Wine Tasting

How to host a wine tasting at home – The Australian Financial Review

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

Wine tastings are off the cards, but drinks editor Max Allen has found a way around the restrictions – and a few top drops, too.

Wine writer Max Allen tasting wines from his home during COVID-19 lockdown. Arsineh Houspian

May 14, 2020 – 10.16am

If you like wine, you’ll know that one of life’s great pleasures is visiting vineyards and cellar doors in picturesque regions, on beautiful sunny days.

Sigh.

One of the last wineries I visited before lockdown was Kevin Bell and Tricia Byrnes’ Hurley Vineyard on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. It was fascinating to walk around the property as Bell explained how the differences in sun exposure, slope and soil of the three discrete blocks of dry-grown pinot noir vines planted there are expressed in the wine produced from each.

Hurley Vineyard on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula where restrictions mean visits are off the agenda for the time being.

And then to taste those differences in the winery: Bell took samples from barrel after barrel and squirted splashes of bright crimson wine into my glass, telling me about the clones of pinot planted in each of the blocks in the vineyard, about the 2019 growing season that produced these wines, and which barrels he will blend together to best express each block.

I’m not sure when I will get an opportunity to do that again, to travel to a wine region, walk through a vineyard, taste beautiful pinot noir from the barrel. I suppose, strictly speaking, I could probably do it now: after all, for me it’s “work”. But even as social distancing restrictions begin to be relaxed, it still doesn’t feel right to be doing something that involves spending so much time in proximity to other people – especially when we’re all spitting wine into buckets (masks and wine tastings don’t mix).

Drinks editor Max Allen tasting pinots at home. Arsineh Houspian

So, for now, I’m contenting myself with enjoying wine tasting at home. I’m lucky, of course, in that a lot of that wine arrives on my doorstep in the form of review samples. And one of the packages to turn up recently contained the new 2018 vintage pinots from Hurley. As it happened, this package arrived at the same time as a box of 2018 single-vineyard pinots from Oakridge and 2019 single-vineyard pinots from Giant Steps.

Now, if you like pinot noir you’ll know that one of life’s other great pleasures, aside from heading to wineries of course, is being able to taste a bunch of top-quality single-site pinots side-by-side, to compare and contrast the different winemaking philosophies, to tease out the influence of terroir. So that’s what I did: I masked the 12 wines (so that I wouldn’t approach them with preconceptions based on price or experience of previous vintages) then tasted them in my home office while I looked at the rather gloomy autumn day outside my window. The highlights are reviewed below.

It made me realise that, as much as I love and miss visiting vineyards and talking to winemakers, tasting wines alone can be just as rewarding and enlightening. As great as it is to hop from barrel to barrel and be given the context behind each wine as you try it, you can also be swayed by what you’re told.

Perhaps, sometimes, not being able to visit the vineyards isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Single-vineyard pinots to taste at home

2018 Hurley Estate Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula), $50, and 2018 Hurley Garamond Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula), $85

Each year, Kevin Bell and Tricia Byrnes bottle three pinots, one from each of the discrete vineyard blocks at Hurley. They also usually bottle an Estate wine, a blend of pinot from the three sites. In blind tastings, I consistently pick the Garamond – from the coolest, most easterly block, and planted solely to the MV6 clone of pinot – as the best, most complex, most cellar-worthy of the wines, and the Estate as the one I most want to drink now. And that’s what happened this year: the 2018 Estate is pretty and perfumed – pale, ethereal, rosehip-fruity, delicate – and the 2018 Garamond, while deceptively translucent and floral to look at and smell, has more substance on the tongue, with an amazing undertow of earth and hints of licorice and spice. hurleyvineyard.com.au

2019 Giant Steps Primavera Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley), $65, and 2019 Giant Steps Fatal Shore Pinot Noir (Coal River Valley), $75

The Primavera vineyard is at Woori Yallock, in the cool southern volcanic hills of the Yarra Valley. The Nocton vineyard – where grapes for the Fatal Shore pinot were grown – is planted in the calcareous and sandstone soils of the Coal River Valley near Hobart. The vineyards are about the same age, have a similar clonal mix and the wines were made almost identically – half of the grapes were de-stemmed, half fermented as whole bunches, then matured in barriques (25 per cent of them new) for eight months – and yet they couldn’t be more different. The Primavera is all vibrant, juicy, crunchy red fruit, a cascade of raspberries and cranberries and fine, dusty tannin, while the Fatal Shore is denser, darker and plusher, with plump black cherries and chewy tannins. giantstepswine.com.au

2018 Oakridge Local Vineyard Series Henk Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley), $44, and 2018 Oakridge 864 Aqueduct Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley), $90

The Henk vineyard is also planted in the cool volcanic soils of Woori Yallock, not far from Primavera, but there are subtle differences in the winemaking approach at Oakridge: grapes picked a little earlier, less whole-bunch, less new oak and a little longer in barrel. The Henk is a lovely, round, seductive pinot, with flavours of plum and blackberry pip, leading to a long savoury finish with hints of dried mushroom. The Aqueduct, made from a block of MV6 clone pinot in the Henk vineyard, is less aromatic and eager to please initially, but as you swirl it in the glass it opens beautifully to reveal more intense perfumed bramble fruit, followed by sinewy, sappy tannins and a flowing, lingering finish. Gorgeous. oakridgewines.com.au

Max AllenDrinks columnistMax Allen is The Australian Financial Review’s drinks columnist. He is an award-winning journalist and author who has written about wine and drinks for close to 25 years. Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max@maxallen.com.au

Hosting the Perfect Home Wine Tasting – Glass of Bubbly

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

Home wine tastings are a fabulous way to entertain your guests and impress them with your knowledge of wine. Sending invites to a wine tasting will normally gain a quick ‘yes please‘ response as most people like wine and are keen to find out more about the subject.

In most cases the knowledge your guests will have on wine will be very limited and usually stretching to no more than knowing the particular grape variety / style of wine they enjoy to what they have picked up from watching a show on wine from television (I learnt a lot about wine myself initially thanks to Keith Floyd & Jonathan Pedley in ‘Grape Expectations’). I’m sure someone on the evening will question if they still crush grapes by their feet!

You do not want to bore people to death by relating information that is too factual and boring, the most important result from a wine tasting is to have enjoyed the experience and taken away a few facts that you can re-use in the future.

What are you looking to achieve by hosting a home wine tasting?

This could of course hold a variety of answers from impressing people with your wine knowledge to a chance to show off your wine collection, though in most situations the following should be your aim:

Enjoyment – Your guests need to enjoy the occasion and the schedule you have planned should cater for their knowledge of wine.
Education – They can learn whilst they taste. Try and make sure you have several useful facts that your guests can take away with them.
Intimacy – Everyone should feel included and your wine tasting should include everyone with things such as sharing questions and answers along with sharing tasting notes.

Steps to take to host the perfect home wine tasting with nibbles:

It’s going to be a fabulous evening of wining and some dining. It will be unique in many ways as most guests will only have opened one bottle at a time and may never have sat in front of several bottles opened at once. For many it will be like being back at school as the table will be set in such a way that they will know they are in for some learning and participating!

So, you want to plan the perfect home wine tasting? Let’s take a look at the important steps to take:

Select a theme: Who will be attending is important to consider along with what theme would best suit the occasion. There are many ways to look at a theme*, such as style of wine (still, red, rosé, sparkling, organic etc), the grape varieties, regions, countries etc. There is no point in simply going to the shop and picking out random bottles of wine to taste. For this article we demonstrated a home wine tasting with the theme of ‘Slovenian Sparkling Wine’.
Research the wines: You can find many wines for sale online or a great place to visit also is your local wine merchant. Once you have selected your wines then place your orders. You should look to research each wine online and pick out facts, stats, tasting notes and more so can inform your guests about the identity of each wine.
Set the agenda: You should plan how the tasting will go and what format. Are you going for a blind tasting? What order are you tasting the wines? Are you going to set out some questions and answers or maybe even a mini quiz?

