially launched mid way through last year and offers marketing advice and brand advocacy, combining Fred’s knowledge of ...

Flying Dutchman No.3 Premium Dark Rum is a new, three year old rum that’s bucking the trend in production…This is a rum, made for whisky drinkers. No.3 has been made by the Zuidam Distillery in The Netherlands and is a relative newcomer to the Australian market, imported and distributed by Savant Spirits. It follows the successful Flying Dutchman White Rum and Flying Dutchman No.1, and Savant Spirits believe there is serious scope for the ...

Paul Evans has decided to step down as CEO of WFA to take up a position with a corporate in Melbourne, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia President, Tony D’Aloisio announced today. “While we are saddened by Paul’s departure, we fully appreciate that this is an important career move for him and for his family. We thank him for his service to WFA,” said D’Aloisio. “Paul has been CEO of WFA ...

Advertisements for XXXX, Jack Daniel’s and Bavarian Bier Café were among seven found in breach of the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) in 2015, the initiative’s annual report has revealed. The Year in Review 2015 report said 133 complaints were received by ABAC about alcohol advertisements shown on free-to-air television, outdoor billboards, online video streaming channels, social media and packaging, among other media. Twenty nine investigations were launched as a result of the complaints and seven ...

Perth’s Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery can now open its cellar door after fending off dogged opposition from a neighbouring liquor retailer. All Night Long Pty Ltd, the licensee of the adjacent premises known as Liquor Barons Perth, sought to overturn the May 2015 decision awarding the West Perth distillery its tavern licence. The retailer argued before the Liquor Commission of WA that Hippocampus was “motivated by self-interest not by the public ...

Coles Liquor’s performance was further bolstered by price investment, Liquorland store renewals and range simplification during the half year ended December 31, according to parent company Wesfarmers. Coles Food and Liquor recorded sales growth of six per cent for the half. Divisional earnings were up 5.6 per cent to $945 million for the half on revenue growth of 3.1 per cent. The announcement came two days before that of rival ...

McWilliam’s Wines revealed this week that a reduction of over 800 SKUs from its portfolio has been part of a wider restructure of the business undertaken during CEO Rob Blackwell’s tenure with the business. Just 300 products have been maintained out of the 1,100 that were previously part of the company’s portfolio. “We’ve gone through an aggressive exercise in scaling back the number of brands and products, which has now enabled us to focus on ...

The Australian Liquor Stores Association’s latest study tour returned from Japan this week. Participants included Young Retailer of the Year Krystal Hall, as well as retailers from Liquor Barons and Cellarbrations among others. The tour looked specifically at how convenience retail works in the country, with participants visiting stores in both Tokyo and Kyoto as well as meeting with suppliers of wine, beer and spirits to understand the dynamics of the market and at retail ...