OK just one last message from me for this year.

Second issue of Vinodiversity Magazine Published

The Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS) is the premier event for Australian winelovers interested in more interesting wines. So I devoted the second issue of the Digital Vinodiversity Magazine to a report and analysis of that show. Subscribe to the magazine via iTunes

Vinodiversity Magazine is published on the iOS platform which means that it can be read on iPads and iPhones. You can buy the magazine for a small price per issue, or you can buy an annual subscription for less than the cost of a bottle of wine. Buying a subscription allows you to download and view the current issue, and there is a free month's subscription before you pay anything. So if you want to read the report for free you can download it to your device and then cancel your subscription before the 30 days are up. But if you cancel you'll miss out on the next exciting issue.

Thus far Vinodiversity magazine is only available for iOS devices (iPads and iPhones). This is because the people who do the technical stuff for me started with the idea that the Apple Newsstand was the best platform for publishing digital Magazines. But now that they have the iOs system sorted they are working on integrating Androids into their system. So by mid 2014 I hope the magazine will be available for most mobile devices, - smartphones and tablets, Apple and Android.

I'll be posting updates on the Magazine's Facebook page.

January Issue of Vinodiversity Magazine

In the next edition I am preparing stories about

• Southern Italian Red Varieties
• Arneis
• A Primer on Fortified wine
• The Mudgee Region
• A Review of Andrea Frost's beautiful book Through a Sparkling Glass: An A-Z of the Wonderland of Wine
• Some tasting notes and videos
• A story about a wine variety that you may not know about
• A video on what to do with spilt wine
• Some recipes matched to the featured wines.... and a bit of wine gossip.

All collected, curated and crammed in for you on your iPhone or iPad.

Tempranillo becoming the world's most planted variety?

I have published an article on Vinodiversity about how the area devoted to the Tempranillo is rapidly increasing. It is now the fourth most widely planted variety after Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Airen. If you have never heard of the last variety you are not alone. It is a white wine variety that is planted almost exclusively in arid areas of Spain. It's main use is for wine to be distilled for brandy but it is also used for neutral white wines as well. See the article here.

Some in depth reading

If you are a stats freak you'll love the information from a new report from The University of Adelaide. Which Winegrape Varieties are Grown Where? is a large book containing detailed statistics about 1200+ grape varieties grown in over 500 wine regions throughout the world.

If you haven't got a copy of Jancis Robinson's Wine Grapes yet then you are not really trying. Details of how to get a copy in various formats is on this page

Another recent publication you might consider is Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson's World Atlas of Wine, The new and fully updated 7th edition of the classic wine reference book that has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. You can buy the hard copy from this store, or the version for your Apple iPad or iPhone from here.

The Protection of Vinodiversity

Did you know that there is an organisation devoted to the protection of Vinodiversity?

Wine Mosaic is a growing international group who are trying to broaden the range of varieties used to make wine. They have a nice little video (narration in French) about what they are doing at https://vimeo.com/81695837

Thank You

Finally, Thank you for your support throughout 2013. Looking forward to many more interesting wines and stories next year.

Darby