What food to have as nibbles

Nibbles and food pairings: It is a great idea to have nibbles at a wine tasting. If you can, set about having food samples for each wine such as cheese for white wines, fruits for rosé and meats for reds (many websites of wineries will list the perfect food pairings for their wines). Try to have small bite sized amounts of foods and not to have any foods that are too smelly or strong in that they ruin the palate and wine tasting experience.

Setting the table for a wine tasting

Setting the table: If you can, have a wine glass for each wine – If you can, select a white wine glass with a decent bowl size. Include on the table: spittoons, water, serviettes, a plate of bread, ice buckets, information sheets.
Information sheets: Print out information on each of the wines including the wineries / the wine merchants’ website / contact details in case guests have fallen in love with any! It is always good to pick out interesting facts and stats to engage your guests. If your room has a television and is connected to the internet then also search for the wineries on YouTube as many will have videos of their wineries / vineyards and this can add to the evenings entertainment. An example of a winery tour on YouTube.

How much wine to serve during a home tasting

Serving the wines: Try and stick to smaller servings of wine. This is not to be stingy, but more so to keep everyone in order and not to let the mixture of wines being tasted go to people’s heads too easily! You should research the perfect serving temperatures for each wine and prepare beforehand for them to be chilled ready when necessary. Once the tasting is completed then this is the time to fill up your glasses with your preferred wines and relax…

For this article we tasted four award winning Slovenian sparkling wines which were:

Vina Štoka Prima Chardonnay – Silver Medal Winner Hint of Spice 2019

Tasting Notes: “A punchy aroma, always that way for me with fizz from Vina Štoka. Calms down to give lemon curd, lemon zest and a touch of honey pastry on the nose. I also get freshly squeezed blackberry. Touch dry initially with zesty yellow fruits and dry grapefruit/pineapple candy sweets in flavours.”

Vina Štoka Winery

Ducal Sontia 2015 Brut Nature – Silver Medal Winner Forget Me Not 2019

Tasting Notes: “A warm golden colour. Aromas are most intriguing with golden fruits, savoury, dried pineapple, tea leaves, herbal and much more. Green fruits in flavour with an almost oily taste sensation. Soft green fruit zestiness, lemon candy, cooking apples and more. Feels like this wine expresses a lot of both the terroir and wine maker.”

Ducal Winery

Vinogradništvo Štemberger Šentjernejska Penina White – Bronze Medal Winner Light & Fruity 2019

Tasting Notes: “A touch of spearmint, herbs and soft creamy fruits on the nose. A sweeter taste sensation with a soft creamy yellow fruit pastry with a dry lemon curd kick.”

Štemberger Winery

Silveri Cuvée Brut Rosé – Gold Medal Winner Summer Days 2019

Tasting Notes: “Soft cherry blossom, croissant and white strawberry on the nose. Crisp and clean flavours. Fruity with redcurrant, raspberry and a dry strawberry pastry length.”

Silveri Winery

*More ideas for wine tasting themes: ‘Local wines’ – ‘Champagne vs Prosecco’ – ‘Vintages vs Non-Vintages’ – ‘5 Shades of Rosé’ – ‘Red Sparkling Wines’ – ‘Oak Barrels vs Steel Tanks’ – ‘Vegan Wines’

The end of free wine as we know it: How COVID changed Victorian cellar doors – Good Food

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

“The days of the free wine tasting are over,” says King Valley winemaker Christian Dal Zotto.

“When COVID hit, cellar doors across the state were shut down. When we were allowed to reopen, strict regulations forced us to do seated tastings only.”

These pandemic restrictions flew in the face of the Australian wine industry’s long-standing tradition of the cellar door bar, allowing customers arrive unannounced and sample as much or as little wine as they like – often for free.

King Valley winemakers and brothers Christian (left) and Michael Dal Zotto. Photo: Supplied

Now Dal Zotto Wines and many other Victorian cellar doors are continuing to keep their walk-in bars closed and ushering wine lovers to paid and curated tasting experiences.

“We learned from COVID that pre-booked, paid and seated tastings are better for the customer and better for our staff,” says Dal Zotto.

“It is a much slower, more convivial and more immersive experience. Before COVID, customers would rock up, stand shoulder to shoulder, and drink their way, for free, through our 20 or so wines. I’m an industry professional and even I can’t remember that many wines!”

Wine tasting at Crittenden Estate, Mornington Peninsula. Photo: Supplied

Angie Bradbury is the chair of peak industry body Wine Victoria. She says 80 per cent of cellar doors have continued to only offer seated and paid tastings since coronavirus restrictions have eased.

“I encourage all wineries to consider the format,” she says, adding that many cellar doors are reporting it is more economically viable and staff are enjoying the slower pace of the tastings.

Another winery to keep pre-booked and seated tastings is Heathcote’s Tellurian Wines. Here the Hopkins family make wines intended to be enjoyed with food, not just quaffed or designed to impress wine judges.

This explains why their new cellar door experience is like visiting a restaurant. Guests are greeted at the door by a qualified sommelier and shown to a million-dollar tasting room with views to Mount Camel Range.

“Some customers prefer white wines, some prefer red, and some both, so we offer them a choice,” says Tellurian Wines managing director Daniel Hopkins.

The tasting is composed of four 40 millilitre pours and costs $10, refundable on purchase of bottled wine. Charcuterie and cheese are offered for an additional price.

Dal Zotto Wines offers guests the opportunity to deep dive on prosecco, which it pioneered in Australia. Photo: Supplied

“Our guests can stay for as long as they like, buy a glass of wine and enjoy it with their food,” says Hopkins.

“The quality of information we can provide, and personal attention, has increased remarkably. People feel safer in their own table ‘space’ and are unafraid to ask questions like ‘what is tannin?’.”

As a measure of success, membership of Tellurian’s wine club has increased by 400 per cent.

Winemaker Lisa Sartori guides a tasting at Dirty Three Wines in South Gipplsand. Photo: Supplied

On the other side of the state, in the seaside town of Inverloch on the Bass Coast, Dirty Three Wines cellar door used to be a place where locals arrived in board shorts and thongs and stayed for hours.

“It was pretty loose,” says winemaker Marcus Satchell, known for his excellent cool climate chardonnay, sparkling and pinot noir. Since COVID, customers are now offered strict, time-controlled seated tasting sessions.

“We are getting to speak to more people and selling more wine than we ever have,” he says.

“The relationship has changed. It’s basic psychology. People don’t appreciate things that are free compared to something or an experience they are paying for.

“If I can say this, one of the awesome things that has happened since COVID is people’s new capacity to accept change.”

