News

SOUMAH’s success continues with the Savarro 2010

Winning best aromatic unwooded at the Fed Square Annual Wine Awards 2011

Last Wednesday evening the Annual Federation Square Wine Awards were held featuring more than 100 wines from 30 wineries. Soumah from the Yarra Valley took part in which the Savarro 2010 (Savagnin variety) was in the running for an award in the aromatic category. All involved in the winery were thrilled to receive the award for Best White Aromatic (unwooded) for the very popular Savarro 2010.

We are thrilled to share some great reviews, ratings and news from the ‘just released’ James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2012. Firstly we would like to congratulate Warner Glen Estate (Margaret River) for making it into the ‘Ten of the best new wineries’ section of the Wine Companion. Father John and son Travis French purchased the southern property (100 hectares) in 1992 and have subsequently planted 37 hectares of vines. Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are the main varieties in volume, followed by Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Until 2006 all the fruit was sold to Cape Mentelle, and following on from this a greater portion of fruit was retained for the Warner Glen Estate, Frog Belly, and Smokin’ Gun labels.

In the just released James Halliday Wine Companion 2012, we are very proud to announce that Warner Glen Estate from Margaret River has made the Top 10 New Wineries list. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate, Travis & John French, Kate Bailey and the rest of the team at Warner Glen Estate.

Our last update (late April) was well received by a number of you so I thought I would spruik a few more great clients we work with. This time I will include a few clients further afield as we have some worthy clients in regional Victoria and Sydney that you should know about. But first let me start with a new venue at South Melbourne, whose doors open today:

In terms of profile, the Warner Glen Estate Vineyard sits on 100 Hectares of pristine land abutting the Chapman Brook and National Park. The first vines planted were Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Semillon in the early 1990's and fruit was sold for many years to one of Margaret River's most respected wineries. Subsequently Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were added and now there are 38 hectares under vine.

Patrick of Coonawarra will be presenting their wines, hosted by winemaker Luke Tocaciu and cellar door manager Matt Stephenson. We hope to see you there to pour, chat and ensure you have a good time. You will find the team at stand J39.

Dates: 3rd - 5th June 2011

Times: Friday 10am - 8pm; Sat 10am - 6pm; Sunday 10am - 5pm

Venue: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (Jeff's Shed), 2 Clarendon St, South Melbourne

Details: Go to the Good Food & Wine websitehere

Map

The Wine Society is hosting a wine dinner with the Plumm Wine Glass company to showcase the Plumm range of wine glasses at Esposito at Toofey's in Carlton on Tuesday 19th July 2011.

Master Sommelier, Cameron Douglas revisits the Lamont Wines range, and is impressed to see his notes from 3 years ago show the winery is consistently producing wines of varietal and regional character. To read his article, see the link below:

Panic struck when I jumped onto our website and discovered that the news section was lacking in material. Being post-vintage for most of our wineries (Marlborough and Central Otago New Zealand are still at it) there is generally a lull and for very good reasons - everyone is exhausted. This vintage was a challenge for many and sadly some of our wineries suffered greatly as a result of the weather. Production will definitely be down, however despite this some excellent fruit has been picked and what will be released looks promising.

For the first time in ages we don’t have any awards to announce, there is also a lull in credible wine competitions at this time. What to write about I pondered…….

Pure Tassie Pinot at Pure South - Presented by Pinot Unearthed (Ben Edwards, Dan Sims and Chris Crawford)

Venue: Pure South, Southbank

Date: Wednesday 9^th March 2011

Time: 7pm onwards

Commentary: Sarah Andrew

As part of Melbourne Food & Wine Festival I stumbled across Pinot Unearthed and the passionate gents behind the concept. In a nutshell, Pinot Unearthed is not only about the wine, but the whole lifestyle that is a part of Pinot lover's ensemble. Great food and restaurants, heavenly matches, atrocious matches, the travel and the adventure associated with buying great Pinot Noir, events that celebrate the variety in all its guises, and just about anything else you want to put on the table (text taken from Pinot Unearthed website), see: www.pinotunearthed.com.au