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A grand old grapevine from Langmeil’s Freedom Vineyard in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. The shiraz vineyard, planted in 1843, is the oldest in Australia – and possibly the world.

‘More ancient than most of Europe’s’: The astonishing secret of our old vineyards

Why do some of Australia’s gnarliest grapevines come from older, purer stock than France’s finest?

  • Luke Slattery

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Drinkers are shunning cheap wine – and so are potential buyers.

Penfolds maker Treasury Wine rules out axing unpopular cheap brands

Wolf Blass, Lindemans, Yellowglen and Blossom Hill were on the chopping block – but failing to find a buyer at the right price, Treasury Wine will keep them.

  • Jessica Yun
Taylors Wines managing director and third generation winemaker Mitchell Taylor is hoping to recapture the Chinese market.

Shedding old skins: Australian wine is getting a snaky makeover for Lunar New Year

With Beijing tariffs gone, the Year of the Snake is a lucrative window of opportunity for Australian alcohol producers looking to catch the eye of Chinese consumers.

  • Jessica Yun and Cindy Yin
Toru Takamatsu, 29, has traded the highfalutin world of elite restaurants for the vineyards of Hokkaido as he sets out to make his own wine after becoming the world’s youngest ever master sommelier five years ago.

Australian Toru Takamatsu became the world’s youngest ever master sommelier. Then he changed course

The exam is notoriously difficult. The preparation excruciating, even if it involves tasting amazing wine. But this wunderkind traded in a six-figure salary to learn how to make his own drop.

  • Lisa Visentin
Wine is our premium product in China.

Aussie wine’s back in China, but there’s a catch

China has become a catastrophe for global winemakers, but Aussie vintners think they can buck the trend.

  • Colin Kruger
Elodie (left), manager of Chateau Latour-Laguens, in Bordeaux, France, with the plans for the property in 2013.

Chinese-owned vineyards in France for sale at knockdown prices

Between 2008 and 2014 Chinese investors bought up dozens of Bordeaux estates and gave them new names like Imperial Rabbit or Gold Rabbit. Then everything changed.

  • Vivian Song
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‘A lot of pain’: The hangover looming from Australia’s budget-wine boom

Grapes rotting on vines; billions of bottles’ worth of wine sitting in tank farms: many inland wine producers are facing an unpalatable truth.

  • Luke Slattery

The November 9 Edition

Australia’s bulk-wine hangover | Sushi queen showdown | The widely-used word we still won’t spell out | Booker Prize-shortlisted author Charlotte Wood

A South Australian rock lobster cooking demonstration at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 5.

Trump’s touted tariffs threaten to sweep up Aussie lobsters

Many economists are concerned a new trade war between the world’s two biggest economies will have flow-on consequences for Australia.

  • Lisa Visentin

Champagne family feud over non-alcoholic sparkling wine

Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger has vowed never to make a non-alcoholic sparkling wine. But some in his family have other ideas.

  • Daniel Woolfson

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/wine-642