Reading Time: 9 minutes A recent study by Farmers for Climate Change revealed that climate is a top worry for producers. Respondents listed reduced profits and yields due to extreme weather events as key concerns. Many producers expressed interest in adopting new practices to develop greater resiliency. Seventy-six percent of producers said extreme weather had an impact on their […] Read more
Producers pivot in the face of changing climate
No one ever said farming was easy. Now, challenges posed by weather extremes have some producers looking at their enterprises a little differently
Australian wine industry faces hangover from China’s tariffs
Over two billion litres of wine in storage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s wine industry faces severe oversupply problems that will need years to resolve, experts say, pointing to Chinese tariffs, high production and export bottlenecks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vineyards nationwide have enough wine in domestic storage to fill 859 Olympic swimming pools, Rabobank said this week in its third-quarter wine report. […] Read more
Global wine trade hits record-high value but volumes fall
Canada 27th in production, sixth in imports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — The global wine trade reached record-high value last year, supported by a sharp rise in prices, but the amount of wine sold fell due to weaker demand and logistical problems, an industry body said. The International Organisation for Vine and Wine (OIV) said on Thursday that global wine exports in 2022 […] Read more
Charred U.S. west’s ‘wet ashtray’ wine grapes left to birds
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Heavy ground smoke clouded Hanson Vineyards in Oregon’s picturesque Willamette Valley for more than a week following a Labour Day windstorm that kicked up wildfires across the western United States. Jason Hanson expects his crews may only harvest five tons of grapes, including his Chardonnay and Gamay varieties, down from the 25 to […] Read more
‘Lightning siege’ sparks wildfires across California wine country
Almost 11,000 strikes reported over 72 hours
Reading Time: 2 minutes Vacaville, California | Reuters — Lightning strikes sparked dozens of wildfires in northern California’s wine country on Wednesday, burning dozens of structures and forcing thousands to flee their homes. California was hit by nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours, sparking 367 fires, nearly two dozen of them major, as the state suffered a record […] Read more
Michele Manelli — game changer in the world of wine
Here’s what happens when a young Italian abandons a flourishing financial career to “go farming”
Reading Time: 7 minutes I first met Michele Manelli two decades ago at Salcheto, the five-hectare vineyard he had recently bought. Nestled into a Tuscan hillside, at the end of a dirt road, it was billed as one of the finest parcels of land in the Montepulciano area, 250 kilometres northeast of Rome’s airport. The Salcheto story and his […] Read more
WTO panel to examine U.S. complaint on B.C. wine sale rules
Reading Time: < 1 minute Geneva | Reuters — The World Trade Organization set up a dispute panel on Friday to rule on a U.S. complaint against restrictions in British Columbia on wine sales in grocery stores, a WTO official said. In line with WTO rules, the decision was taken after Canada made its second request at a closed-door meeting […] Read more
World wine output falls to 60-year low
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Global wine output fell to its lowest level in 60 years in 2017 due to poor weather conditions in the European Union that slashed production in the bloc, international wine organization OIV said. Wine production totalled 250 million hectolitres last year, down 8.6 per cent from 2016, data from the Paris-based […] Read more
‘Cellared in Canada’ wine label on way out
Reading Time: 3 minutes An often-used euphemism for wines made in Canada from blends using imported product is set to disappear from wine labels. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced the voluntary statement “Cellared in Canada” will no longer be used on labels for wines blended in Canada, as per revisions made in March to the agency’s wine […] Read more
Alberta halts ban on B.C. wine
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta will resume imports of wine from British Columbia starting Friday, as the B.C. government prepares to take its concerns over piping crude oil to court. In a brief statement Thursday, Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley said the province has suspended its ban on B.C. wine and will again allow “ordering, receiving and transportation” of B.C. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