Five great seated Victorian wine tastings

Crittenden Estate, Mornington Peninsula

These industry leaders started tutored flights in 2014, building a tasting room by a sparkling blue lake. The Crittenden family will hand-pick eight of their 26 wines to suit the customer’s tastes for $10. crittendenwines.com.au

Soumah of Yarra Valley, Yarra Valley

Soumah stands for “south of Maroondah Highway” and the young, fun team at this internationally recognised winery have retained their traditional standing cellar door tasting. However, this has also been complemented with a popular seated tasting of eight limited release and premium wines for $20. soumah.com.au

Dal Zotto Wines, King Valley

After a little shot of fizz on arrival, visitors are guided through their choice of red or white, and provided the opportunity to deep dive on prosecco, augmented in Australia by the Dal Zotto family in 1999. $10 to $28 for five or six pours. dalzotto.com.au

Dirty Three Wines, South Gippsland

Marcus Satchell makes impressive wines in this nascent wine region with an emphasis on classic French varieties. Sample a mixture of his wines, including the ‘Dirty Chardy’ for $15 or a flight of pinot noir and single vineyard releases for $20. dirtythreewines.com.au

Tellurian Wines, Heathcote

A stunning cellar door with a secluded country outlook. Try four red wines, four white or a mix for $10. Also consider a flight of aged marsanne or shiraz for $15 and $20 respectively. tellurianwines.com.au

Central West NSW the place to be in autumn – The Young Witness

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

life-style, australia, explore, travel, explore travel, queensland, family holiday, solo travel, grey nomads

Autumn sees an array of events, especially in Central NSW, writes Louise Goldsbury. Autumn leaves its mark on Central New South Wales, as thousands of trees burst with bright colours in the streets, on the farms, in the vineyards and gardens. The season’s quirky calendar of events brings a fresh energy to the region, which stretches from beyond the Blue Mountains, near Oberon and Bathurst, out to the country towns of Cowra, Parkes and Forbes. Orange lives up to its name, turning all shades of citrus, with golden foliage spreading across leafy wineries and breweries in the foothills of Mount Canobolas. Country Food Trails is a new company that runs private tours with a focus on food, drinks and history. Choose from the three-hour Ale Trail, Wine Trail or Heritage Trail with local host Nicole Farrell, or book a pop-up picnic in an orchard. Visit: countryfoodtrails.com.au Australia’s longest-running regional food festival is celebrating its 30th year. From 9-18 April, Orange F.O.O.D Week will see six signature events and more than 90 satellite events held at local restaurants and cellar doors across a COVID-safe format. Among the highlights are the Sampson Street Lunch, Meet the Producer workshops and a Producer Market and Brunch. Visit: orangefoodweek.com.au Indigenous Cultural Adventures, guided by local Wiradjuri elders, takes guests to sacred traditional sites in the countryside. The overnight camp trip explores the land and food that sustained Aboriginal people for 50,000 years. A traditional dinner is cooked over a fire, while sharing stories, before sleeping under the stars. Visit: To book, phone Gerald on 0414 904 497 or email indigenousculturaladventures@gmail.com The Orange Wild Weekend is a relaxing immersion in epicurean delights held over three days. Wander the cobblestoned streets of Milthorpe, meet the chef at famed restaurant Tonic and enjoy a seasonal degustation. Take a bushwalk with a botanist and conservationist, learn to make a ‘tablescape’ at brunch, and have a high-altitude wine-tasting at the Strawhouse. Hosted by floral artist and designer Ali Shillington, there are two weekends of events scheduled, 19-21 March and 16-18 April. Visit: lokaleblumen.com/the-orange-wild-weekend Bathurst has cool-climate wineries, too. Newly opened is Rock Forest Vineyard, where a huge, flat rock surface below the cellar door collects water as it did for thousands of years for the Wiradjuri people. Grapes are hand-picked by the owners’ friends to produce chardonnay, shiraz and sauvignon blanc with minimal intervention. Vale Creek, Winburndale Wines and the refurbished Renzaglia Wines are also open for tastings. Visit: bathurstregion.com.au About 20 minutes’ drive east of Bathurst, Conmurra is a new eco-tourism experience on 67 hectares in Walang. Unlike other wildlife parks and zoos, it’s not open to the general public; it’s just for guests staying in the onsite accommodation. Walking trails can be explored independently by day, while guided tours are offered at night to spot endangered animals, such as bettongs, potoroos, bandicoots and tiny parma wallabies, that have been released into the protected woodland enclosure. Wombats, kangaroos, possums, gliders, goannas, kookaburras and rosellas are everywhere, as well as a few resident dingoes. Visit: conmurra.com.au/wildlife-sanctuary The National Motor Racing Museum, at Murray’s Corner, Mount Panorama, has expanded to cover all types of motorsport from the 1920s to the present. See the iconic vehicles of rally, open-wheeler, motorcycle and speedway races. Fans of famous driver Peter Brock will appreciate the tribute section, which includes his 1984 Holden Commodore VK. View displays of trophies, clothing, footage and photographs, before entering the Immersive Room to experience the speed, sound and excitement of racing. Visit: museumsbathurst.com.au The Field to Forest Festival runs throughout April, providing a whole month of special events. Forage, collect and taste mushrooms in the wild, while enjoying the pine aroma and serenity of the surrounds. Join a 4WD trout-fishing tour in the Duckmaloi River, or visit boutique distillers. At the amazing garden of Mayfield, the full 65-hectare Hawkins family private estate will be open from 2-25 April; get lost in its hedge box maze, take a rowboat out on the lake and check out the aviary, temple and 80-metre cascade. Visit: visitoberon.com/events Blind Freddy’s Bushranger Tours trace the tumultuous 1860s when hundreds of robberies were committed by the likes of Johnny Gilbert, Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner and Sir Frederick Pottinger. Hear these riveting stories on a walking tour of the ‘Wild Central West’ with Craig Lawler, who is also available as an in-vehicle guide for families or small groups. Visit: blindfreddytours.com Rosnay Organic Cellar Door is serving Bush Goddess Grazing Platters of its own olives, figs, stone fruit, edible flowers and other seasonal goodies, matched with local wines. The feast is curated by Pennie Scott, a regenerative farmer who created the Paddock-to-Pocket business model for farmers to take control of pricing their produce. The vineyard also has a cosy 1910 farmhouse that accommodates up to six people. Visit: rosnay.com.au Strap in for an exciting open-road thrill in a Harley-Davidson sidecar with Captain Barnacles Tours. Rumble along scenic routes to historic villages and attractions such as Escort Rock and Cowra Japanese Garden or do the shorter Poke Around Town ride. Visit: captainbarnacles.com.au Gum Swamp is an ephemeral wetland providing a rich habitat for native fauna including 150 bird species. Currently underway, a redevelopment is adding three two-storey bird hides on the water’s edge and 1.5 kilometres of accessible pathways and boardwalks. Varanus, a 20-metre steel goanna installed last year, will be joined by four smaller sculptures. Always open, the sanctuary is four kilometres south of Forbes, off the Newell Highway, turning right down a well sign-posted gravel road. Fans of astronomy or the movie The Dish won’t want to miss a trip to see the massive radio telescope at Parkes Observatory. Entry is free to the visitors’ centre, viewing area and space science exhibition. A theatre shows short 3D films about the vast complexity of the universe. Tickets cost $7.50 for adults, $6 students and concession, or $25 for families. Visit: csiro.au/parkes Outback Lamb’s new three-hour agricultural tour explores Westpoint, a 5000-hectare farm that supplies boutique butchers in Sydney. Before a homegrown lunch, learn about Fiona and Bill’s sustainable farming philosophy and approaches to the environment. Watch kelpies participate in a sheep dog trial and horses in a campdrafting exhibition, and see Aboriginal artwork, carvings and tools at a local site known as The Rocks. Visit: outbacklamb.com.au Poet Henry Lawson, born on the Grenfell goldfields in 1867, is honoured with several statues around this historic town. Take a stroll along Main Street, head to O’Brien’s Mine or hike in Weddin Mountains National Park. Grenfell Picnic Race Day is held on April 21 featuring six horse races, children’s rides, live music and Fashions in the Field. Visit: grenfellpicnics.org.au Wilga Station is a family-owned, 105-hectare sheep farm which offers luxury accommodation built from repurposed material found on the property. The Farmers Hut is a self-contained, off-the-grid retreat for couples. It has unique features, such as a grass roof and a daybed nestled in a window with stunning views. Opening soon, the five-bedroom Shearers Hall will sleep up to 10 people in a former shearing shed. The sheep chutes have been retained (under glass) and the old wool table is the centrepiece of the entertaining area. The station is just 12 minutes’ drive from Bathurst and 40 minutes from Orange. Visit: wilgastation.com.au Drive: Bathurst is a three-hour drive from Sydney or Canberra, and four hours from Newcastle. Stay: For a convenient base in Central NSW, consider staying at Bathurst. Wilga Station is just outside town and prices start at $450 per night. The NRMA Bathurst Panorama Holiday Park has rooms starting at $105, as well as campsites. Explore more: visitcentralnsw.com.au …you might also enjoy

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February 28 2021 – 8:00AM

Autumn sees an array of events, especially in Central NSW, writes Louise Goldsbury.

