“IN a major coup for Hunter Valley wine history, the Iris Capital group of Sydney hotelier and developer Sam Arnaout has bought the right to restore the Dalwood name to the Branxton home of Australia’s oldest continuously operating vineyard estate. In a deal negotiated with the Penfold arm of ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) over several months,…
It is not by any accident of fate that the Hunter Valley was established as a fine wine producer. From the early days, wine making was modeled on the French example and Fine table wines were the object of our pioneers. The exchange of experiences and ideas was a key reason for establishing the Hunter…
While this is stating the obvious it is becoming more important than ever to define our region as a fine wine producer in order to distinguish us from the flat land large acre industrial vineyards that produce so much of the “brand Australia” every day drinking wines. Following on from my last blog where I…
How many times have you read wine writers comments on the Hunter Valley and its lack of suitability for wine grape growing. It’s as if one uninformed writer years ago said it was climatically unsuitable despite the empirical evidence and all the rest have repeated what is essentially “false news”. In making this claim they…
“THE Hunter Valley’s world-famous vineyards provided an idyllic backdrop for hundreds who braved a crisp morning to reap the rewards of their winter exercise regimes in the annual Winery Running Festival. More than 1400 runners gathered at new host venue, The Vintage Golf Resort and Spa in Rothbury, for the marathon, half marathon, 10 and…
With Bastille Day coming up it might be time to look again at that great gift from Burgundy – Chardonnay. This ubiquitous wine when rediscovered back in the 1970’s, spearheaded the conversion of many red wine drinkers to the lighter and brighter side of life. It is a wine that has changed considerably over the…
Opening of Peter Drayton’s Brewhouse, Casuarina Restaurant and the Wine, Film and Food Festival.
At the fireside lunch at the Hunter Resort last weekend we tasted our Tintilla Semillon from 2015 and 2006 and discussion ensued about the changes in ageing of our wines that has occurred since we moved to screw caps for closure. The 2006, a 97 points Halliday rated wine, was fresh and travelling exceptionally well-…
The Legends lunch this June featured wines from Italy, and it was a far cry from what we may have been drinking some 15 – 20 years ago from Italy. When we planted Sangiovese in the Hunter some 22 years ago it was a grape variety that was hardly known in Australia. Yet many Australians…
We have a lot to thank the Portuguese for, apart from the early discovery of Australia. In 1727 the association of Port Shippers was foundered producing an export wine with a dash of brandy added for the English market. It was thought the brandy helped the wine to travel and the English palate warmed to…