Today's #winebiz news for #wineindustry professionals...  $1.2 Million Spent on Controversial Wine Subsidy Program from January to March After months of silence, the Nova Scotia government finally revealed the total figure spent on a wine subsidy program that caused many of the province’s winemakers to feel sour…

Across six generations, the Hill-Smith Family has evolved from pioneering grape growers and winemakers to a global wine company integrated through vine cultivation, wine growing, wine making, and international distribution, with a diverse portfolio of world-renowned wine brands and vineyard sites across esteemed wine regions, including Barossa, Limestone Coast, Riverland, Tasmania, and Marlborough. In an intentional shift, they've upscaled their production strategy by implementing InnoVint as their winery operating system. This transition was part of a pivotal change to embrace purpose-built, modern technology to advance operations across their wine business from dirt to shelf. The Challenge Legacy Systems and the Need for Modernization Facing the reality of their legacy wine production software nearing end of life, Hill-Smith Family Estates (HSFE) recognized they needed technology to meet their current and future needs. Brent Jones, COO and Executive Director of Operations at HSFE

Sonoma County, CA, Dec. 14, 2023 – Lumo, a Smart Agtech company that supports growers and tackles water challenges head-on, is proud to announce a trial of its state-of-the-art irrigation technology with Treasury Americas, a division of the global premium and luxury wine company, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), in Napa.  Lumo aims to help growers revolutionize the way they manage water in their vineyards, empowering them to automate and closely monitor irrigation activities. Currently, 24 of Lumo’s smart irrigation valves are being utilized by TWE, allowing the company to efficiently manage irrigation on 90 acres of Napa vineyard land and setting an industry example for sustainable viticulture practices. The trial with TWE should provide concrete evidence of how Lumo’s advanced water technology can help to improve operational efficiencies while aiding in substantial water conservation. “Efficient irrigation is paramount in bridging the gap between water u

Unstable weather is making it increasingly hard to decide picking dates for grapes. We caught up with leading winemakers from Australia, France and the UK to find out how earlier harvests are impacting on grape quality. Having always been at the mercy of Mother Nature, winemakers are acutely aware of the impact climate change is having on their livelihoods. Temperatures aren’t only rising, weather patterns are becoming increasingly erratic and extreme, and incidents of devastating wildfires, floods, droughts and late spring frosts are becoming more commonplace in the world’s leading wine-growing regions. In 2021, France was besieged by a cocktail of climate catastrophes, from destructive spring frosts and raging wildfires to violent hail storms. The April frosts across swathes of French vineyard land were particularly brutal, resulting in losses of up to EUR 2 billion. Yields across France hit historic lows in 2021, down 30% on average, though losses were far worse in many

During her 20-year career at Yalumba, Louisa Rose has become one of the world’s most respected winemakers, challenging perceptions of Barossa Valley Shiraz and helping to put Australian Viognier on the world wine map. We caught up with her to find out how the 2022 vintage is shaping up, and the changes she’s making in the vineyard to safeguard the estate against global warming. How are things going at Yalumba – what’s new for 2022? All is well – Australian wine in general has had a few headwinds in the commercial red space on the back of the Chinese tariffs, and we’re working to balance our supply and demand. Things are generally looking strong as we have a well-balanced portfolio. What have you been focusing your efforts on recently? Sustainability is a big focus at the moment. We’ve been measuring our carbon footprint for decades, but all of a sudden people want to hear about it. We wouldn’t still be here if we hadn’t made i

Australian Vintage Limited (AVL), one of the largest global wine producers committed to quality grape and wine production, has chosen InnoVint as its vineyard and winery management software to advance AVL’s viticulture and wine production operations.  “AVL needed a modern, feature-rich, and fully mobile winery system to take our winemaking process to the next level while contributing to our sustainability journey with paperless digital adoption. InnoVint was the clear choice for us as it encapsulated all these requirements while also delivering one of the best user interfaces we have seen on any software,” says Josh Gibbons, CIO at AVL.  “We’re thrilled to find such an innovative, sustainability-focused wine partner to enhance our global enterprise business. Our visions perfectly align. We both have a deep passion and enthusiasm for the value great technology can bring to winery efficiency, quality management, and profitability,” says