#ultimatewineries

[andrewsava1972-blog]

#Repost @leeuwinestate (@get_repost) ・・・ NEW YORK! March 5-6 There's a lot of excitement about Vinexpo's return to New York. We’ll be showing 2013 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon and new release 2016 Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay. Find us at the @wineaustralia pavilion 1408 To source our wines in USA please see our importer @obcwines #leeuwinestate #vinexpo #newyork #chardonnay #cabernetsauvignon #aussiewine #discoveraustralia #ultimatewineries

[ultimatewineries]

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

The annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, this year taking place from 4th to 13th March, is now in its 24th year and continues to increase in popularity.  The festival was first held in 1993 with a modest program of 12 events dreamt up by Peter Clemenger.  Fast forward over twenty years and it has grown to host over 200 events annually.

Food and wine lovers from throughout Australia and the world flock in to indulge in more than 200 events across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Three of our Victorian Ultimate Winery Experiences members will be hosting events for this year's festival; Tahbilk, Fowles Wine and Montalto.  Details of these fabulous events are below.  Why not attend all three?

Regional World's Longest Lunch

Tahbilk, Friday 4th March 2016

Join co-hosts Tahbilk (2016 Halliday Wine Companion's 'Winery of the Year') and Mitchelton as they collaborate with regional food guru Jillian Hayes to create a food and wine pairing unlike anything offered before.  In this magical setting experience a three-course culinary feast, with wines from the host vineyards and revel in the entertainment provided by acclaimed Italian soprano Stefanie Ballamio.  This event is just one of twenty four Regional World's Longest Lunches.  Click here for details.

Wild Feast

Fowles Wine, Saturday 5th March 2016

Grab your tweed and join Ladies who Shoot their Lunch to experience the fun and flavours of a traditional hunt feast through delicious dishes, and garden games.  Get your aristocrat on because they'll be celebrating the fun and flavours of the 'Downton Abbey' era.  Featuring produce poached from across the region, you'll be dining on game and old breed meats, competing in traditional garden games, swaying to the sounds of rag time jazz, parading in a 'Fashions on the Field' competition and scooping exclusive lots at our charity auction.  Lord it up with 'The Lady' at the Cellar Door.... Are you Game? Click here for details and tickets.

Autumn Harvest Long Table Lunch

Montalto, Sunday 6th March 2016

Produce is king at Montalto, so over a period of just 14 weeks the team are trying to grow and make just about everything for the long table lunch. A designated Melbourne Food and Wine Festival garden bed has been set aside, where seeds are being planted and herbs, vegetables and fruits are being raised especially for the event.  What is harvested will dictate what the Chef creates to excite the palate and nourish the body.  If they can’t grow it, it will be sourced locally and prepared on the estate. You can follow the progress on social media, or drop by the estate and have a look for yourself. So book in the first weekend in March 2016 to join Montalto for an autumn harvest feast overlooking the vineyard at vintage. Click here for more details and tickets.

[ultimatewineries]

Everything’s Coming Up Rosé

In case you missed the memo, rosé is having a moment. The popularity of Australian rosé has been increasing in recent years and with good reason.  Rosé makes an excellent accompaniment to a variety of foods but is also easy to drink without food.   A chilled glass of rosé is refreshingly light making it well suited to the summer months. It is also a relatively inexpensive wine so great for a barbecue or summer party.

To make most rosé wine, red grapes are lightly crushed and left to macerate with their red skins for a little while (anywhere from a few hours to a few days), after which the juice is strained out and fermented in tanks. The longer the juice is left on skins, the deeper the colour of the wine.

Rosé isn’t from a specific grape or region; it’s just a genre of wine, like red or white. Until recently, most good rosé was produced in Europe; France, Spain and Italy being the largest producers but production elsewhere is on the increase and the USA, Chile and Australia are now producing some excellent alternatives.

As luck would have it, a number of our Ultimate Winery Experiences members are producing some of the finest Australian rosé and to save you some time, we’ve gathered them all in one place.

Just add sunshine.

