a guide for lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits. winter issue 2014. exclusive to independent liquor retailers.
For the love of whisk(e)y
discover Coonawarra
the more things change
A guide to the King of spirits
The most famous vineyard soil in Australia
Winemaker Wayne Stephens' 35Â years at Katnook
Jaraman - The Best of Both Worlds. for over three generations the taylor family have brought great wines to life. taylors jaraman is the perfect example of this passion for great winemaking, bringing together fruit from two distinct and iconic wine regions in a single varietal wine. the unique winemaking approach carefully preserves the expression of individual regional characteristics, allowing each parcel to shine through. the results are highly awarded wines of substance and elegance that have accumulated more than 64 medals over the past twelve months alone including a trophy for ‘shiraz of the year’ at the 2013 new york international wine competition.
www.taylorswines.com.au
IN THIS ISSUE Editor’s letter....................................................................................2 Your Food and Wine Calendar........................................................3 What’s on over the winter season and into early spring For the Love of Whisk(e)y...............................................................4 A guide to the king of spirits Drink This With That........................................................................6 Easy and delicious food ideas for reds and whites The More Things Change.............................................................10 Wayne Stehbens, chief wine maker at Katnook Meet the Locals.............................................................................14 Get to know our locals from Thirlmere, Tash and Trevor Coonawarra...................................................................................18 Discover the most famous vineyard soil in Australia Bring Your Own..............................................................................22 Remember the summer…embrace the winter New Product Spotlight..................................................................25 Starward Australian Whisky & Vodka O Features Glenmorangie Original........................................................................8 19 Crimes.........................................................................................12 Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.................................................................16 Phillip Shaw Wines...........................................................................20 White Rabbit Beer............................................................................26 Koppaberg Cider..............................................................................28 Mudhouse Wines..............................................................................30
Created by Coordinate for Independent Liquor Retailers Pty Ltd localliquor.com.au Editor: Jan O’Connell Contributor: Alex Tricolas Project Manager: Andrea Cano Creative Director and Graphic Design: Javier Steel Advertising and editorial enquiries contact: Samantha Watson T 1300 408 399 F 02 6230 4278 E samantha.watson@ilr.net.au Unit 67/12 Challis Street, Dickson ACT 2602 PO Box 157, Dickson ACT 2602 Products and prices throughout this magazine are available only at participating stores.
editor’s letter
Editor’s Letter Billy Connolly famously said “There are two seasons in Scotland, June and winter”. Perhaps that’s why the Scots developed the warming aqua vitae, better known as Scotch whisky. There’s no doubt that a conversation over a fine single malt can warm the body and the soul, so in this issue we take a look at the king of spirits. And not just the Scotch variety – take a tour of the whisky world in our feature article. You might be surprised to find out where the world’s best single malt hails from. With summer barbecues becoming a distant memory, it’s time to break out some good red wine and enjoy the pleasures of the dinner table. Continuing our series on Australia’s wine districts, this time we travel to South Australia’s Coonawarra, where the famous “terra rossa” soil produces outstanding wines, particularly those velvety cabernets that go so well with winter cooking. You’ll also meet one of Coonawarra’s favourite sons, Wayne Stehbens, who has been chief winemaker at Katnook for an astounding 35 years. Despite the chill, winter has its own rewards. Our food and wine calendar notes that truffle festivals are popping up all over: around Canberra, in Western Australia and now in Melbourne. As aficionados of the magical black truffle, we’re already tensing up for some serious eating. Someone we know even steeps truffle in vodka for a completely unique winter tipple. So make the most of the season and its culinary possibilities and remember, when winter comes, spring’s not far behind.
Jan O’Connell Editor
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winter calendar
Your Food and Wine Calendar there’s plenty happening over the winter season and into early spring. enjoy!