Autumn leaves its mark on Central New South Wales, as thousands of trees burst with bright colours in the streets, on the farms, in the vineyards and gardens. The season’s quirky calendar of events brings a fresh energy to the region, which stretches from beyond the Blue Mountains, near Oberon and Bathurst, out to the country towns of Cowra, Parkes and Forbes.

Orange

Orange lives up to its name, turning all shades of citrus, with golden foliage spreading across leafy wineries and breweries in the foothills of Mount Canobolas. Country Food Trails is a new company that runs private tours with a focus on food, drinks and history. Choose from the three-hour Ale Trail, Wine Trail or Heritage Trail with local host Nicole Farrell, or book a pop-up picnic in an orchard. Visit:countryfoodtrails.com.au

Australia’s longest-running regional food festival is celebrating its 30th year. From 9-18 April, Orange F.O.O.D Week will see six signature events and more than 90 satellite events held at local restaurants and cellar doors across a COVID-safe format. Among the highlights are the Sampson Street Lunch, Meet the Producer workshops and a Producer Market and Brunch. Visit:orangefoodweek.com.au

Indigenous Cultural Adventures, guided by local Wiradjuri elders, takes guests to sacred traditional sites in the countryside. The overnight camp trip explores the land and food that sustained Aboriginal people for 50,000 years. A traditional dinner is cooked over a fire, while sharing stories, before sleeping under the stars. Visit: To book, phone Gerald on 0414 904 497 or email indigenousculturaladventures@gmail.com

The Orange Wild Weekend is a relaxing immersion in epicurean delights held over three days. Wander the cobblestoned streets of Milthorpe, meet the chef at famed restaurant Tonic and enjoy a seasonal degustation. Take a bushwalk with a botanist and conservationist, learn to make a ‘tablescape’ at brunch, and have a high-altitude wine-tasting at the Strawhouse. Hosted by floral artist and designer Ali Shillington, there are two weekends of events scheduled, 19-21 March and 16-18 April. Visit:lokaleblumen.com/the-orange-wild-weekend

Bathurst

Bathurst has cool-climate wineries, too. Newly opened is Rock Forest Vineyard, where a huge, flat rock surface below the cellar door collects water as it did for thousands of years for the Wiradjuri people. Grapes are hand-picked by the owners’ friends to produce chardonnay, shiraz and sauvignon blanc with minimal intervention. Vale Creek, Winburndale Wines and the refurbished Renzaglia Wines are also open for tastings. Visit: bathurstregion.com.au

About 20 minutes’ drive east of Bathurst, Conmurra is a new eco-tourism experience on 67 hectares in Walang. Unlike other wildlife parks and zoos, it’s not open to the general public; it’s just for guests staying in the onsite accommodation. Walking trails can be explored independently by day, while guided tours are offered at night to spot endangered animals, such as bettongs, potoroos, bandicoots and tiny parma wallabies, that have been released into the protected woodland enclosure. Wombats, kangaroos, possums, gliders, goannas, kookaburras and rosellas are everywhere, as well as a few resident dingoes. Visit: conmurra.com.au/wildlife-sanctuary

The National Motor Racing Museum, at Murray’s Corner, Mount Panorama, has expanded to cover all types of motorsport from the 1920s to the present. See the iconic vehicles of rally, open-wheeler, motorcycle and speedway races. Fans of famous driver Peter Brock will appreciate the tribute section, which includes his 1984 Holden Commodore VK. View displays of trophies, clothing, footage and photographs, before entering the Immersive Room to experience the speed, sound and excitement of racing. Visit:museumsbathurst.com.au

Oberon

Relax at Mayfield Garden.

The Field to Forest Festival runs throughout April, providing a whole month of special events. Forage, collect and taste mushrooms in the wild, while enjoying the pine aroma and serenity of the surrounds. Join a 4WD trout-fishing tour in the Duckmaloi River, or visit boutique distillers. At the amazing garden of Mayfield, the full 65-hectare Hawkins family private estate will be open from 2-25 April; get lost in its hedge box maze, take a rowboat out on the lake and check out the aviary, temple and 80-metre cascade. Visit:visitoberon.com/events

Canowindra

Blind Freddy’s Bushranger Tours trace the tumultuous 1860s when hundreds of robberies were committed by the likes of Johnny Gilbert, Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner and Sir Frederick Pottinger. Hear these riveting stories on a walking tour of the ‘Wild Central West’ with Craig Lawler, who is also available as an in-vehicle guide for families or small groups. Visit:blindfreddytours.com

Rosnay Organic Cellar Door is serving Bush Goddess Grazing Platters of its own olives, figs, stone fruit, edible flowers and other seasonal goodies, matched with local wines. The feast is curated by Pennie Scott, a regenerative farmer who created the Paddock-to-Pocket business model for farmers to take control of pricing their produce. The vineyard also has a cosy 1910 farmhouse that accommodates up to six people. Visit: rosnay.com.au

Cowra

Strap in for an exciting open-road thrill in a Harley-Davidson sidecar with Captain Barnacles Tours. Rumble along scenic routes to historic villages and attractions such as Escort Rock and Cowra Japanese Garden or do the shorter Poke Around Town ride. Visit:captainbarnacles.com.au

Forbes

Gum Swamp is an ephemeral wetland providing a rich habitat for native fauna including 150 bird species. Currently underway, a redevelopment is adding three two-storey bird hides on the water’s edge and 1.5 kilometres of accessible pathways and boardwalks. Varanus, a 20-metre steel goanna installed last year, will be joined by four smaller sculptures. Always open, the sanctuary is four kilometres south of Forbes, off the Newell Highway, turning right down a well sign-posted gravel road.

Parkes

Fans of astronomy or the movie The Dish won’t want to miss a trip to see the massive radio telescope at Parkes Observatory. Entry is free to the visitors’ centre, viewing area and space science exhibition. A theatre shows short 3D films about the vast complexity of the universe. Tickets cost $7.50 for adults, $6 students and concession, or $25 for families. Visit:csiro.au/parkes

Outback Lamb’s new three-hour agricultural tour explores Westpoint, a 5000-hectare farm that supplies boutique butchers in Sydney. Before a homegrown lunch, learn about Fiona and Bill’s sustainable farming philosophy and approaches to the environment. Watch kelpies participate in a sheep dog trial and horses in a campdrafting exhibition, and see Aboriginal artwork, carvings and tools at a local site known as The Rocks. Visit: outbacklamb.com.au

Grenfell

Poet Henry Lawson, born on the Grenfell goldfields in 1867, is honoured with several statues around this historic town. Take a stroll along Main Street, head to O’Brien’s Mine or hike in Weddin Mountains National Park. Grenfell Picnic Race Day is held on April 21 featuring six horse races, children’s rides, live music and Fashions in the Field. Visit:grenfellpicnics.org.au

A stay at Wilga Station

Wilga Station is a family-owned, 105-hectare sheep farm which offers luxury accommodation built from repurposed material found on the property.

The Farmers Hut is a self-contained, off-the-grid retreat for couples. It has unique features, such as a grass roof and a daybed nestled in a window with stunning views.

Opening soon, the five-bedroom Shearers Hall will sleep up to 10 people in a former shearing shed. The sheep chutes have been retained (under glass) and the old wool table is the centrepiece of the entertaining area. The station is just 12 minutes’ drive from Bathurst and 40 minutes from Orange. Visit: wilgastation.com.au

Drive: Bathurst is a three-hour drive from Sydney or Canberra, and four hours from Newcastle.

