Winestate Magazine July August 2012

JULY/AUGUST 2012 WINESTATE VOL 35 ISSUE 4 AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND WINE BUYING GUIDE BEWITCHINGCABERNET & BLENDS McLAREN VALE, LANGHORNE CREEK & FLEURIEU CLARE VALLEY UPPER NORTH ISLAND, NZ THE BACKBONE OF BORDEAUX WINE AT THE MOVIES RISKY BUSINESS Northland's resurgence Cellars TO DIE FOR Cabernet & Cabernet blends 335 tastedPRINT POST APPROVED PP565001/00129 July/August 2012 Celebrating a Family Affair Vol 35 Issue 4 $9.95 AUS (inc GST) Hamilton's turns 175! NZ $10.95 SGD $14.95 US $14.99 GBP/EUR 7.95 plus Clare Valley McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek & Fleurieu China RMB100 HKD $120 Tasmania Whiskies of the World Upper North Island (NZ) INR 1000 RUB 700 CHF 15.00 BGN 25.00





Now everybody Foxes Islandcan purchase from Chardonnay 2008The Wine Society Marlborough, NZ Wine Society Exclusive!AbpNrerofotilsnaewstgriiibonemlngevosetphrrheriyepiocmtsnehwseau,nencwaishqeniaxu’rvtteeeyakaobyenpeudeaailrndtesivxunaocpgnlfutowsasuegiivtrrehevdoiwwnofgoiitnnrhoeeseursariueaMnlstitptaetahrlmeroeabuwlbleneeirddlsseet,dr. “Lively, scented wine with impressively the country. pure citrus, white peach and mineral characters seasoned with toasty TMpdtariheskiccemeionbtBugheneerotnsenphedliaufpiflnltrsgeswteiigoil,nlhfwebtM.esrB,i’dneeugvmstseteinbiltvltseeslornoasvwnihefdniyypoeordeuuwu’rtceaoarntddioosiptn–,qyapuosriutewerfeetrroleleeaandsstyiiantlo oak and yeast lees characters.The the water. wine has an ethereal texture and a lingering finish with a great balance between fruity acidity and fruit/ alcohol sweetness. High energy Chardonnay with subtle power.” – Bob Campbell, MW Code 26342 13.5% alc/vol $3395 Member price $28.99 (Ships in a 6-bottle case) Brand new vintage. First time available in Australia! 5 stars, Bob Campbell MW 90 points,Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (WineAdvocate)STtTstybwashhaeoohteikenrrysuceoeabalsriemnWauseasvtigfgtto,aeiehloieyanonrnlnToycetom–eahyfhkxplSo?weeaecowas(xwnrWltHctuicsdniwawoeeasielyrptn.inlhwsvyodteaa,aeiuilvacottnSs’altaonleloohlinlasocuaiislonmoibtfrewgaclftaTte.rfih)yeegiatn.eitrtsNneAtoymtoey.siecnnon,voaedggbuoecexmu.PnrirtcWfto.a-lfanamunestuenoassaee’isnrvl–viam,tdeeehlijlwneublagyopgassehoftrarweostitvsccerfhsiaheenltiweieexolemapycchobotowka.elutitendiio’lclltulksatflileawnonduadyrs Foxes Island TIWTtaaopnAghamrhortfensefieoe.enotdrMuitrpeunTnoedie,ngifaaudx.trttTyhsgfPieboyotohehacoyiunseefnnteu’Tsayeerlgytrlelhxaa.ssepTepPrreshexleethlWaaofiarelctnowlmaihyeeieuinedndnshjrleuoccaaatgdezvSoannugeelodytiaeenbacrtsdnh,sriha,eateosanewitnuvnuytoedrfigebniefinetasgeap,ectenmoogehsqtdioftnavaurteqpekpeiereulevaaeeooraalvddafuslletyiut,hrwtraeeayayfsJh,tvosut,iaeisinrnhcmmningnheaadpavgawewsklelyyeexMeioenpncswuuaeatlscursaspsaiansts.gstneTieeoigtvoredhoubenreooresaiyn.flag Pinot Noir 2008 wine tasting experience. Marlborough, NZ Wine Society Exclusive! Smooth and seductive, this Pinot finds the perfect balance between easy approachability and complexity.Aromas of violets and English rose are followed by alluring seductive flavours of mocha and dark fruits. Subtle toasty notes supported by long, rumbling tannins complete a serious (and seriously good) wine. Code 23315 13.5% alc/vol $3795 Member price $34.99 (Ships in a 6-bottle case)Lic. No. LIQP770010086.The Wine Society supports the responsible service of alcohol. Liquor Act 2007 - It is against the law to sell or supply alcohol to, or to obtain alcoholon behalf of, a person under the age of 18 years. Delivery charges apply.All wines offered are covered by The Wine Society’s Guarantee of Quality.We guarantee that if after tasting a bottle or two you are dissatisfied for any reason, we will collect the remainder of those wines and refund the original value of your wine purchase.

Our July Exclusives MntooetmpruebrqecurhsiarhesipedFor a full selection of our wonderful wines from around Australia and beyond visit us at www.winesociety.com.auSaxton Bridge Kettle Lane Sparkling NVMarlborough Sauvignon King Valley,VICBlanc 2011 Wine Society Exclusive!Marlborough, NZ Kettle Lane wines are madeWine Society Exclusive! especially for The Wine SocietyThe perfect aperitif and delicious to showcase the best ofwith salads and soft cheeses Australasian wine through thesuch as brie and camembert, perfect marriage of place andwe love this wine for its vibrant style.This premium sparklinggrapefruit, gooseberry and shows a refreshing zingy aciditytropical fruit flavours and its that gives way to a gorgeousbright and refreshing acidity. mousse and persistent bead,Judging by how well it sells, our before finishing clean and bright.Members love it too. Code 23565 12.5% alc/volCode 24947 13.5% alc/vol $2295$1495 Member price Member price $19.99 $12.99Seppelt Xavier’s Labyrinth Meyer & Tremel BarrelRiesling 2008 Reserve Shiraz 2010Henty,VIC Adelaide Hills, SAWine Society Exclusive! Wine Society Exclusive!“The delicately floral and aromatic Made exclusively for The Winebouquet sets the scene for a Society, this stunning Adelaidevery fine, refined and elegant Hills Shiraz is a hand-craftedpalate with an intensity and wine from a brilliant vintage.length of flavour that belies the Subtle oak nuances enhanceoverall delicacy of the wine.” classic berry flavours, resulting inIan McKenzie, Consulting a wine that is approachable in itsOenologist and Head of the youth but has the structure andTasting Panel complexity to suggest that it willCode 22213 11.5% alc/vol reward those with the patience to cellar it.$1895 Code 26415 14.5% alc/vol Member price $2495 $16.99 Member price $18.99Wine Society Members get preferential pricing on all Wine Society purchases, so why not join us? $50 buys you 25 shares and entitles you to lifetime membership (conditions apply).What’s more, when you buy a mixed case from this page you’ll save (on average) over $30, so you’ll be more than halfway to getting your money back! Call 1300 723 727

Hyatt Showcases the TopDrops of Western AustraliaHyatt Regency Perth has preparations “Fine wine is synonymous with Western Dates to savewell underway for a series of wine events Australia and the industry here is a keystarting in August with Hyatt Wine Week attraction for many tourists. Hyatt Wine HYATT WINE WEEK; August 17 – 252012 and finishing with Qantas Wine Week is something we look forward toShow in October. every year as it brings together premium Hyatt Regency Perth Cup Wine Taste Off wines and gourmet food.” 22 August Hyatt Regency PerthWhether you enjoy a glass of velvetysmooth Shiraz laced with aromatic He adds that Qantas Wine Show is also Liquor Barons Public Premium Wine Tastingfruit or a full-bodied blend of buttery a key date on the calendar for wine Event 23 August Hyatt Regency PerthChardonnay, the upcoming events at enthusiasts with Hyatt Regency PerthHyatt will offer all of this and more as hosting the Top 50 Tasting on 25 October Great Southern Wine Makers Dinner 25wine connoisseurs and consumers alike and the 35th Qantas Wine Show Awards August Hyatt Regency Perthdiscuss characteristics as they swirl, Dinner on 26 October.sample and score wines from around Additional events to be confirmed.the state. “It is fantastic that we are part of such a For more information or to book tickets prestigious event such as the Qantas Wine call 08 9225 1204.Hyatt has long been a supporter of Show. Western Australia continues to buildWest Australian wines and in past years on its already deserved reputation of being This event, which began in 2010, hasthese events have brought together a state that delivers excellence in wine and gained a quick following of fans and showssome of the best winemakers from Swan food, and this is a great opportunity to bring off the best of Western Australia’s wineValley, Margaret River and the Great it all together. We pride Hyatt Regency Perth with educational and entertaining events,Southern regions to share their thoughts on being home to premium wine and cuisine afternoon teas and dinners. Wine makersand knowledge on wine. through events such as these.” and key personalities in the wine industry will be available to provide information onGeneral Manager of Hyatt Regency Perth, various wines and answer any questions.Adam Myott, says supporting the wineindustry through these events is part of the This year the week-long line up will run inhotel’s culture. August and include some past favourites such as the Great Southern Wine Maker’s Dinner, Liquor Baron’s Public Premium Wine Tasting Event and the Hyatt Regency Perth Cup – Great Wine Taste Off. Key personalities on the wine scene include John Jens, wine writer and owner of Lamont’s Wine Store in Cottesloe, Franklin Tate Principal Grape Expectations and owner of Miles of Nowhere winery and Joanne Bradbury, owner of 3 Drops winery and Vice Chairman of Great Southern Wine Producer’s Association.

QANTAS WINE SHOWJudging will take place from 2 October in Mount Barker withnational and international judges on the panel.Top 50 Tasting: 25 OctoberAwards Dinner: 26 October Hyatt Regency PerthJudging will take place from 2 October in Mount Barker withnational and international judges on the panel.Top 50 Tasting: 25 OctoberAwards Dinner: 26 October Hyatt Regency PerthFrom humble beginnings in 1978, the Qantas Wine Show hasgrown to be Western Australia’s premier wine show judgingexclusively Western Australian Wines. Originally the QantasWine Show was a category in the local Mount Barker AnnualAgricultural Show. Since that time the Wine Show has grownand developed alongside the Western Australian Wine Industry.Each year approximately 1100 entries from over 180 WesternAustralian wine producers are judged. The Wine Show hasdeveloped a reputation of quality due to the high standard ofjudges involved and as a result Awards from the Qantas WineShow are highly regarded.The Awards Dinner and Top 50 tasting at the Hyatt RegencyPerth are an opportunity for members of the industry and winelovers alike to come together and celebrate the Trophy winnersand the many successes of the Western Australian Wine Industry.Reacquaint YouRselfwith hYatt RegencY PeRthThe upcoming wine events will also be an opportunity forguests to reacquaint themselves with the hotel which hasrecently completed the most extensive refurbishments inits 23 year history. The hotel’s guest rooms and suites havereceived new furnishings with 42” high definition LCD TVs andupgraded amenities. The refreshed rooftop poolside surroundsoffer guests an ideal place to relax and is also an attractivevenue to host events.Unique to the hotel is Artbank’s gallery of contemporaryAustralian artwork. Presented on the level one mezzanine,guests are able to view the artwork at leisure.With five food and beverage outlets to choose from, guestshave the option of dining A la Carte or pan-to-plate at Cafe,relaxing with a drink and a bit to eat at PSB (Plain Street Bar),trying the tasty South East Asian cuisine at Joe’s Oriental Diner,or even afternoon tea in Conservatory where you can simplysink into a comfortable chair with views of the atrium and watchthe day pass by.Hyatt Regency Perth offers a variety of tailor made weekendpackages such as Bonus 99* which gives guests $99 worth ofcredit to use at any food and beverage outlet within the hotel.For more information on the other packages or to make a reservationcall 131234 or for best rates visit perth.regency.hyatt.com*Subject to availability. Terms and Conditions apply.



