Wine prices may rise due to frost

Wine drinkers could pay more for their favourite tipple after frost damaged the 2014 harvest. Source: AAP

WINE drinkers could pay more for their favourite tipple after frost damaged the 2014 harvest.

Winemaker Australian Vintage, whose brands include McGuigan, Passion Pop and Tempus Two, says the amount of grapes it crushed for the 2014 vintage fell by nearly a fifth as a result of frost late last year.

And it expects the 2014 crush for the whole industry will be down on 2013 because of the damaging frost.

"Whilst this will help the industry's supply and demand position it is likely to lead to higher priced wine due to lower utilisation of the industry's processing assets," Australian Vintage chief executive Neil McGuigan said on Thursday.

"It is quite clear that the industry still has an issue with an overcapacity of processing capability."

Australian Vintage crushed 124,214 tonnes of grapes from the 2014 harvest, compared to 153,000 tonnes last year.

The drop came after frost significantly affected the company's vineyards at Balranald in NSW and near Swan Hill in Victoria.

The two vineyards produced 16,000 fewer tonnes than last year.

The company's Adelaide Hills vineyards were also down by more than a third.

However Australian Vintage believes the quality of the wine from its dry land vineyards looked outstanding and better than the 2013 vintage.

It described the quality of wine from irrigated regions was equal to the outstanding 2013 vintage.

The company still expects its net profit for the 2014 financial year to be significantly better than that of 2013 and in line with previous market guidance, despite overall sales being down on last year by about three per cent.

The decreases in overall sales were mainly due to reduced bulk wine sales in North America and the United Kingdom.

Exchange rates movements had been favourable during the financial year, resulting in an improved margin but some of that had been offset by customers in the United Kingdom demanding lower prices

Shares in Australian Vintage closed one cent lower at 33 cents.

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Drug-smuggling syndicate smashed

A drug-smuggling syndicate has been smashed after police intercepted a package of methamphetamines. Source: AAP

A DRUG-TRAFFICKING syndicate has been broken up after the recipient of a 12.5 kilogram package of methamphetamines was arrested in Perth.

The parcel was sent from Sydney in late April and intercepted by police, who switched the contents with an inert substance.

A 41-year-old Gold Coast man was arrested as he picked up the parcel in Perth on Sunday.

His home in Broadbeach, Queensland was searched and police seized mobile phones, precursor chemicals, manufacturing equipment and an estimated $1 million in cash.

A 35-year-old man was arrested a short time later and police raided his home in Londonderry, in Sydney's west.

It took police two days to sift through the large quantity of drugs discovered at the property.

Drugs manufacturing equipment, a sawn-off shotgun, ammunition, mobile phones and an estimated $1.5 million in cash were also seized at the home.

Additional search warrants were executed at six properties in Sydney and Perth, and altogether police seized nearly 100kg of methamphetamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and precursor chemicals.

The two arrested men were charged with attempting to traffic commercial quantities of controlled drugs and they appeared in Sydney and Perth courts on Monday.

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Blast on Indian train kills one

Twin blasts on a passenger train at a southern Indian railway station have killed a woman. Source: AAP

TWIN bombs planted on a train killed one person and wounded at least nine others in the southern Indian port of Chennai.

In the latest attack during ongoing national elections, the low-intensity blasts occurred in carriages of an overnight train from Bangalore as it pulled into Chennai central station after 7am (0130 GMT).

A 22-year-old woman working at IT outsourcing firm TCS was killed when one of the devices that had been placed underneath her seat exploded, said Rakesh Misra, general manager of the southern region for Indian Railways.

"At least two people have suffered grievous injuries and seven have minor injuries," Misra told reporters at the scene.

"Civil police ... are investigating what kind of bomb it was and why anyone would have placed the bomb."

Security forces cordoned off the blood-splattered platform where a large crowd of onlookers and delayed passengers gathered, while searches by bomb detection teams were stepped up in other stations.

Chennai police chief JK Tripathi said they were yet to detain any suspects, despite media reports of one or two people being questioned over the crude explosives.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attack, saying "such barbaric acts targeting innocent men, women and children only highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible".

Multiple low-intensity explosions are typically the hallmark of the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown militant network thought to have been weakened by the recent arrests of senior figures.

