Latest news with #Rutherglen
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Shiraz hits dry patch as wine drinkers opt for sweeter whites like moscato
An oversupply of shiraz grapes and young drinkers trending towards lighter whites are putting the number one grape variety grown in Australia in a "diabolical situation". The world's oldest continuously productive shiraz vines were planted in the Barossa Valley in 1843. But despite the long history, drinkers are falling out of love with the heavy reds, prompting wine makers to pull out hectares of vines. The managing director of De Bortoli Wines, Darren De Bortoli, said consumers were moving away from reds in favour of whites. "Shiraz is in a diabolical situation at the moment," Mr De Bortoli said. According to the 2024 Wine Australia national vintage report, the shiraz crush dropped to its lowest levels since 2007. It's a far cry from Australia's record shiraz crush of 535,000 tonnes in 2021, with just 297,868 tonnes crushed last year. De Bortoli has vineyards in several wine regions, including the Hunter Valley, King Valley, Rutherglen, Heathcote, and the Riverina. Over the past two years, they have removed 130 hectares of red wine varieties in Rutherglen and the Riverina. Mr De Bortoli said there was a range of factors at play. "Leading up to COVID, the demand from China was exceptionally strong and a lot of new vineyards went in," Mr De Bortoli said. "Then we had an altercation between our prime minister and the Chinese government and were effectively banned from sales into China." He said that had now been resolved, but demand had not returned to the same levels. "Additionally, we've seen an anti-alcohol theme as well," he said. Data by the International Wine and Spirit Record shows drinkers aged 18–39 years old were more likely to choose wines described as sweet, delicate, soft and simple. The demographic also preferred low-alcohol options and were reducing the amount they drank. One such wine is moscato, an industry quiet achiever that is low alcohol and sweet. Katherine Brown is a fourth-generation family winemaker at Brown Brothers in Milawa, Victoria. She said moscato, which is made from muscat grape varieties, had grown to become their biggest product. "We released our first moscato about 35 years ago, and at the time it felt like the wine industry was having a laugh at us," Ms Brown said. Out of the 14,000 tonnes of fruit Brown Brothers produced in their 2025 vintage, 40 per cent will go towards making 20 different moscato-based products. "We have a theory that the next generation doesn't want to be seen drinking what their parents drank," Ms Brown said. "Crouchen riesling is a sweet white wine, but it's now old-fashioned." Ms Brown said prosecco had been the other big performer. "I've never seen growth like that before." Zero-alcohol wines were also increasing in popularity across all generations. "Gen Z is not going out as much, and we're seeing the baby boomers who are asked to drink less for their health," Ms Brown said. "I think there are big pressures on people at the moment about not drinking." Brown Brothers had also seen a decline in demand for red wine varieties, however, Ms Brown noted that wines came in and out of fashion. "Yes, there's a decline in red wine, but red wine grapes also make rosé, which is growing in popularity," she said. "This issue is not new. My grandfather was doing this over 60 years ago, when there was a pivot point and it was mostly red wine production. Mr De Bortoli said he was confident gen Z would discover wine as they aged. "It's definitely a demographic the wine industry is missing out on," he said.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Lucky Scots dad wins £122k casino jackpot as family prepare to welcome second child
James Taylor Gray was playing blackjack at the Grosvenor Casino Glasgow Riverboat when he struck gold turning a £1 bonus chip into an astonishing £122,000 win. A lucky Scots dad has hit the jackpot after winning a staggering £122,000 as his wife prepares to give birth next month. James Taylor Gray was playing blackjack at the Grosvenor Casino Glasgow Riverboat when he struck gold. The winning moment came when both James and the dealer revealed an Ace and King of hearts - a remarkable hand that secured the massive jackpot. The city centre casino erupted in celebration as his fellow players cheered the Rutherglen dad on. Thinking he had only won £500, James was stunned to learn the true amount he had scooped. James, 40, said: 'At first, I thought I'd won £500, which was the amount everyone else at the table won because I hit the jackpot. Everyone was cheering, and I couldn't understand why. "The person next to me told me I'd won the jackpot and the rest is a blur. I was in complete shock! I can't really remember what I said apart from 'you're kidding?' when I was told I won.' The stay-at-home dad plans to use his substantial winnings to support his family as they prepare to welcome their second child in July. And a family holiday is also in order while James makes plans to invest a significant portion of the money. Mark McCluskey, general manager at Grosvenor Casino Glasgow Riverboat, commented: ' What a win! The atmosphere was electric with the entire casino cheering and celebrating. We are thrilled for James and congratulate him on both his winnings and his family's new addition.' Blackjack is a popular casino game where players aim to have a hand value closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. The game is known for its mix of strategy and chance, making wins like James' all the more exhilarating. *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Grangemouth plans to be announced 'soon'
