In an RTD category crowded with canned versions of familiar […]
Read full story →In an RTD category crowded with canned versions of familiar […]
In an RTD category crowded with canned versions of familiar cocktails, Compa is building a different tequila proposition: real tequila, uncomplicated flavours and a clear focus on the simple serve. The range begins with two approachable 4% tequila fruit sodas. Passionfruit and Grapefruit & Blood Orange combine tequila, soda and fruit to deliver bright, refreshing flavour without trying to recreate a traditional cocktail in a can. “At the heart of Compa is Ranch Water, the clean, three ingredient phenomenon built around tequila, sparkling water and lime,” said Compa founder Nick Chappell. “Already well established internationally, Ranch Water represents a return to simplicity as many RTDs become sweeter, busier and increasingly complex.” Compa has brought that proposition to consumers through Australia’s first nationally distributed 6% Ranch Water range. Available in Lime and Pine Lime, the range is made with authentic tequila sourced from Jalisco and real lime juice, delivering a crisp, refreshing and distinctly tequila led drinking experience.
More than 200 delegates came together to examine leadership and workplace culture and opportunity across Australian wine.
The 2026 Australian Women in Wine National Symposium was held in Melbourne last week, bringing together more than 200 professionals from across Australia’s grape and wine community under the theme “Rising Together – Shaping What Comes Next”. The sell-out symposium provided an opportunity for industry leaders, business owners, winemakers, growers, researchers and emerging professionals to examine the people and leadership challenges facing the sector. Conversations tackled workforce, leadership and gender equity challenges, highlighted persistent gender disparities, and shared practical ideas for building a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable grape and wine industry. The symposium highlighted how women represent only 30 per cent of the sector, despite university wine intakes being almost evenly split between women and men. Conversation pointed to an even wider gap in key technical roles, with women accounting for just 16.7 per cent of winemakers and 21.5 per cent of viticulturists nationally.
The Grill at The International in Sydney has won Best Medium-Sized Wine List at the World’s Best Wine Lists Awards 2026.
The Grill at The International in Sydney has won Best Medium-Sized Wine List at the World’s Best Wine Lists Awards 2026, while The International Wine Bar and sister venue Shell House were also recognised among the global finalists. The awards were presented at The Savoy Hotel in London earlier this week, with representatives from shortlisted venues across six continents attending. The 21 awards were shared among establishments from nine countries. The Grill’s international win follows its regional victory in the same category in July. Its wine program is led by Alex Kirkwood and Jacqueline Turner, alongside the venue’s sommelier team. “What an honor it is to host this very special awards, and to welcome so many talented professionals from all over the world to celebrate the very best wine hospitality has to offer,” said World of Fine Wine editor and chair of the judging panel Neil Beckett.
The Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Alliance (APISWA) has appointed Ian McKendrick as its new Executive Director.
The Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Alliance (APISWA) has appointed Ian McKendrick as its new Executive Director, bringing extensive drinks industry and international trade experience to the role. McKendrick will lead APISWA’s engagement with governments, regulators and industry stakeholders across the Asia Pacific, working with the Alliance’s 10 member companies on policy, trade, taxation, responsible consumption and illicit alcohol. Joining APISWA from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), McKendrick has spent six years at the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), where he served as International Director and led the assoication’s work supporting the Scotch whisky industry across more than 160 markets. “I am delighted to be joining APISWA. Asia Pacific is one of the most dynamic and significant regions for the international spirits and wine industry, and the policy environment is evolving rapidly across its markets,” McKendrick said.
Byrne Farm’s 2024 ‘Single Barrel’ Chardonnay has been named Best Wine of Show at the 2026 Orange Wine Show.
Byrne Farm’s 2024 ‘Single Barrel’ Chardonnay has been named Best Wine of Show at the 2026 Orange Wine Show, leading a strong performance for Chardonnay at this year’s awards. The wine also claimed Best Single Vineyard Wine of Show and Best Chardonnay 2022 to 2024, while Swinging Bridge Wines was named Best Exhibitor of Show. This year’s competition attracted 290 entries, with judges awarding 26 gold, 57 silver and 97 bronze medals. Chair of judges Mike De Iuliis said the results demonstrated the continued development of wines from the Orange region.