Audrey Wilkinson

Audrey Series 2015 Rosé

Fresh red berries, rock candy and exotic cinnamon spice with a lean, crisp finish.

Learn more

***

d’Arenberg

Stephanie the Gnome with Rosé Tinted Glasses Shiraz Sangiovese 2015

Bubble-gum, raspberry and plummy notes are matched with shades of herb. Light to medium bodied.

Learn more

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De Bortoli Yarra Valley

La Bohème Act Two Dry Pinot Rosé 2015

A creamy brioche-like aroma, classic strawberry, hints of marzipan, gently aromatic. On the palate, dry, textural with some grip, moorish.

Learn more

***

Fowles Wine

2015 Rosé

Fresh, cool and vibrant, this wine is salmon pink in colour with delicious aromas of tropical fruits and red berries. The palate is fruity and fresh with a rounded clean finish.

Learn more

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Jacob’s Creek

Classic Shiraz Rosé

Lifted aromas of strawberries and raspberries. Sweet and crisp on the palate with luscious cherry and strawberry flavours.

Learn more

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Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove

Pennon Hill Rosé

A food-friendly Rosé, made for immediate enjoyment. A spicy and leafy lift with strawberry and kirsch in support. The palate is soft and approachable with juicy redcurrant and florals.

Learn more

***

Tahbilk

2015 Cabernet Rosé

Dry and savoury characters and delicious red berry fruits of this release simply demand an equally pink lamb chop off the barbecue. Appealingly light and decidedly refreshing.

Learn more

***

Voyager Estate

2015 Project Shiraz Rosé

Lifted aromas of cherry blossom. A vibrant wine displaying fresh cherry fruit with a fine acid core and a hint of sweetness to finish.

Learn more

[ultimatewineries]

Victoria's Beautiful Yarra Valley

The Yarra Valley's western edge is located just 45 kilometres east of Melbourne's CBD.  This large wine region is bordered by the towns of Gembrook in the south, Kinglake in the north, Wantirna in the west and Mount Gregory in the east and incorporates major towns including Lilydale, Healesville, Yarra Glen and St Andrews.

The Yarra Valley dates back nearly 180 years and is known as the birthplace of Victoria's wine industry. In 1838 the Ryrie Brothers planted the first vineyard at Yering Station and the first Yarra Valley wine was produced by James Dardel a few years later. From the 1860s to the early part of the 20th century the local wine industry flourished but due to an increase in popularly of fortified wine, wine production in the Yarra Valley was forced to stop. Replanting began in the late 1960s and between 1990 and 2000 around 40 new wineries were established, cementing the region’s future as a force to be reckoned with.

The Yarra Valley wine region is now globally recognised as one of Australia's foremost cool climate regions, producing classic styles from a wide range of varieties including sparkling wine, Chardonnay; Pinot Noir; Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

While the area is most famous for its world-class wineries (there are currently over 50), there’s more to the Yarra Valley than just wine. The area is made up of picture postcard country towns, markets and even microbreweries. The Yarra Valley is also renowned for the beauty of the changing seasons, and an exciting food scene that has flourished around its local produce.

Of course you could squeeze in the whole area in an extended day trip but if you can, you should consider staying a day or three if you’ve got a long weekend to burn.

Our favourite and no doubt the most-visited of the wineries, De Bortoli has over 240 hectares of vineyards. Their wines include sparkling, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot grigio, and more. While you’re there be sure to allow plenty of time to indulge in their dedicated cheese shop.  More information can be found here.

Close by you’ll find the monthly Yarra Valley farmers’ market held on the third Sunday of each month. Pick up organic veggies and meat, home-made pies, cordial, sinful sweets, organic olives, cheese, coffee – all made by small producers.

The popularity of craft beers in Melbourne is continuing to soar and there are several microbreweries in the area such as Coldstream Brewery, Hargreaves Hill Brewing Company and White Rabbit Brewery.

Healesville is a beautiful country town that is well worth a visit, you’ll find gourmet food shops, chocolate shops, good coffee, bric-a-brac and plenty of friendly locals to point you in the right direction. Healesville is also home to the Healesville Sanctuary, a zoo specialising in native Australian animals.