June 21 – mid-august 3
july 1-31
Canberra & Capital Region Truffle Festival
Coonawarra Cellar Dwellers
This year famed Italian chef Antonio Carluccio is the patron and star attraction at the Festival. And, of course, there are truffle hunts, truffle degustations at fine restaurants, cooking classes and truffles for sale at local markets. trufflefestival.com.au
The Coonawarra vignerons offer visitors a rare opportunity to taste and buy aged wine during the month of July. Dinners and degustations are held throughout the month, with treasures for sale at the cellar doors. coonawarra.org
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27-29 Good Food & Wine Show, Sydney Events include the free wine classes at the Riedel Wine Theatre and tempting food trucks. Favourite chefs will be making their appearance and then there’s the Zumbarons Masterclass with Adriano Zumbo. goodfoodshow.com.au
27-29 Truffle Kerfuffle Held in Manjimup, Western Australia, this event includes a gala dinner, truffle hunts, master classes and farmers’ markets. Western Australia is the biggest producer of truffles outside Europe, so there’s plenty of black gold to be found. trufflekerfuffle.com.au
9-10 Langhorne Creek Cellar Treasures Less than an hour’s drive from Adelaide, rare back vintages and museum wines of Langhorne Creek will be unearthed and waiting for you to discover them at the region’s cellar doors. langhornecreek.com/events
19 Chocolate Winterfest Chocolate Winterfest is a wickedly delicious festival celebrating all things chocolate. This indulgent event takes place at Latrobe, near Devonport in northern Tasmania. chocolatewinterfest.com.au
15-17
Beer Can Regatta
Barossa Gourmet Weekend
Errrm…not exactly a food event, but someone has to empty all those beer cans before they’re made into boats for the regatta off Darwin’s Mindil Beach. beercanregatta.org.au
Discover the best of the Barossa with food and wine experiences, markets, recitals, long lunches, cooking classes and wine masterclasses. barossagourmet.com
13 Geelong Extravaganza – Eat Drink Discover Celebrate Geelong’s artisan food, wine, produce and culinary talent showcasing more than 60 of the region’s finest epicurean producers, an exciting array of live cooking demonstrations, and master classes led by leading industry experts. extravaganzageelong.com.au
August 1-31 Canberra’s Fireside Festival When it’s cold outside, snuggle up by a warm fire for a 100 mile dinner, a couples relaxation escape, a wine masterclass and lots more. Sample the best of the Canberra region’s local produce and cool climate wines. visitcanberra.com.au
21-22 Taste Orange @ Sydney This event in Martin Place features free tastings of wines and local produce from the Orange and Central Ranges regions. tasteorange.com.au
SEPTEMBER 13-14 Southern Highlands Food & Wine Festival A showcase of local produce, culinary activities, wine tasting and entertainment, with live music and market stalls. One for the family, too, with lots of kids’ activities. southernhighlands.net.au
winter issue 2014.
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feature
For the Love of Whisk(e)y A guide to the king of spirits
The signs are familiar. The smell of a woodfire on a grey afternoon, leaves crunching under your boots, foggy breath and frosted windscreens in the morning. Winter is approaching and there is no better time to get excited about whiskey. Those spurious rumours that whiskey is the reserve of stuffy professors and old guys in bad sweaters have finally been put to bed, and it’s time for aqua vitae to take up its reign as the rightful king of spirits. From Mark Twain to Christopher Hitchens, whiskey is the undeniable drink of choice among history’s best and brightest, but which whiskey is the one for you? Between a seemingly infinite number of distilleries across numerous continents, from different blending and distilling methods to the different ways that you can take it, the world of whiskey can seem vast and confusing at times. Take heed however, and stop yourself before you reach for that pint of lager. Whisky (without an ‘e’) is what they make in Scotland, and you’ll quickly learn that it’s more than an omitted vowel that separates Scotch from the world’s other whiskies. Scottish law protects what can and can’t be considered a Scotch whisky. Simply, it must be made from malted barley and water (other whole grains are permissible, though only in blends); it must be aged for a minimum of three years in an oak cask; and most importantly, it has to be produced within one of Scotland’s five whiskyproducing regions: Islay, Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Highland and The Islands (they come as a package). Each region is known for its own unique flavour and distinct characteristics, the complexities of each best displayed in the form of single-malt whiskies. This means that malted barley from a single distillery is the only
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grain used, and the whole production has to take place at the same distillery. Laphroaig and Bruichladdich, for example, are both distilleries that embody Islay’s signature medicinal flavour and smoky aroma thanks to the peaty mire water used in production. From Speyside, Scotland’s most prolific region, we have Macallan and The Glenlivet, which exhibit more of a light fruity sweetness and a delicate aroma. Many purists insist on taking single malts neat, though to fully appreciate the complexity of flavours on offer, diluting your scotch with some water or ice makes for a more rewarding experience. Blended whisky makes up ninety percent of all Scotch produced and is essentially a blend of both malt and grain whiskies sourced from various distilleries. You’ve probably heard from self-professed whisky connoisseurs that blends are no good. That’s rubbish. Interestingly enough, blends came about as an alternative to what many perceived as harshness in single malts. Like most olfactory occupations, some serious skill goes into creating consistently good blends. Johnnie Walker Blue Label, perhaps the most recognisable blended whisky in the world, is blended around a Royal Lochnagar single malt from Highland. Combined with about fifteen other whiskies, Blue Label has become an iconic and acclaimed whisky in its own right. Across the pond, the Americans do a fine job of whiskey (with an ‘e’) production themselves. American whiskies are a little sweeter than their Scottish cousins, and as a result are more adaptable to cocktails and mixed drinks. The three main types of American whiskies – bourbon, Tennessee mash, and rye – are made from a fermented cereal mash. Named for Bourbon County, Kentucky (where, ironically, no bourbon is made), bourbon is
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You’ve probably heard from selfprofessed whisky connoisseurs that blends are no good. That’s rubbish.