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{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury","name":"Life & Luxury"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine","name":"Food & Wine"},"position":2}]} Life & Luxury Food & Wine This restaurant serves 16 courses – one of them is licking a log Every dish at Aptos is an exploration of Australian produce, but it’s the theatrical presentation that has guests talking. A hand-hollowed emu egg is one of the unusual vessels used at Aptos. Henry Trumble ″Lick the branch from left to right, suck the gumnut, and peel the leather.” It pays to read the instructions that come with the food at Restaurant Aptos, the wildest restaurant opening in Australia this year. I didn’t. Instead of licking the log, dot-painted with puréed quandong, wild plum, sunrise and desert lime, fermented chilli and kangaroo caramel, I sort of smooshed my lips along the smooth wood like a vacuum cleaner.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury","name":"Life & Luxury"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine","name":"Food & Wine"},"position":2}]} Drinks with Max Allen Life & Luxury Food & Wine These white wines are better after a lie-down Everyone knows the merits of cellaring a shiraz, but these Clare Valley rieslings are also ideal gathering dust. Harvest in the Peglidis vineyard. Giedre Budrius Bunny and Yvonne Peglidis have been farming their dry-grown vineyard at Watervale in South Australia’s Clare Valley for half a century. Every year they spend autumn harvesting the grapes – Bunny, aged 93, on the tractor and Yvonne, aged 85, picking and lugging buckets of riesling. Then, in winter, they prune the vines. “Is there a better advert for the benefits of hard work and regular glasses of riesling?” asks winemaker Kerri Thompson, who has been making a single vineyard wine from the Peglidis vineyard under her eponymous label since 2007.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury","name":"Life & Luxury"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine","name":"Food & Wine"},"position":2}]} Life & Luxury Food & Wine What it takes to be a Michelin dining inspector. TikTokers need not apply The guide’s famously anonymous inspectors have been in Australia for the past year. We find out the pros and cons of judging the world’s best restaurants. If you spot a solo diner in a South Australian restaurant, they may well be a Michelin man (or woman). Getty Images/Adela Kacerova Solo diners have done very well in Adelaide since it was announced that there will be a Michelin Guide to South Australia. Anyone who turns up for a booking for one has been quietly scrutinised by staff. Is it an inspector paying a visit, or just a local punter out for a meal? “Do you think he’s one?” I asked the sommelier at Alanna Sapwell’s Esmay in Adelaide recently, pointing to a bespectacled gentleman sitting on his own at the bar ordering a multitude of dishes. “We’re keeping an eye out, just in case,” she confided.
The Victorian Labor Government has promised to cut red tape restricting venue late-night trading hours and slowing liquor licence applications, along with overturning the ban on dogs inside pubs, if re-elected in November. The proposed reforms would grant every pub in Victoria the automatic right to trade until 3am. Currently, operators need to go through what the government describes as an “onerous process” to trade past 1am, with most never choosing to try. Labor, which has been in power in Victoria for nearly 12 years, also promised to reduce the timeframe for standard liquor licence applications from 11 weeks to a mandated six-week timeframe, with public notification starting within two business days of lodgement. It will also work with Liquor Control Victoria and the Australian Hotels Association to develop options for multi-year licences for venues with strong compliance history, along with conditional approvals to allow ordering of stock and onboarding of staff prior to commencing liquor sales.
Drinkworks has signed a multi-year agreement with Kegstar to continue using its pooled keg network across Australia and New Zealand. The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between the Heineken-owned distributor and the international division of MicroStar Logistics and comes as Drinkworks looks to continue growing its production and distribution. Kegstar is the largest keg pooling provider in both Australia and New Zealand, with close to 100,000 kegs added to its fleet over the past 18 months. The model enables breweries of all sizes to access kegs through a shared asset network. It reduces costs and simplifies logistics, while also supporting a more sustainable circular economy.
The Australian Taxation Office has responded to a rising number of community tip-offs of suspected tax-related non-compliance in hospitality venues with a two-day intensive operation in Melbourne. Operation Tonberry saw the ATO conduct more than 25 surprise visits to venues suspected of misconduct over Tuesday and Wednesday. The visits targeted fast food outlets, restaurants and cafés, with pubs, taverns and bars also flagged as attracting significantly more tip-offs regarding alleged tax misconduct over the 2025-26 financial year. More than 2,500 community tip-offs about Australian venues were received by the ATO in total, with hospitality accounting for a higher proportion of the 52,000 tip-offs received overall than in previous years. The hospitality crackdown follows similar surprise compliance visits targeting South Australian vineyard owners and Darwin licensed venue operators over the past 13 months.