Judge Rock 2014 Pinot Noir from Alexandra in Central Otago won “Red Wine of the Show” at the Australia and New Zealand Boutique Wine Show 2016 held in Sydney a few weeks ago. I was one of the judges and can say, with some authority, that the standard of entries was very high indeed. The show only accepts entries from wine producers that crush less than 250 tonnes of grapes each vintage.
Nestled between Waikerie and Morgan, in South Australia’s Riverland, sits a beautiful cellar door right on the edge of the Murray River. It’s only been open for a few years, but Caudo Vineyard has cemented itself as one of the most popular and progressive wine businesses in the region. The winery’s philosophy of ‘wine inspired by a lifestyle’ has been driven by Zac Caudo who now manages the family business in between water skiing, wakeboarding and fishing. Emilie Reynolds reports.
The Clare Valley wine region is the focus of a ‘Palate and PIxel’ exhibition by Adelaide photographer John Krüger, opening at the National Wine Centre tomorrow. The Palate and Pixel photographic project is an initiative of the Clare Valley Winemakers’ organisation to create a library of images that capture the emerging talent, heroes and stories behind the region’s wine industry.
Jacob’s Creek has launched a series of 360 degree films that transport wine drinkers to the heart of the Australian wine country for an aerial tour of the brand’s vineyards. The series launches with six short films, created by digital creative agency Impero, each showcasing what Jacob’s Creek is ‘Made By’ – including the beautiful vineyards of the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, alongside the Home of Jacob’s Creek.
He has been an advocate for Margaret River wines forever and a day, so it was only too fitting that James Halliday was awarded the inaugural Cullen Award for Excellence at a gala event in the region last weekend. Halliday, universally considered the leading wine critic in this country, was on hand to receive the award from Cullen winemaker and owner Vanya Cullen at a black-tie event at the Wilyabrup winery.
On behalf of the Planning Committee of the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and Trade Exhibition, I look forward to welcoming you to Adelaide in July. All signs are pointing towards a positive and successful event. I’m particularly excited about some of the features that will make this year’s conference a little different from previous years.
I well remember a childhood treat where Mum would give me money to buy a bottle of fizzy drink from the dairy. The bottles were so incredibly cold that the first mouthfuls caused a searing pain to rush through your nose and into your brain. Somehow, this was meant to be pleasurable. We’ve come a long way since then, but appropriate serving temperatures for wine can still be elusive. White wines often suffer the greatest misfortune in our homes, cafes and restaurants: served direct from the fridge, they glisten attractively with condensation.
Comparisons between Marlborough and Champagne are not uncommon. Both regions are blessed, producing wine styles that get winery accountants grinning from ear to ear. Their vines often carry massive crops, ripeness isn’t the big issue it is in other regions and at the end of it there is a distinctive wine the world wants to buy. At a time of fierce global competition, there are worse formulae to have working for you.
I’VE been fortunate enough to taste all Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz wines released since the first from the 1983 vintage and I reckon the newly released 2014 is one the best of them all. It comes from what’s been described as a “Holy Grail” Hunter vintage and at last year’s Hunter Valley Wine Show it won trophies for the best red of the show, the best shiraz, the best named vineyard wine, the best named vineyard red and the best current-vintage or one-year-old shiraz.
The world’s largest e-commerce company, already known by keen online shoppers in Australia and worldwide for its eBay-rivalling digital marketplace of very cheap, mass-produced, drop-shipped consumer goods, is setting up an office down under. 1300 Australian brands are already sold through Alibaba’s online stores, and the digital giant is keen for that number to grow.