Wine exports up as the falling dollar start to work and other food and drink news

Australian wine export value sees strongest growth since 2007 - In the 12 months to 30 September 2015, the value of Australian wine exports rose 8 per cent to A$1.96 billion, the strongest rate of growth since export value peaked in October 2007 according to the Export Report September 2015 released today by Wine Australia. In a sign of much needed improvement in profitability for Australian wine, the rate of value growth is currently outpacing volume which increased 5 per cent to 734 million litres. Australia’s top five export countries by value were:

• US – down 4 per cent to A$428 million
• UK – down 2 per cent to A$370 million
• China – up 47 per cent to A$313 million
• Canada – up 4 per cent to A$189 million
• Hong Kong – up 24 per cent to A$118 million

Danny Meyer To Banish Tipping And Raise Prices At His N.Y. Restaurants - In mid-November, diners at the New York restaurants Gramercy Tavern and The Modern may notice something new on their menus: higher prices, across the board. Why? Because the man in charge of those and 11 other celebrated eateries is doing away with tipping. Danny Meyer, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (he also founded Shake Shack), says tipping is actually a big problem for his industry. ... Meyer says that since he started in the restaurant business 30 years ago, he's seen "something fascinating and completely unfair: Waiters' income in a fine-dining restaurant has gone up well over 200 percent." ... Meanwhile, Meyer says, workers at the back of the house who don't get tipped have seen their hourly wage go up only 22 to 25 percent.

Italy's Eataly challenges France for food crown - Having conquered half the world, luxury Italian supermarket Eataly is getting ready to take on Europe, with a store in food-rival France the jewel in its crown. Founder Oscar Farinetti says his food empire, which opened its first store in 2007, was built on an idea which was "not a stroke of genius but something rather ordinary". "I live in the country with the most desirable food in the world and yet, although we have many renowned chefs and restaurants, we have no retail chain bringing the amazing biodiversity of Italian products to the world," he told AFP. The Eataly brand now has 28 stores worldwide, including outlets in New York, Tokyo, Dubai and Istanbul, and in 2014 the company boasted a turnover of €300 million ($342 million).

Farinetti has now set his sights on Europe: an Eataly store in Munich will open by the end of the year, followed by a food hall in Selfridges in London in 2016. He has decided to leave the opening of his Paris store until last, in 2018.

The changing geography of drinks -Booze around the world - The world ... quaffed 249 billion litres of alcoholic drinks in 2014, a modest increase of 1 billion over the preceding year.

Feasts and food choices: The culinary habits of the Stonehenge builders - A team of archaeologists at the University of York have revealed new insights into cuisine choices and eating habits at Durrington Walls - a Late Neolithic monument and settlement site thought to be the residence for the builders of nearby Stonehenge

Portable device can quickly test for sickness-causing toxins in shellfish