Stay: For a convenient base in Central NSW, consider staying at Bathurst. Wilga Station is just outside town and prices start at $450 per night. The NRMA Bathurst Panorama Holiday Park has rooms starting at $105, as well as campsites.

While you’re here…

…you might also enjoy

Wine, Covid and the Smell of Success | Wine-Searcher News & Features – Wine-Searcher

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

With anosmia a common sympton of Covid, a French method can reinvigorate your sense of smell.

By Liza B. Zimmerman | Posted Sunday, 28-Feb-2021

Even before Covid damaged our planet, many people struggled with an impaired sense of smell and taste.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately three percent of Americans had anosmia prior to the pandemic’s outbreak. As a result of Covid infections, according to a NIDCD spokesperson, “approximately 77 percent of COVID-positive individuals have partial or complete smell loss”.

When a handful of students at the Institute of Vine & Wine Sciences (ISVV) at the University of Bordeaux were stricken with Covid, Laurence Gény-Denis, the school’s vice director for education was inspired to put a new spin on an old technique.

After a visit to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist the students given portable diffusers that emitted aromas of various essential oils and were asked to smell them several times a day while visualizing the smells. Once they master those they move onto new aromas. He has thus far seen positive results.

“We really wanted to offer a transferable tool to professionals and the general public,” he said. The kits can be made from locally purchased essential oils or natural products like coffee, fruit and spices. He is hardly alone in thinking this new take on identifying smells could also help regular wine lovers ramp up their olfactory game.

A solid approach

While the bulk of winemakers said it would be hard to pass judgment on the best way to regain a sense of smell, not ever having ever lost theirs, several thought Gény-Denis’ approach was on the right track. It is similar in concept to the nez du vin scent kits that winemaking students – and wine lovers – have used to train their palates for years.

Heather Mikelonis, the operations manager at Baker Wine & Grape Analysis laboratory in Paso Robles, basically did what Gény-Denis is suggesting to regain her sense of smell after contracting Covid and it is helping her to smell again. Her program was recommended by her ENT and involves four essential oils – rose, eucalyptus, lemon and clove – that are smelled for 10 seconds twice a day for three months. As a result, she says that she has recovered her sense of smell somewhat but not fully. She adds that some of the smells, such as eucalyptus, don’t quite smell exactly like she remembered they did.

What is more, she notes “the biggest difference I’ve found is a decrease in smells that were ‘off’ – i.e. for the last several months anytime I am around steam and hot water, things smell really weird. Sometimes it smells like soy sauce, other times more like coconut – it’s bizarre.”

Smelling infused oils is a great training tool, agrees shares Kerry Shiels, the winemaker at Côte Bonneville in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. She adds that, unlike the nez du vin kits, “that are self directed, the concept of changing the smells based on students’ progress is really intriguing…. I think this could be a useful tool for people who really want to educate their palates; students of winemaking, sommeliers, chefs, as well as very dedicated consumers.” What is more, she thinks that Gény-Denis’ “sniffin’ sticks” would be a great interactive tool or game. “I could see all sorts of events structured around teaching people how to think about aromas.”

This type of training is very helpful for recognizing aromas, confirms Elizabeth Tomasino, an associate professor and sensory analyst at Oregon State University in Corvallis. “It is important for winemakers and sommeliers so they can understand what they can and cannot smell.” She adds that it also has applications for consumers who would enjoy learning more about how to describe wine.

© Irvine & Roberts/Jason Kaplan Small
| Winemakers Doug Irvine (L) and Jason Lett are both believers in training people how to smell.

Winemaker feedback

Professional winemakers have been studying aromas for all of their professional careers and sometimes longer. Jason Lett, winemaker and owner of the McMinneville, Oregon-based Eyrie Vineyards, trained on scents from childhood with his father the renowned winemaker David Lett. “When we were kids my dad used to buy a roll of lifesavers and hide a lifesaver in each hand and if we could guess the flavor, we got to eat the lifesaver. If we couldn’t, he got to eat the life saver!”

Corey Beck, the Napa-based CEO and winemaking chief at Francis Ford Coppola Winery said that Gény-Denis’ aroma-sniffing process is similar to how he learned to detect TCA. He says that “it provides baselines for people and they will inherently be more aware of different aromas in the environment [as a result]”. He adds that his winery has long used similar tasting kits for its sales staff “and it always helped them pick up those characteristics in the corresponding wines”. He goes on to note that for many years Coppola also featured tastings in the dark, which was another way to get consumers to “focus on smell and nothing else”.

Doug Irvine, a co-owner of the Ashland-based Irvine & Roberts winery, says that he has read about such treatments to regain smell and believes they are beneficial. This type of treatment would be a “great tool for people in the wine industry that have had their sense of taste and smell impacted by Covid, especially a winemaker. It truly is a constant worry for wineries, having a person on a wine production team lose their sense of smell would be equivalent to Picasso losing his sight!”

A scientific perspective

Several winemakers and laboratory analysts thought that Gény-Denis’ approach was solid; both for regaining a lost sense of smell and helping to fine tune consumers’ sense of smell to help them better enjoy wine.

When Sherrie Holzer – now a wine chemist sensory specialist at the Paso Robles-based Baker Wine & Grape Analysis – was getting her enology degree at Fresno State she was part of a sensory research panel. “My job was to train average people that liked wine to become sensory experts,” she explained.

This was done by spiking wine with aromas of things like green apple and black pepper and lessening the scent’s intensity as they become better tasters. She also self-trained to be a profession wine judge by learning to recognize different sugar and acid levels in wine tasted blind. As result she said that if she “ever lost my sense of taste or smell, I would fall back on these practices to retrain”.

Amy Freeman, a Paso Robles-based Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)-certified chemist, affirms that everyone “can use periodic refreshers of aroma standards. It is something we have to continually practice and the more we smell standardized aroma compounds the tighter our collective descriptive language becomes.”

In addition, the use of essential oils to train palates is not limited to the wine trade. Wine lovers, she noted, generally adore programs of this kind that help them feel more comfortable describing wine. “Consumers love programs like these, they have typically been offered as wine club events.”

The naysayers

Not everyone was a fan of Gény-Denis’ approach to ramping up one’s sense of taste and smell. Catherine Fallis, a San Francisco-based master sommelier and the founder of the Planet Grape consulting firm says “it is not the sense of smell that needs work … It is a matter of training yourself to focus on and then mentally process what you are smelling anytime throughout the day.”

She was also opposed to using essential oils as those scents in question are expensive and artificial. “Smell a real banana, not fake banana essence. Also the droplets get up your nose and impair sense of smell.”

Doug Frost, a Kansas City-based consultant who is both a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine – and the owner Echolands Winery in Walla Walla – is not a fan of “aroma kits, le nez du vin and such, because our ability to recognize aromas does not occur in a vacuum. We smell a constellation of aromas not solitary aromas and sensory analysis is the ability to find individual elements within that cluster of aromas.”

However he does believe that trying to visualize aromas may well help people recover from anosmia. “If there is a general principle, it is that you have to try to involve as much of your body and your mind, your past and your imagination, as you can.”

Emily Wines, the San Francisco-based Master Sommelier, also thinks the visualization part is key to identifying aromas. “There is a powerful connection between sense of smell and visualization, and I can see how retraining the brain would help jumpstart the process. Strong, recognizable scents seem to be key. One sommelier who lost their sense of smell first knew it was coming back when they could smell fresh ginger. Those aromas that seem to give a physical response, where you almost feel it in your head, would naturally come first.”

Central West NSW the place to be in autumn – Blue Mountains Gazette

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

life-style, australia, explore, travel, explore travel, queensland, family holiday, solo travel, grey nomads

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February 28 2021 – 8:00AM

Autumn sees an array of events, especially in Central NSW, writes Louise Goldsbury.

Orange

Bathurst

Oberon

Relax at Mayfield Garden.