Sixteen people were killed in February 2013 when bombs strapped to bicycles exploded in the southern city of Hyderabad in an attack blamed on the network.

India's election, which ends on May 16, has seen repeated attacks by Maoist rebels based in the forests of central India who have killed at least 25 so far, according to an AFP tally.

One panic-stricken passenger told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that he saw three to four people "writhing in pain" after the blast on the train, which was set to terminate in the remote northeastern city of Guwahati.

The injured have been taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

The dead woman was identified as an employee of Bangalore-based TCS. The company said it was "deeply shocked and saddened at this unfortunate loss of life of our colleague in this tragic incident".

Her grandmother, named as Rajalakshmi, told PTI she was travelling home and was set to marry in another two months.

"She was to come home today. But now only her body is coming", she was quoted as saying.

Security has been tightened across India as the country holds its six-week general election.

Voting has already taken place in most major cities, including Chennai, which went to the polls last week.

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New list ranks Grange as top wine

A new classification of Australian wines has listed Penfolds Grange as the nation's top drop. Source: AAP

WHILE the thought of a bottle of Penfolds Grange may now leave a bitter taste in the mouth of former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell, a new list ranking Australia's best drops has given the wine top billing.

Online wine marketer Langton's has released its sixth classification of local wines which includes 139 of the country's best performing and most prized labels.

The list includes 21 wines ranked exceptional including Grange, Henschke's Hill of Grace Shiraz, Jim Barry's The Armagh Shiraz and the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon from Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

Other wines included in the classification are listed as outstanding or excellent.

Penfolds Grange has long been renowned as a great drop, and made headlines last month when Mr O'Farrell was forced to resign as NSW premier after misleading a corruption inquiry about whether he received a 1959 bottle of the fine wine.

Langton's head of auctions Tamara Grischy said it was no surprise that the iconic Grange had again topped the rankings.

But she said the latest list had also unearthed some new and different styles that were making their mark on the fine wine world.

"Our winemakers have driven the transformation of Australian chardonnay, from bold and oaky to refined and elegant," she said.

"The demand for this style is clear to see, with a number of Chardonnay wines being recognised."

Ms Grischy said winemakers were also taking inspiration from the past with sparkling shiraz labels returning to the classification.

The first Langton's classification was released in 1990 and featured just 34 wines.

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MH370 relatives to be sent home

RELATIVES of those on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight will be checked out of hotels and sent home to await updates on the search.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the airline said relatives would be sent home and Family Assistance Centres around the world would close on May 7.

"From past experience, we understand the continuing search and investigation would be a prolonged process," it said.

"While Malaysia Airlines is committed to continuing its support to the families during the whole process, we are adjusting the mode of services and support.

"Instead of staying in hotels, the families of MH370 are advised to receive information updates on the progress of the search and investigation and other support by Malaysia Airlines within the comfort of their own homes, with the support and care of their families and friends."

The airline said it would keep in close touch with the families via phone calls, messages, the internet and face-to-face meetings, and Family Support Centres would be established in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.

The detailed plan of follow-up support and services would be passed on to families in person, Malaysia Airlines said.

The relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers on board the ill-fated flight have been up in arms about the airline's handling of the disaster, staging protests, threatening hunger strikes and labelling it a murderer, saying they would not accept the assertion that all on board are dead until physical proof is found.

MH370 went missing 55 days ago on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

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Regal touch boosts Blue Mountains tourism

The royal visit to the Blue Mountains has boosted the fire-ravaged region's visitor numbers. Source: AAP

PRINCE William and his wife Catherine's trip to the Blue Mountains has not only lifted spirits in the fire-ravaged region but boosted its bottom line.

Some 2500 people crammed into Echo Point when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the tourist site earlier this month.

And now, just under a fortnight later, the operators are thanking them.

Tourist site Scenic World recorded a 20 per cent increase on the same time last year, with more than 20,000 visitors through the gates throughout Easter and Anzac Day period.

Coupled with the holidays and an exhibition launch, the royals have helped revive the attraction's numbers, head of marketing Amanda Bryne said.

Meanwhile, Wotif.com experienced a 14 per cent surge in accommodation bookings for the period after the royal visit leading up to Anzac Day.

