Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland and established a vineyard called Bellvale. It is now a place of fully mature vines and old world Burgundian techniques, sur lie..
Placing pinot amongst the pastures»
Andrew Nugent grew up next door to the great historical wineworks at Penfolds Magill. He honed his craft as viticulturalist and vigneron amongst the illustrious wineries of old McLaren Vale. In the 1990s, Nugent planted new vines at Woodside along Bird In Hand Road, on the site of an ancient gold mine, a godsend of fortuitously fertile soils and magnificent mesoclimes for stellar quality Adelaide Hills wine. Bird In Hand have since amassed a breathtaking tally of international accolades for the unrivalled excellence of their superlative vintages, wonderfully small batch releases, with the magnificence of structure, seamlessness and immaculacy of fruit, to enthuse curio and cognescenti alike...
Vivid vintages from the tailings of adelaide hills»
Displaying an intense core of ripe citrus throughout the palate with persistent flavour and a minerally structure offset by a hint of brown lime. In 1947, Wirra Wirra patriarch Greg Trott lost the only watch he ever owned, from that day forth he never... More»
Medium bodied, the lively palate offers zesty lemon/ lime flavours combined whith guava and hints of thyme and spice. Is it from Margaret River, classicaly fruit driven and rejuvenatingly dry? you bet! Xanadu were one of the regional pioneers... More»
Hints of black cherry, plum and a caramel sweetness are embedded within the many layers of complexity. The Edwards are a well established family of agriculturalists with a long history of farming McLaren Vale for generations... More»
The palate is round and full, with grapefruit and pineapple flavours complemented by complex yeast autolysis and malolactic fermentation characteristics. All White Box wines are made from grapes grown to estate vineyards within Heathcote and Yarra Valley... More»
Ripe blackberry fruit palate, currant and red cherry flavours, the savouryness of olive and tobacco. Mike Press knows about red wine, he learned his craft at Penfolds while working alongside the man who created the... More»
An alluring assortment of uplifted black cherry and dark berry flavours, espresso and licorice allsorts. The quality of Shiraz grown to parched vineyards in Victoria's rugged western districts, has been well known throughout the world... More»
There are fewer than twenty hectares of Stefano Lubiana vines, overlooking the spectacular tidal estuary of Derwent River. Chosen for its felicitious winegrowing aspects, it is a place of scrupulously clean soils, free of any pesticides or manufactured treatments. Insects are welcome here, they are mother nature's endorsement of a holistically biodynamic viticulture. Lubiana is a fifth generation winemaker, one of the apple isle's leading vignerons, he works to an arcane system of seasonal chronometers, governed by cosmic rhythms, the turning of leaves and angle of the moon. His wines are given full indulgence to make themselves. Ferments lie undisturbed and movements to barrel are led by gravity. A peerless expression of vintage, an orphic approach to the winemaker's art, a humbling eloquence of our southernmost..
Celestial wines from southern climes»
Lured to Australia by Alfred Deakin in 1887, the Chaffey Brothers were American irrigation engineers who took up a challenge to develop the dust bowls ofRenmark and Mildura into fruit growing wonderlands. They left our nation an extraordinary legacy and their progeny continue to make good wine. Several generations later, the Chaffey Bros are focused on the fruit of some grand old Barossa and Eden Valley sites. Chosen harvests of extraordinary grapes are the ticket for admission into the exclusive club of Chaffey vineyards. Shiraz is made in several different styles and there's a penchant for obscure white varietals in the Mosel River way. They make wine according to the art of the Parfumier, nothing is bottled unless it represents a profound experience in aromatic complexity. The transcendental excellence of superior little parcels,..
A splendour of salient sites»