RICH IN HISTORY, BUT NOT FOR THE CELLAR

IDEAL partner with your favourite
pastas and creamy sauces.

Wc04Apr11

David Ellis

ANDREW Margan won't be the least offended if you don't even think of the word 'cellar' when buying a bottle of his 2010 Margan Hunter Valley Verdelho.

Because this is a more-ish wine that once you've enjoyed the first bottle you'll be looking for quick reason to go out and buy one or three more – Andrew didn't make this one to buy and put away, he made it to buy and enjoy now.

Coming off the Margan Cornerstone Vineyard whose low-bearing vines are rich with history as some of the oldest Verdelho in Australia, the resultant 2010 wine has lively citrus fruit flavours coupled with ripe tropical fruit overtones to give beautiful richness on the palate.

And although  2010 was one of the more difficult vintages in the Hunter, Andrew Margan has created a great wine by picking in two batches: the first being slightly less ripe with that citrus and some green apple characters, the second coming later with the riper tropical fruit input. Pay $18 and enjoy with your favourite pastas and creamy sauces.

MAJOR success from a
"vintage from hell."

ONE FOR LUNCH: Owners and winemakers at Bendigo's Blackjack Vineyards, Ian McKenzie and Ken Pollock sum up the 2008 vintage in one line: "Our vintage from hell and the most difficult in our 20-plus years history."

The problem for them and others in southern Australia was an exceptionally hot beginning to the year, forcing them to pick fruit for 13-days straight rather than their more leisurely spread of five or six or more weekends. And they had to beg or borrow as many unused fermenters they could find to boost their own as fruit sugar levels went almost ballistic, or fruit threatened to shrivel and die.

But they came out of it with a very grand Blackjack Major's Line 2009 Shiraz that's all about red berries, creamy oak, balanced acid and fine tannins. Grab a bottle at $25 and enjoy with lamb shanks and a parsnip mash.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )

Event | Head On Photo Exhibition | Shaw Vineyard Estate, Canberra

WHAT: Shaw Vineyard Estate is celebrating the 2011 Wine Harvest Festival by bringing the HEAD ON Photo Festival to Canberra. A stunning selection of photographic portraits of the highest standards, including the winner of the 2010 Head On Portrait Prize, alongside equally imaginative wines.

WHEN: Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 April 2011, 10am - 5pm

WHERE: Shaw Vineyard Estate, 34 Isabel Drive, Murrumbateman, NSW 2582

CONTACT: (02) 6227 5827  www.shawvineyards.com.au

STICKY TIMES NOW WINTER’S APPROACHING

LOOK forward to winter
puddings and this one.

Wc28Mar11

David Ellis

COOLER autumn nights and the thought of approaching winter bring two things to mind: steaming rich puddings, and good dessert wines – "stickies" – to go with them.

And a name we associate immediately with the latter is Robert Fiumara and his wonderfully rich and sweet Lillypilly Estate Noble Blend from Leeton in the NSW Riverina – the 2002 Family Reserve Noble Blend alone already garnering no less than 24 Trophies and 26 Gold Medals at Australian and international wine shows.

"Wines like this come along once in a while," says Robert in an almost dismissive aside. "And while this one is still drinking well, stocks are diminishing, so it's near the end of its show life."

So enter Lillypilly Estate Noble Blend 2008, that's already grabbing the attention of show judges and consumers alike. Bright gold in the glass, its got fragrant citrus blossom and fresh melon aromas, while intense ripe fruit flavours reflect its 75% Semillon, 15% Muscat and 10% Riesling make-up. Pay $22.50 for a 375ml bottle and enjoy with rich winter puddings or a Crème Brulee.

HISTORY in the making: 50th vintage of a legendary great.

ONE FOR LUNCH: Penfolds have released their 2008 Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, the 50th vintage of this legendary great that launched in 1959 as the very first of the company's Bin Range.

Originally a single-vineyard wine it's now a blend, in this case warm-weather fruit from the Barossa, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale and Padthaway. It's a wine that's intense, almost brooding, with fruit flavour that's dominated by ripe blackberries, liquorice and confectionery – you could almost liken to it to drinking liquid Christmas cake. Pay $33.99 and enjoy with a special occasion Boeuf en Croute, or rare-grilled Black Angus beef fillets off the barbecue.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )

Wheels, wineglasses, water & websites...

