News

As published in The Age's Good Weekend Living Magazine 4th Oct 2008

Wild Earth Wines has just been awarded the Trophy for Top Red Wine at the International Wine Challenge, the world’s largest competition. It beat 31 other red wine trophy winners from around the globe in the final judging round, announced on Wednesday night (3 Sept) in London.

I was recently introduced to Barry Rees, who is a decent chap with a keen interest in wine and food. What I really like about him is that whenever we catch up we have a glass of wine, a good old chat, and then remember we were meeting to discuss business. This always comes last! It is an easy relationship that is evolving.

I also like him because he has invented a top product, the Wine Preserva. This in an innovative device which prolongs the life of an open bottle of wine, up to 5 days after opening the wine remains fresh on the nose and palate.

The 2008 Winewise Small Vignernon Awards were limited to Australian producers who crushed 250 tonnes or less for their own label in the 2008 vintage. Judging by one of Australia's most experienced panels was undertaken according to the highest Australian show standards.

We are pleased to announce that the following wines in our portfolio achieved awards, our congratulations to Amietta & Thomas Vineyard Estate.

Trophy for Top Shiraz at Boutique Wine Awards 2008

Thomas Vineyard Estate Reserve Shiraz 2005

Thomas Vineyard Estate has done it again with their Reserve Shiraz. Last year the 2004 Reserve Shiraz was awarded Blue-Gold and listed in the Top 100 at the International Sydney Wine Show. The same wine was awarded 94 points (five stars) in Australian Gourmet Traveller (Feb/March 2007).

This week, Thomas Vineyard Estate has been awarded a gold medal and Trophy for Top Shiraz at the Boutique Wine Awards, held in Sydney. The trophy winning 2005 Reserve Shiraz is only the second commercial vintage for the winery, established in 1998.

Wild Earth Pinot Noir has done it again, only this time the accolades have been achieved at an international level. In the past few weeks the following trophies and awards have been presented to the team at Wild Earth:

Wild Earth Wines, from Central Otago, has just been awarded the Trophy for Top New Zealand Pinot Noir at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. This competition is the world's largest with over 9,000 entries and is regarded as the toughest wine judging event globally.

Nicholas Clark from Amietta Vineyard (situated in Moorabool Valley, near Geelong) joined forces with Daniel Murdoch (owner of Flor Wine Bar) and Chris Stewart (chef) to create a gastronomic delight.

If you have not been to the setting before, it is a cosy set-up with a very relaxed atmosphere. The wine bar is the perfect setting for a wine dinner; filled with guests not on a time constraint, and keen to be taken on a food and wine journey. And journey it was. The menu ran something like this:

This was the fourth wine dinner held in-house at Eagle Bar, Eaglemont and as per previous events there was a waiting list for guests hoping to take part in the fun.

It was the first time chef John Addis catered for the event, and he excelled with each course. The food and wine pairings were spot on and very well received by all the guests. The menu went something like this:

We started the harvest on the 25th of March with the block of Pinot Noir which goes into the La Reserve label. The next day we picked the Spring Creek Pinot Noir, for Golden Mile. Both days the sun was shinning which made it very enjoyable.