From 14th to 20th September, the Yarra Valley will host Chardonnay Now, a food and wine festival celebrating predominantly, you guessed it, Chardonnay but showcasing all the best food and wine of the region. You can expect tastings, food and wine matching lunches and dinners and all surrounded by the rolling green hills of the Yarra Valley.

More details can be found here.

[ultimatewineries]

Voyager Estate Annual Masterclass 2015

There are many wines we hold in high esteem and inspire us, and each year, we select some of the best examples of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon blends, sourced from around the world, for our annual comparative tasting.

A fixture on the Voyager Estate calendar, this is the seventh consecutive year of the Masterclass Series, providing us with the opportunity to share and discuss the developments occurring in our own vineyards and winery. Steve James, Manager of Winemaking and Viticulture, Travis Lemm, Winemaker and Winery Manager and James (Jimmy) Penton, Assistant Winemaker all relish the opportunity to both reflect on the past year and talk about some of our initiatives that have given them inspiration and excitement, whilst looking at highlights and challenges faced by other winegrowing regions.

Our Chardonnay bracket featured wines from the outstanding 2012 vintage with excellent Australian examples such as Tolpuddle from Tasmania, Giaconda from Beechworth, Seville Estate Reserve from Yarra Valley and, of course, Voyager Estate from Margaret River. These were presented alongside new world Chardonnays from Neudorf Moutere in New Zealand and Littorai from California, and representing the old world, a wonderful white Burgundy from cult producer Coche Dury from Meursault.

The Cabernet bracket was from the more challenging 2011 vintage and was all about international exploration, visiting Chile, with a wine made in partnership with the Rothschild family called Almaviva, Tuscany with new producer Dulcamara, Pauillac featuring Chateau Pontet Canet and California with the famous Ridge Montebello.

We also included two aged Cabernets, the 2004 Chateau Cos d’Estournel from Saint Estèphe, which certainly created some robust discussion and our own 2004 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot to show the longevity of great Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.

Included in the two brackets were four of the Voyager Estate Project wines which are a deconstruction of our Estate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. They are all single block wines, with the Chardonnays also being single clone wines, namely our Project 95 Broadvale Block 6 and Project Gin Gin Broadvale Block 5. The two Cabernets were our Project Old Block and Project North Block, both blocks being the key elements in the Estate wine.

The roadshow took us all around the country beginning with The Trustee in Perth and moving on to The Botanical in Melbourne, Hotel Hotel in Canberra, Otto in Sydney and finishing at the Stokehouse in Brisbane ten days later. Across eight fascinating sessions the wines were all tasted blind in two brackets of nine wines. The participants knew which wines were included in each bracket but not the order they were tasted in. It is always great fun as we reveal the wines one by one and see who in the room managed to pick the wines correctly – it is certainly a great leveller for all tasters!

The Chardonnay bracket was exceptional and consistently wowed the room especially as the opportunity to taste the famous Coche Dury is very rare and it didn’t disappoint, showing huge depth and complexity. Given that all the Cabernet based wines were from international producers, with the exception of the Voyager wines, and most of the world had a very difficult vintage in 2011, there were some disappointments in the bracket it has to be said. Whilst some of the highly rated producers really struggled with the vintage, it also proved to us why following a great producer is so important, because even in difficult vintages, good producers can still make great wines.

For Margaret River, 2011 was a terrific vintage and we were able to show wines with beautiful structure and tannin development and, although we didn’t take a structured vote, we were thrilled that in most sessions our wines were universally acclaimed as favourites in the bracket, and, in fact, all our wines in both brackets looked very much at home in such esteemed company.

Our Cellar Door in Margaret River has a range of tasting opportunities, including the Project wines on offer. To see what wine experiences we have available or to purchase any wines, visit www.voyagerestate.com.au.

[ultimatewineries]

An Evening with Vasse Felix

Otto Ristorante in Sydney recently hosted a Vasse Felix wine dinner. The wine dinner is a well-established and popular way to showcase a selection of wines from a specific region or winery or of a certain variety, most often held in city restaurants and usually with the added drawcard of commentary by a representative from the winery. This wine dinner had the benefit of the attendance of the winemaker herself, Virginia Willcock.