one of the United States’ most iconic exports. Mostly made in Kentucky, though it can be made in any US state, it must be made with a mash bill (recipe) of at least 51% corn and aged in brand new barrels. Rye, barley, and wheat typically make up the remaining portion of the recipe, allowing distillers room to carve out their own unique flavour profile. Maker’s Mark for example, uses mostly wheat, and no rye on their mash bill. This leads to a less spicy, softer flavoured bourbon for which the label is renowned. What sets Tennessee Mash apart from bourbon is what’s known as the Lincoln County process. During filtration, the whiskey is dripped – over the course of up to a fortnight – through sugar-maple charcoal and then aged in charred oak casks. The charcoal imparts its own flavour onto the whiskey for distinction. With a clean aroma and banana and honey sweetness, Jack Daniels is a popular example of Tennessee Mash, and holds its own as the world’s best selling whiskey. Rye, as you might have guessed by now, is made from a mash bill of at least 51% rye grain. Rye whiskey is spicier and more bitter than its compatriots, and is celebrated for its versatility among mixologists the world over. You might have noticed rye popping up on cocktail lists more and more lately. With the recent resurgence in classic cocktails, the big and bold qualities of rye have seen it take centre stage once again behind the bar. Buffalo Trace produce a whiskey made from 95% rye – with none of that corn softness, thank you – resulting in a super spicy drop with plenty of throat burn: a sterling example of how different grains affect flavour in a big way. Next time you’re at a respectable cocktail bar, order a Sazerac. Tracing its origins to preCivil War New Orleans, this drink combines
cognac with Peychaud’s bitters and a wash of absinthe with the rye as the star of the show. No whiskey article would be complete without a mention of Irish whiskey. Considered the father of whiskey, and one of the earliest examples of European distillation, Irish whiskey has seen a comeback over the last two decades after a long period of decline. We can trace today’s glorious incarnations the world over back to the twelfth century, when Irish monks brought the skill of distillation home from their travels in the Mediterranean. The Irish use unmalted barley, oats, and rye in production, which results in a light, relatively tangy flavour profile. In more recent times, whiskies from all around the world have been gaining in popularity and acclaim. Yamazaki, a Japanese distillery, have earned a reputation for sweet honey and dried fruit notes on the back of dozens of gold medals over the last ten years. Even here in Australia, there is great whiskey to be found. Sullivan’s Cove, a Tasmanian distillery, took out the prestigious 2014 World Whiskies Award for the best single malt, beating some of the most well known and most celebrated labels the world over. Whether you take it neat or on the rocks, in a Manhattan or as a Sazerac, as you fall deeper in love with whisk(e)y, you will come to appreciate that a good one comes not from any particular place, or method, or grain. So next time you catch yourself with a glass of whisky in hand, the overwhelming aromas, the nuance and terroir of each sip transporting you to some far-away place where smell of wood-barrels hangs in the air and fields of grain sway with the breeze, may you be reminded of the wise words of Raymond Chandler: “there is no bad whiskey: only some that aren’t as good as others.”
winter issue 2014.