The UK government's energy minister has said there will be "announcements soon" on the future of Shanks, who is also the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, said the government was exploring a range of "exciting and viable" projects to secure a long-term transition for the of the refinery, Petroineos, ceased crude oil processing in April, with a planned closure this summer resulting in the loss of 430 said more than 80 potential investors in the site had come forward, with Scottish Enterprise handling due diligence on proposed projects. However the Scottish Conservatives have criticised Labour's approach to Grangemouth, saying it is "managed decline".Both the UK and Scottish governments have pledged millions of pounds to support the site, while the results of a £1.5m feasibility study - looking at potential low-carbon alternative uses - was published in to the BBC's Sunday Show, Shanks said discussions with investors on Grangemouth's future was ongoing and that they were focused on the "long-term".He said: "We've had some really positive meetings around potential investors, in fact there's more than 80 investors who have come forward."I'm hopeful we will have some announcements soon. We have some really exciting, viable projects coming forward that will deliver jobs at Grangemouth long into the future." Earlier this week, Jan Robertson, Grangemouth director for Scottish Enterprise, said she had received a "mixture of inquiries" from businesses, including those interested in the site as well as some which "have a good opportunity to become projects in the relatively near-term"."What I mean by that is the next three to four years," she told Holyrood's economy and fair work committee."Our approach very much at the moment is working with those and working as closely and quickly as we can to make the progress that we want to see in Grangemouth."Scotland's Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said at the committee that the "door's not closed" to companies and inquiries could still be made about working at Grangemouth, adding that Petroineos had also received Martin said she was hopeful for the future of Grangemouth."We could look back five years and start pointing fingers, but the most important thing is that in the last year - actually the last six months - Project Willow and the task force have moved things along in a way that's been swift, agile, focused," she said."I am feeling so much more confident than I did this time last year in the prospects for that site." Shanks' remarks come days after the UK government confirmed £200m would be provided to progress the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage scheme in said part of that investment – which it claimed would secure 18,000 jobs in the energy sector that would otherwise have been lost – would involve capturing CO2 at Grangemouth and transporting it to storage facilities under the North Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the Acorn scheme – which will be based at the St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead – would "support industrial renewal in Scotland". Shanks said the Acorn investment, announced as part of chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review, was designed to lure in further funding from private described it as "development funding" and said he was "confident" other investors would come also said current North Sea oil and gas projects would be allowed to run to completion but reiterated that no further licenses for drilling would be spending review also committed £14.2bn of investment to build the new Sizewell C nuclear plant on the Suffolk coastline, creating 10,000 said that Scotland was missing out on similar investment, and repeated calls for the Scottish government to end its "ideological position" of presumption against nuclear SNP has long rejected calls to end its effective ban, saying investment would be "better placed in areas of renewable energy".Shanks said: "I'm not going to make any apologies for the government investing in nuclear where thousands of highly skilled jobs could be delivered including in Scotland if it wasn't for the ideological position of the SNP to block new nuclear."We could be delivering those well paid, skilled jobs here in Scotland but they've turned their face against that and they'll have to answer for that." 'Tone deaf' The Scottish Conservatives' energy spokesman, Douglas Lumsden, described Shanks' comments as "tone deaf," accusing the Labour government of "economic vandalism".He reiterated calls by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for new licences to be issued for oil drilling in the North said: "Labour has sold our oil and gas industry down the river – and the SNP's cheering them on."Michael Shanks talks about managing the transition, but this is managed decline. At this pace, we'll lose 400 jobs every two weeks, like shutting Grangemouth twice a month."We need to bin the Energy Profits Levy and lift the ban on new licences - before it's too late." The latest escalation in the Middle East has sent oil prices soaring with questions about what that could mean for the world UK energy minister Michael Shanks told the BBC's Sunday Show his department is "preparing for all scenarios" as there's concern motorists could be hit hard with a doubling of the price at the many focus on life "beyond oil", it's a stark reminder that it's still the vital fuel for the world have claimed this government doesn't back the North Sea enough and that increasing production locally could provide energy said it doesn't matter where the oil comes from as it's still subject to the volatility of international oil Scotland is steered into that post-oil world, the minister also expressed his support for the north-east sector to ensure there's a "just transition".He was once again critical of the SNP's stance against nuclear – but there's concern the UK government is directing too much of an investment towards that as part of the UK's energy as the pipeline at the former Grangemouth oil refinery runs dry as production ends there was some good Shanks is hopeful of an announcement soon on its government's made £200m available to try to create a long-term future for the area and Scottish Enterprise is conducting "due diligence" on potential remaining industry will watch with interest to see if this works – and judge how "just" this transition is.
