The value of Australian wine exports has surged 13% to AU$2.44 billion in the past 12 months ending 30 September, with mainland China representing 30% of the total wine export value, according to the Wine Australia.

Champagne Lanson has unveiled its festive range which includes its ‘Santa’ brut miniature Champagne bottles and a trio of “innovative” musical gift boxes. 

Penfolds has unveiled its latest creation, a multi-vintage blend of three vintages of its top label Grange – the 2008, 2012 and the yet to be released 2014 – that costs AU$3,000 a bottle. Called ‘g3’ head winemaker Peter Gago said he expects it to attract controversy.

French drinks producer Pernod Ricard has reported a stronger than expected performance for the first quarter, with organic sales rising by 5.7% driven by accelerating demand in China and the US.

The House of Chanel has confirmed it has bought Château Berliquet in Saint Emilion, adding it to its stable of properties in the region.

Northamptonshire-based craft distiller Warner Edwards has secured its most lucrative export deal to date after signing a deal with Germany’s Edeka group, the largest supermarket chain in the country. 

Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn is under fire for its claims that using pieces of oak barrels to flavour its beer counts as ‘barrel-ageing’.

It will take years for the forests, hillsides and wineries of California’s wine country to recover after 10 days of intense wildfires that claimed 41 lives and destroyed thousands of homes, but damage to the wine industry in the Napa Valley does not appear to be widespread, Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) has said.

A new study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, has confirmed that alcohol improves our ability to speak a second language.