Wines of Australia Archives

G.H. Mumm Appoints Trina Smith as Terroirs Pacific Winemaker, Strengthening Sparkling Wine Excellence Across Australasia

G.H. Mumm has appointed award-winning winemaker Trina Smith as Mumm Terroirs Pacific Winemaker, overseeing production across Australia and New Zealand. Recognized as one of Australia’s foremost sparkling wine specialists, Smith brings over two decades of global experience spanning California, South Africa, and Italy.

Based in the Barossa Valley, she will lead winemaking for the Mumm Terroirs Collection, including Marlborough Prestige Brut, Brut Rosé, Central Otago Blanc de Noirs, and Tasmania Prestige Brut, while collaborating with the Maison’s Chef de Cave and regional growers.

Smith’s appointment reinforces Mumm’s commitment to crafting wines that express the unique terroirs of Marlborough, Central Otago, and Tasmania, three of the Southern Hemisphere’s leading cool-climate regions. Her leadership follows the successful launch of the Mumm Tasmania Prestige Brut (2022), a benchmark for Tasmanian sparkling wines and a reflection of the region’s growing significance, now accounting for over 40% of Tasmania’s total wine production.

Trina Smith states: “I’m thrilled to step into this role and continue building on Mumm’s legacy in Australasia. My focus will be on crafting wines that truly express the character of our region. Marlborough, Central Otago and Tasmania are world-renowned cool-climate regions, producing sparkling wines of exceptional finesse, energy and character and I look forward to shining an international light on our sparkling wines.”

Margaret River to Host World’s 50 Best Vineyards Awards November 2025

The World’s 50 Best Vineyards Awards returns in 2025, with this year’s event hosted in Margaret River, Western Australia. On Wednesday, November 19, the list of 2025’s finest vineyard experiences will be revealed at a special live event in Margaret River, encouraging travellers to discover the very best wine and gastronomy tourism in the world.

The Margaret River Region, in Western Australia’s Southwest, is the only premium wine region in Australia that combines world-class food and wine with pristine beaches, tall-timber forests, renowned surf breaks and ancient caves. In addition to its 200 vineyards and welcoming cellars, the region is home to a diverse selection of restaurants, from award-winning establishments to local favourites, presenting wine and food pairings that showcase the best of the region’s produce.

“We are absolutely delighted to bring The World’s 50 Best Vineyards awards to Western Australia later this year for the first time,” says William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Vineyards. “This region offers the perfect combination of world-class wine, vibrant gastronomy and breathtaking natural surroundings. From its pristine coastline and ancient forests to its dynamic food and wine scene, Margaret River delivers an unforgettable visitor experience. It’s an ideal setting to celebrate the innovation, excellence and diversity that characterize global wine tourism.”

Tourism WA Managing Director Anneke Brown said, “Welcoming The World’s 50 Best Vineyards to our iconic Margaret River Region is a proud moment for Western Australia. This globally recognized event will shine a spotlight on the world-class wine experiences found in WA and reinforces our reputation as a premium destination for travellers seeking extraordinary food, wine and nature-based tourism. We look forward to hosting industry leaders, media and wine enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing the very best our region – and our state – has to offer.”

The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list is compiled annually to spotlight and celebrate the leading wine tourism destinations around the globe. Each year, it highlights exceptional vineyards that offer unique visitor experiences, ranging from modern architectural masterpieces and UNESCO-protected ancient cellars to award-winning dining spots and intimate family-run wineries.

The Voting Academy, made up of more than 700 influential wine and travel experts and sommeliers, submit their nominations based on their best vineyard experience during the voting period. There is no set criteria for what constitutes best elements such as overall visitor experience, ambiance, cuisine, activities, views, service, staff, and value for money may have varying degrees of importance to different voters. The votes are then collated to determine the annual list of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards. Vineyards cannot apply to be on the list. Equally, no sponsor has any influence on the voting process.

The World’s 50 Best Vineyards is now fully integrated into the 50 Best brand portfolios, published by William Reed, which includes The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars, The World’s 50 Best Hotels, and regional iterations of the brand. This new alignment brings the wine portfolio – including World’s Best Vineyards and World’s Best Sommeliers’ Selection – under the globally recognized 50 Best umbrella, the leading authority in gastronomy, hospitality and travel.

Australian government invests $3 million to improve no/low wines

The Australian federal government has awarded a grant of almost A$3m (£1.6m) designed to boost quality and innovation within the burgeoning low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine market.

This grant from the Australian government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects funding scheme will be used to drive further innovation and improve standards within the no/low category. The project is called ‘Advancement of Australian Lifestyle Wines’.