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drink this with that
Red wine
with Beef
braised beef
Serves 4
short ribs Pour in the red wine and allow to cook for 2 minutes until it thickens. Place the ribs back into the braising pan or into a deep roasting tray with the vegetable and cover with the stock. Cover with foil or a tight fitting lid and place into the oven at 120oC for 8 hours or until the ribs become tender and pull from the bone.
Ingredients: , bone in - 4 beef short ribs roughly chopped - 2 large carrots, , roughly chopped - 2 celery stalks y chopped - 2 onions, roughl - 3 cloves garlic ste - 3 tbsp tomato pa i Windy - 500ml De Bortol az Peak Heathcote Shir ock - 1.5 litre beef st r - 200g brown suga - ¼ bunch sage - ¼ bunch thyme - salt and pepper - cooking oil
2012 Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Shiraz Cabernet Petit Verdot 750mL Bottle $15 This wine from McLaren Vale on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula combines Shiraz (54%), Cabernet Sauvignon (37%) and Petit Verdot (9%). The result is a brilliant deep crimson wine with a vibrant cherry-red edge. The pungent plum, raspberry and rhubarb aromas combine with red liquorice and eucalypt spice. The palate is soft and juicy with rich plums and rhubarb, supported by subtle, cedary oak and bright acid. 99
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Recipe and image by Heath Dumesny, Former Head Chef, Locale Restaurant
Method: Start by heating a braising pan or sauté pan over high heat. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and seal off in a small amount of oil until browned on all sides. Remove the ribs from the pan and set aside. Add the onion to the hot pan along with a pinch of salt and sweat out until it starts to colour. Add in the celery and carrots and cook until they start to soften. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, tomato paste and brown sugar, reduce to a medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes.
To finish, remove the ribs from the sauce and strip the meat from the bones. Portion into 4 serves. Strain the vegetables from the sauce and reduce by half or until it becomes thick enough to act as a glaze. Warm the portioned ribs in the finished sauce and once hot, remove and carve into smaller pieces. Serve with some of the sauce, braised farro and baby spinach or cavolo nero.
2013 De Bortoli Heathcote Windy Peak Shiraz
2012 Betty & Max Clare Valley Shiraz
750mL Bottle $1399 Fruit is sourced from carefully selected parcels of Shiraz grown on the red volcanic soils of northern Heathcote. The ripe dark fruit aromas with fragrances of spice, mulberry and black pepper give way to a full-flavoured palate redolent of dark plum and fruit cake. These robust flavours are gently layered with soft acidity and fine-grained tannins. This Shiraz is terrific now, or to enjoy over the next four to six years.
750mL Bottle $1499 This wine is a three-way labour of love between award-winning winemaker Donna Stephens, the Clare Valley’s rich soil, unique terroir and cool climate and, in the background, a dog and cat duo named Betty and Max. Simply put, this is a classic Clare Shiraz. Blackberry, mulberry, mocha and vanillin oak merge with plum, cassis and a hint of chocolate to create a wine of real distinction and quality.
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white wine
tagliatelle
with Pasta
Serves 4
al pesto
Method:
Ingredients: - Fresh tagliatelle pasta
Recipe and image by Calabria Family Wines
- 2 large garlic cloves, pee led - 1 tsp salt - 2 cups walnut halves - 1½ cups fresh ricotta - 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil - 6 tbsp Grana Padano cheese - 3 tbsp fresh parsley, choppe d
- Freshly ground black pep per - 3 tbsp butter , softened
Put walnuts and garlic in the food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped very finely. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl, stir in the ricotta, olive oil, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper until thoroughly blended. Boil a large pot of water, drop all the pasta into the pot at once and stir. Cook until the tagliatelle is ‘al dente’. Working quickly, lift out the tagliatelle with tongs and drop into the bowl with the dressing. Drop the soft butter in dollops on the hot pasta, and toss until coated with the pesto. If the dressing is too thick, loosen with a bit of hot water from the pasta pot as you toss. Serve immediately in warm bowls, with more grated cheese at the table.
2013 Westend Cool Climate Series Riesling
Wither Hills Pinot Gris
Coldstream Hills 2012 Yarra Valley Chardonnay
750mL Bottle $1399 Made from fruit sourced from a single vineyard in the highly acclaimed Eden Valley, this awardwinning Riesling is made with the gentlest of handling to preserve the delicate fruit flavours.
750mL Bottle $1599 This 2013 Wither Hills Pinot Gris is intensely layered with aromas of honeysuckle, spicy apple strudel, Beurre Bosc pear, and orange blossom leaping from the glass, followed by subtle layers of gorgeous exotic rock melon, papaya, and guava and a dollop of cinnamon-infused mascarpone. Dry in style, this refreshingly vibrant wine delivers a succulent mouth feel, balanced by a thread of refined spicy pear skin phenolics for a long and textural finish.
750mL Bottle $3499 This Chardonnay blends parcels from the Upper and Lower Yarra Valley, to produce a wine of complexity, varietal definition and length. Fine and long, the palate displays juicy citrus acidity and a complex array of characters. Stone fruit notes of white peach and nectarine are supported by white flowers and hints of grapefruit pith. Complex barrel fermentation notes of toasted almonds and subtle French oak further enhance the palate.
Pale straw-green, a floral, flowery lime and lemon blossom bouquet leads into a palate with unusual depth to its range of citrus flavours and emphatic finish; from a single vineyard in the Eden Valley, it's excellent value for a style that will not need extended cellaring.
winter issue 2014.
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supplier feature
Scotch drinkers are generally a faithful lot, particularly when it comes to single malts. And, in Scotland, where they know a thing or two about whisky, more single malt drinkers faithfully consume Glenmorangie than any other. However, even they might draw the line at the whisky house’s top-of-the line offering, Glenmorangie’s Pride 1981. With a recommended retail price of 2,750 Euros, it’s unlikely to appear on the shelves of your Local Liquor store. What can justify a price like that? It comes down to the barrels where the whisky was matured, and to the number of years the process took. In 1999 Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s head of whisky creation, acquired a limited quantity of Sauternes barriques from the fabled vineyards of Chateau d’Yquem. This gave him an idea; what would happen if the exquisite 18-year-old vintage he had been patiently maturing were to be transferred into these famous barriques? The result of these 10 years of extra maturation was just 1,000 bottles of the oldest and very finest Glenmorangie vintage whisky.
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The Pride may not be for the likes of you and me, but fortunately the care and attention that produced this rare spirit are also lavished on all Glenmorangie’s products. Glenmorangie single malt Scotch whisky originates in the town of Tain in the Scottish Highlands. The Distillery was founded in 1843 and is renowned as a pioneer in its field, uniting tradition with innovation to create what they describe as ‘unnecessarily well-made whiskies.’ Thanks to Glenmorangie’s unconventional founder William Matheson the company’s stills are the tallest in Scotland. Their long copper necks stand at 5.14 metres (16ft 10 1/4 inches), the same height as a fully grown adult giraffe! This means that only the very lightest and purest vapours make it to the top, giving a smoother, more elegant whisky. In the Distillery, the famous “sixteen men of Tain” still follow the mystical art of turning barley and the local mineral-rich Tarlogie spring water into famously complex and elegant whisky. The Tarlogie Springs, Glenmorangie's own water source and most prized asset, is the product of rain that has been forcing its way through layers of limestone and
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sandstone for a hundred years. These natural minerals give it its 'hard' water qualities and provide Glenmorangie with a raw ingredient unique amongst Highland distilleries. In the 1980s, when land development around the springs threatened the water quality, the company purchased 600 acres of surrounding land to protect them. Glenmorangie sends people around the world to select the casks in which the whisky is matured. All their whiskies start off in white oak casks, made from trees growing in the company’s own forest in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri in the United States. After they’re made, the casks are leased to American bourbon producers who use them for four years. These casks are then shipped to the Scottish Highlands to mature Glenmorangie whisky. Each one is used only twice (whilst many other distilleries use their up to five or six times), ensuring that the maximum amount of flavour is always extracted during maturation, delivering a rounder, smoother taste. Glenmorangie’s Original range is matured entirely in these casks. The whiskies in the
The historic distillery at Tain
The famous “sixteen men of Tain” still follow the mystical art of turning barley and the local mineral-rich Tarlogie spring water into famously complex and elegant whisky.