With majestic shots of the Three Sisters beamed across the world, Blue Mountains Tourism CEO Randall Walker said the media coverage of the high-profile guests was "absolutely priceless".

He said visitors to the area typically averaged 11,000 tourists a day - a figure that "evaporated" after the October bushfires.

While numbers have been steadily climbing back to their peak, the arrival of the regal couple helped deliver record rates over the long weekends.

As well as injecting some much needed revenue into the community's businesses, Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said the visit had lifted morale.

He said the young couple's visit was the perfect antidote for the region, which had lost 500 jobs as a direct consequence of the fires.

"It says the world hasn't forgotten," he said.

"That people have gone through hell and are recovering from that."

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Gonski steps up as ANZ chairman

Respected businessman David Gonski (pic) is set to replace John Morschel as ANZ chairman on May 1. Source: AAP

RESPECTED businessman David Gonski takes control in ANZ's boardroom on Thursday, replacing the bank's chairman of four years John Morschel.

Mr Gonski was appointed to the ANZ board in December with the view to taking over from Mr Morschel when he retired on April 30.

"It has been an honour to have served as an ANZ director since 2004 and to have been chairman of ANZ over the past four years," Mr Morschel said.

Mr Gonski, a former chairman of the federal government's Future Fund, previously served as a director for ANZ between 2002 and 2007.

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Tenants sign on for Barangaroo tower

Two firms have signed up as tenants for the tallest building at Sydney's Barangaroo development. Source: AAP

PLANNING for the tallest office tower at Sydney's Barangaroo development will commence after the developer secured two tenants for the 49-storey building.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia will take 12 floors of the tower and HSBC Bank Australia three and a half floors, under new leases signed with developer Lend Lease.

Lend Lease will now commence development and funding of the building, and intends to introduce co-investors into the tower "at an appropriate time in the future", it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2014, and is expected to be completed in the 2016/17 financial year.

Barangaroo South is planned to be a major financial district of Sydney's CBD, and will include an exclusive casino and hotel to be operated by Crown Resorts.

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Gold dazzles at refurbished Perth Mint

Perth Mint has opened a new exhibition with the most valuable coin in the world as its centrepiece. Source: AAP

THE biggest, heaviest and most valuable coin in the world is the centrepiece of a new permanent exhibition at the refurbished Perth Mint.

The colossal coin is one tonne of 99.99 per cent pure gold, worth more than $50 million.

Measuring 80 centimetres in diameter and more than 12cm deep, it depicts a red kangaroo surrounded by rays of sunlight.

And it sits atop its very own vault, which swallows it up each night when the mint closes.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said the coin would be a big drawcard for the Mint, which has undergone a $5.5 million redevelopment in two stages, the biggest revamp it has had since it was founded 115 years ago.

Mr Barnett said he expected visitor numbers, which already nudge 80,000 a year, would rise dramatically.

The coin was recently exhibited around the world and has increased already strong sales of bullion coins from the Mint.

"It achieved its objective - we are selling more gold bullion coins," chief executive Ed Harbuz said.

Also on display at the mint are massive gold nuggets, including the world's second biggest, Newmont's Normandy nugget.

Perth Mint was established as a branch of Britain's Royal Mint in 1899.

Its primary functions of refining gold from WA's eastern goldfields and striking gold coinage continues today but at its refinery near Perth Airport, with precious metal coins struck onsite at the Mint.

The Mint also issues Australia's official bullion and commemorative coins.

In 2012/13, it refined more than 300 tonnes of precious metals, reported close to $3 billion worth of holdings in its depository, and sold 4.3 million gold, silver and platinum coins.

It is one of only four mints in the world that produces bullion coins.

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Tunisia uses Star Wars to rescue tourism

IMPERIAL stormtroopers are set to march through Tunisia's capital as part of a new effort to attract tourists and burnish the image of the North African country.

Tunisia's national tourism office is collaborating with the local Star Wars fan club to hold a convention starting on Wednesday in the country, which boasts sets from the popular science fiction film franchise deep in the desert.

The campaign also features a Star Wars-themed online video set to the tune of Pharrell Williams' popular hit Happy, involving characters from the films.

Tunisia's beach resorts were a popular destination for European tourists but many stayed away after the 2011 overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Tourists have been slowly returning and the new campaign seeks to promote lesser-known Tunisian attractions.

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