Media release

Wheels, wineglasses, water & websites
-Just some of the latest from New Generation Hunter Valley-

Kicking off on May 5th, six of Australia's hottest winemakers will be taking their wines to the masses in what will be a whirlwind tour of the east coast of Australia, and if you haven't already heard – it's called the New Generation Hunter Valley "Not Your Usual Caravan of Courage"!

The New Generation Hunter Valley blokes (David Hook, Andrew Thomas, Rhys Eather, Nick Paterson, Mike De Iuliis & Andrew Margan) will be wining and dining their way through Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Coffs Habour, Byron Bay, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and finally Noosa where the tour culminates at the Audi Noosa Food and Wine Festival on May 13th – one might say there's no rest for the wicked!

But how are they going to get to all these places? Where can you buy tickets for these 'Not Your Usual' events? And what on earth are these guys going to be doing along the way?

Thanks to Drive My Car Rentals (www.drivemycarrentals.com.au), the New Generation crew will be travelling in the style and comfort of a fleet of luxury cars. Drive My Car Rentals are an online peer-to-peer car rental company connecting individual car owners with drivers looking for an alternative to traditional vehicle hire at a low cost.

You and your friends can be a part of the tour by coming along to any of the 'Not Your Usual Caravan of Courage' wine tastings simply by buying tickets (on sale soon) at the newly launched New Generation website  www.newgenerationhuntervalley.com.au . And if you can't manage to make it to any of these events, never fear, as the fabulous team from Spitbucket www.spitbucket.com.au (the online community for all things wine) will be capturing all the excitement and banter on video, and this will be streamed live via the New Generation Facebook page (www.facebook.com/newgenerationhuntervalley), Twitter (@NewGenHV),  YouTube, and the 'Not Your Usual Website'… it's all happening, so make sure you're following!

The New Generation Hunter Valley are also thrilled to announce some prominent brand partners, such as Riedel (for all your glassware needs), Budgy Smuggler (to keep them decent …just…when they decide to cool off in the Pacific along the way), FIJI Water (to keep the boys refreshed in style), and Roller Studio (a brand and lifestyle creative agency).

So, get ready for what will be a tantalizing taste of the Hunter Valley, coming to a town near you!

The New Generation Hunter Valley "Not Your Usual Caravan of Courage" is proudly supported by the NSW Government Department of Industry & Investment.

 

New South Wales Wines at their Best

Media Release

Coinciding with the NSW Wine Festival (26th Feb to 31st March) and in celebration of all things New South Welsh-made, Cumulus Estate Wines have released not one but two wines from their estate-grown vineyard that uniquely traverses across the two wine-growing areas of Orange and the Central Ranges, NSW.

New Vintage Releases:

2010 Rolling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Central Ranges NSW (rrp $17.95)

2009 Climbing Cabernet Sauvignon, Orange NSW (rrp $21.95)

For Cumulus Winemaker, Debbie Lauritz, the quality of both the 2010 Rolling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and 2009 Climbing Cabernet Sauvignon really confirms her belief in the diversity of the Cumulus 508-hectare vineyard and the wide range of grapes that can be successfully grown in the pristine, cool-climes of the area.

Winemaker Debbie Lauritz says "Both the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon clearly express the different areas their grapes comes from within the vineyard.  The high-altitude Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is marked by cooler spice notes and a fine palate line whereas the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon from the rolling foothills is juicy, fresh and really lively in the mouth."

New South Wales is the second-largest wine growing state with more than a dozen distinct wine regions, but Orange is truly unique in that it is literally defined by altitude and is the highest designated wine region lying at above 600 metres.

As Debbie explains "The fruit from the different blocks and different altitudes is handled separately in the winery and we really tailor our winemaking to match. The Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is cool fermented in stainless steel to keep it fresh and clean.  The Cabernet Sauvignon undergoes a 35˚C ferment, pumping over twice daily and then spends a year in oak barriques to enhance the elegant, savoury nature of the wine."