The Herald Scotland
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
What Scottish Labour's by-election win really means
As both the SNP and Labour struggled to adjust to this new challenge, activists and journalists on the ground started to pick up a swell of support for Reform. By the time there were a couple of weeks left to go, even some Labour sources were briefing they might be pushed into third place. In that context it's easy to view Labour's victory as a stunning reversal and a resumption of Sarwar's journey to Bute House after a brief stumble. Whilst this is undeniably a positive outcome for them, I would caution about getting too carried away. Under the headlines, this result is caveats all the way down. First caveat: not all constituencies are equally important for all parties. Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse is a must-win for Labour in a way it wasn't for the SNP. In 2021, the SNP's national lead over Labour on the constituency vote was approximately 26%. In this seat it was about half as wide at roughly 13%. Read more: That means this was relatively low hanging fruit and had Labour failed to win they'd have been in truly dire straits. Having won it, we need to look closely at the margin, and 2% is real skin of your teeth stuff. A Rutherglen and Hamilton West style trouncing this is not. Given the figures we're working with from 2021 that would imply something like an 11% lead for the SNP nationally. That's pretty much in line with national polling, perhaps a smidge narrower but not to an extent that would make a substantial difference. If these kinds of shifts were replicated across the country, we'd still expect Labour to win fewer than 10 constituency MSPs versus around 50 for the SNP. Even after list seats are accounted for that'd likely mean at least twice as many SNP seats as Labour. Second caveat: by-elections are typically harder on the SNP than Labour. Although turnout here was surprisingly high, it was still down more than a quarter. The SNP's comparatively youthful and less affluent voter base are more likely to stay at home than Labour's. Differential turnout alone could help the SNP's chances of regaining the seat. Third caveat: that's especially true considering the presence of the Greens and Scottish Socialist Party. The nearly 4% of the vote the two of them picked up will have largely come from the SNP. I would be astonished if either party contested this constituency at the full election, and therefore those votes will be up for grabs. Fourth caveat: voters don't move neatly within constitutional blocs, and certainly not right now. For the SNP to have beaten Labour in this scenario, they'd have needed nearly two-thirds of all votes cast for competing Pro-Independence parties, and for Labour to get none. Transfer patterns from local elections suggest something more like 50-60% to the SNP and 10-20% to Labour had these smaller parties not stood. In other words, that's still short what the SNP would have needed to win. The absence of these parties next May will help the SNP, certainly, but won't make the difference alone. Fifth caveat: Reform UK probably won't do as well next time. By-elections are famous for voters giving the government a kicking, and they had two governments to stick the boot into. Reform also won't be able to dedicate the same resource to this seat, especially given Banffshire and Buchan Coast would be a cleverer bet for a winnable constituency. With Reform averaging about 16%-17% of the constituency vote at the moment, I simply don't believe their 'true' level of support in this seat is 26%. That's too high if polling is accurate, but entirely credible for a by-election. Whilst Reform are drawing some formerly SNP support, it'll be Labour that benefit more from a weaker performance next time, shoring up this win. Looking beyond the top three, it's no surprise that the other major parties barely registered. The Conservatives were narrowly spared the indignity of a deposit loss, but it's clear that Reform are on track to displace them across huge chunks of the country. Right now they are cruising towards the loss of half of their seats, a complete reversal of the big Davidson-era revival. Both the Greens and Lib Dems had zero expectations beyond the knowledge they'd be tactically squeezed, and I see nothing in their results to either enthuse or worry them. It'd have been a different story if they'd held their deposits or been overtaken by a fringe candidate, but otherwise this isn't a seat they'd be trying to pile on the votes in anyway. With 11 months still to go until the big day, and for all the drama of the campaign and the count, this by-election has ultimately done little more than tell us what we already knew. We knew Labour have gone so far into reverse they are losing support even versus 2021. We knew that is helping to mitigate a much more substantial collapse in the SNP's support. We knew Reform were on the rise. We knew Scottish politics was increasingly fragmented. There's still a long way to go and much that could change ahead of next May. For now though, be wary of narratives ascribing too much import to a by-election few ordinary voters will remember happened by the end of summer. Allan Faulds runs Ballot Box Scotland which provides data and analysis from Scottish polling and elections
The Sun
29-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Pensioner dad of executed man left bloodied after attack by hoods from rival clan
THE pensioner dad of an executed man was left bloodied after he was attacked by hoods from a rival clan. Joe Lee, 68, was bottled by one thug while a knife maniac tried to stab him in the unprovoked attack. 3 3 His son Jamie Lee, 23, was gunned down in Castlemilk, Glasgow, in 2017 by Jordan Owens, 31, amid a violent feud between two factions. Joe was also hit twice by bullets in that attack — with the third bullet killing his lad. Now fears of tensions exploding again have been heightened after Wednesday night's horror in nearby Rutherglen. One local said: 'It's been quiet for a while, but now everyone is worried it's all going to kick off. 'Attacking a vulnerable man is the lowest of the low, but that's what these folk are, rats. 'Revenge is in the air and a tit-for-tat feud could easily explode. "Neither side will speak to the police. They will take care of things themselves.' Organised crime member Owens fled the scene of Jamie's assassination in a playpark and was at large for two years before being caught in Lisbon, Portugal. He is serving at least 23 years in jail. Joe declined to comment. Police Scotland confirmed it 'received a report of an assault on a 68-year-old man in Rutherglen'.
