“There’s no sidetracks, there’s no compromise, we want to be the best biodynamic producer in this region, full stop”, says a determined Mike Brown, chief winemaker at Gemtree Vineyards, in the McLaren Vale, South Australia. The Gemtree Vineyards were established in 1980, when Paul and Jill Buttery purchased a vineyard on Tatachilla Road, in the heart … Continue reading Determination and Team Work – Gemtree Vineyards
7 days to go, and it’s looking pretty bleak. The response has been less than impressive in the opening few weeks of ticket sales, but people keep telling me – “don’t worry, it’s Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, and they always buy at the last minute”. My partner in all of this, Patrick Haddock – aka, … Continue reading What Went On at What’s In Your Glass? – Newcastle’s ‘real’ Wine Fair!
Abel Gibson grew up surrounded by wine but was never really interested in it. His father, Rob Gibson, was senior viticulturist and winemaker at Penfolds, where Abel spent his days running through cobweb riddled cellars and riding in the grower’s trucks from the weigh-bridge around to the crusher. But, the bottom line style of winemaking at … Continue reading The Rugged Beauty of The Barossa Valley – Ruggabellus Wines
Despite it’s inclination towards natural and rural connotations, wine can sometimes be, very much, an industriously conceived product. Not to say that wine is made to a recipe, much the same as Coke or a McDonald’s cheeseburger (although some certainly are), but when you consider the amount of allowable additives that a winemaker can legally utilise to … Continue reading To Be Or Not To Be – Is Ingredient Labelling Necessary for Wine?
Spring loaded kangaroos bound between the vine rows towards a rainbow that falls neatly behind some ancient eucalyptus trees. The wind moves fast, and Will Berliner is walking barefoot through his vineyard, situated just outside the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, in Margaret River, Western Australia. Having gained a degree in Ecological Oriented Biology at Yale, Will … Continue reading Making Small Moves – Cloudburst Wines, Western Australia
“Integrity”, the one word chief winemaker Chris Carpenter uses to describe his entire philosophy for wine growing at Lark Hill biodynamic winery, in the cool climate of Australia’s Capital. Lark Hill was one of the first vineyards to be established in this cool continental region, back in 1978, when Chris’s parents, Sue and Dave Carpenter … Continue reading Practical Integrity – Lark Hill Biodynamic Wines
“The job of a winemaker, through the means of great vines in a landscape, is to capture whatever it is that is true and noble, and pure in that landscape,” says Tim Kirk chief winemaker and CEO of Clonakilla. Situated approximately 25 minutes drive outside of Australia’s capital in the cool climate Canberra district of … Continue reading The Legend of Clonakilla – Giving the Landscape a Voice
The moon had reached the descending phase of it’s orbit around the earth and at Krinklwood biodynamic vineyard out at Broke, in the Hunter Valley, a diverse group of people began to arrive as the first rays of the new morning’s light pierced up and over the Brokenback range and scattered onto the earth below. … Continue reading New Ways of Thinking – Krinklewood Biodynamic Workshop
It was a Wednesday night in Sydney. The Tuesday before, I’d been invited down, by Richard Harkham, to a tasting at Circular Quay, to explore and experience ‘What’s New’ from Andrew Guard‘s most fascinating and most delicious bottles from Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Many of the bottles he had on show were fine examples … Continue reading Haunting Wines, Madmen, and some band you’ve probably never heard of…
The Hunter Valley is the oldest wine region in Australia. It was the first wine region to be planted, back in the early 19th century, with cuttings brought back from Europe by James Busby, the father of Australian wine. Amongst those cuttings, six were of Syrah taken from the Rhône in France… in Australia we call … Continue reading ‘Let The Grapes Speak’ – Harkham Wines, Hunter Valley NSW
Welcome to Wine Idealism... 