Virginia was awarded Winemaker of the Year 2012 by Gourmet Traveller WINE and, in their words, “Willcock’s rise from very good regional winemaker to the pinnacle of success in Australia has been meteoric.” Needless to say, it was a sell out. The opportunity to see Virginia, outside Margaret River, introducing her wines and paired with a menu to complement each variety, was too good to pass up.

The life of a successful winemaker, it is clear to see, is a complicated one. The job doesn’t begin and end in the winery. Virginia had travelled that morning from Margaret River, no small journey, so it was impressive indeed to hear her talk with passion and energy about her craft. Attending these dinners in person builds the profile of both winery and winemaker and it was obvious by the rapt attention of her audience how keen the members of it were to meet the face behind the wine. Virginia gave a brief introduction and talked through the wine choices for the evening describing articulately, but without jargon, the processes behind their production.

So who attends these wine dinners? In this case it was a pretty varied bunch - groups of girlfriends, couples, business associates, all male gatherings and more than one solitary diner, and why not?

Although these dinners tend to be held on a school night, a spot of indulgence on a Tuesday never hurt anyone. It is fair to say four courses plus canapés each with at least one accompanying wine (the main course had two) was certainly indulgent but well worth the slightly slower start to the following morning. In summary, the wine dinner gets a big thumbs up from us. While naturally we would argue that it’s not quite the same as a visit to the winery itself, it is a great way to build your wine knowledge in non-intimidating, informal environment, all the while providing inspiration for your next Australian wine adventure.

[ultimatewineries]

Effervescence Tasmania 13th to 15th November 2015

In November, Josef Chromy will host the second annual Effervescence Festival, celebrating Tasmanian Sparkling in spectacular style.  Around half of Tasmania's Pinot Noir and three quarters of its Chardonnay is now highly prized for sparkling wine, with several specialist sparkling houses and many of the island's sparkling wines winning international awards and acclaim.  So where did it all begin?

Despite some early attempts in the mid-19th century, wine production in Tasmania did not commence in earnest until the 1950s, considerably later than most other Australian wine regions. European migrants identified similarities in Tasmanian soil and climate with certain wine regions of Europe, and began to successfully ripen and harvest grapes. These early experiments quickly led to the production of a wide range of varieties.

The success of the Tasmanian wine industry is thanks largely to a landscape dominated by dolerite-capped mountains that shelter the island’s wine regions from high winds and rainfall. The vineyard soils are formed from ancient sandstones and mudstones and also from more recent river sediments and igneous rocks of volcanic origin.

Tasmania has a moderate maritime climate, and as such enjoys seasons free of extremes in temperature, ideal for grape growing as it allows the grapes to ripen slowly on the vine, resulting in maximum flavour development.

The Tasmanian vintage usually begins from mid-March, at the peak of the dry autumn when ripening occurs, to late May before the risk of frost and rain.

While a wide range of varietals are grown in Tasmania, including Riesling, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon, the region is best known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sparkling and Sauvignon Blanc.  

In 1986, esteemed Champagne house - Louis Roederer partnered with the owners of Heemskerk Wines to produce Tasmania’s first premium vintage sparkling wine. They saw the similarities between the climate here and the famous wine region of their homeland. The investment paid off and paved the way for other Tasmanian wineries to experiment with sparkling.

Keen to hear more? The true sparkling enthusiast should make haste and book their place at Effervescence.  Alongside the line up detailed below, visitors can sample some of the best Sparkling wines in the Grand Marquee where there will also be some delicious food to sample from Bruny Island Cheese Co and Huon Aquaculture.

One of the greatest Chefs in the world - Tetsuya Wakuda will joining in to celebrate over the weekend and the 2015 International Wine Communicator of the Year - Tyson Stelzer will be guiding us though the weekend's events.  If that's not enough, visitors will be entertained with some great Jazz during the day then one of Sydney's best DJs to relax to on Saturday night for Bubbles and Beats.

Visit www.effervescencetasmania.com for more details.