Canowindra

Cowra

Forbes

Parkes

Grenfell

A stay at Wilga Station

Wilga Station is a family-owned, 105-hectare sheep farm which offers luxury accommodation built from repurposed material found on the property.

The Farmers Hut is a self-contained, off-the-grid retreat for couples. It has unique features, such as a grass roof and a daybed nestled in a window with stunning views.

Drive: Bathurst is a three-hour drive from Sydney or Canberra, and four hours from Newcastle.

While you’re here…

…you might also enjoy

How to Arrange an at-Home Wine Tasting: Tips from the Experts – FeastMagazine

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

Calling on the expertise of four wine specialists, including Dean Spencer, Chris Walkey, Douglas Blyde and Neil Crammies, our in-depth guide to arranging an at-home wine tasting gives people the help and insight they need to host a successful tasting – either in person or via video chat. We’ve covered the basics of how to taste wine and determine a good variety, as well as practical guidance on planning and preparing a tasting at home for friends and family.

The guide covers four key areas to hosting a wine tasting, which we take a look at below.

Understanding the basics of wine tasting

Arming people with the skills and knowledge to taste wine effectively at home was our first priority. Here, Douglas Blyde provides a four-step process for wine tasting:

Look – at the clarity and colour of the wine to determine its quality, ripeness and age.
Swirl – swirl the glass to aerate the wine, release the aromas and study the ‘legs’, which show its alcohol and sugar content.
Smell – smell the wine pick up on the three types of aromas, including primary, secondary and tertiary.
Taste – sip the wine to coat the mouth and examine the flavours, which include sweet, sour, salt and bitter notes.

Planning and preparing an at-home tasting

Some preparation is needed when hosting a wine tasting at home, especially if you’re planning to do it via video link. We asked our panel of experts to share their tips for organising a successful tasting – from serving to glassware.

Here, Dean Spencer shares his ideas on how people can decide on a theme for their wine tasting, which can help the event to run more smoothly:

Compare similar grapes from different regions
Challenge tasters with less well-known grapes
Concentrate on a specific country or region
Theme it around a specific future event
Try a blind tasting

How the wine is served can also have a big impact on the overall experience, especially when it comes to glassware and temperature. Chris Walkey, who hosts specialist tastings and events, offered his advice on getting service right:

Make sure that the wine is chilled and ready to be served at the recommend temperature.
Serve wines in quality glassware and certainly do not use flutes for sparkling wines.
Have a glass for each wine being tasting.
Provide spittoons and also water.
Have a sheet of plain white A4 paper so people can easily look at the colour qualities of the wine.
It’s also nice to have prepared a list of the wines that are being tasted along with their details such as grapes used, vintage etc.

How to determine a good bottle of wine

Sourcing wine is one of the most challenging aspects of hosting a wine tasting at home, with thousands of varieties to choose from at different price points. Here, our experts each share their top tips on sourcing good wines for a home tasting:

“As a guideline, you should look to spend somewhere between £8-£18 pounds a bottle (with maybe 3 to 6 wines to taste). If you consider that with a £5.99 bottle of wine only 37p is actually spent on production of the wine, it’s clear that you really need to be spending a little more. But as most of the costs in a bottle are fixed, you don’t have to step up too far to ensure much more is spent on production of the wine itself.” – Dean Spencer

“Good white wines should have the requisite tastes associated with a certain variety, as should reds. Sauvignon Blanc should have gooseberry notes (Loire Valley) and maybe some exotic fruits (New Zealand). Riesling can carry lime zest initially and as they age, they develop some petrol notes. Good Chardonnay will show white peaches. Cabernet Sauvignon will have blackcurrant at its heart, while Syrah will have spicy blackberry fruit.” – Neil Crammies

“Depending on the styles of wine you wish to have at your tasting, average prices can vary tremendously. What I would say is that if you want to show the qualities of wines then try and not go for the cheapest options, and instead look at specialist wine sellers either via the high street merchants or dedicated online wine shops. You are not likely to get a great idea of wine quality by purchasing cheapest options from the supermarkets. I would say £15 to £30 a bottle will be the ideal price range for most style of wines you should be aiming for.” – Chris Walkey

“I really enjoy comparing wines made from the same grape across a few territories, such as the often petrol-scents of light-in-alcohol German Riesling, reaped from vines tugging into the vertigo-inducingly steep slopes of the Moselle River Valley, with a Riesling from Australia’s generally warmer Barossa valley; those wines can often be more about lime flavours – sometimes stingingly so.” – Douglas Blyde

Wine pairings

Many people will look to pair nibbles with their wines; it creates a sense of occasion and helps keep things fun and informal. Chris Walkey is a fan of food and wine pairings, suggesting: “Wine tasting can be quite thirsty work and it can be good to break up a tasting with some foods. Note that not all foods pair with wines and each wine will usually have a recommended food type to pair with it. To be safe, many cheese varieties pair very well with wines from red sparkling to dry still whites, though try not to have smelly cheese, as this will affect the ability to appreciate the wine aromas!”

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Wandering through vineyards – Deccan Herald

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

Lord Byron rightly said, “Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil.” If your travel dream right now is about wandering through vineyards with a glass of local wine in hand, we have a perfect plan for you. Here are the top wine regions in the United States of America that’ll satiate any travel-loving wine aficionado.

California

California boasts of endless rows of vines that generate an amazingly diverse wine tasting experience. It is the fourth-largest wine producer in the world and about 90 percent of all wine in the US is made here. So, it’s the perfect place for experienced and novice drinkers to taste and learn about wine. Sample the flavours at the two world-famous wine regions of the Golden State: Napa Valley and Sonoma County, both about an hour’s drive north of San Francisco. Follow Silverado Trail, the ultimate Napa Valley wine route, which is a rural, scenic route dotted with stellar wineries. Top wines include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. You can also visit Gold Country in the Sierra foothills. The roots of old Zinfandel grapevines run deep in this north-eastern region of California — wine-making here dates to the Gold Rush era of the 1850s. Other wine regions in California include Mendocino County, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, and Temecula.

Virginia

Virginia is for lovers of wine and is home to more than 300 wineries, and dozens of wine trails surrounded by lavish scenery, breathtaking views, quaint small towns and monumental historic sites. Northern Virginia is next door to the United States’ capital, Washington, DC. Nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Potomac River, Loudoun County features more than 40 wineries and tasting rooms on rolling hills and cliff-edged slopes. Wine lovers will find plenty to toast to in West Virginia, where off-the-beaten-path wineries often boast rolling mountain views and tranquil grounds.

Oregon

The premier wine region within Oregon is the Willamette Valley, which has gained a worldwide reputation for its stellar Pinot Noir wines. Take your time in Oregon’s largest wine region; it’s a place you’ll want to explore. Here you’ll find lush vineyards and farms, tended by families who are passionate about growing the best wine grapes and freshest foods. Sit back and savour a glass of the world-renowned Pinot Noir and mouth-watering meals prepared from locally grown ingredients. Enjoy the scenery by cycling along the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. The route winds through nearly the entire valley, past vineyards and orchards and through historic towns. The Willamette Valley is also gifted with rugged mountain peaks and heart-stopping waterfalls.

Tualatin Valley is just a short drive from Willamette Valley where 30 amazing wineries are scattered around the area. One of the more popular is Union Wine Co., which makes wines under three labels and is known for its tasty red and white wines in a can. Another favourite is the internationally renowned Ponzi Vineyards, where you can choose from several touring and tasting options in a sleek, modern winery set in the gorgeous Chehalem Mountains.

Michigan

Best known as a fruit-growing region — and the USA’s leading producer of tart cherries — Michigan’s Traverse City is a major wine and craft beer destination. The region’s wineries have gained an international reputation for the clean, elegant taste and bouquet of their wines. Many people love to visit the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail and the wineries of Old Mission Peninsula to sample the award-winning wines. The scenic Leelanau Peninsula, just north and west of Traverse City, is home to 24 award-winning wineries located within diverse microclimates uniquely suited for a variety of wine grapes.