NO.249 JULY/AUGUST 2012 Iint’snoavllaatbioonutEditor & Publisher Peter Simic E-mail: [email protected] Editor Lara Simic E-mail: [email protected] Editor Michael Cooper E-mail: [email protected] Michael BatesAdministration Vicki Bozsoki E-mail: [email protected] Director Renate Klockner E-mail: [email protected] Manager Peter Jackson E-mail: [email protected] Coordinator Stephen Dean E-mail: [email protected] DAI RubiconWinestate Web Site Justin Martin E-mail: [email protected] South Wales Winsor Dobbin, Elisabeth King, Clive HartleySouth Australia Skye Murtagh, Joy Walterfang, Valmai Hankel, Nigel HopkinsVictoria Jeni Port, Hilary McNevinWestern Australia Mike Zekulich, Rod ProperjohnQueensland Peter Scudamore-Smith MW, Andrew Corrigan MW, Lizzie LoelNew Zealand Michael Cooper, Jane Skilton MWNational Travel Winsor DobbinUSA Gerald D. BoydEUROPE André Pretorius, Giorgio Fragiacomo, Sally Easton MWASIA Denis GastonADVERTISING SALESAustralia, New Zealand & InternationalPeter Jackson, Winestate PublicationsPhone: (08) 8357 9277 E-mail: [email protected] O’Reilly, Public Relations - [email protected] Australia & VictoriaWinestate Magazine (08) 8357 9277E-mail: [email protected] South WalesAngelica Naranjo - Pearman MediaPhone: (02) 02 9929 3966 E-mail: [email protected] Bradley Phone: (07) 3391 6633 E-mail: [email protected] AustraliaKym Burke - O’Keeffe Media Services (08) 9381 7766WINESTATE New Zealand AdministrationKay Morganty Phone: (09) 479 1253 E-mail: [email protected] & Eastern EuropeFabio Potestà - Mediapoint & Communications SrlPhone: +39 010 5704948 E-mail: [email protected] AGlmascsorAustraliaGordon and Gotch Australia P/L For more information contactNew Zealand Amcor Glass Customer ServiceGordon and Gotch New Zealand phone (08) 8521 4600 orInternational [email protected] RubiconHong Kong & China www.amcor.comEverwise Wine LimitedUKComagBRAZILWalker DistributionUSASource Interlink InternationalWINESTATE is published seven times a year by WINESTATE PUBLISHING PTY LTD,81 King William Road, Unley SA 5061.Copyright 2012 by WINESTATE PUBLISHING PTY LTD. This publication may not, in wholeor in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronicmedium or machine-readable form without the express permission of the publisher.Every care is taken in compiling the contents of this publication, but the publisher assumesno responsibility for the effects arising therefrom.ABN 56 088 226 411Winestate Telephone (08) 8357 9277 Facsimile (08) 8357 9212E-mail [email protected] Web Site www.winestate.com.au July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 9

contentsJULY/AUGUST 2012 R E G U L A R S 32 42 Celebrating a family affair 14 Briefs In 1837 English settler Richard 21 Cooper’s Creed with Michael Cooper Hamilton carefully planted vine cuttings 22 European Report with Sally Easton he collected in South Africa en route 24 Wine Tutor with Clive Hartley from England to South Australia on a 26 Wine Travel with Elisabeth King parcel of land in what is now suburban 28 Wine History with Valmai Hankel Adelaide. This year, writes Nigel 54 Grapevine Hopkins, the Hamilton family celebrates 60 Wine Words its 175th year of involvement in the 62 Bookworms wine industry and the start of a family winemaking tradition carried on by Hamilton’s namesake and great, great grandson, Dr Richard Hamilton. 63 How We Judge FEATURES 64 Wine Investment & Collecting 70 What’s it Worth? 30 Risky business 115 Subscription Form 162 Aftertaste Northland, the 300km stretch of rolling hill country in the far north of New Zealand’s North Island, only accounts for 0.5 per cent of theW I N E TAST I N G S country’s wine production, but the 74 Merlot & Other Bordeaux Varietals 78 Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends cradle of the NZ wine industry is 96 Clare Valley & Surrounding Regions 104 McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek making a resurgence as the number & Fleurieu 120 Tasmania of growers has doubled in the last126 Upper North Island, NZ129 Michael Cooper’s Recent Releases decade, writes Michael Cooper. 50 32 Cellars to die for You might be able to make-do with 46 Island fever a broccoli box, but if you’ve got Tasmania is back in the spotlight, the money and the urge, why not writes Graeme Phillips, as a new opt for a custom-built cellar to age generation of winemakers is making your fine wines? In the third part of its mark. There’s a new energy and our cellaring series, Joy Walterfang invigorating buzz throughout the explores the high-end options for island as some of the big names laying down your top drops. in the South Australian and West135 Whiskies of the World, New 38 Bewitching Cabernet Australian wine industry have set upReleases and Top 40 Best Buys under $20. - The backbone of Bordeaux shop in this cool climate region. Around the world cabernet sauvignon 50 Wine at the movies weaves a special magic as a single Toast the reds, whites and bubbles variety or as part of a blend. Andrew that have played their parts in Corrigan MW explores the rich history producing movie magic at the of the grape and the role this mighty cinema. Brian Miller looks back at red plays in the various wine regions the memorable films from around the from Bordeaux, the home of cabernet world which have featured some of the sauvignon, to Australia. most glorious wines in their story lines. Winestate Magazine Issue Number 249 July/August 2012 Cover photograph © Orange Lane Studios.

20 12 The New Zealand International Wine Show is rmly established as the largest wine competition held in New Zealand. Entry is open for wines from any country and made from any variety. In 2011 over 2080 entries were received and a record 199 gold medals were awarded by the 24 senior wine judges, led by Master of Wine, Bob Campbell. This year Bob will be back leading his experienced team in this world-class wine competition. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity for your wines to win gold and qualify for the prestigious 2012 Champions List. CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: Friday 31 August 2012. For full details and to enter on-line visit: www.nziws.co.nz NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL WINE SHOW 2012 AWARDING WINES OF THE WORLDbizambrands A1249



editorialT H I S I S A N I S S U E that we really look forward to as it givesus an opportunity to look at the great cabernets of the worldand also the “Bordeaux Blend” varietals of merlot, malbec,cabernet franc and petit verdot. It is amazing how this blend of up to five differentred varietals combine to make up a superb red wine.Of course, everyone has their own view of which varietals workbest together, and which are left out, if not up to standard. In astrange way it reminds me of the four horses in the chariots ofthe movie Ben-Hur. Each horse has a different role to play; thefastest and most exuberant on the outside and the slowest andsteadiest on the inside. In the same way we could argue thatcabernet sauvignon is the backbone of this blend with cabernetfranc offering juicy fruit and approachability, petit verdot thecolour, intensity and tannins and malbec some violet flowersand softness, with merlot offering the middle ground, or in a veryfew regions where the fruit reaches greater intensity, it becomesthe champion variety. In France, we have the so-called “left bank” of Bordeaux where cabernet sauvignon is king,whilst across the river, in the “right bank” merlot is the favoured dominant variety. In Australiawe like the “Aussie blend” of cabernet shiraz, such as our newly released Penfolds 620, whilst inItaly the “super-tuscans” are a cabernet sangiovese blend. Argentina goes it alone with malbec;South Africa puts its name to a different blend of pinot noir and syrah (shiraz), the pinotage. And in the earliest vintages of Bordeaux carmenere was popular, but rarely planted now (as one of thesix original allowed red varieties) along with some interesting additions from Morocco and syrah fromthe Rhone Valley (which resulted later in the Appellation Controlee system to stamp out these dodgypractices). In the New World wines are usually identified by the varietals involved, but in the Old World– in a kind of secret society – there is no identification; you are supposed to know what each regionproduces (eg syrah in the Rhone Valley, pinot noir in Burgundy etc) with sub-regions adding furthercomplexity of acceptable varietals for that region. In this issue we have examples of cabernet sauvignon and the Bordeaux blend varietals from eachof these countries, ranging from “cheap and cheerful” up to the highly priced iconic brands and“First Growth’s”. No matter your budget, or passion, there is a wine here for you. Master of Wine, Andrew Corrigan, provides an introductory article to explain more about thewonders of cabernet sauvignon and the blends. (And speaking of Ben Hur, writer Brian Millerprovides a great article on the movies through time that have whetted our wine appetites.)Have a glass in front of you and enjoy! We also look forward to sharing with you the results from two of South’s Australia’s finest regions, theClare Valley and McLaren Vale & Fleurieu, along with a very cool climate overview from Tasmania and,of course, the latest new release gems. For our Kiwi Cousins, Winestate New Zealand Editor, Michael Cooper OM, provides his regular“Cooper’s Creed” column and chairs our annual North Island tasting. Lots to find and lots to enjoy!Cheers!Peter SimicEditor/Publisher July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 13

briefsNAME GAMES A LIFE TIME OF STORIESALMOST two years after agreeing to give up the use of the name AFTER many approaches to him to write his life story, Barossa Valley“sherry”, Australian winemakers are now finally allowed to begin legend Peter Lehmann appears to have finally relented. Earlier thistheir marketing promotions for their replacement name, apera. The year rumours circulated that Lehmann had agreed to a biographer.name apera could not be registered until a complaint filed by the His wife, Margaret, confirmed that he had been “talking” to SydneyCampari company, maker of the aperitif Aperol, was heard. The wine writer, Huon Hooke. “I don’t know how far he has got,” shecomplaint has now been settled and apera is set to appear on wine said, “so it’s sort of happening, though I’ll believe it when I see it.”labels, but how will consumers react to the name change? And The biography comes at an important milestone this year for Peterthere’s not just one new fortified wine name to adjust to but two. The Lehmann Wines. It was 30 years ago that Lehmann put his name toother fortified to be affected is tokay, which now becomes topaque. his wines. The story - and the legend - began a little earlier in 1979.Both must be phased out from wine labels by September 1, 2020. Hard times had fallen upon the Barossa Valley and growers were left with a surfeit of grapes. Saltram, then owned by the multinational Prominent Rutherglen wine producer Colin Campbell, of Seagram, decided it could not, would not, take grapes from long-timeCampbells Wines, who headed the wine committee search for grape growers. For the growers, the future looked bleak.the new replacement names believes it is now a matter of wineeducation and getting the message out. Saltram’s wine maker, Peter Lehmann, upset at abandoning growers in their time of need left his job, promising to process the Some makers like Pfeiffer Wines are embracing the apera name growers’ fruit under his own company. He called it Masterson, afterin addition to their own new label by creating the Seriously Apera the wily gambler in a Damon Runyon novel. In 1982 he changedrange: Seriously Fine; Seriously Nutty and Seriously Pink (a rose the name to Peter Lehmann Wines. Many winegrowers across thestyle). “We embrace the apera terminology,” said Jen Pfeiffer. Barossa now proudly call themselves “Lehmann growers”.“It is the ‘S’ word that we are now trying to avoid.” LANGTON’S RETIREMENT BID STEWART Langton (pictured), the man who brought fine wine investment to Australia, has retired from the company he founded, Langton’s Wine Auctions. His start was modest, setting up the emerging wine department at Fowles Auctioneers, in Melbourne, and then establishing his own wine auction house some years later in14 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

briefs1987. He brought the silent bid auction concept to Australia and PIONEERINGcreated, with partner Andrew Caillard, MW, the highly successful PRODUCER DIES- and copied - Langton’s Classification of Distinguished AustralianWine, listing the most desirable Australian investment wines under TREVOR Mast (pictured),three categories: “exceptional”, “outstanding” and “excellent”. the founder of one of the Australian pioneering When Penfolds decided to introduce recorking clinics across producers of cool climateAustralia for its premium wines like Grange, it engaged Langton’s shiraz, Mount Langi Ghiran,expertise. The company also sought out the assistance of Caillard died earlier this year from earlyat its regular Rewards of Patience tastings. “This has not been an onset Alzheimer’s Disease.easy decision for me as Langton’s has been at the centre of my He was 63. Early on in hislife for nearly 24 years,” Langton told his clients in his retirement winemaking life, Mast decided to pursue cool climate winemaking,announcement. “I have worried about it, cared for it, nurtured it enrolling in Germany’s Geisenheim University. In 1974 he joined theand supported it in the difficult times, but have always loved it.” winemaking team at Seppelt Great Western but soon after met Viv Thomson at nearby Best’s and in 1975 moved over to winemaking In 2009 Langton sold his business to Woolworths but continued to duties there. He worked with the Thomson family for 12 years duringrun the day-to-day operations. His long-standing national operations which time he established himself not only as a fine winemakermanager, Tamara Grischy, will now head the Langton’s team. but an in-demand wine judge. According to Viv, “he entered like a whirlwind”. He could never be sure what Mast would initiate next.POINTING TO THE FUTURE During his time with Best’s, Mast sourced shiraz from the nearbyTHE 100-point wine judging system championed by the world’s Fratin’s Vineyard and in the early 1980s Mast began consultingmost influential wine writer, Robert Parker, will replace the to the Fratins. In 1987, Mast, with fellow investor Ian Menzies,traditional 20-point system at this year’s Canberra International bought the vineyard and renamed it Mount Langi Ghiran. TheRiesling Challenge. much-celebrated 1989 shiraz put Mast and cool climate shiraz on the map. The ’90s produced some extraordinarily beautiful, The 100-point system was used in this year’s Sydney Wine Show’s finely textured examples. In 1996, Menzies left the partnershipresult booklet (organisers converted the 20-point score to a score and German wine man Riquet Hess became Mast’s new partner.out of 100 points) but the CIRC decision is believed to be the In 2002, Mount Langi Ghiran was bought by the Rathbonefirst time a major Australian wine show has embraced the system Group. By 2006, at the age of 57, Mast was diagnosed with earlyduring judging. CIRC founder, Ken Helm, said the 100-point system onset Alzheimer’s Disease and retired. At his eulogy it was said:now has greater relevance with wine consumers because many “He enriched all our lives, broadened our minds and taught usAustralian wine judges use it. In addition, the show will now come in many things. He taught us to take the road less travelled - theline with other international wine shows. New 2012 CIRC chairman scenic route, to see the true beauty in nature, lead gently, giveof judges, Ben Edwards, said the new scoring offered an expanded generously, love mightily, dance spontaneously, travel far, laughjudging system for judges, allowing a refined assessment of a wholeheartedly, hug with meaning and withhold all judgement.”wine’s quality and character. The CIRC will be held this year onOctober 8-13 and, as usual, will host one international judge. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 15