Here is the line up so far:

THE GRAND DEGUSTATION DINNER

Friday 13th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines 

THE MASTER CLASSES:

Master Class #1 Tasmania Sparkling. Terroir, Typicity & Taste.

Master Class #2 Cheese & Sparkling - life's great culinary pleasure.

Master Class #3 Huon Caviar and Sparkling - Pure Decadence!

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

THE GRAND TASTING

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

BUBBLES & BEATS AFTER PARTY

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

GO SOUTH

Sunday 15th November 2015 - Hobart 

Frogmore Creek - Moorilla (MONA) - Stefano Lubiana

[ultimatewineries]

Effervescence Tasmania

In November, Josef Chromy will host the second annual Effervescence Festival, celebrating Tasmanian Sparkling in spectacular style.  Around half of Tasmania's Pinot Noir and three quarters of its Chardonnay is now highly prized for sparkling wine, with several specialist sparkling houses and many of the island's sparkling wines winning international awards and acclaim.  So where did it all begin?

Despite some early attempts in the mid-19th century, wine production in Tasmania did not commence in earnest until the 1950s, considerably later than most other Australian wine regions. European migrants identified similarities in Tasmanian soil and climate with certain wine regions of Europe, and began to successfully ripen and harvest grapes. These early experiments quickly led to the production of a wide range of varieties.

The success of the Tasmanian wine industry is thanks largely to a landscape dominated by dolerite-capped mountains that shelter the island’s wine regions from high winds and rainfall. The vineyard soils are formed from ancient sandstones and mudstones and also from more recent river sediments and igneous rocks of volcanic origin.

Tasmania has a moderate maritime climate, and as such enjoys seasons free of extremes in temperature, ideal for grape growing as it allows the grapes to ripen slowly on the vine, resulting in maximum flavour development.

The Tasmanian vintage usually begins from mid-March, at the peak of the dry autumn when ripening occurs, to late May before the risk of frost and rain.

While a wide range of varietals are grown in Tasmania, including Riesling, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon, the region is best known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sparkling and Sauvignon Blanc.  

In 1986, esteemed Champagne house - Louis Roederer partnered with the owners of Heemskerk Wines to produce Tasmania’s first premium vintage sparkling wine. They saw the similarities between the climate here and the famous wine region of their homeland. The investment paid off and paved the way for other Tasmanian wineries to experiment with sparkling.

Keen to hear more? The true sparkling enthusiast should make haste and book their place at Effervescence.  Alongside the line up detailed below, visitors can sample some of the best Sparkling wines in the Grand Marquee where there will also be some delicious food to sample from Bruny Island Cheese Co and Huon Aquaculture.

One of the greatest Chefs in the world - Tetsuya Wakuda will joining in to celebrate over the weekend and the 2015 International Wine Communicator of the Year - Tyson Stelzer will be guiding us though the weekend's events.  If that's not enough, visitors will be entertained with some great Jazz during the day then one of Sydney's best DJs to relax to on Saturday night for Bubbles and Beats.

Visit www.effervescencetasmania.com for more details.

Here is the line up so far:

THE GRAND DEGUSTATION DINNER

Friday 13th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines 

THE MASTER CLASSES:

Master Class #1 Tasmania Sparkling. Terroir, Typicity & Taste.

Master Class #2 Cheese & Sparkling - life's great culinary pleasure.

Master Class #3 Huon Caviar and Sparkling - Pure Decadence!

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

THE GRAND TASTING

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

BUBBLES & BEATS AFTER PARTY

Saturday 14th November 2015 - Josef Chromy Wines

GO SOUTH

Sunday 15th November 2015 - Hobart 

Frogmore Creek - Moorilla (MONA) - Stefano Lubiana

[ultimatewineries]

Ageing Companions

Wine and cheese have an awful lot in common.  They both come in a multitude of varieties, some more suited to certain occasions, climates and mood. Cheeses vary in moisture content, fat content, texture, flavour. Wines, too, vary in acidity, sweetness, body and structure. It stands to reason then that matching wine and cheese can be a complicated business. The good news is, even if you get it wrong, you’re still drinking wine and eating cheese, so relax; it doesn’t need to be taken too seriously. However, if you are keen to understand the basics of cheese and wine matching, we’ve got the cheat sheet for you.

Soft white cheese Sparkling wine/Champagne Chardonnay 'Sticky’ dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon Fortified wine e.g. Muscat, Port, Tokay

Fresh & cream cheeses Semillon Chardonnay ‘Sticky’ dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Feta Sparkling wine/Champagne Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Goat’s cheese Semillon Chardonnay Riesling Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Hard Italian cheeses Sparkling wine/Champagne Semillon Chardonnay Full bodied reds e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon

Blue cheese Riesling Sauvignon Blanc ‘Sticky’ dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon

Cheddar Semillon Chardonnay Full bodied reds e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz

Washed rind cheeses Sparkling wine/Champagne Sticky dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon Fortified wine e.g. Muscat, Port, Tokay Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Mozzarella Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Sticky dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Haloumi Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Sticky dessert wines e.g. Botrytis Semillon Medium bodied reds e.g. Shiraz, Pinot Noir

If you’re looking for a wine that is going to most comfortably pair with a variety of cheeses, your best bet is a full-bodied Chardonnay. If you are entertaining red drinkers, select a medium-bodied Shiraz and make sure you incorporate a couple of hard cheeses. A sticky is always an excellent choice too.

For a true cheese and wine masterclass, consider a visit to our friends at De Bortoli Yarra Valley where you can sample the best cheese and wine matches at the cellar door. Here are a few cheese and wine matches from the experts:

De Bortoli Black Noble with Blue Cheese (St Agur, Stilton, Gorgonzola or Valdeon)

This salt/sweet classic is found in Thai food and in the Roquefort – Sauternes match of France.

Pinot Noir with Morbier, Washed Rind or Brie

The formidable Epoisses washed rind of Burgundy provides serious contrast to the complexity of a well-made Pinot. Both, at their best, are just plain dirty and share barnyard characters that we find appealing. Sadly most Australian Brie styles are too clean and lack the forceful flavour of the French model.

Sparkling Wine with Fresh Salty Goats Cheese

Long ago we established, through plenty of hard slog, that salt complements and lifts the flavours of sparkling wine and most cold, acidic white wines. Unmatured salty, acidic goats cheese, or dishes containing it, are there to make your fizz look good. It pays to examine this match. Test it first by trying sparkling wine with a fresh goats cheese then put it up against a ripe brie, which is complex and alkaline, this should pretty much convince you for life.

Dessert Wines with Cheese and Honey

This is another fantastic experience based on a simple Italian mountain lunch of Gorgonzola, truffled honey and sweet wine. It is easily replicated after a visit to our cheese shop and Cellar Door.

Grana or Parmigiano with Big Red Wines

This is a historic match. If you do not enjoy this your palate requires readjustment. The salt/sweet rock hard character of the Grana family of cheeses can withstand the onslaught of a Shiraz. This is an alpha male match enjoyed by all genders.

To learn more click here.

[ultimatewineries]

Meet the winemaker - Jeff Byrne, Audrey Wilkinson

Introducing the first in a series of interviews with the skilled winemakers who make the magic happen at our Ultimate Wineries.  Today we are catching up with Jeff Byrne, Chief Winemaker for Agnew Wines where he creates delicious Hunter Valley wines for Audrey Wilkinson, Cockfighter’s Ghost & Poole’s Rock.

How long have you worked here?

Seven Years

What made you want to become a winemaker?

I started in the wine industry by chance, fortunately working for the legendary Len Evans. I really enjoy the collaboration and culture of work in the wine industry and the all-encompassing roll of primary producer through to sales and marketing.

Which winemakers do you most look up to and why?

There are too many to count, both locally in the Hunter Valley and throughout the country but winemakers that run a tidy winery, consistently make great wine each year, who get involved in the vineyard and have fun doing it!

What, if anything, do you find stressful about your job?

The weather during the vintage period is without doubt the most stressful part of the job as well as worrying about each parcel ending up as you intend it to.

