More than 20 grape growers in the south-east of South Australia have been waiting for months for payment for grapes they have supplied to Stonehaven Wines Australia Pty Ltd.

Grape marc is traditionally used on soils in vineyards, but its becoming more popular with livestock particularly during these dry times.

Concerns over the correct payment of North East winery workers has prompted a union to stage a public meeting next week.

Australian Vintage is proving its determination to overcome challenges posed by a strong domestic currency with the announcement of a flurry of new product launches for the UK this year.

Sam Harrop MW is part of a group of private investors that have bought the Te Motu vineyard and returned it to the control of the Dunleavy family.

Hunter Valley wine industry representatives have joined forces with the NSW Opposition to call on the O'Farrell Government to reinstate the cellar door subsidy scheme.

BROWN Brothers winery has announced the company's two smallest vineyards will be sold to cope with a struggling market.

Wine Australia is to invite influential figures from the world of wine to what it claims will be the most comprehensive analysis of its wine industry at a three-day event in Adelaide this September.

A court in Australia's Northern Territory has heard that a man was killed in September last year after a flatmate discovered he had drunk one of his beers.

"We use biological stimulants instead of traditional fertilisers - we apply these to soil and leaf using a soil drencher. This replaces the micronutrients normally used in viticulture."

The peak industry body Wine Australia is hosting a visit by 20 leading European sommeliers, wine educators and writers to highlight the regional diversity and quality of Australian wines as the high dollar and offerings from new world producers, as well as traditional nations such as France and Germany, undercut Australian markets.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a DNA testing kit they say can detect the grapevine red blotch virus. he virus devastated grape growing regions in the United States last year but has not been detected in Australia.

The hot dry summer, which delivered a dream season for grape growers, is causing headaches for transporters and wineries during harvest. Yealands Estate owner Peter Yealands said yesterday that warm weather had consolidated ripening, creating a major influx of grapes into the wineries at the same time.

Vignerons across the Island have expressed relief as well as optimism about their current harvest of vineyard fruits which they predict will yield some special 2013 vintage whites and reds.

A new generation of ownership structure at Seppeltsfield and Kilikanoon Wines has come to pass. Seppeltsfield estates Managing Director Warren Randall recently purchased Kilikanoon's share of Seppeltsfield and increased his share in Seppeltsfield to more than 90 per cent.

The sale of the Waitaki Valley's only winery should not affect the region's wine-producing capabilities, the head of the valley's wine growers' association says.

New Zealand winery Prophet's Rock is set for further expansion "into offshore markets" following its purchase by a group of Central Otago investors with existing viticulture interests in the region.

Australian wine brand Hardys is reinforcing its historic and upmarket credentials in the UK with the launch of two new ranges and a listing for its Eileen Hardy blend.

The Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA) says supermarkets' policy of only buying grapes at low prices from a handful of suppliers is destroying the industry.

Brown Brothers, an Australia-based family-owned wine company, has placed its White Hills Vineyard in Tasmania for sale, as part of plans to restructure its business due to decline of sales in Europe.