briefsBREWERY BID WINTER ESCAPEHAVING taken the world of THREE of Coonawarra’swine by storm with its (Yellow hospitality icons haveTail) label, the Casella family combined to create a winteris now planning to start its holiday package that will beown brewery. Casella has available throughout July andappointed South African August. Family-owned Zemabrewer Andy Mitchell Estate has teamed with Must @(pictured) to the position of Coonawarra (accommodation)brew master, based at the and Fodder restaurant tofamily’s winery in Yenda, New put together a package thatSouth Wales. Mitchell, who has over 30 years’ experience, will includes two nights’ accommodation at Must @ Coonawarra, continentalbe joined by Anthony Clem, who has previously worked at South breakfast provisions for each morning, a bottle of Zema Estate wineAustralian Breweries and the Knappstein Enterprise Brewery, in the on arrival, one day of free bike hire, a chauffer driven trip in a classicClare Valley. The duo is working with Casella’s senior brand manager Bentley to and from Zema Estate for a free wine and chocolate tasting,for beer, Fiona Seath, who joins the Casella business from Heineken, a similar drive to and from Fodder and complimentary tasting platein the UK, and launched the Perfect Lager Project to ask consumers at Fodder when choosing to dine there. The cost is $390 per couple,what they want from a beer. “Making beer is a major step for our all inclusive. Bookings and inquiries to Must; phone (08) 8737 3444.business and we want to get it right for consumers,” she says. “Theonly way we can guarantee that is to ask the consumers what they TOURISM AWARDwant and then make it. It’s a non-conventional approach, but one thatwe have a lot of confidence in. It’s going to be a really fun process JACOB’S Creek Visitorand a rare opportunity for Aussie beer-lovers to be involved from Centre has been recognisedthe beginning to the end of the selection and creation process.” as one of Australia’s best tourism attractions, winningDONALD the national awards for BestWINEMAKER Tourism Restaurant and BestOF THE YEAR Tourism Winery at the 2012 Qantas Australian TourismSEPPELTSFIELD Estate Awards. The Jacob’s Creeksenior winemaker Fiona Visitor Centre is located on the banks of Jacob’s Creek, in the heartDonald (pictured) was of Australia’s most famous wine region, the Barossa Valley. Thenamed 2012 Barossa award-winning centre offers either casual or structured wine tastings,Winemaker of the Year. The or the chance to participate in a sensory workshop. Guests canprestigious accolade was learn more about grape growing and winemaking with a tour of thebestowed by the Barons demonstration vineyard or explore the grounds and vineyards. Thereof Barossa wine fraternity is also a picnic area alongside the actual Jacob’s Creek.at the official declarationof vintage ceremony in EXPLORATION CALLTanunda. Barons of BarossaGrand Master Stephen MATT Burton, the talented young winemaker from Gundog Estate,Henschke said the award was highly deserved. “Fiona Donald has called on his regional colleagues to explore more contrastingis a great winemaker and this accolade is very appropriate, styles of the region’s flagship grape, semillon. Burton told the wineparticularly as Seppeltsfield is starting to kick goals for its table industry online newsletter The Shout that too many Hunter producerswines,” he said. “She is an incredibly intelligent winemaker make semillon in an identical style. “I think if you can branch out intodoing great things at the estate and has developed a stellar off-dry styles, or fume styles, you’re actually bringing new marketsreputation over her time in Barossa. It is fantastic to have the to the variety,” he said. Burton pushed the boundaries of conventionopportunity to reward Fiona’s work as Barossa Winemaker with his 2011 Gundog Estate Wild Semillon, which he fermentedof the Year.” As senior winemaker at Seppeltsfield Estate, in part using naturally occurring yeast while the juice remained onDonald has been instrumental in breathing new life into the skins, in much the same way as a red wine is made. “It was a veryhistoric,1888 gravity flow winery. “I am so honoured to receive ‘out there’ style in terms of Hunter Valley semillon,” he said. “Wethis acknowledgement from the Barons of Barossa,” she said. launched it at the cellar door and sold out in two months.” Burton“When I returned from a year in Europe, I rediscovered what believes that like riesling, semillon is a blank canvas for winemakersa wonderful place this is. The winemaking community, grape in that “you can play around with it”. “I’ve sold wines like the semi-quality and cultural heritage are compelling.” sweet and the wild semillon through the cellar door this year to people that have never even bought semillon in their life,” he said.16 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

briefsDE BORTOLI SCREWING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICEAROUND WITH SPARKLING McLAREN Vale has underlined its position as one of Australia’s mostIt will probably be a number of years before sustainable viticultural regions with the recent launch of the McLarenthe hallowed houses of Champagne decide to Vale Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (MVSWA) program. Aimedembrace a screw cap closure on their bottles, at helping growers improve vineyard sustainability, MVSWA is abut that has not stopped Australia’s De Bortoli recognised, world-class program which uses a combination of datawines using this latest innovation on two of their reporting and self-assessment through a workbook of viticulturalwines. In conjunction with leading packaging practices and third-party audits. The content is written by localsuppliers, Guala Closures and O-I bottles the growers and peer-reviewed by Australian-wide recognised experts.three companies have pulled their resources “MVSWA is the first program of its kind in Australia and we expecttogether in producing the world’s first sparkling other regions will follow our lead and adopt the program, tailoringwine with a screw cap closure. By no means it to their region,” MVGWTA Chair Peter Hayes says. “The programa rushed development, it’s been five years in embraces the triple bottom line approach relating to economic,the making as a response to the liquor industry social and environmental considerations and is independent ofand consumers regarding issues of loss of farming systems, meaning conventional, organic and biodynamiccarbonation and difficulties of opening. grape growers alike can benefit from participating.” At the Sydney launch the bottles were Growers participating in MVSWA will self-assess areas of their vineyardunveiled with much fanfare as spokesman for operation, including soil health, nutrition and fertiliser management,Guala Simon Yudelavich espoused the benefits of the closure and pest and disease management, biodiversity management, waterthe amount of research and testing that went into the capsule that management, waste management and social relations. Growers canhas a patented name of Viiva. Guala (a company that produces then ascertain how well they are performing on farm, both in terms2.5 Billion closures in Australia every year), were invited to of absolute best practice as well as against their peer group. Moreproduce this innovation who in turn consulted with O-I to find the information on MVSWA can be found at www.mclarenvale.info.right bottle and then a winery willing to trial it, enter De Bortoliwho were happy to put two of their tank fermented sparklings WHISKY AND CHEESE MENUunder the closure. The tests were rigorous including pressuretests designed to withstand five atmospheres of pressure, as THE Athenaeum Hotel is one of London’s most prestigiouswell as heat trials where bottles were left in 50 degree heat for addresses, popular with stars of stage and screen as well astwo weeks to replicate the hot transport conditions of Australia. many Australian food and wine lovers. In addition to a global wine list, the Athenaeum also features a whisky bar with De Bortoli are confident that consumers will take to the invention, close to 300 different whiskies from which to choose – and itsespousing the benefits of not having to drink the whole bottle, own whisky sommelier - Angelo Gobbi. Cheese expert Alexnot needing a stopper and the fact that it can be placed on its James, the hotel’s head chef, David Marshall, and Gobbi haveside in the fridge once opened. It can also be re-opened as combined to create a whisky and cheese pairing menu – andmany as four times in a number of weeks while still retaining its have created their own Scotch-infused cream cheese calledfreshness and effervesce. From the point of view of en-premise, “Athenaeum”. The menu has been extensively researched andthe wines are quick to open, will stay fresh longer and there refined to provide the best taste combinations. For example,will be less wastage and no issue with cork taint or oxidation. the 12-year-old blended Chivas Royal Scotch with its herbalWine writer Tyson Stelzer endorsed the innovative design at the aromas has been paired with the distinctive taste of Westcombelaunch, commended the partners involved and in particular De Cheddar, from Somerset. The Suffolk Gold has been pairedBortoli for offering something so radically fresh in this category. with Gentlemen’s Jack, the first new whisky from the JackHe boldly declared that Viiva is: “what could and should be the Daniel Distillery for 100 years. The Athenaeum offers bothnext generation of sparkling wine closures.” hotel and apartment accommodation and is beautifully situated on Piccadilly, overlooking Green Park. It is at 116 Piccadilly,NEW BREWER London; www.athenaeumhotel.com.THE Clare Valley is about to get its third brewery – and all threebrewers have links with the wine industry. Ben Jeanneret, ofJeanneret Wines, has teamed with business partner Craig Harnettto launch the Clare Valley Brewing Company, which has beengranted a producer’s licence. The brewery will initially be basedat the winery. Jeanneret said the brews will use local ingredientswhen possible. He said the brewery’s first releases should bein the marketplace by Christmas. The other local producers areKnappstein, part of the Lion Nathan group, and Pikes Oakbank Beer,owned by the winemaking family but brewed in New South Wales. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 17

briefsALI BOUNCES IN ALTERNATIVE VARIETIESFORMER Olympic THE trend towards alternative grape varieties continues withbasketballer Peter Ali leading Clare Valley producer Kirrihill recently announcing a(pictured) is the new CEO new range of wines featuring varieties from Italy and Spain fromof the McLaren Vale Grape, the 2012 vintage. The new varieties – sangiovese, tempranillo,Wine and Tourism Association montepulciano and nebbiolo – will be released in around 18(MVGWTA). Ali represented months and signal a new direction for the second-largestAustralia at the 1980 Olympics winery in the Clare. “The Australian wine drinker’s becomingin Moscow and has worked for more knowledgeable and experimental, and I think these areorganisations including the the new things that people want to pick up and take to a dinnerNational Basketball League, party,” winemaker Donna Stephens said. “There’s a savourinessSouth Australian Netball Association, Greyhound Racing SA and about these varieties that means they go well with food.” Thethe Government of South Australia’s Office for Recreation and Sport. new wines will initially be made in small quantities and will be“The McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism Association welcomes available through restaurants, mail order and the Kirrihill cellarPeter Ali to the role of CEO and looks forward to working with him door. Stephens said the new varieties would give Kirrihill a pointon our key objectives,” MVGWTA chairman Peter Hayes said. “We of difference in a region where shiraz and riesling dominate.anticipate that his rare combination of experience in competitivesports as an international and national player, administrator and TURNING BACK TIMEmanager combined with his enthusiastic outlook for our region willdeliver great outcomes for McLaren Vale.” MOORILLA winemaker Conor van der ReestBACK IN THE BUSINESS (pictured) has one of the highest-tech wineries in theFEW people understand the wine industry like Robert Oatley country at his disposal – but(pictured), yachtsman, Hamilton Island owner, businessman and he went back to basics forfounder of Rosemount Estate, which in its heyday was one of the 2012 vintage. To markAustralia’s most successful labels. Several years on and Oatley, his the 50th anniversary of theson Sandy and industry veteran Chris Hancock, all key players when first vintage at the TasmanianRosemount was in its pomp, are back in the business in a major way. winery, van der Reest turned back the clock as much as Robert Oatley may be 81, but retains all his enthusiasm for labels possible in a bid to craft aunder his umbrella, which include Wild Oats, Montrose, Tic Tok, riesling in the same way thatCraigmoor and the recently launched Robert Oatley Signature Series industry pioneer Claudiowines. The Oatleys are sourcing fruit from premium vineyards around Alcorso would have donethe country, particularly Western Australia, which is no surprise given half a century ago. Friendsthe hugely talented Larry Cherubino is their director of winemaking. and family were invited along to hand pick the grapes beforeOatley describes Cherubino as the best winemaker in Australia and enjoying a cellar lunch (accompanied by some wines datingCherubino’s team includes former Thorn Clark winemaker Derek back to the 1980s) and then crushing the grapes the traditionalFitzgerald, ex Constellation winemaker Robert Merrick and former way – with their bare feet. Among those returning to take partYarra Burn star Mark O’Callaghan. The Signature Series label has in the fun was Alcorso’s daughter Caroline, who was four whena suitably seafaring theme - a blue triangular nautical flag - and the she helped with the first vintage in 1962. Italian migrant Alcorso,Oatleys expect to sell in excess of 200,000 cases this year, many whose son Julian now runs Winemaking Tasmania, believed thatof them in the US. The range comprises a 2011 Great Southern Tasmania’s cool climate would produce fine wines – buckingriesling, a 2011 Margaret River sauvignon blanc, a 2011 Margaret the trend at the time, when most Australian wines were madeRiver chardonnay, a 2010 Mornington pinot noir and a 2010 Margaret in warmer regions like the Barossa and Hunter valleys. AmongRiver cabernet sauvignon, along with a 2010 McLaren Vale shiraz. those in attendance for the festivities was Guido Toffoli, one of the original migrant workers who helped plant the first vines and build the farmhouse on the property. “It was a privilege and an honour to mark the 50th birthday celebrations in this way,” van der Reest said. “It was great to be able to share some of the traditions with friends new and old.” The riesling picked and pigeaged on the day will be fermented on indigenous yeasts and made as closely as possible to the style of winemaking in 1962. It will eventually be released – in tiny quantities – as the first of a new Moorilla range.18 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

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nzbriefswhat’s happening on the NZ wine sceneA BIOGRAPHY OF PETER YEALANDS KEY APPOINTMENTSSINCE releasing its first wines in 2008, Yealands Wine Group has TRINITY Hill, the prominent Hawke’s Bay producer, has appointedgrown swiftly, ranking as the country’s sixth-largest producer, and Michael Henley as its chief executive officer. Henley joined Trinitypromotes itself as “New Zealand’s leading sustainable winery”. Hill after nine years at Craggy Range, where most recently he was marketing manager and brand ambassador. John Kavanagh has In A Bloke For All Seasons: the Peter Yealands story (Wily joined Te Kairanga - one of Martinborough’s largest producers,Publications, $NZ34.99), biographer Tom Percy notes that “Peter owned by US-based Bill Foley – as chief winemaker. Kavanagh,was aware that entering into a global market needed more than formerly winemaker at Neudorf Vineyards, in Nelson, for a decade,just a brand and a product. He knew that he needed something was earlier winemaker at Alana Estate, also in Martinborough.different that would set him apart...” The answer: “an absolutecommitment to sustainability...” It’s a lively, easy-reading account 2012 HARVEST SMALLER,of Yealands’ action-packed life. Percy stresses that the book QUALITY VARIABLEwas not commissioned by Peter Yealands or Yealands Estateand that its writing and publication were at the instigation of AFTER huge grape harvests in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Newthe author. Nevertheless, my review copy was sent by the wine Zealand’s production has fallen from the low-yielding 2012company, rather than the publisher, and the book often has vintage, which will inevitably lead to higher prices. Marlborougha distinct whiff of “PR”. In an – lately the source of over 70 per cent of all NZ wine –absorbing chapter, Percy traces experienced its coolest growing season since 1997, with lowthe lengthy struggle between sunshine hours during summer but also below-average rainfall.Jim Delegat, of Delegat’s Wine After a very slow ripening season, Clark Estate, in the AwatereEstate, and Yealands for control Valley, reported in mid April that “the weather has been amazing.of Oyster Bay Vineyards, which A month ago we were wondering if we were going to get thereended in 2010 when Delegat’s at all. The acids will be prominent this vintage and produce thatacquired all of Yealands’ shares Marlborough ‘zing’.”in the company. “The slow ripening means we will retain great flavours,” says Yealands emerges from the Neal Ibbotson, of Saint Clair. Due to the small crop, he believespages as an indefatigable and growers and wineries will suffer financially in the short term, butentrepreneurial figure with a host of gradually “the market will recover, the price of wine will lift andgood stories to tell. Percy sums him grapes will follow…” In Central Otago, a cool growing seasonup as “a master jack-of-all-trades”. ended with a “spectacular Indian summer,” reported James Dicey,He’s also a very wealthy man. of Mt Difficulty. The harvest, slightly later than usual, yielded grapes of “less sugar and wonderful fruit flavours.” However, in Hawke’sGRAPE PRICES SOAR Bay, the principal North Island region, the late season weather was less favourable. After a cold spring and cloudy summer, growerGROWERS without winery contracts are commanding up to $NZ2000 Beni Noetzli reported that “we have not had the Indian summerper tonne for sauvignon blanc grapes from the 2012 harvest, as we were hoping for. The rain has made everything very difficult.”large companies struggle to maintain their production levels in a Trinity Hill, in Hawke’s Bay, reported that “harvest has been alow-cropping season. Last year, the same growers received $NZ500 challenge this year… lots of rain and cold weather.”to $NZ600 per tonne. Growers with supply contracts reportedpayments of $NZ1200 per tonne for sauvignon blanc – far less than CHANGES AT VILLA MARIAthe bonanza enjoyed by those on the “spot” market. ROB Ferguson has joined Villa Maria, New Zealand’s largestESCARPMENT FOR SALE privately owned wine company, as general manager commercial. Ferguson, formerly finance and commercial services directorONE of Martinborough’s leading pinot noir producers, Escarpment for UK wine businesses Percy Fox & Co and Justerini & Brooks,Vineyard was established in 1998 as a partnership between Australians owned by Diageo plc, has a track record of “transforming areasRobert and Mem Kirby (of the media company, Village Roadshow), and of the business and creating an environment that enabled peoplewinemaker Larry McKenna and his wife, Sue. The Kirbys have now to deliver outstanding performance and results.decided to sell their shareholding in Escarpment. McKenna, who builtan illustrious reputation for pinot noir during his long spell (1986-1999) Sir George Fistonich, Villa Maria’s owner and chief executive, willat Martinborough Vineyard, will stay with the business. devote more time to long-term strategy and brand development.20 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

c o o p e r ’s c r e e d WORDS MICHAEL COOPER TIGHTENING THE TIES I OPENED an excellent bottle of Aussie When NZ freed up its economy in the - and promptly set the wine world alightred recently - Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna 1980s, Australian wine sales got a crucial with its striking debut 1985 MarlboroughShiraz 2006. Dark, sturdy and flavour- boost. The government swiftly dismantled Sauvignon Blanc.packed, it was a deeply satisfying wine, the domestic industry’s protection againstand the 2009 vintage, now on the shelves, overseas wines; by 1990, trans-Tasman The start of the new millennium broughtis a “steal” at its average price of $NZ28. tariffs on wine had been abolished. Overseas more investment, reflecting the global trendNo wonder NZ imports so much rich red wines, especially from Australia, flooded the towards consolidation of ownership. BRLwine -some in bulk, but equivalent to over country. The invasion was spearheaded Hardy gained control of NZ’s then fourth-18 million bottles per year - from Australia. by red wines, but Australia also dominated largest winery, Nobilo, in 2000. A year later the NZ markets for imported still white, Matua Valley, NZ’s sixth-largest producer, NZ is the sixth largest export market sparkling and fortified wines. By the late was acquired by Beringer Blass, the winefor Australian wine, behind the UK, the 1990s, more than a quarter of all wine division of Foster’s Group.US, Canada, Germany and China. Kiwis consumed in NZ flowed from Australia. Top-downed 23 million litres of Australian selling wines included Lindemans Cawarra Australia also deserves credit forwine last year, worth $A63.5 million. That Shiraz Cabernet, Jacob’s Creek Shiraz breeding - and training - some of theAustralian wine has such a strong following Cabernet, Banrock Station Shiraz Cabernet, finest winemakers in New Zealand.in NZ is probably inevitable, given the two Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay, Lindemans John Hancock, of Trinity Hill; Larrycountries’ physical closeness and the Cawarra Colombard Chardonnay and McKenna, of Escarpment Vineyard; Janescale and quality of Australia’s vinous Queen Adelaide Chardonnay. Hunter; Kate Radburnd, of CJ Pask; Jeffoutput. Australia has also been perfectly Clarke, formerly chief winemaker of Pernod Ricard NZ, now at Ara - are just a few ofAustralia also deserves credit for breeding - and training the many Australian winemakers who have- some of the finest winemakers in New Zealand. made an enduring contribution to NZ wine.placed to exploit the NZ industry’s inability Many Australian winemakers have also And countless NZ winemakers haveto produce large volumes of decent invested directly in the NZ industry. After studied viticulture and oenology atred wine at everyday-drinking prices. opening a branch in Auckland in 1928 for Roseworthy College, in Adelaide. AfterAs Peter Hubscher, then managing the distribution of their Australian wines, gaining a diploma from Roseworthy in thedirector of Montana, admitted a decade the McWilliam family decided to establish late 1940s, Alex Corban was NZ’s firstago: “The truth is, New Zealand is not a a winery, too. McWilliam’s first vines were winemaker to adopt such modern technicalgood country for producing vin ordinaire planted in Hawke’s Bay in 1947, and wizardry as pressure fermentations,red, because you can’t get a sufficient the first wine flowed in 1952. During the stainless steel, refrigeration and yeasttonnage per hectare of fully ripe grapes”. 1960s - with its white Cresta Dore, red starter cultures.Australian wines were not popular in NZ Bakano and Marque Vue bubbly virtuallyduring the 19th century, being seen as “an household names – McWilliam’s was the However, the sales of bottled Australianinferior sort of wine” drunk only by those dominant force in the NZ wine industry. wines have declined in recent years. Thepossessing “a very poor palate indeed”. Penfolds (NZ) was established in 1963 arrival of Marlborough sauvignon blancWine lovers of the era did not want light in west Auckland, but although it built a in the sub-$NZ10 category reducedcolonial drinks, preferring “highly brandied sound reputation for “sherry” and “port”, the demand for low-priced, Australianports and sherries” from Europe. But in its table wines were plain. chardonnay; and Kiwis’ growing love affairthe early 20th century, when interest grew with pinot noir has eroded demand forin lighter wines labelled as “burgundy”, McWilliam’s and Penfolds’ operations Australian shiraz and cabernet sauvignon.“claret”, “hock” and “sauternes”, Australian in NZ finally fell into Montana’s (now Some wineries, based on both sides ofwines at last began to achieve popularity Pernod Ricard NZ’s) embrace, but others the Tasman, are working together. “In thein New Zealand. followed. Cape Mentelle, the Western tradition of the ANZAC spirit”, the Buller Australian winery, founded Cloudy Bay winery at Rutherglen is distributing the wines from NZ’s first Maori-owned wine company, Tohu, throughout Victoria. In return, Tohu distributes the Buller range in NZ. Love that Fine Old Muscat. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 21

europeanreport WORDS SALLY EASTON MWCHAMPAGNE A BAROMETER OF BETTER TIMESIF THE champagne industry is a barometer three weeks ahead of normal. Then the rest While selection is a by-word for the 2011of the economic climate, the world really of July and August weren’t great with rain and vintage, it wasn’t all bad news. Beaujolais,must be on the road to recovery. Shipments not much sun. Larmandier said: “It wasn’t on the crest of more than one wave, had itsof champagne during 2011 reached a very warm vintage. It’s a cool vintage, third good vintage on the trot. Despite the323 million bottles. While this is a fair elegant, with not too much structure.” climatic challenges, France’s total outputway off peak shipments of 338.8 million came in at around 50 million hectolitres, upbottles in 2007, before the recession in Floriane Eznack, the winemaker at 8 per cent on 2010. Given that Italy’s 2011Western economies, it is the best year the Champagne Jacquart said: “2011 was not harvest was down more than 15 per cent atChampenois have had since that year. an easy year to cope with. We don’t want this nearly 42 mhl, this growth restored France style every year. It was the third vintage that we to the world’s top producer status, a position The recovery in champagne sales is not had to harvest in August, not September. The it’s not held since 2006. Italy’s reduction ofcoming from the sector’s biggest export others were 2003 and 2007, and 2003 was 15 per cent may not sound like much, butmarket, the UK, where shipments were down the earliest recorded harvest.” She added: in absolute terms the country was 7mhl3 per cent, but all other top export markets “We had to choose between maturity and down – more than the entire production ofwere up, and strongly so in a more confident- health this year. It was not an easy decision”, Russia, or more than the combined harvestslooking US, champagne’s second biggest which meant that at harvest “we made a of Hungary, Austria and Bulgaria.market, where shipments were up 15 per drastic selection”. Colour extraction was alsocent, or 2.5 million bottles in 2011. The strong too easy and intense in 2011, which created Additionally, the growth in French production during 2011 bucked the trendThe strong Aussie dollar has helped to see among the top five Euro producers. As wellshipments of champagne to Australia increase as Italy’s significant decline, Spain’s volumesby a third to nearly 5 million bottles in 2011. were down 3 per cent, Germany down 8 per cent and Portugal down 16 per cent. All ofAussie dollar has helped to see shipments of challenges to make a white wine from red this resulted in a lower than average harvestchampagne to Australia increase by a third grapes. Vintage 2011 was less than ideal in across the EU. A significant part of thisto nearly 5 million bottles in 2011. other parts of France, too, where the summer must be attributable to the EU’s wine sector in spring and autumn in summer scenario reform, which has seen France’s vineyard Emerging markets also saw improved was not restricted to champagne. After two area decline from 858,000ha in 2008, toimports, Russia up 20 per cent, China up consecutive “vintages of the millennium”, 807,000ha in 2011. Italy has declined from18 per cent, Brazil up 13 per cent, Hong Bordeaux in 2011 was a jolt back to reality 825,000ha to 786,000ha in the same period;Kong up 12 per cent. Though this growth for the Bordelais. A fast start to the season Spain from 1,165,000ha to 1,032,000ha. Aswas from smaller bases – the total imports was halted in rotten style in July as rainstorms this structural reform really begins to bite,from all four of these countries was the rocked through the region. But where reds stories are emerging of wine shortages, alongsame level as Australian imports. need careful picking-through, sweet wines with rising bulk prices and firming speculation are reported to be looking very good. that the long-term global oversupply situation As far as the 2011 harvest goes, it was may be turning a critical corner.challenging and variable in the extreme, with The cool climate of the Loire followedsummer in spring, autumn in summer and a similar seasonal disruption, including a Decreasing vineyard area and aharvest starting on the second earliest date damp July and August that brought ongoing concomitant lowering of production insince 1822. This is up to a month earlier than rot issues. In Saumur, veraison was already Europe, the world’s engine room of grapenormal. Pierre Larmandier, vice president for starting at the beginning of August. Philippe and wine production, plus a long-term, gentlecommunication at the CIVC, said: “We had Vatan, of Château du Hureau, said the overall increase in the world’s consumptiona cold winter (then), at the end of March, we season “is 15 days earlier than normal”. That augurs towards a tipping point, at some time,had marvellous weather, so the first budding damp August slowed down the forwardness in the supply-demand model that the winewas one week sooner than normal. After of season a bit, but it still came in nearly two industry has worked with for the last couplea couple of frosts, May warmed up again weeks ahead of norms. Drier weather in of decades. If demand does tip to be greaterleading to flowering being two to three weeks September helped to limit rot issues. than supply, for example by China meetingearly, and by early July vines were about the forecasts for growth in its consumption, then the wine world may soon look like a very different, and more expensive, place.22 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012



winetutor WORDS CLIVE HARTLEY MESSAGE IN A BOTTLEARTISAN, boutique, garagiste, funky, surprising foil to any Australian pinot gris/ styles of wines. Cullen’s red wines areniche-market, idiosyncratic or simply grigio. Or the glorious fortified wines of often picked at lower than normal baumerustic, you can use whatever term you the Swan Valley. Emerging styles could levels and therefore produce lower alcohollike to describe some of Australia’s most possibly be chardonnay from Beechworth wines. They believe the vines achieveinteresting and diverse wine. Often it might and sauvignon blanc from Tasmania. physiological ripeness at lower baumesimply be a small winery selecting an levels due to their vineyard managementobscure grape variety to champion, but Besides regional factors, a winery can and can therefore be picked earlier.then there is the passionate producer that influence the style of wine by either its Minimal intervention in the winery goeshas “fire in their belly” for a style or a whole management of the vineyard or winemaking. along with biodynamic farming. In this wayphilosophy and way of life. Organically grown wine had such a stigma “the vineyard creates the wine”, comments attached to it 15 years ago that it was the winemaker Vanya Cullen. Their wines More often, wine talks of regional character, type of throwaway line a producer would are never powerful but medium bodied,and these are still emerging and developing in occasionally mention to you in private, elegant, fresh but ripe fruit-driven winesAustralia. Let’s run through some well-known but never consider stamping it on their label. that can be effortlessly matched with foodones and perhaps a few forgotten gems. Nowadays it is so commonly encountered, and it makes them a point of differenceWhen we examine cabernet sauvignon we that if the producer is not following at over other wines.look for mint and eucalypt characters from least “minimal intervention” practices,Coonawarra, while Margaret River produces you wonder what is wrong with them. Hardly Up the coast from Cullen and taking aa more leafy, herbaceous edge. Yarra Valley a niche topic anymore, but then we come different approach to achieving a well-produces round, gentle black fruits and to the biodynamic approach. balanced wine is Western Australiancedar-driven wines often blended with other stalwart Will Nairn, from Peel Estate.Bordeaux varieties. Australia is awash with A wine needs to pass Established in 1973, the vineyard is closeshiraz, so we definitely need some regional to the ocean on the plains just southdiversity here. Hunter Valley should be on a message about its of Perth. “We are about 1m above seamedium bodied with subtle earthy, spicy level,” boasts Will. The vines sit in Tuartnotes and plum or cherry aromas. This is the origins or owners. sand with a bedrock of hard limestone,nemesis of bold Barossa shiraz that delivers a unique vineyard soil structure in Australia.rich, powerful black berry, chocolate, sweet Biodynamic agricultural practices were With over 40 years of experience, Will hasspice flavours that spar with vanilla new oak. pioneered by Austrian philosopher and adapted to his environment working withAs if true to their geographical location, some scientist Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). what the seasons have to offer. Will wascentral and western Victorian shiraz often A distinguishing feature of biodynamic the first Australian producer to make ansit in-between these two styles. Heathcote farming is the use of nine biodynamic oak matured chenin blanc. But he is moredelivers concentrated black fruits, soft ripe preparations prescribed by Steiner for renowned for his shiraz and cabernettannins; while Grampians has a spice and the purpose of enhancing soil quality sauvignon, they typically spend two years inblack pepper edge. More lighter, juicy, and stimulating plant life. They consist of oak and then are held for another two yearselegant, spicy and peppery wines can now mineral, plant or animal manure extracts, in bottle before release. He has obviouslybe found from cooler sites in Mornington usually fermented and applied in small worked out that this is the way to appreciatePeninsula, Margaret River and the Great proportions to compost, manures, the soil, his wines, rather than release them as bold,Southern. Grenache seems at home in or directly on to plants. The focus is on brash youngsters. It is another example ofMcLaren Vale as does semillon in the Hunter feeding the soil not the plant. developing a unique style, if you haven’t theValley and riesling in the Clare and Eden convenience of regionality.Valley as well as Frankland River. Pinot Biodynamics also involves working withnoir requires a cooler climate so Tasmania, the cosmos and following the moon, sun A new, emerging marketing trend is toMacedon and Mornington Peninsula are and planet cycles. Where possible Cullen stamp a QR code on the back label for smarta few of its haunts; but does any exhibit Wines, in Margaret River, carry out their phone users to scan and read about the wine,regional character? vineyard work on the right days according check out a new Brancott Estate’s bottle, it’s to the astrological calendar. Can you taste “awesome” (to use the correct vernacular). Some forgotten or less publicised wine the difference in the final product? The jury But the message inside the bottle is farstyles are Western Australia’s hotter climate is still out on this one. But the approach more important. A wine needs to pass on achenin blanc and verdelho, the latter a can produce some interesting, unique message about its origins or owners.24 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

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winetravel WORDS ELISABETH KINGESTONIA’S BALTIC JEWEL A REAL SPARKLEROVER the past decade Tallinn, the capital E-stonians.” He wasn’t kidding. In this The lower town, known as the All-Linn,of Estonia, has built up a raunchy, British wired city of 1.3 million, there are booths formerly housed the city’s merchantsstag-party reputation. Thankfully, the beer offering free Skype connections and and artisans, and is the most visited partand babes circuit is more subdued than wi-fi spots to be found around every of town. Crowds of day-trippers fromit was and it’s easy to avoid the binge- corner. Like US Secretary of State Hillary Scandinavia pack the Viru, Tallinn’sdrinkers on Saturday nights. But the Clinton, we stayed at the Radisson Blu smartest shopping street, throughoutrecent British “invasion”, which earned Olumpia hotel, a 15-minute stroll from the spring and summer. The Baltic Germans,Tallinn and Riga, the capital of Latvia, the main sights. Built for the 1980 Moscow whose elite were descended from thetitle of Las Vegas of the East, is just the Olympics (the sailing events were held Teutonic Knights, held sway over Estonialatest in a long line of foreign incursions. in Tallinn), the large, airy bedrooms from the 12th century until they were are available from $110 per double. forcibly ejected at the end of World War Tallinn’s position as a major trading port There’s a clutch of boutique hotels, the II. Their legacy is everywhere, from theon the Gulf of Finland has lured many best of which is The Savoy, with an Art Dome Church, thick with the crests ofarmies - real ones - to make the short Deco lift and furnishings (from $170). the richest merchant families, to the 15thsea voyage for over 800 years - Swedes, Next to Town Hall Square, you’ll find the century Guild Hall which now houses theDanes, Germans, Russians, Hanseatic five-star Telegraaf Hotel. A spectacular national history museum. The Museummerchants and the Teutonic Knights. To renovation of Tallinn’s former post and of Occupations fleshes out the periodbe fair to the Brits, the Finns also head telegraph office with a spa and pool, of Nazi and Soviet rule, and is candidfor Tallinn to guzzle beer and vodka at rates begin at $230 per double. about the fact that many locals joinedprices that are only a fraction of whatTallinn’s imposing city walls were built in the 13th century and 26 of the originalfortified towers stand guard along nearly 2km of metre-thick ramparts.they would pay at home. “But they are Tallinn’s imposing city walls were built the Waffen SS because the Germansmuch quieter,” said Mikk, our student in the 13th century and 26 of the original were seen as liberators at first. If you’reguide, on the Tallinn Free Tour. Apart fortified towers stand guard along nearly after authentic Estonian souvenirs, thefrom the fact that you don’t have to pay, 2km of metre-thick ramparts. The only best hunting ground is the Viru andthe two-hour stroll through Tallinn’s World way to explore this historic security surrounding side streets, filled withHeritage-listed mediaeval old town is not system is on foot and that’s the best picturesque boutiques selling locally-only a great way to get your bearings, the way to discover the city’s cobble-stoned made linen, woollen jumpers, crystalstudent volunteers voice their personal streets, lined with buildings painted in and amber. Authenticity is also the mainopinions more often than regular tour Baroque-era pastels of blue, pink and come-on of the restaurants and cafes inguides. “I don’t hate the Russians,” said grey. Like Budapest, Tallinn is divided and around Raekoja Plats, where it’s hardMikk “but my parents and grandparents in two - the upper and lower levels. The to get a seat on warm summer evenings.did.” A rather polite way of pointing out that imposing Alexander Nevsky Cathedral The Kuldse Notsu Korts (the GoldenRussia ruled Estonia with an iron fist for two dominates Toompea Hill in upper Tallinn. Piglet Inn; hotelstpetersbourg.com) is agenerations, deporting tens of thousands A Russian Orthodox blast-from-the-past must for that true, old-time Estonian feelof Estonians to the gulags and importing in a country where most of the native and food from homemade cheeses to theRussian nationals to take their places. population are Lutheran, its lavishly “sausage feast”. Locals as well as tourists restored facade is a tourist symbol of the come here because of the much-vaunted That’s in the past, though, said Mikk, city. Close by is the Toomkirik, the mother “grandmother’s recipes”.and the optimism of the locals is church of Estonian Lutheranism, theinfectious. “Who knows where Skype was Estonian parliament and an 18th century Normally I would never set foot in ainvented?” he asked. “Yes, right here in Tsarist governor’s palace. mediaeval-themed restaurant, but OldeEstonia. We sometimes call ourselves Hansa (oldehansa.ee) is an original.26 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

The interiors are kitted out like a wealthy A‘merchant’s home and the wait staff areall in costume. It’s a lot of fun and the rEstonians pull it off in high style whether lyou are choosing from the menu - ePrecious Portions - or going the whole qhog with a Grand Feast. The background umusic hails from the 15th century and ithe honey beer is exceptional. Like nPrague, Tallinn has plenty of strip clubs,bars with head-banging music and WINES WITH CHARACTERdives called Shooters, whose namesact as fair warning. But don’t by-pass e colour & characterHell Hunt. The language isn’t Englishand the monicker means “Gentle Wolf” of wines from the nestin Estonian.There’s a wide range of regions in South Australia.European beers on tap, including home-made micro-brews. WWW.ARLEQUINWINES.COM.AU Many Scandinavian visitors headfor Tallinn’s seafront at Pirata Beach,even when only two rays of sunshineare poking out from the clouds, for anicy-cold beer or vodka. We headed fora far grander piece of seashore realestate - Kadriorg - a short tram ride fromTallinn’s city centre. Restored woodenbuildings from the 18th century sharethe streetscapes with Art Deco houses.But in the centre of a 90ha park liesKadriorg Palace, built by Italian Baroquearchitect, Niccolo Michetti, for Tsar Peterthe Great in 1718. A move that kicked offTallinn’s popularity as a summer resortfor the Russian nobility throughout the18th and 19th centuries. The tranquil setting more than explainswhy Peter the Great came here to dryout from his notorious drinking bingeswhich left rooms trashed beyond repair,according to one English aristocrat.The tsar founded the “Most Drunken Councilof Fools and Jesters” in 1695, whosecharter stated that “the first commandmentwas that members were to get drunk everyday, and might never go to bed sober”.The stag boys of their day.

winehistory WORDS VALMAI HANKELANDRE L SIMON AND HIS AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION - PART 3WE’VE been looking at some of Andre all, because “nothing must conflict with the been of late years a marked advance inSimon’s encounters with Australian beautiful aroma of the food and the wine at the quality of the wines which Australia haswine before he came here in 1963. Ten the table”. We are not surprised to learn that shipped to England, an advance entirelyyears before his visit, an interview with he “attributes his bonhomie to an extreme due to the enterprise and professionalthe “celebrated French gourmet” was consideration for his stomach”. Strangely, ability of the Australian wine men”.published in the Australian Women’s wine is barely mentioned.Weekly (December 16, 1953). The Simon agrees with many of Mendelsohn’swoman reporter, Mary Coles, visited In the Wine and Food Society’s views such as the need for “healthy,him in London, and was impressed with eponymous journal, Wine and Food, robust care-free wine drinking”, andher subject: “M. Simon, pronounced of which he was editor, Simon had that the “physical and social well-beingSeemoan, is a stimulating personality published very little about Australian of the Australian people is geared towho has dedicated himself to promoting wine before his visit to Australia and the increased usage of light wines”, athe art of good living”. She continued: New Zealand in 1963-64. The spring belief that goes back to the words of“White-haired, with a smooth, tanned 1947 issue contains Simon’s review of Australia’s and New Zealand’s pioneercomplexion and eyes that dance as he a book, The Earnest Drinker’s Digest winegrower James Busby. Other sharedtalks, he is as heartening to meet as (1946), by Oscar Mendelsohn, a writer views include the use of inappropriatethe fine old brandy he selects to finish who deserves to be better remembered names - European place names fora good dinner”. During the interview, today. (Mendelsohn gained a national Australian wines and “harsh and puritanSimon, in typical fashion, expressed reputation for promoting civilized attitudes legislation” affecting wine prices. But to eating and drinking. Among his many Simon disagrees with Mendelsohn on one point – that wine drinking will come into itsIf a woman prepares the dinner with powder on her own “when penal duties are removed and the cost of plain beverage wines is what itface, or lipstick, she passes the perfume to the food should be – very low, and within the reach of all but the poorest in the land”. Heshe cooks… the poor little rabbit, he gets the same argues that: “The fundamental difference between the wines of Australia, Southflavour as the inside of a lady’s purse. This is not nice. Africa, California, Algeria, the Argentine, etc., and the great vintage wines ofsome colourful views on cooking and other books was From Cellar to Kitchen Bordeaux and Burgundy, Champagnedining: “failure to vary methods of (1968), which was also the name of his and the Rhine, is the same as betweencooking was as monotonous as being popular column in the wonderfully quirky machine-made and hand-made goods…obliged to live in uniform,” he said. and influential magazine, The Epicurean. it would be foolish to disparage the“Convicts are the only ones who must Simon suggests that the book “may rightly greater excellence and above all thestay in the same clothes all the time.” claim to be the best book on wine and greater individuality of those made by theSome of his opinions sound sexist to other beverages written by an Australian hand of the skilled craftsman”.today’s readers. For instance, “M. Simon to be published in Australia”. This waslikes to see a woman with a shiny nose – probably a reasonable assertion as it Mendelsohn has another, tenuous, linkin the kitchen.” He reasoned: “If a woman preceded by three years the earliest of the with Simon in that in one of his Epicureanprepares the dinner with powder on her whimsical books by Walter James, usually columns in 1974 he wrote about champagneface, or lipstick, she passes the perfume known as Australia’s first wine writer. maker Horace Leslie Dowling being sentto the food she cooks… the poor little Simon is pleased to acknowledge that: from France to Auldana Vineyards in therabbit, he gets the same flavour as the “Whether we are prepared to agree with Adelaide foothills to make champagneinside of a lady’s purse. This is not nice”. Mr Oscar Mendelsohn or not when he tells for Sir Josiah Symon, the winery’s owner. us that ‘Australia probably makes the best Symon had written to Simon in 1919 asking It followed that “flowers for the dining table general quality of wine of any country’, him to get one of Pommery’s experts toshould lack perfume”, and that women guests there is no denying the fact that there has come to Australia “to show his people howat a dinner party shouldn’t use perfume at to make sparkling wine”.28 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

Champion Pinot Noir of the year awarded to Lowburn Ferry Coming from one of the smallest but brightest stars in the Central Otago wine region, Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir 2010 was the top wine from more than 1500 New Zealand & Australian Pinot Noirs tasted and judged by Winestate in 2011. CENTRAL OTAGOTaste at Vinitaly March 25-28, 2012 - Winestate Display, Pavilion 11, stand D3Distributed in Australia by:Young & Rashleigh (NSW) www.youngandrashleigh.com,Smashing Bottles (QLD) www.smashingbottles.com.au,Empire Liquor (SA) www.empireliquor.com.auUK: Black Dog Wine Agency blackdogwineagency.co.ukHong Kong/China: Definitive Trading NZ [email protected] other enquiries: [email protected]

RISKY BUSINESS Despite the vagaries of its weather, Northland,the cradle of the NZ wine industry, is experiencing a resurgence.

MICHAEL COOPER Bruce Soland, who grows syrah at Fat Pig 25 wine producers. In 2009, industry Vineyard in the Bay of Islands, observes giants Pernod Ricard NZ and ConstellationLIFE IN THE FAR NORTH that “it has taken a long time to figure out NZ announced they were slashing their what grows well in the north. It is important grape intake from Gisborne, a regionof New Zealand has its delights - as you to have the right variety, the right rootstock long renowned for its chardonnay. Anwould expect. “Our chardonnay takes and have the vines facing north, with lots estimated 200ha of vineyards (10 per centits time to get its act together, usually of breeze and dry feet”. of the total) have since been uprooted,by late summer,” says Karikari Estate particularly low-yielding, unprofitableconsultant winemaker Ben Dugdale. “When Apart from Karikari Estate, another high- blocks and varieties in low demand.the snapper are fat and easily caught achieving producer is Marsden Estate, Moving to control their own destiny, 32off Karikari, which makes food matching renowned for its rich, creamy, toasty, Gisborne grape growers formed theirdeliciously easy.” Northland is the source Black Rocks chardonnay. Rod McIvor and own production company, GroCo, inof less than 0.5 per cent of NZ wine, but his wife, Cindy, planted their first vines in 2009. A domestic wine brand (S.O.S.)the number of producers has soared from the Bay of Islands in 1993. Much of their was developed but not launched. Lateeight in 2002 to 16 in 2012. In Winestate’s output is consumed in their popular winery in 2011, GroCo attended the WorldUpper North Island tasting (wines from restaurant at Kerikeri, overlooking a lily Bulk Wine Exhibition in Amsterdam -regions stretching northwards from Gisborne pond and the vineyard. “We have a huge marketing Gisborne chardonnay, pinotto Waikato, Auckland and Northland), the tourist market,” he notes. Unfortunately, a gris, sauvignon blanc and merlot - andregion stood out by not only scooping the top reliable climate for ripening wine grapes reports that “the future looks positive”.awards for chardonnay and pinotage, but is not one of Northland’s assets. In 2010, Indevin, New Zealand’s largest contractalso one of the few five-star ratings for syrah. during the four-month period of January- winemaker, in 2010 purchased Pernod Ricard NZ’s Gisborne vineyards andIF YOU TAKE CALCULATED RISKS AND END UP WITH REALLY winery, in a joint venture with Lion, whichGOOD WINE, THE HARDEST PART IS CONVINCING THE PUBLIC acquired several popular wine brands,THAT IT’S AS GOOD AS, IF NOT BETTER THAN, A WINE FROM notably Lindauer and Corbans. While LionHAWKE'S BAY OR WAIHEKE ISLAND AT MAYBE TWICE THE PRICE. distributes and markets the wines, Indevin focuses on production. “We are adding, Dugdale, one of the region’s most April, the region received a third of its not stripping, value,” Indevin’s managingexperienced winemakers – after stints at normal rainfall and recorded its earliest director, Duncan McFarlane, emphasisedCoopers Creek, Dry River and Matakana harvest, beginning in mid-February. in 2011. “We are a modern enterpriseEstate – says that many visitors to the However, the summer of 2011 was warm and some of the technology that we have“winterless north” state: “I thought it was and wet. “Those producers who read developed will be better. This is a verytoo wet and humid for winegrowing”. He the conditions… had the best results,” old winery and we are here to improve it.”points out that Northland – stretched out says Dugdale. “Others found out thatover 300km of rolling hill country, with an Northland can be a harsh mistress…” In Gisborne - a sunny, warm but high rainfallalmost subtropical climate - is a “long, thin the best - relatively dry - vintages, some region, due to the surrounding ranges - isregion with vastly different topographies excellent white wines flow from Northland largely white-wine country, renowned forand climates. A major challenge is that - full-bodied, ripely flavoured and soft fragrant, soft chardonnays with great drink-“if you take calculated risks and end up chardonnay and pinot gris. However, the young appeal, and perfumed, richly varietalwith really good wine, the hardest part is region is better known for its reds: claret- gewurztraminers. Sauvignon blanc andconvincing the public that it’s as good as, if style and substantial, warm, spicy Rhone pinot gris have been less impressive, butnot better than, a wine from Hawke's Bay or Valley look-alikes. Merlot and cabernet the finest viogniers are deliciously weighty,Waiheke Island at maybe twice the price”. sauvignon are well established, but the sweet-fruited and lush. highest hopes are held for syrah. Northland was the cradle of New Zealand In dry seasons, merlot and malbec havewine: here Samuel Marsden planted Gisborne, the country’s largest wine performed well, too.the first vines in 1819 and here, too, in region until 25 years ago, today has only1840, James Busby made the first wine. six per cent of the national vineyard and Opposite: Winegrowing is still rare in the subtropical warmth of the Far North, but Karikari Estate, owned by Paul Kelly, a Conneticut-based merchant banker, has shown what can be achieved. UPPER NORTH ISLAND TASTING STARTS PAGE 126. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 31



FORGET THE BASIC BROCCOLI BOX, THERE’S PLENTY OF HIGH-END WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR PRECIOUS WINES. JOY WALTERFANGTHERE COMES A TIME The more expensive the wine the higher up members of Forbes Richest Americans list, it is located in the tower and of course the famous entertainers, corporate CEOs, onein a serious and well-heeled oenophile’s greater the show. A second Angels’ Tower of whom is the most prominent celebritylife when the passe and practical in wine bar has been established at the Radisson corporate CEO in the world and anothercellars just won’t do, and nothing short in the Zurich airport. A must see next time who is a founder of one the world’s largestof a custom designed work of art can do you are in that part of the world! technology company. Got you guessing?justice to their collection of liquid gems.So we move away from the broccoli boxes Speaking of being high up in the world, As with so many good ideas, Reveland broom cupboards to look at the you can’t get much higher than Hong Kong’s Custom Wine Cellars began out ofexquisite and the exotic in wine cellars. amazing International Commerce Centre’s necessity when Cash, wanting to buildThe first cellar would definitely fit into the 118-storey, state-of-the-art building and a wine cellar in his own home, justexotic category but is probably not one its signature restaurant Dragon Seal 101. couldn’t find what he wanted. He wasrecommended for your home – but, then Part of the highly successful Dragon King seeking some sort of shelving that wouldagain, who am I to say! The cellar is a Restaurant Group under the guidance of display several bottles of wine at once,15m-high glowing blue glass tower. It is famous chef Wong Wing Chee, there is negating the need to pull out individuallocated in the Angels Tower bar at Stansted an overall philosophy of great food pairing bottles one at a time in order to read theAirport’s Radisson Blu Hotel near London with great wine and the elite, walk-in glass label, but there was no such animal. Soand houses 4000 bottles of wine. cellars provide a perfectly protected home he set about designing a unique type before making their grand entrance on to of racking that does just that. Cash is But wait, there’s more! Order your the white linen stage. certainly no stranger to building; he ismagnum of Bordeaux and a scantily clad also CEO of a US-based construction and“angel” will don her “wings” and fly up the There are many companies around the real estate development company whichside of the vertical cellar to retrieve your world which specialise in the creation of specialises in the restoration of famouswine, at the same time performing some beautiful wine cellars. US-based Revel historic structures. Revel’s wine cellarspretty amazing aerial acrobatics as she Custom Wine Cellars is one such company are cosseting precious bottles of winegoes. Once she has located your bottle, whose expert furniture artisans dream up across the US, Canada and Europe withyour “angel” gently floats back down to the most splendid of wine cellars for the rich sales mostly generated through the bestearth with it tucked away in her feathers and famous. According to the company’s advertising method of all - word of mouth.and nary a tartrate crystal out of place. founder, James Cash, clients include July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 33

WALK-IN GLASS CELLARS PROVIDE A PERFECTLYPROTECTED HOME BEFORE MAKING THEIR GRAND ENTRANCE ON TO THE WHITE LINEN STAGE.

The US is home of the statement, “Go Opposite. Above: Dragon King Wine Cellars, Kwun Tong. Centre (L-R): Spiral Cellars, E-space walk-in built-in cellars,big or go home!” and it seems that owning Below: Beautiful custom made cellar designed and built by Revel Cellars in the US. Dragon King Wine Cellars, Mikiki.your own personalised designer creation Above: Stansted Airport's Angels Tower Bar.is next on the list. And the designer at thetop of that list would be Jamie Beckwith, of a wooden spiral staircase. That hole in the a craving for an underground cellar - youBeckwith Interiors. Her personal pool house garage evolved into a modular concrete can. And it is a surprisingly quick and simplecellar, which holds 2000 bottles, features system called the Spiral Cellar system. process. Spiral Cellar installers remove thea contrast of warm woods like walnut and Since that time more than 20,000 Spiral flooring and dig a hole in the room where youcool materials like acrylic that will turn you Cellars have been built in France and over want your cellar (and, yes, they take away allgreen, or blue, with envy. Acrylic posed an 3000 in the UK, and in January 2011 Spiral the dirt!) and the watertight, precast concreteinteresting dilemma from a cleaning and Cellars entered the Australia market. “It was cylinder complete with a spiral staircase andstrength perspective. “From an engineering a natural step for the company to move into shelves is sunk into the hole. Like a traditionalstandpoint, we had to ensure it could a country where wine plays such a prominent cellar, the Spiral Cellar relies on the earth’swithstand the weight of all those bottles,” she part of life and culture,” said Sydney-based natural insulation attributes and the companyexplains. The cellar has a glass ceiling so that Galahad Group of Companies spokesman has also added a clever ventilation system.guests walking above can view the vinous Neil Smallman. What is unique about a Spiral The cellar requires no power to maintain itstreasures below and when not in use, the floor Cellar is that because it is modular it can be constant temperature. Once it's paid for,has motorised black-out shades to create retro-fitted. In other words, if you are in an that's it - no more expenses. Well, exceptcomplete darkness for optimal wine storage. established home and you suddenly have for the wine of course! Wine cellars can either be built on site oryou can get prefabricated ones installed.But somehow the word prefab doesn’t dojustice to an up-market range of walk-inwine cellars that have been hand-made inFrance for the past 20 years. These EspaceWalk-In Cellars, which the company claimsare the modern equivalent to the ancientcaves of France, are delivered around theworld in kit form and can be assembled inless than half a day with nothing more than ascrewdriver. They consist of sturdy insulatedaluminum panels backed with polystyreneand come complete with wine racks anda cellar conditioner with both heating andcooling functions. The cellar can be built-inbehind a wall or stand Tardis-like in a garageor basement. Sizes range from 600-bottlecapacity up to cellars with enough room tostore 345 cases of your favourite wines. Andthe real plus is that if you decide to pack yourbags and leave home you can always takeyour cellar with you! If nothing short of an underground winecellar will suffice, then let me tell you abouta smart Frenchman, Georges Harnois,who came up with the answer to buildingunderground cellars about 35 years ago.Recognising that even though there wasan increasing demand for people to havesomewhere to store their wines, few modernhouses were designed with the facility todo so. Harnois began experimenting withan idea. He excavated a large hole in hisgarage, lined its walls with brick and put in July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 35

These underground cellars have a The Cellar Pit is 4m long, over 2m wide Radisson. This cellar is in Monaco’sdiameter of 2m with five depth options and 2.4m high to deliver plenty of head famous Hotel de Paris. It has over 1.5kmranging from 2m to 3m giving perfect room. It can hold 2000 bottles and entry of wine racks and was hewn out of solidstorage conditions for anything from 1000 is by ladder-like retractable stairs. This rock 10m below the streets of Monteto 1900 bottles. The cellar can be sealed impenetrable fortress ensures no wayward Carlo over 140 years ago. Apparentlywith a range of different doors, from hidden thirst-crazed person can get to your wines. it holds the world’s largest private winerecessed ones to a showy glass trap door collection; around 600,000 bottles, withconstructed of two semi-circular glass There are a myriad of choices in custom some wines so rare they are older thanpanels with an electric motor and gas strut designed wine cellars and we certainly don’t the cellar itself. The cellar is run by afor ease of opening door. have the space here to view them all. But staff of 12 with everything being done if your appetite has been whetted and you manually. No machines are allowed Melbourne-based company First want to explore the subject further you can in this wine cave and the wines areImpressions Projects is in the “high end” of the do so via a lovely book The Most Beautiful organised by geographic region andhome-building market and was finding more Wine Cellars in the World, by Astrid Fobelets appellation. Although security in theclients were requesting wine cellars to be and Jurgen Lijcops. Published by up-market cellar is tighter than Fort Knox and it’s offincorporated into their homes. This demand boutique Belgium-based company VdH the tourist map, occasionally private winebecame the catalyst to form a second company Books, this splendid coffee table adornment tasting are held there - at a price! And theand in 2004 Cellar Creations was launched. offers 230 pages of pure unadulterated monetary value of this cellar? It has beenFor the past seven years it has specialised sumptuousness that will inspire the most quoted as somewhere around 10 millionin designing and building wine cellars, mundane of imaginations. As the company’s Euro, but as Hotel de Paris chef Cavisteand supplying cellaring equipment. CEO Paul Van den Heuval explained: “We Iorio Gennaro succinctly put it, “A greatApart from creating beautiful, custom- want to produce a library so wide ranging wine cellar is all about time, not money”.made wine cellars, Cellar Creations also that a person of reasonable educationmanufactures a prefabricated underground could stay here for years and emerge quite As I grab a red out of my broccoli boxwine vault called a Cellar Pit. The Cellar happy”. I suppose you could say much the and page through my The Most BeautifulPit is built off-site by pouring waterproofed same about a well stocked wine cellar! Wine Cellars in the World, I sigh a little sighconcrete into a mould in one continuous pour and dream!and is usually placed in the ground prior to a I thought I would finish as I began -home or an extension being built. in the cellar of a hotel, but this is the Opposite & above: Jamie Beckwith pool house antithesis of the blue tower cellar of the wine cellar.36 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012



BEWITCHINGCABERNET SAUVIGNONWEAVES ITS MAGIC ASA STAND-ALONE WINECabernetORASABLENDANDREW CORRIGAN MW THE BACKBONE OF BORDEAUXCABERNET SAUVIGNONis considered the “king” of varieties aroundthe world, particularly if you are a fan ofFrench classic wines. The world’s mostprestigious and expensive region is Bordeaux(pronounced “bore – dough”) on the AtlanticCoast in south west France. It is the homeof cabernet sauvignon and reds made ofblends of this variety and related grapes.Names such as Chateau Lafite, ChateauMouton-Rothschild, Chateau Haut-Brion andChateau Margaux are known to most winelovers. Almost all wines here are blends.The other varieties being used are merlot,cabernet franc, petit verdot and occasionallymalbec (in the northerly sub region). Thereused to be carmenere as well, but it ripenedin Bordeaux with difficulty and now it hasdisappeared there, but has become afamous variety in Chile. In Australia there isa large number of wines made of straightcabernet sauvignon and we tend to have aview that the best wines are made of a singlevariety, and blends indicate a lesser wine.Cabernet sauvignon and merlot, along withthe other varieties, are excellent bed fellows.They complement one another and the blendis often superior to a single variety.38 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012



THE MOVIE WELL easily damaged by frosts. In the Bordeaux the Bordeaux sub-region Pomerol such as sub region Medoc – on the western side and Chateau Petrus and Chateau Le Pin, the KNOWN IN WINE closer to the Atlantic Ocean - the soil type is best known patch of merlot in the world, have gravely, cabernet dominates and producers quite firm tannin, density of taste and deep CIRCLES, SIDEWAYS, have a minority amount of merlot and colour. Merlot ripens more readily but tends to traditionally describe it as “insurance” due overcrop if there is warmth and water present. CEMENTED THE POOR to merlot’s ability to be harvested earlier, and In such conditions it is particularly prone to therefore deliver a crop even if bad weather achieving sugar ripeness in the grapes (that AND UBIQUITOUS strikes the later ripening cabernet sauvignon. causes a high alcohol red) but with low levels On the eastern side, further inland where the of flavour. There is a lot of it planted and made REPUTATION FOR heavier clay and sand soils are found, the sub in this style in Chile and California. Hence it regions St Emilion and Pomerol are renowned is often known as a light, soft, “bistro red” by THIS HIGH-VOLUME for merlot and cabernet franc. Merlot is not as many consumers who don’t realise that it is resistant as cabernet sauvignon to humidity capable of magnificent wine. The movie well STYLE OF MERLOT. and diseases, and so it seems to do best in known in wine circles, Sideways cemented drier, milder, inland regions. the poor and ubiquitous reputation for this Cabernet sauvignon tends to have a firm high-volume style of merlot.tannin and long, thin, dry palate shape. It There are advantages and disadvantagescan be softened and filled out in the mid- of wine made totally of either cabernet In Australia the amount of cabernetpalate by blending in some merlot. Merlot or merlot. Good cabernet sauvignon is a franc and petit verdot planted is smallis known in Australia as a blender with wonderful red – the palate is long, there is a and generally a blend will consist ofcabernet sauvignon because its softer, satisfying palate-gripping tannin that teams cabernet sauvignon and merlot, the blendfleshier taste complements the tannins and well with rich meat dishes and the aroma usually being called cabernet-merlot anddryness of the latter. Merlot helps the wines’ has elegant, blackcurrant-like flavour. There occasionally there is a little cabernet francearlier drinkability – an important criteria in is an affinity to oak and good cabernet has and petit verdot. Cabernet franc (“cab-er-a consumer market where there may be a dusty, cedar aroma. However cabernet nay fronk”) is light and ripens quite early,talk of cellars and ageing, but in fact most needs a long, steady season for ripening – a and is valued for insurance against poorwines are consumed fairly young. This warm year in a cool maritime region seems weather and its ability to lighten the blend.blending role is the conventional wisdom for to be best. If the late season sees rain or Petit verdot (“petty verdo”) has a deepthe success of the blend. However, it is an cold weather cabernet shows herb and colour and strong aroma of dried violets andoversimplification to consider merlot’s role green vegetative aromas and lean tannins. tea leaves, and can add these ingredients.as merely a softener for cabernet sauvignon. Sometimes the sugar level has accumulated in the grapes to a desirably high level for A particularly Australian blend is cabernet Cabernet sauvignon (“cab-er-nay so-vin- harvest but the flavour has been retarded sauvignon and shiraz. It would be illegal toyon”) is the full name but it is often simply by poor weather conditions – such a wine blend these varieties in France because theyreferred to as “cabernet”. Old timers from has a juicy enough tasting palate but an are grown in regions wide apart – ShirazSouth Australia pronounce it “carb-er- undesirable aroma of green leaves. Great (called “syrah” by the French) is grown innay”. While there is not as much planted cabernet wines are excellent with the right the Rhone Valley in eastern southern France.as shiraz, it is a backbone red variety foods – traditional lamb and beef dishes The Australian blend recognises the long,in Australia with a long history. A wine for example. However, cabernet sauvignon thin, palate shape and dense, blackcurrantmade of cabernet and one or more of the is like a champion basketball player – a aroma of cabernet as being complementedaccompanying varieties from Bordeaux - good example is very tall and athletic, but a and filled out by the generous, rich, roundmerlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot - is slightly lesser player is a bit tall, skinny and palate shape of shiraz.often referred to as a \"Bordeaux blend\" gangly and prone to injury. Hence cabernetand the term \"cabernets\" is seen on labels. sauvignon can be affected badly by seasons, In Australia, the regions famous for cabernet whereas shiraz, for example, is more robust merlot blends follow the Cabernet Trail – Merlot (pronounced “mer–low”; the “t” and does not betray a poor year as much. Coonawarra/Limestone Coast/Wrattonbullyis silent) is thinner skinned than cabernet and cooler regions in WA particularlysauvignon and therefore has less colour Good merlot has good palate length and Margaret River, although Frankland Riverdepth. French pronunciation puts equal tannin, and a juicier mid-palate than cabernet, also stands out. The Yarra Valley andemphasis on each syllable in the name. and whereas cabernet tends to show southern regions of Victoria also have greatAustralian speakers emphasise the first blackcurrant and cedar aromas, good merlot success. In NZ, particularly the Hawkessyllable and Americans the second! Merlot delivers tomato jam, toffee and blackcurrant Bay region, both merlot and cabernet areripens on the vine more easily and gives flavours. There is also an affinity to oak and successful although the generally coldgreater crop levels than cabernet. It is more dusty, cedar flavours are present on good climate makes merlot popular. merlot. Wines from renowned producers in CABERNET SAUVIGNON TASTING STARTS PAGE 78.40 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012