What wine are you proudest of?

I’m proud of all our wines but our portfolio of Hunter Valley Semillons are what I take the most pride in. They’re a very light, clean style of wine rarely duplicated anywhere else in the world and will reward those patient enough to cellar these wines for 10+ years.

What is your favourite wine and why? What do you drink it with?

I love to drink Pinot Noir, they can come from very different regions around the world and in many different forms with the best ones having layers of complexity. Pinot is great with lots of different dishes, but perfect with duck.

You can learn more about Jeff and Audrey Wilkinson by clicking here.

[ultimatewineries]

The Big Bold Barossa

Every wine region has a tale to tell. A story that is etched into the landscape and buried deep in the roots of the vines. Here is a brief history of the Barossa.

The Barossa was founded by a wealthy English shipping merchant, George Fife Angas in 1836. The free colony’s first Surveyor General, Colonel William Light named the valley after the Barrosa Ridge in the Spanish region of Andalusia however thanks to an administrative error the named was misspelt and instead the valley was named Barossa. The first residents of the Barossa were German peasant farmers and tradesmen who rapidly identified the potential for growing fruit, in particular grapes, thanks to the Mediterranean climate of the area. By the 1890s dozens of wineries were established, among them Oscar Seppelt’s Seppeltsfield and Johann Henschke’s Henschke Wines.

By 1929 25% of Australia’s total wine production came from the Barossa. However the Great Depression and World War II dessimated demand for wine so wineries and growers struggled to sell their fruit. Post-war recovery in the Barossa was slow, thanks largely to distrust between fourth generation English descendants and their neighbours of German heritage.  Gradually however the resilient locals began to rebuild bridges and look toward the future of the local wine industry. Enter Colin Gramp, a descendant of Johann Gramp, who returned from World War II via the Napa Valley, bringing home with him modern winemaking techniques that revolutionised the production of red wine.

In 1950 Australia’s most famous winemaker, Penfolds blender Max Schubert travelled to Bordeaux and discovered the possibilities of super-premium table wine, in particular the flavour of Cabernet Sauvignon matured in French oak casks. Schubert was forced to experiment with alternatives owing to a post-war shortage of the necessary components which lead him to create a full-bodied Shiraz and mature it in American oak hogsheads. Thus the 1951 Grange Hermitage was born. A unique new Australian style of red that changed the course of Australian wine production.

The Barossa region endured much over the following decades. Aggressive promotion overseas left some smaller family wineries unable to keep up, selling out to multi-national grocery companies which introduced large scale production methods to increase efficiency, even sourcing cheaper grapes from elsewhere and still labelling the results Barossa. By the end of the 1970s when rich reds were out of fashion with consumers who were instead tending towards fruity whites, the Barossa wine industry was on its knees and some predicted would be unlikely to survive the century.

Fortunately a small band of experienced winemakers refused to accept this pessimistic prediction and St Hallett, Rockford, Bethany, Grant Burge, Charles Melton, Heritage, Willows Vineyard, Elderton are a few of the names which opened cellar doors during this crisis. This vibrant mix of dozens of small dedicated wineries initiated demand for old vine fruit that had been undervalued for years, creating exciting new labels and products which in turn re-kindled tourist interest in the region’s food and lifestyle.  A new style of full-bodied Barossa red wine emerged. Winemakers returned to traditional winemaking techniques such as basket presses and open fermenters while focusing on the unique characteristics of old vines and the influence of soil type, geology and micro-climate.

Despite many economic highs and lows in the late 20th and early 21st century, the Barossa has continued to evolve, and is now firmly cemented as one of the world’s great wine regions. Barossa Valley Shiraz and Eden Valley Riesling have historically led the way as the region's most well known and well regarded wines, paving the way for other styles which are now receiving international recognition.

Thanks to the temerity and innovation of its growers and winemakers, past and present, the Barossa will delight wine lovers and tourists for years to come with its personality, rich history and magnicent scenery. We’re just happy to be along for the ride.

 Sources:  1) www.barossa.com 2) www.southernaustralianhistory.com 3) www.southaustralia.com