One of the most enviable wine collections in the State is stored away among a series of dimly lit tunnels and passageways. The West Australian reports more than 1000 bottles of wine ranging in vale from $15 to more than $150 line the Government House cellar that sits beneath the majestic building.
It’s showtime for some of Bathurst’s most talented vignerons as they peddle their produce to patrons at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This year, reports the Western Advocate, for the first time, the show incorporated a NSW Wine Experience where showgoers were able to taste a range of wines from across NSW – and seven Bathurst wineries jumped at the opportunity to showcase their favourite drops at the premier event.
The Federal Government is being urged to assist vignerons in areas such as the Hunter Valley who are fighting against urban sprawl and an expanding mining industry. ABC Radio Newcastle reports in its pre-budget submission the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia says in New South Wales, urban encroachment and increased minerals extraction is a problem in the Hunter, as well as in Orange and Mudgee.
Andrew Bain, for Sydney Morning Herald’s Weekend Traveller section, samples new cellar doors and cafes on an easy cycle along the Clare Valley Riesling Trail. In the Clare Valley, the southern starting point of the Riesling Trail speaks volumes. What was once the Auburn railway station is today the cellar door for a winery. The message is clear: the railway is dead; long live the wine-themed rail trail.
High-end consumers are demanding Australia’s finest wines be bottled under cork, prompting producers to snub screwcaps for their premium blends. The Australian reports winemakers say fine-dining establishments and key export markets are resisting screwcaps for high-value wine, with patrons viewing cork as synonymous with quality.
In early April 2009 I ventured to the Yarra Valley because of smoke. Specifically to taste wines that may have been affected by so-called bushfire smoke taint. In the middle of April last year, I returned to the Yarra Valley – only this time because of the wet. Again it was to taste wines that were supposedly not in the best of nick. Once again the weather was the subject of widespread negative discussion. While it was true that much fruit remained on the vine either because of rot or split, judicious selection had resulted in quality wines of all persuasions, writes Tim White in the Australian Financial Review.
Two divers working on the salvage of the Rena have been fired after helping themselves to wine inside one of the ship’s containers. Astrolabe, based in Marlborough, had three containers, with 4000 cases of sauvignon blanc wine destined for a customer in Europe, on board the Rena when it grounded on the Astrolabe reef off Tauranga. The New Zealand Herald reported that Rena salvor Svitzer Salvage says the pair were “dismissed immediately” as soon as it learned wine had been stolen, reports The Marlborough Express.
Evaluating your Waiheke neighbour’s wine is fraught with problems. Be too critical and you risk being frozen out; too effusive and you’re accused of favouritism and sucking up. The vineyards of Cable Bay surround me, and their well-reviewed stunning vineyard restaurant and cellar door is within easy walking distance. The wines have been familiar to me for a number of years and, without prejudice, I can now confirm this is another Waiheke producer who is through the tentative years and is now producing consistently great wines, writes John Hawkesby in The New Zealand Herald.
Wairarapa winemakers are breathing a sigh of relief after a sunny Easter finally allowed the harvest to get under way. Many Martinborough and Gladstone vineyards started picking grapes this week, much later than usual after a cool, wet summer meant the fruit was slow to ripen. But while the lack of sunshine will make for lower yields – and higher prices – winemakers are confident they can still produce a top-quality drop, reports Business Day.
Wine companies are working hard to keep up with the increasingly hi-tech world they operate in. In an innovative move, Brancott Estate has launched a new smartphone app which delivers 14 consumer experiences – tying in with Brancott Estate’s “stay curious” campaign and the phrase “the world’s most curious bottle”, reports The Marlborough Express. The “curious” among us can scan the quick response code on the back of a Brancott Estate bottle and download the World’s Most Curious Bottle app on their smartphone. If you don’t have a smartphone, some smartypants nearby can do it for you. Once the download is done you can interact directly with the Brancott Estate bottle.