As a major sponsor of the NSW Wine Festival, Cumulus presented their Climbing and Rolling wines at the Sydney Cellar Door event (Hyde Park, Sydney 26th & 27th February) and winemaker Debbie Lauritz shared her wines and stories at the Buon Ricordo 'Tour the Region Dinner' on Wednesday 9th March.  www.nswwinefestival.com.au

Further cementing Cumulus's strong commitment to the NSW Wine industry, Cumulus CEO Steve Barbera has also thrown his hat into the ring taking on the role as the Chair of the Export Advisory Committee of the NSW Wine Industry Association.  With such a belief in their home-state it's clear to see that Cumulus will continue to lead the charge for the recognition of top-quality NSW wines both at home and abroad.

Stockists:
Distributed by Cumulus Wines.
Available nationally though independent liquor stores – RRP $17.95 & RRP $21.95

FLORENCE JOINS MCWILLIAMS’ FAMILY COLLECTION

BEAUTIFULLY refreshing,
generous and racy
– match it with seafoods.

Wc21Mar11


David Ellis

IT's ninety years since the legendary Maurice O'Shea established what is now McWilliams' Mount Pleasant label, and not only was he an innovative winemaker, he had some innovative marketing ideas for the time as well.

One of these was to names wines after people he knew well and which he believed reflected the personalities of those family and friends: probably the best knows of these Family Collection labels are Elizabeth Semillon and Philip Shiraz, and now they're joined by a most-interesting 2010 Mount Pleasant Florence Sauvignon Blanc.

This is named after Florence Reuben who was the wife of Maurice O'Shea's close friend, the highly-decorated World War I and WWII serviceman, David Reuben. Mount Pleasant Winemaker, Scott McWilliam sourced grapes from no less than seven vineyards across the Adelaide Hills to create this wine.

This diversity from the cooler area just above McLaren Vale in the south to the warmer Forreston region in the north, has resulted in a wine that's beautifully refreshing, generous and racy, with loads of passionfruit and lime flavours and a touch of minerality. Pay $17.99 and match it with your favourite seafoods.

BELLY UP: perfect match with roasted
Ormiston Free Range pork belly.

ONE FOR LUNCH: With autumnal and soon warming winter fare starting to come to mind, consider a Sunday lunch of roast Ormiston Free Range pork belly from Mudgee in the NSW Central West, and a good bottle of Peter Logan's Apple Tree Flat 2009 Shiraz from the same region to go with it.

Not only is it a great cooler weather combination, you can't look past the quality of this wine – nor the price: at just $11 it's a winner for this Sunday lunch combo, with aromas of a summer pudding full of berries and plums and plenty of fruit and spice on the palate.


NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.co

PENFOLDS’ BINS: SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

A NEW addition to Penfolds' ever-popular Bins range.

Wc14Mar11

David Ellis

PENFOLDS' always-anticipated annual Bin releases are particularly interesting this year, not just because of the strength of these from the contrary 2008 vintage in South Australia, but because of a new addition to the Bins and the 50th release of that old favourite, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz.

There are a total nine wines in this year's collection, embracing Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre from the 2008 to 2011 vintages. But it's the 2008 wines that deserve attention.

These four, the 2008 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, the new Bin 150 Maranangra Shiraz, Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon and Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, are the product of a vintage in South Australia that began exceptionally, and was then hammered by 15-days of extreme heatwave.

DON'T look beyond this cracker
Jim Barry Riesling with a crabmeat salad.

Much of the fruit came off older and generally earlier-ripening vines that have an uncanny ability to self-regulate themselves to the conditions, and was picked before the heatwave, and the remainder after. Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago says the result is wines that could well be the strongest of the Bins from the first decade of this century. It's an exciting prophesy.

ONE FOR LUNCH: Way back in the 1950s, the late Jim Barry and Douglas Lamb both championed the cause of food-friendly varietal table wines at a time when the market was dominated by fortified Sherries and Ports. So it was interesting that the Jim Barry Wines' 2010 Lodge Hill Riesling should take out the Douglas Lamb Perpetual Trophy for Best Dry-style Riesling 2010 and Older at this year's Royal Sydney Wine Show.

This wine from one of the Clare Valley's highest and coolest vineyards is all about intensity of flavour: mandarin, white peach and strawberry in particular. At just $19.95 you won't beat it with a crabmeat salad, white fish or pork.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )