Professor Robert Lusby (AM), to give him his full title, was a pioneering vascular surgeon based at Sydney University and Concord Hospital, Sydney. In the early nineties he and his family purchased a property on Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley (Tintilla Estate) and set about producing wines in homage to the Europeans, especially the Tuscans and Burgundians, who had shown the way to integrate family, wine and food.
Now “retired”, Bob, pursues his passion for wine and food living full time in the Hunter Valley. Bob’s passion for wine is not only in the making and drinking of it, but also in the history of how Australian Wines and in particular the Hunter Valley Wines came to be and continue to be some of the best wines in the world. Bob’s Blog tells that story.
‘From grape to glass’ to quote Pup Neeley as she summed up winemaker James Lusby’s description of the importance of the vineyard in making exceptional wines. In the run-up to our Around Hermitage First Release Wine Week, we have been conducting interviews and making short video’s with the men and women involved with the dozen…
Over how many millennia have the expectations of grape growers been raised by the first appearance of leaves on their vines. The sign of a new vintage and all that implies. We share a common experience with the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Romans and all who lived around the Mediterranian sea. Wine played…
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Well, we were all judges at the 2018 Hunter Valley Wine show on Friday 24 August. Not only were we enjoying some great medal and Trophy winning wines, we all had our opinion about these wonderful wines, and also the show system and how the judges came to decide on the medals and trophies. There…
People have been drawn to the Hunter from the early days of colonial settlement. Was it the search for the Good Life and all that concept entails? There is something about the land, the hills and valleys that gets to us, the vistas, the endeavours of people to use the land productively and yes the…
At the Dinners Club of 64 recently I served four “older red wines”, none under 20 years of age and all Cabernet Sauvignon. Surprisingly they were all traveling well for their age with the Leo Buring 1986 softened and taking on an almost Pinot Noir character. That’s the thing with Cabernet it needs age to…
It’s winter and I do like a drop of Sherry in my soup. Picking up a bottle of Harvey’s Bristol Cream the other day reminded me of my days at Bristol University and visits to the famous Harvey’s cellars. Sherry was still a very popular tipple in the UK and had been so for over…
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Visiting the Maitland Regional Art Gallery in the wet weather last week we strolled into the Open Collection Store which contains some 5000 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs stored in racks, draws and shelves. On display was a painting that stood out of a man in front of some sheds who had unusual glasses…in fact,…
Korea is once again in the news as efforts to reach a final treaty between North and South are rekindled. In 1951, in the aftermath of the Second World War, a group of Australians were called on to boost our defense Force, as we went to war in support of South Korea. These men were…
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Our Legend’s lunch this month featured white wines from Germany and reds from northern Italy, just across the border as it were. We really couldn’t think of any serious reds from Germany! The question was asked as to why it took so long for Italian reds to be appreciated in Australia. It may be that…
We live in “interesting times” is a quote often mentioned to explain the challenges we face today. Yet it seems to me we live in a time when communities are breaking down and the support that comes with often evaporating. So how lucky are we in the Hunter wine and tourism industry to have a…