– – It’s dark. A few minutes after midnight. An almost full moon shines down upon a hollow patch of clouds, turning them silver, and leaving only a little light left to illuminate the hallowed ground below. A gentle wind rises and rushes through the bony remains of harvest, causing the canes to rattle and shake, and disturb the peaceful silence. Shadows … Continue reading ‘Fortunate Futures’ – Ata Rangi Martinborough N.Z.
There’s a hill in Hawke’s Bay that is divided in half by two names. It pushes high into the sky and looks out over the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa Triangle, two of Hawke’s Bay’s most famous winegrowing sub-regions. Just over 30 years ago, this whole area was a literal wasteland. A speedway track, an army … Continue reading ‘Balance Above (a Beautiful Wasteland)’ – Bilancia/La Collina, Hawke’s Bay, N.Z.
“There’s nothing sadder than having great fruit that you’ve toiled over for almost a year, pruning and shoot thinning and growing it to get it to perfection, and then something goes wrong in the winery and you have to throw all that fruit away,” says vigneron Lance Redgwell from Cambridge Road, in Martinborough. Thankfully, that hasn’t … Continue reading Raw Materials – Cambridge Road, Martinborough.
“I came from a winemaking background where I’d make one hundred, to one million litre tanks of chardonnay at a time,” says Taras Ochota from Ochota Barrels, in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. A student of oenology at Adelaide University, Taras and his partner Amber travelled the surf breaks of California, Mexico, Portugal and France, and … Continue reading ‘Turning the Screws’ – Ochota Barrels, Adelaide Hills
Two years ago I attended the first Real Wine Fair as a nervous wine novice. I went to taste some wine to, perhaps, include on the list of a West London wine bar I worked in. That experience changed my perception of Australian wine forever. Two years later, I’ve been given the opportunity to go to the Real Wine Fair again, … Continue reading Advance Australia and New Zealand Real Wine Fair – 2014
“With the way wine seems to be going, I think you need to be a winegrower, not just a viticulturist, or winemaker,” says Jason Flowerday, winegrower, and part owner with his wife Anna, of Te Whare Ra (‘te fahree rah’ TWR), in New Zealand’s most famous wine region, Marlborough. Jason and Anna purchased TWR in 2003, … Continue reading The House in the Sun – Te Whare Ra, Marlborough NZ
“Our universities teach us to make sound wine, rather than great wine,” says Julian Castagna, owner and winegrower at Castagna wines in Beechworth Victoria. “They (the universities) don’t want us to make mistakes,” he continues, “but the reality is, you have to make mistakes. You have to push the envelope to make anything that’s great…” … Continue reading This Is Australia… Castagna – Beechworth
Sitting 200m above Port Phillip Bay, on top of Red Hill in Victoria, Shashi Singh is plating up a vegetarian pasta dish while black smoke begins to billow out from the oven in her kitchen, which over looks 10 ha of vineyard, planted exclusively with shiraz vines. The black smoke obediently dissipates into the exhaust fan … Continue reading Avani – Magic on the Mornington Peninsula.
– “Wine is a mind altering drug.” – “I think that in time biodynamics will become just another ingredient in the pie”, says Tamra Irish, winegrower and owner at Enigma Variations, a small farm and winery nestled at the foot of the Grampians in Victoria, Australia. The Grampians National Park is a remarkable site. The … Continue reading Enigma Variations. Time, Taste and Nothingness.
“It’s about the rock and roll”, says Tom Belford, from Bobar Wines, Yarra Valley, “you get some grapes and make some wine… it’s like you hang a mic from the ceiling, play some music, and make an album.” Bobar, is the passion project for Tom and Sally Belford, two viticulturists who met and studied together … Continue reading Rocking Out! – The Creative Simplicity of Bobar Wines.
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