News

To celebrate the success of our trade tasting at Trunk, we decided to arrange a degustation event to showcase a number of wines from the portfolio. We were thrilled to have all the team from Selador Wines in attendance, including our interstate and international wineries. In addition a number of clients joined us at Sarti to experience the menu that Joe Mammone (co-owner of Sarti) designed especially for our event.

All the wineries in our portfolio will be joining Sarah & Jackson for a week of events in Melbourne. These will include client visits, a trade tasting event & wine dinners with the wineries.

Judy Coleman from Lamont Wines (Otago) arrives in Melbourne on Monday 17th August for 3 days.

Georges Michel from Domaine Georges Michel (Marlborough) arrives on Tuesday 18th August for 4 days.

Dawne & Merv Thomas from Thomas Vineyard Estate (McLaren Vale) arrive on Wednesday 19th August for 3 days.

Patrick Tocaciu & Luke Tocaciu from Patrick T Wines (Coonawarra & Wrattonbully) also arrive on Wednesay 19th August for 3 days.

Our Victorian wineries, represented by Lindsay Ross from Knots Wines (Bendigo & Heathcote) and Nicholas Clark from Amietta Vineyard & Winery (Moorabool Valley) will be in Melbourne throughout the week.

Please contact Sarah or Jackson directly if you would like to arrange a client visit. Also see the Events section of our website for more detailed information.

We are thrilled to share some great reviews, ratings and news from the ‘just released’ James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2010

Firstly we would like to congratulate Amietta Vineyard and Winery and Patrick T Wines for achieving 4.5 star status, which means ‘Excellent winery able to produce wines of high to very high quality, knocking on the door of a 5-star rating and will have one wine rated at 94 or above and two (or more) at 90 or above.’

Specific mention should go to the following wines, flagged in this edition as ‘special interest wine.’ This includes:

Amietta Riesling 2008 (Geelong) – 95/100

Amietta Angel’s Share Cabernet Carmenere 2006 (Geelong) – 91/100

Amietta Shiraz Lagrein 2006 (Geelong) – 90/100

Knots Top Knot Sangiovese 2006 (Heathcote) – 93/100

Patrick T Museum Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Coonawarra) – 96/100

Patrick T Riesling 2008 (Wrattonbully) – 92/100

Domaine Georges Michel's Golden Mile Sauvignon Blanc 2008 has just been awarded a Silver Medal at the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

The San Francisco International Wine Competition, the largest, most influential international wine competition in America, is judged by a prestigious panel of nationally recognized wine experts. Judging is based on a blind, consensual procedure, ensuring that its rigor and integrity remain the nation’s most respected competition.

Patrick T Wines have won several awards at the recent Boutique Wines Awards, Winewise Small Vigneron Awards and Brisbane Fine Wine Show, as listed here:

From the barrel shed
After two weeks of 40oC + weather in late January, I had concerns that the ultimate fruit quality may be severely affected. Thankfully, this was not the case.

The Sauvignon Blanc looked a picture on the vine with Rex’s arch cane pruning technique really paying dividends during the heat wave with vine foliage protecting the fruit zone. This wine is exhibiting the same characteristic of previous years. The consistent flavours of tropical fruits mixed with hints of gooseberry are very evident at this early stage.

Selador Wines are thrilled to announce the addition of Lamont Wines from Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand. The wines from Lamont will replace the Wild Earth brand from June 2009.

Sarah Andrew from Selador Wines has spent the past few months looking at several Central Otago wineries and was delighted to be introduced to Jude Coleman from Lamont Wines in March this year. Since then Sarah and Jude have been working towards forming a new relationship in which Selador Wines will import and distribute the Lamont range exclusively in Victoria and New South Wales. Their brand has been strongly supported by some of New Zealand’s best restaurants and fine wine outlets. This will be the first time their sought after premium wines will be available in Australia.

Catherine Chauchat opened her French wine bar, called BOIRE, on Friday 22nd May. It is described by Catherine as a French Wine bar where you can eat, with a small but authentic menu of peasant French food.
The wine list is 70% French and exclusive to Boire and the rest is boutique Australian wines.

Open Wed-Sun 5-11pm.
Location: Boire, 92 Smith Street, Collingwood

We are thrilled to announce the addition of Jackson Watson to the Selador Wines team. His primary role will be on-premise sales drawing on his international restaurant experience. We first met Jackson in 2006 when he was working at La Luna in Carlton. Jackson was part of a group of clients that Sarah accompanied to the Coonawarra to partake in the hospitality of Patrick T wines and experience the annual Barrel Series event (October 2006). From there a friendship evolved based around good food and wine.

by Sarah Andrew

One thing is certain in the year ahead, there will be challenging times within the Australian wine industry. The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) announced an 18% decrease by value in exports in 2008. Given that around 60% of wine produced in 2008 was exported and over 80% of that was sold on promotion, the industry should be worried.