Wine industry fights back after horror year – Morning Bulletin

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

In the dying days of 2019, winemaker Ken Eckersley armed himself with a bucket of water and a rake wrapped in a wet towel.

He’d set off in the car at his Gippsland winery, Nicholson River, to put out spot fires caused by the ferocious Sarsfield blaze burning about 10km north.

The aim was to protect the family-run winery he’d owned with wife Juliet for 43 years.

He’d already been told three times by authorities to leave that week, but evacuating wasn’t an option – even when the flames came within 250m of the vines.

The Eckersleys would stay and fight.

But at 11pm, by sheer luck, everything changed. Southerly winds pushed the fire away from the vineyard but the grapes still couldn’t be saved. Smoke had penetrated into the skins

making the entire crop unsalvageable.

Fire approaching Nicholson River Winery in Sarsfield on December 30, 2019 The fire came within 250m of the winery/vines

No wine would be made at Nicholson River in 2020, and the Eckersleys weren’t alone.

The same problems were felt by grape growers and producers nationally, with many forced to make tough, expensive business decisions just months into the new year.

The pandemic followed soon after, keeping us at home for months and further crippling regional tourism.

Then, as we prepared to bid farewell to 2020, China – the country’s largest wine export market worth $1.15 billion annually – slapped tariffs on all imported Australian wines.

What a year.

But it wasn’t all bad news, with the people working in Victoria’s wine industry showing resilience and character by the barrel load.

Indigo Vineyard at Beechworth during the bushfires of December 2019-20.

Bushfires burning in New South Wales, South Australia and Victorian towns along the Gippsland coast made headlines here and abroad, yet little was mentioned about the silent killer choking the state’s north and northeast wine regions.

Smoke from the NSW fires had moved south, blanketing the regions of King Valley, Beechworth and Rutherglen for weeks.

No northeast district wineries were directly impacted by fire, unlike the Eckersleys or esteemed wine brand Henschke, which saw flames destroy 90 per cent of its Lenswood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, including some of the region’s oldest pinot noir vines.

Instead many Victorian grapes, the skins in particular, were tarnished by smoke.

Smoke taint isn’t great for winemaking – mainly because red wine is made from grape skins as that’s where the colour, flavour and tannin lies and there’s no way of knowing how badly a crop is affected until it’s made into wine and sent for testing.

Ken and Juliet Eckersley at Nicholson Rivery Winery. Picture: Supplied.

Young wines may show no signs of smoke taint, but can later develop traits after years in the bottle. Some winemakers argue in small doses the wine can taste like it has been aged in a toasted barrel, while others less poetically say it’s like “drinking an ashtray”.

Smoke taint affected 3 per cent of Australia’s national crush last year. But in the northeast, Wine Victoria estimates just 69 per cent of the 25,808 tonnes on the vine prior to harvest last year were picked.

Many King Valley wineries didn’t have enough viable grapes to make any red wine.

Wine Victoria chair Angie Bradbury says winemakers still wore the costs of vintage, even if the crop wasn’t salvageable.

“Some (growers) can’t make wine, but they still have to pay to pick that fruit off the vines and prune,” Bradbury says.

“Some will carry two full years of cost and won’t recoup any money until they sell wine for 2021.”

All Saints Estate chief executive Eliza Brown, along with her business partner-siblings Angela and Nick, was faced with this reality.

No fire tore through the Brown’s Rutherglen estate, but lingering smoke in the vineyards forced them to send the wine for testing.

Luckily the taint levels were low, meaning they could use the vintage in bulk wine – saving it from being turned into hand sanitiser.

“Sometimes you have to make those big calls. Winemaking is like gambling, you put it all on red or black and see how it pans out,” Brown says.

Eliza, Angela and Nicholas at Mount Ophir Estate. Picture: Kristoffer Paulsen.

The Browns are fourth-generation winemaking siblings who own and run St Leonards Vineyard, All Saints Estate and Mount Ophir Estate luxury accommodation in northeast Victoria.

They are well known in the wine game, with their late father Peter one of the four Brown Brothers founders. Despite their stable footing in the industry, Brown still feared what 2020 would do to their business.

“Our biggest fear was how we would fund our winemaking,” Brown says.

“If we lose a vintage we need to fund the wine for that vintage, which doubles the amount of money going out.”

As soon as the first lockdown closed the gates at All Saints HQ in March, the Browns set to work on how to keep their customers.

Virtual wine tasting nights streamed on Zoom, and new wine styles were spruiked to its wine club members.

“Facebook and social media streams became incredibly important and it forced winemakers, who are really scientists by trade, to put themselves out there,” Brown says.

“People were buying better because they weren’t going out and were experimenting with wine they wouldn’t usually buy.”

Matt Fowles at Fowles Winery. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Across Victoria, liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s was seeing wine sales from smaller producers grow at almost twice the rate of others since COVID, suggesting a desire to buy local.

Reports of people drinking more during lockdown was also widely reported.

But according to Bradbury, and many industry insiders, alcohol consumption was on-par with pre-pandemic habits.

“Across the board we didn’t see wine sales soar over COVID,” she says.

“More people were drinking more wine at home and I think the recycle bins were full, but the wine people would have ordered out at a restaurant or events … those sales had ceased.” During lockdown Matt Fowles, of Fowles Wines, was losing money at both his on-site restaurant and in the events arm of his Avenel winery in central Victoria.

So in June, he and his wife Luise launched DIY wine labels for drinkers to personalise wine bought at Fowles’ virtual cellar door – an initiative that worked surprisingly well. “Winemakers are really good at dealing with COVID,” Fowles says.

“We deal with the randomness in nature every day, that is what we do. We have a plan, but we must be ready to react to Mother Nature – bushfires or disease outbreaks – we are good at adapting to these situations.”

Laurent Rospars, St Kilda’s Prince Hotel head sommelier, has seen his share of disasters across four decades in the food and wine industry.

The chef-turned-sommelier saw business take a dive after September 11 terrorist attacks and the Global Financial Crisis, but knows things eventually make a turn for the better.

“In nearly 50 years I have been working, I haven’t seen anything like (the pandemic),” Rospars says.

Matt Fowles and wife Luise at their winery. Picture: Rob Leeson.

“We can’t say it’s anyone’s fault and we have to keep just doing what we do. The Aussies are very resilient.”

The last piece in the Prince Hotel’s redevelopment puzzle, Little Prince Wine Bar, opened a couple of days before Victoria’s second, 111-day lockdown.

Rospars stayed open for takeaway bottle sales. Business was quieter, as expected, but as soon as lockdown ended things boomed.

Bradbury says that sentiment was echoed in cellar doors statewide, with some seeing massive sales in the weeks after Victoria’s second lockdown.

“Some wineries were reporting 30 to 100 per cent increases from their normal cellar door traffic,” she says.

The state government’s Click for Vic campaign, launched in August, had also made Victorians more aware of buying local and direct from wineries. Blue Pyrenees chief winemaker Andrew Koerner saw an overwhelming response once lockdown lifted, and was getting “bus loads” of visitors to his western Victorian winery in the Pyrenees wine region.

“There was a real, noticeable desire to get out again,” Koerner says.

“The silver lining about keeping Victorians in Victoria has meant there was more business than ever before. Visitation is up, the accommodation is full, we are full at the cafe and cellar door. It’s a good problem to have.”

Chief Winemaker Andrew Koerner of Blue Pyrenees. Picture: Jay Town

As Victorians woke from their long, lockdown slumber in November, the wine industry copped its final blow for 2020 when China imposed more than 200 per cent tariffs on all Australian wine imports, after the country launched an anti-dumping investigation. Preliminary findings from China’s investigation found Australia had been “dumping” or subsidising wine, causing “substantial harm” to its domestic market.