Celebrating a Family AffairAFTER 175 YEARS, IT’S STILL ALL ABOUT THE VINEYARDS NIGEL HOPKINSJUST OFF OAKLANDS RD, winemaking industry and the start of a great Back in 1972, while studying to become a family winemaking tradition carried on today doctor of medicine, Richard Hamilton alsoin the City of Marion south of Adelaide, at Leconfield in Coonawarra and in McLaren worked as a winemaker at his McLarenis the remnant of a vineyard that holds Vale by Hamilton’s namesake and great, Vale winery. Since 1982 all winemaking isa very special place in the history of the great grandson, Dr Richard Hamilton. carried out in Coonawarra and Dr HamiltonSouth Australian wine industry. combines his role as vigneron with that of The first Richard Hamilton just pipped leading surgeon in the field of plastic and Now just a single hectare or so of dry- Chateau Reynella, where John Reynell reconstructive surgery. He met his Danishgrown grenache and shiraz is all that’s left first planted wine grapes in 1838, and had wife, Jette, in Scandinavia in 1979 and theof a vineyard planted by Frank Hamilton in he also started his own winery at the same following year they returned to Australia.1907 as part of the early vine plantings of the time he would have pre-dated Penfolds by Jette’s Danish heritage is strongly reflectedthen FE Hamilton & Sons Winery & Distillery. seven years and Australia’s oldest family- in a number of elements of the McLarenLike the Penfolds vineyard at Magill, it’s one owned winery, Yalumba, by 12 years. Vale cellar door, most obviously the fourof the few remaining suburban vineyards in peaked, gabled roof modelled on a fisherythe world and certainly one of the oldest. Five winemaking generations later, in storehouse located in the northern DanishBut the iconic Marion vineyard’s origins go 1972, Dr Hamilton established a small village of Skagen.much further back than that, to 1837 when winery in McLaren Vale under the guidanceEnglish settler Richard Hamilton founded of his father, Burton, a noted viticulturist, and What was left of the Marion Vineyardthe Hamilton Vineyards planted with cuttings uncle, renowned vigneron Sydney Hamilton. became largely neglected. Like otherbrought by the Hamilton family from South Two years later, at the age of 76, Sydney vineyards in the region it had been graduallyAfrica, en route from England. At its peak his bought land on the famous “terra rossa” strip invaded by residential development – stillvineyards covered 156 acres (65ha), with up in Coonawarra and established Leconfield a familiar story in the McLaren Valeto 5000 tonnes of grapes being harvested. to fulfil his life's ambition of growing and region – and in 1972, the year Dr Hamilton making a classic Australian cabernet established his McLaren Vale winery, it was The original subdivision of the \"District sauvignon. Sydney retired in 1981 after 65 sold to Marion Council. In the early 1990s,of Adelaide, South Australia from the vintages and Dr Hamilton purchased the combined efforts were made by the councilTrigonometrical Surveys of Colonel Light\" company from him. Leconfield became and Richard Hamilton winery to return theshows Lot 148 on the banks of the Sturt the single winemaking facility for both the vineyard to its former glory. In 1994 a cropRiver being the original land holding taken Richard Hamilton and Leconfield brands, was harvested from the vineyard and madeup by Richard Hamilton. In October, this securing the family connection to both into the Marion Vineyard Grenache Shiraz.year, the Hamilton family celebrates its Coonawarra and McLaren Vale.175th year of involvement in the AustralianAbove: Ernest Schwab worked at the Coonawarra winery in the 70s-80s. Opposite: 1. 1837 Richard Hamilton 1st, 2. 1950 Henry Hamilton, 3. 1908 The Hamilton Men,4 and 5. The Old Winery, 6. 1875 Frank Hamilton, 7. 1940 Sydney Hamilton, 8. 1947 Burton Hamilton, 9. Coonwarra Winery, 10. Original Plantings, 11. 1973 Dr Richard Hamilton.42 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

2. 1. 3. 7.4. 6. 5. 8. 11.9. 10.



ONE OF THE LIMITED RELEASE SINGLE VINEYARD RESERVE WINES PRODUCED UNDERTHE RICHARD HAMILTON LABEL, IT WENT ON TO WIN MANY AWARDS AND TROPHIES.One of the limited release Single Vineyard These include: Little Road (7.7ha): Located betweenReserve wines produced under the Richard Hut Block Vineyard (20.1ha): named Main and Little roads, Willunga, it containsHamilton label, it went on to win many clones of Chapoutier shiraz from France.awards and trophies until in 2006 Marion after the old pickers hut situated on theCouncil decided to contract the grapes property. Located along McMurtrie Rd, Cepielle (6.91ha) The newest additionto Patritti Wines, a family owned winery the vineyard contains Hamilton’s oldest to the Leconfield Estate, the vineyard islocated in the nearby suburb of Dover vines, the 120-year-old Centurion shiraz, located on the main road between McLarenGardens and the last operational winery dry grown and planted in 1892, making Vale and Willunga.in the area. them among the oldest in McLaren Vale. The chardonnay planted in this vineyard Both the McLaren Vale and Coonawarra But for Richard Hamilton, then and now, is trellised on the unique V-shaped, “Lyre estates are run by experienced andit has been all about the vineyards. Trellis” system created by Dr Hamilton. dedicated teams, led by vineyard supervisor Lee Harding in McLaren Vale and vineyard He and Jette have built up their vineyard Winery Block (15ha): located between supervisor Bendt Rasmussen in Coonawarra.holdings, some of which are more Main and Malpas roads, Willunga, with Both men work closely with senior winemakerthan 100 years old, including not only the oldest chardonnay vines in McLaren Paul Gordon to allow the full potential of thoseBurton’s McLaren Vale vineyards but Vale, planted in 1972. The vineyard also vineyards to be realised.also his Uncle Sydney’s winery and contains non-trellised bush grenachevineyards in Coonawarra Leconfield’s first (1948) and shiraz (1963) planted by “By retaining control and ownership ofcabernet sauvignon vines planted in 1974 Richard's father, Burton. Also the site of our estate, we are able to ensure both theby Sydney Hamilton. Since acquiring the original Richard Hamilton cellar door health of the vines and continuity of fruitLeconfield in 1981, Richard Hamilton and winery. quality,” Hamilton said.has added to the original landholdingand plantings to bring the total vineyard Farm Block (22.2ha): Located between Opposite: Early Hamilton's newspaper advertisementsize to 43.7ha. Richard Hamilton’s the corners of Main and Johnston roads, from their 100th Anniversary in 1937.vineyard holdings in McLaren Vale are produces most of the company’s shiraz. It Above: Leconfield cellar door & vineyards inconsiderably larger, totalling around 72ha. includes the McLaren Vale cellar door, head McLaren Vale. Below: Leconfield vineyards and winery office and McLaren Vale vineyard office. at night in the Coonawarra. McLAREN VALE, LANGHORNE CREEK & FLEURIEU TASTING STARTS PAGE 104. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 45

ISLAND FEVERTasmania is in the spotlight as a new generation of winemakers makes its markGRAEME PHILLIPS Otago, they say they settled on Tasmania quality pinot. In addition, we have always because: “We’ve tasted and seen some believed that Australia’s best sparkling“THERE WAS MOVEMENT cracker wines come out of Tasmania. So wine will be made from the Victorian HighAT THE STAT I O N, from a wine perspective, it’s seriously Country and Tasmania, and a significantFOR THE WORD HAD cool climate and we have no doubt that portion of this acquisition is super-premiumPASSED AROUND…” we can make some bloody exciting wines sparkling fruit”. here”. “It’s a jewel of a vineyard,” added… T H A T T A S M A N I A was Shaw. “It’s set up very well, the vines It was also Tasmania’s cool climate that are mature, the evenness of the slope is brought young winemakers Galli andproducing some pretty decent wines. And very Burgundian and it’s planted 50:50 Paul Lipscombe from the Margaret Riverthat, with climate change and changing to chardonnay and pinot noir, the two three years ago to establish a vineyarddrinking preferences, cool climate is varieties we’re interested in.” in the beautiful Huon Valley, south ofwhere it’s at. All of which has brought Hobart. “Tasmania has a huge, untappednew investment, new marketing muscle, Former Brown Brothers CEO, Ross Brown, potential,” they say. “And we particularlyexpertise, energy and an invigorating new said much the same after the company’s love the challenge of working with the heart-buzz to the island’s wine industry in both $32.5 million purchase of the state’s largest break grape, pinot noir, and with makingthe south and north of the state. producer, Tamar Ridge, in August, 2010. pure, cool-climate riesling.” Now renamed Tasmanian Estates, Brown Famed Adelaide Hills winemakers, said at the time: “This acquisition ticks all Also in the Huon, former Yarra ValleyMartin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith, our strategic objectives. For example, we winemaker, Terry Doyle, is rejuvenating thebought the 20ha Tolpuddle Vineyard in don’t currently have the vineyard sites to original Elsewhere vineyard. Jim Chatto,the Coal River Valley near Hobart last year compete in the pinot noir category – the the highly respected winemaker at Pepperpartly as a hedge against climate change. fastest-growing red wine style – and 30 per Tree Wines in the Hunter, has a vineyard atAfter considering the Yarra, Mornington cent of fruit from this acquisition is high- Glaziers Bay and Jon Hughes, the youngPeninsula and New Zealand’s Central assistant winemaker at Moorilla Estate,46 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

has planted a substantial vineyard atMiddleton near Peter Brown’s multi-gold-medal winning Resolution Vineyard. At Granton in the Derwent region, StefanoLubiana last year completed a 7ha vineyardexpansion and will open a new cellardoor and Italian-trattoria-style vineyardrestaurant by Christmas. In the Coal RiverValley, Frogmore Creek last year addedthe Meadowbank Cambridge vineyardand restaurant as well as the large RoslynEstate at Campania to its holding, while atTea Tree, Taltarni this year harvested theirsecond vintage off their 15ha of vines. Rather than expansion and new vineyardsin the north, there’s been a generationalchange as a group of young winemakers,most in their early 30s, have boughtexisting vineyards or been appointed totake on the winemaking role. In the TamarValley region they are Jeremy Dineen, Josef Chromy vineyards and new restaurant and function centre. July/August 2012 W I N E S TAT E 47

Above: Bay of Fires. Below: Frogmore Creek Meadowbank Estate vineyards.winemaker at Josef Chromy’s sweeping Croser and 13 years at Petaluma and who sort out problems and work closely together60ha vineyard at Relbia; Rebecca Wilson says he feels like a kid in a candy shop to in an effort to push Tasmanian winemakingand Tim Duffy at Holm Oak, one of the now have some of the best fruit in Australia to new levels of individual excellence.oldest vineyards in the Tamar Valley; at his fingertips.Julian Allport at Moores Hill; Tom Ravech, And – you can’t keep a good man downwinemaker at Tasmanian Estates, Cynthia Finally the youngest of the group, – Dr Andrew Pirie, the pioneer of the PipersSemmens at Marions and Joe Holyman at Vaughan Dell, who says he came to wine River region and formerly CEO and headthe acclaimed Stoney Rise Vineyard. through drinking it, caught the bug, bought winemaker at Tamar Estates, will shortly and rejuvenated the old Golders Vineyard release his first sparkler from his new In the north east at Pipers River, Australia’s in 2005 with his partner, Linda Morice, vineyard a little inland from the Pipers Brookformer Young Winemaker of the Year, Fran and made a hit when his Sinapius wines Vineyard he founded.Austin has left Bay of Fires to make a so impressed Jancis Robinson when sheformidable winemaking duo at Delamere attended Tasmania’s International Cool So Tassie’s on a roll. Since it still onlywith her partner Shane Holloway, the son Climate Symposium in February. produces around 0.5 per cent of theof an Adelaide Hills wine family. Her shoes national crush, it’s not a very big roll – butat Bay of Fires have been filled by Peter Between them, they’ve brought a new it’s a truly exciting one.Dredge, who learned his craft with Brian passion and energy to the well-established northern wine scene, happy to swap ideas, TASMANIA TASTING STARTS PAGE 120.48 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012

s a l e sonline riversdaleestate.com.au RIVERSDALE ESTATE VINEYARD tasmaniaTasmania’s hidden brillianceRIVERSDALE ESTATE RIVERSDALE ESTATECottages winesirresistible country life... 4 star winery...take the time... James HallidayLuxury Country Estate CottageS, Set Riversdale Estate is located in the CoalIn Award Winning Vineyard & Olive River Valley and lies in the shadow ofGrove. 15 Minutes From Hobart CBD & the Utas radio telescope. RiversdaleAirport. Panoramic water views, rolling Estate produces MULTI-AWARD WINNINGcountryside & rambling walks. Purchase single-vineyard wines & practicesdelicious gourmet delights from Island sustainable viticulture. ENJOY OUR rangeOlive Grove, factory on estate. of ultra premium cool climate wines!luxury accommodation NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL SALES t: 0409 232 250 / 03 6248 5432 t: 0428 991 152 / 03 6248 5666 e: [email protected] e: [email protected]

BRIAN MILLER they were incensed when a cooking capo was 1970. You know you have reached added red wine to the spaghetti sauce. your audience when you are amiably“I like to drink wine more than I used to. There are crimes worse than murder. heckled by Scott Hicks, another directorAnyway, I'm drinking more.” who has taken a shine to making wine.- MARLON BRANDO, ‘THE GODFATHER’ I once worked with a wine sponsor of the Australian Film Institute. The intention was Vineyards attract stars almost as much asWITH HIS PROCEEDS FROM to further enhance the natural symbiotic they do starlings, surgeons, Asian investors relationship between wine culture and and corporate receivers. The expandingThe Godfather, director Francis Ford the creative arts. And to meet actresses. cast of actor-vintners now include oneCoppola bought himself a winery. It was I took advantage of an opening speech on Ghostbuster, a material girl, Mr & Mrsa quaffer he couldn’t refuse. Before the awards night to admonish the assembled Smith, Puss in Boots, a former head offilm was released a secret screening talent for maligning and marginalising wine The Police and the prickly palaeontologistwas arranged for a viewing by genuine in movies. The wine game has much to offer from Jurassic Park. In entertainment todaymobsters. Members of this intimidating motion pictures - colour and movement, sex a cabernet connection is as necessary anfocus group were not offended by the and violence, comedy and drama, love and accessory as a sex tape, a stint in rehabmaiming and mayhem, the maltreatment regret, betrayal and redemption - and that’s and a Benetton of adopted babies. A wineryof women and horses or the negative just the first week of vintage. But the last is a socially acceptable capitalist pursuitstereotyping of Italian-Americans, but time an Australian movie was set in a winery and reads better on a Fantales wrapper50 W I N E S TAT E July/August 2012