Australian Vintage, whose portfolio includes McGuigan and Tempus Two, will serve as the project lead for the research. The chief winemaker Jamie Saint said: ‘The grant allows us to conduct research with a key objective of optimizing the flavor and mouthfeel of no and low products, as well as drilling down into consumer and market insights of the category.’

The company will team up with 10 industry partners to conduct the research: Treasury Wine Estates, whose brands include Penfolds and Wolf Blass, along with the University of Adelaide, the Australian Wine Research Institute, Flavourtech, DrinkWise, Tarac Technologies, S. Smith and Son, Danstar Ferment, Mauri Yeast and CHR Hansen.

‘The opportunity to work with a group of leading industry partners to take the growing no/low category to the next level is something we are enormously excited by, improving the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of the Australian wine industry,’ added Saint.

‘We want to position the Australian wine sector as the largest global producer of no/low wines.’

In 2022, the market value for no/low-alcohol drinks surpassed $11bn among 10 focus markets across the world, according to IWSR analyst data.

IWSR expects consumption to grow by 33% to $14.67bn by 2026, spearheaded by health-conscious adults in Germany, Spain, the USA, Japan and the UK.

BlockBar NFT Gifting Platform Launches with 300 Bottles of Penfolds Wine

BlockBar, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT platform for wine and spirits has just diversified further by launching a gifting capability comprised of 300 bottles of Penfolds.

This new initiative lets the BlockBar community gift a highly coveted collectible wine or spirit connect the physical and digital world. In fact, BlockBar says the market for investing in high-end collectible spirits, like Penfolds wine, has increased by 582 % in the last decade.

Sam Falic, co-founder of BlockBar, told Forbes about the platform’s extension which targets both crypto experts and beginners: “This is of great value to add to your digital portfolio, aside from the digital art you own, you can now own a digital bottle and build your digital bar which is also backed by physical assets.”

NFT (Non-fungible tokens) are currently popular (almost in every industry), from art to rare wine and spirits. Since its founding in 2018, BlockBar has allowed consumers to purchase asset-backed NFTs directly from brand owners, to burn, redeem or sell the physical product. The actual bottles are stored in a secured facility in Singapore. BlockBar also gives the chance to gift the physical product, and the NFT gifting platform is designed so that anyone can use it.

Penfolds wine estate has launched a limited edition NFT tied to its rare Magill Cellar 3 barrel of wine, available to purchase for $130,000.

Dov Falic, the other co-founder of BlockBar, explained: “All you need to know is that you are receiving a gift which is a physical bottle that is stored for you in a secure location; the fact that it’s built on blockchain or uses NFTs is the mechanism to prove provenance and ownership. You can take possession of the bottle anytime you want.”

BlockBar’s first NFT gift launches on 18 January 2022, with limited edition NFTs linked to 300 bottles of Penfolds Magill Cellar 3 2018, priced around 0.13 ETH ($467). The founders described the Australian producers’ rare wine as the highest quality and representative blend of the brand’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz and “one of the most collectible and giftable wine brands in the world.”

When the NFT is purchased, the cryptographic version is stored securely on BlockBar with proof of authenticity held on the blockchain as a digital certificate of ownership. The recipient will receive an email with an invite to create or sign into an account and accept their NFT, receiving full ownership. The receiver now can choose to redeem the physical product, trade its NFT version within the BlockBar marketplace or store it in their virtual bar, all with no additional transaction fees.

The limited-edition NFT release includes a buyer experience: the first three people to purchase six bottles of NFT Penfolds Magill Cellar 3 2018 are invited to a private virtual session with Penfolds Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago, and will receive a personalized plaque for their wine gift box as well.

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Penfolds’ “Wine of the World” Label

Penfolds has just launched its most radical project to date, the inaugural, four-bottle “California Collection” which are blends from both South Australia and California wine together – a concept that is certainly revolutionary in the fine wine world.

Penfolds, South Australia’s premier winemaker, has again pushed the envelope by releasing the inaugural “Wine of the World” label.

The four wines in this new series are from the 2018 vintage. The top two wines in the collection, ‘Quantum Bin 98 Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon’ are both blends of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, with the Quantum Bin 98 mixed with 13% South Australian Shiraz and the Bin 149 blended with 14% South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.

The other two wines in the collection are Californian. ‘Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz’ is a blend of fruit from Napa Valley, Sonoma, and Paso Robles, and ‘Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon’ is from Napa Valley.

The wines were released globally a few weeks ago and are priced at $50 US – $700 US.

It was also hinted that more wines under Penfolds label will be coming from Bordeaux and Champagne in the future.

While the idea of doing a cross-continental blend does not seem like a possibility for most winemakers, Penfolds can now say that they have certainly pioneered this concept.

https://www.penfolds.com/

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