The relationship between the two countries soured after Australia and its other western allies supported a probe into the origins of COVID-19.

Australian Grape and Wine (AGW) government relations and external affairs general manager Lee McLean says the biggest problem growers and producers faced was finding another viable market.

“Businesses are working to diversify, but no other market offers the same prices, volume and growth potential as the China market at this point in time,” he says.

A free-trade agreement between Australia and China in 2016 perhaps made exporting to the country more appealing for many local winemakers.

Of all Australia’s wine exporters, 81 per cent export to China.

In 2015/16 Australia exported $416 million worth of wine into China, but in just two years it had more than doubled to $983 million.

At the end of 2020, Australian wine exports to China were worth a whopping $1.15 billion. However, the latest Wine Australia data, released in February, shows a sharp decline in export volumes and value in November and December last year – with tariffs causing a downturn in exports to mainland China by 14 per cent to $1.01 billion.

That figure may sound high but is expected to dive further into 2021 as the impacts of the tariffs are felt.

Smaller producers like Blue Pyrenees and Fowles Wine export small amounts to China but have diversified their markets.

Blue Pyrenees is looking to move some of its international exports (90 to 95 per cent would usually go to China) to Japan, while Fowles is comfortable with its long-term stake in the US.

“China would only be 5 per cent of our revenue and is a relatively low margin for us,” Fowles says. “(The China tariffs) are a bruise for us, more of a frustration than anything else. We went to the US years ago and have spent more time focusing on that market.”

Meanwhile, positive change is brewing on a larger scale with the launch of the first Wine Victoria digital database Behind the Vines in February.

Bradbury says the online database (vicwines.com.au) with hundreds of listings, along with the Click for Vic campaign, will do wonders for the wine industry.

While Victoria’s 2021 harvest has only just begun, Bradbury says early reports of yield and quality are promising statewide – even in smoke-affected Gippsland.

In a good sign, grapes are weighing down the vines at the Eckersley’s Gippsland vineyard this year.

“Things are looking good. We are more upbeat than last year,” Eckersley says.

kara.irving@news.com.au

@Kara_Irving

Originally published as Wine industry fights back after horror year

Job diary: I run a luxury marriage proposal planning business – Business Insider

February 27, 2021 by ADSWineReporter

Heather Vaughn is the founder of “The Yes Girls,” a marriage proposal service based in San Clemente, California.
Since 2008, she’s helped couples plan the proposal of their dreams, ranging in cost from $1,000 to over $100,000.
Here’s what her job is like, as told to freelancer writer Molly O’Brien.
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I’ve always been someone who likes a challenge. I started my company right after graduating college in 2008, when I was only 22 years old.

It wasn’t an ideal economy to be looking for a job or launching a brand new business — most people were just trying to keep their jobs — but personally I’ve found that if you really believe in what you’re offering and are also meeting a need, then it can work.

Heather Vaughn Headshot Founder of The Yes Girls

TYG founder Heather Vaughn.

Heather Vaughn

Around this time, I came up with an idea of a marriage proposal business. I always loved hearing people’s proposal stories, but felt like given the resources and time, they probably could’ve come up with something better and more unique. I realized there wasn’t a business that offered great proposal planning like this, so it was the lightbulb moment for me, so I founded The Yes Girls.

We create a personalized proposal for each client.

Madison Ellis Photography.JPG — Flowers and a fluffy rug for a boat proposal.

I’m very passionate about my proposals and adamant about giving clients an experience that’s personal and customized to their relationship. Each of our clients builds out a relationship assessment questionnaire so we can get to know them as a couple. This is what really inspires the ideas.

We work with a network of vendors and small businesses to create the proposal event. I love that we get to support other small businesses in this work including florists, photographers, venues, and even Etsy shops. I love my team of five — you can’t do this work without a good team. We were already set up as a remote company pre-pandemic, so we have that system down.

The company mainly works within the US, but does occasionally plan an international proposal or vow renewal.

As a team, we’re all very particular with the details. We handle the timeline and contact with the vendors to make sure we’re on the same page, and put together a floor plan so everyone can see exactly how it’s going to be set up following the client’s vision. We also FaceTime the vendors the day of to make sure everything is set up correctly.

We’ve successfully planned over 3,000 proposals.

Janet Jarchow photography — A beachside proposal.

As more of a boutique, luxury focused service, we don’t necessarily plan 20 events each month because we’re really focused on creating a higher-end quality event that can speak to each couple’s love story well — and we want to make sure we’re giving them the time and personalized service they deserve.

I’ll always remember my first planned proposal. It was for a client who reached out to me about a week after I first launched my website.

The proposal was in Napa Valley, California, at the stunning Domaine Carneros Winery. We made it a surprise under the ruse of doing a private tasting and tour. When the couple walked out onto the balcony, there was a sweet setup there with a private bistro table and chairs, a floral arrangement in her favorite flowers, photos of the couple, a pair of wine tasting glasses, and a personalized rose bush to keep and plant in their garden to signify their next big milestone — their engagement.

This was all set up on a private balcony at the winery overlooking the stunning backdrop of the valley and vineyards. It was so much fun and turned out amazing. I still have the email he sent thanking me when everything was done, I kept it as my motivation that I was doing the right thing starting this business.

My biggest challenge has been finding and marketing to a niche clientele.

ashley burns photography — A sun-filled summer with a gazebo backdrop.

Over the years I’ve realized that I can’t help everyone and that my service isn’t necessarily for everyone. Whether I’m planning a $50,000 dollar proposal or a $1,000 dollar proposal, it can take almost the same amount of time and energy. It was more important to find my own market and the right kind of clientele.

Even though we’re in such a happy industry, we do feel a customer service-style role, so it’s important to spot the red flags with potential clients.

I’ve never had anyone say “no,” but we did have an incident where the girl being proposed to was hiding because she was so anxious about public displays of affection. We told our client to give her time until she was comfortable coming back out and there were less people around.

Another challenge is because historically 90% of our clients are male, they can be more “last minute” and don’t leave as much time for planning — so we have some very quick turnarounds.

We’ve planned a proposal in just one day — but we typically don’t do that anymore, because it can be too stressful. We can plan it within one week’s time, but typically we prepare to plan one to two months in advance.

Still, we have organized a few proposals for women clients, sometimes proposing to male partners and other times to women partners.

For the most part, the proposals are a surprise and only one member of the couple is involved in the planning.

Jessica Rice Photography Newport Beach CA — Butterflies decorate a proposal in Newport Beach, California.

I had one request for a co-planning situation, and we didn’t do it because it didn’t seem on-point with what we want to do as a company.

I know it sounds cliche, but I always say my favorite proposal is whichever one we’re currently working on, because each is always new and different. Anything that’s really creative and fun to plan is right up my ally.

We’ve planned some really high-end proposals — some that we haven’t been able to share online due to privacy requests — but our most expensive was over $100,000.

It was on a private island off of Charleston, South Carolina where the gentleman flew in over 30 members of his closest family and friends on a private jet. We did a full-blown engagement party afterward, so it was a “proposal meets engagement party” all-in-one experience. She was really surprised, and it was gorgeous — like something out of a Nicholas Sparks movie, complete with a private villa and a boardwalk right up to the beach.

We also want to help relationships beyond proposals, and ensure these couples are staying connected in their relationship throughout. I love it when we get to plan events like vow renewals, and re-proposals which is when someone maybe didn’t get to plan a proposal the first time or wants a luxury re-do.

It’s great to support couples who want to refresh and reset their intentions and commitment to one another. We had a really amazing one where the client was upgrading his wife’s wedding ring, so he decided to re-propose in St. Barth’s, which turned into a full-blown vow renewal.

As a business owner, I’m always setting new goals. I’m very future-oriented and definitely want to expand the company. I’d say my ultimate goal is to become the No. 1 romantic event planning company in the US.