THOUSAND CANDLES – 2017 RELEASE GATHERING FIELDS Gathering Fields Sauvignon Blanc 2017 by Thousand Candles $30 each $300 per case Last year Stu tried putting out a Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of a difference, a bit of Springtime freshness and appeal. This year we’ve been given a Wintery version… The sort of wine that someone […]
Small farm producing hand crafted, single vineyard wine. Hand picking and natural winemaking processes. Unfined and unfiltered to show the true expression of the land. 2017 wines are very expressive and elegant with slinky fine tannins and are not over drying at all. 2017 is one of the best vintages ever in Yarra Valley. […]
15
Jul
Jul
Medhurst Wines is the realisation of a long held vision to own a property in the Yarra Valley and produce high quality wines. Ross and Robyn Wilson spent countless years looking for the perfect site and for many reasons they jointly decided on the Yarra Valley. Upon approach, there’s no doubting the […]
10
Jul
Jul
Good afternoon. It looks like we’re in for a bleak few days, so the thought of parking fireside with some tasty vino at hand is pretty attractive! Thankfully, Coombe Farm are in that business (the tasty vino business) and Alan DeKeizer will be here from 5pm today to guide us through a great lineup. Coombe […]
03
Jul
Jul
Good afternoon. It has been a busy week, so no dilly dallying this afternoon! One of the Yarra’s hidden gems joins us at the tasting bench tonight – Payne’s Rise. Tim and Narelle planted the first vines of their 10 acre vineyard just over 15 years ago, on the north facing slopes behind the township […]
26
Jun
Jun
Good afternoon! We’ve got a cracking tasting lined up for the start of school holidays – it’ll help get you in a great frame of mind for the fortnight ahead! Rory Lane and his partner Anita started ‘The Story’ wine label about 10 years ago. Both the people and the label have an enviable reputation […]
19
Jun
Jun
One of the most rewarding things about hosting winemakers on a Friday night is the opportunity to promote new labels from our own backyard. Tonight’s combo fits that bill – Alkimi Wines with maker Stuart Dudine, and DCB (Domaine Chtis Bendle) with, you guessed it, maker Chris Bendle! Both come with serious local street cred […]
04
Jun
Jun
Good afternoon! This Friday night we welcome a relatively new producer to the tasting bench – Tarrahill. I say ‘relatively new’ because current owners, the Hamer family, actually planted the first vines in 1990. However, up until 2012 the vast majority of fruit was snapped up by other Yarra producers, plenty finding it’s way into […]
03
Jun
Jun
As a young man, and long before he became an award winning wine producer, the closest Brett Butcher got to sharing in the spoils of creating an artisan elixir was watching his father brew up a storm of ginger wine in their Nambour backyard. Since those days growing up in a little Queensland […]
29
May
May
Good Morning! Really looking forward to welcoming two of our favourite Yarra winemakers to the tasting bench tomorrow night (May 29th) – Tony Fikkers and Dom Valentine. The Fikkers Two Bricks label has gone from strength to strength over the last few vintages, with Tony’s winemaking approach very much resonating with the public – accessible, […]
20
May
May
Cath Willcock joins us for a tasting of the superb range of Ravensworth wines from Canberra this Friday night. Bryan Martin is the guy behind the Ravensworth label, and when he’s not nurturing his own wines, he’s the winemaker at Canberran gun Clonakilla. The guy knows his ‘Murrumbateman onions’, and the Ravensworth wines generally fly […]
14
May
May
Gary Steel has been responsible for importing some truly great European wines into Australia for nearly 40 years. His company, Domaine Wine Shippers, has a few of the biggest names in French wine in its portfolio: Billecart Salmon Domaine Raveneau Domaine Armand Rousseau Domaine Bouchard Pere et Fils Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Just a […]
07
May
May
This Friday night (May 8th) we welcome Cameron Moore from Heart & Soil Imports. Many of you would be familiar with some of the stars within the Heart & Soil portfolio, and tomorrow night we’re going to expand that range of hits! We’ve got the expected French influence, with Majone Picpoul de Pinet, Thivin Beaujolais, […]
30
Apr
Apr
If you ever needed reminding why the Yarra is ‘God’s country’, today is the proof! And tomorrow night (May 1st) it gets better again with Gary Mills joining us from 5pm with his new release Jamsheed wines. The Jamsheed label was recently listed in the Top 100 Wineries in the world by influential US magazine […]
24
Apr
Apr
We’ve got a ripping tasting tonight featuring the wines from the multi talented Sue Bell under her Bellwether label. Heathcote Vermentino, Heathcote Nero d’Avola Rose, Wrattonbully Shiraz Malbec and aged Coonawarra Cabernet. Nikki Wasylkowski joins us from 5pm today, April 24th, to share these wines with you as well as a cheeky Austrian Gruner Veltliner. […]
16
Apr
Apr
Following on from last Friday night’s Italian tasting, this Friday we tick off the mother country herself, France! Adeline Zimmermann will be here with a mixed bag of gems from the World Wine Estates portfolio. You may remember that Adeline was the one who gave us the heads up on our favourite quaffing red, […]
09
Apr
Apr
I’m really looking forward to this week’s Friday instore tasting (April 10th)! Ken John is a bit of a wine industry guru – media commentator, journo, restaurant wine buyer, retailer, sommelier…..over 35 years experience in the wine and hospitality game at large! His current role is wine buyer for Italian food and wine importer, […]
27
Mar
Mar
One of our most anticipated tastings each and every year is Best’s of Great Western. The classic combination of family ownership for generations, old vines, and talented winemaking has seen Best’s stay at the top of their game for years on end. Tonight Cal Townsend joins us to showcase Great Western Riesling, Pinot Meunier/Pinot Noir […]
20
Mar
Mar
It’s great to have a winemaker hosted tasting in the middle of vintage and tonight Damain North has been generous with his time to do just that! Damian’s story is pretty well known now – originally part of the winemaking team at Tarrawarra, then at Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, then a stint in […]
17
Mar
Mar
The cult wines of Timo Mayer continue to grow in stature. Unfortunately, in 2014, they haven’t grown in quantities. In fact, they are down in volume by more than 50%. So don’t dilly dally and wait for the 22nd review of 95pts or more until you drop into the shop and snag some. They’ll be […]
11
Mar
Mar
I always look forward to catching up with Libby Bentley. I’ve known her for the best part of 15 years and she is one of the most professional people in the Melbourne wine scene, and has a sharp mind for the industry as a whole. What she doesn’t know about wholesale, marketing and sales, […]