Extra Matured range are then transferred into casks that were previously used to mature other products such as wine, port or sherry in a process called finishing. The results speak for themselves. Glenmorangie has won a remarkable total of 20 Gold 'Best in Class' and 'Gold Outstanding' medals over the past six years at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) - the most recognised international awards body in wines and spirits. This is more than any other single malt Scotch whisky,
700mL Bottle $6499
making Glenmorangie the ‘best awarded’ of any single malt. The crowning moment came in 2012 when The Glenmorangie Company was named 'Distiller of the Year', topping all other distilleries in all other categories and in all continents of the world. Becoming one of the world’s leading Scotch whisky companies has been a long and fascinating journey for Glenmorangie. The company has been pursuing perfection – under the stewardship of two families and now Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessy – for over 160 years.
winter issue 2014.
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winemaker feature
The more things change... wayne stehbens isn’t afraid of change. he’s always ready to embrace new methods and respond to changes in the weather, the industry and the market. but one thing won’t change. he’s been the chief wine maker at katnook in the coonawarra for 35 years. during that time, he’s garnered some of the wine industry’s top awards, including two prestigious jimmy watson trophies. and he’s not moving. “coonawarra is now very much my home as a second generation grape grower here,” he says. Despite 35 years at Katnook, it’s his first commercial vintage, in 1980, that stands out in Wayne Stehbens’ memory. “Not only was it my first vintage as winemaker, it was also a great vintage climatically,” says Wayne. “We were awarded our first gold medals and trophy for the 1980 vintage Riesling – and we are still drinking some 1980s which have aged beautifully. It was in 1980 that I become aware of the unique flavours of Coonawarra.” Wayne could have become a builder. “I liked the idea of building structures that would be around for a long time,” he says. Instead, he built wines – and many of those have also left lasting impressions. Their top-of-the-range Katnook “Odyssey” Cabernet Sauvignon has been named best red wine in the world twice in the last decade. Katnook also produces exceptional Shiraz and Merlot and elegant Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
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The Katnook Estate was first planted by Coonawarra’s founder, John Riddoch, but for many years it languished, supplying grapes to bulk wineries. Its resurgence began in 1979, and Wayne was there from the start. He was fresh from winemaking studies at the Riverina College of Advanced Education (now Charles Sturt University) and was already familiar with the property, having worked alongside his father, Katnook General Manager Ray Stehbens, during his school holidays. His first commercial vintage, in 1980, foreshadowed the success that was to come. Those first wines won 49 awards in their first year. From that moment on, Katnook has gone from strength to strength, winning almost every accolade available, including praise from the renowned American critic Robert Parker. In 1988 Wayne travelled to Graves, near Bordeaux in France, where Cabernet
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Wayne sees similarities between the Coonawarra climate and that of Bordeaux
Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are the leading varieties. Here, he completed vintage and gained insights into these wine styles. Wayne was one of the first Australian winemakers to make Sauvignon Blanc in commercial quantities. Wayne sees similarities between the Coonawarra climate and that of Bordeaux. "It means that not just Cabernet Sauvignon, for which Coonawarra is rightly famous, but Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz of real quality can be made," he told the Sunday Business Post in 2000. It also means that the problems experienced by the French vineyards are also found in Coonawarra, including rain at harvest time and a risk of frosts in spring. His time working in Graves was proved valuable in this respect. "I love to see how other people respond to different problems and in the wine community there's a great deal of openness,” Wayne said. “So if I see a style of canopy management in Bordeaux and it works well for frost, then I'll say to our vineyard manager, 'let's try this'. If he doesn't hit me or suggest I do it myself, we give it a try." Over the course of his career Wayne has received numerous awards and accolades. Along with his two Jimmy Watson Trophies (1987 and 1998) he took out a double trophy at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2003 for the flagship Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 1998. Further trophies include the 2000 vintage of Odyssey in the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2005 and Decanter Wine Awards 2005 and most recently a trophy for the 2008 Odyssey in the 2013 International Wine and Spirits Competition. The wines also have plenty of local recognition. Langton’s Classification of Australian wine is the paramount form guide to Australia’s finest wines. Entry into the Classification is based on a wine’s reputation and track record at auction. To be included a wine has to have been made for a minimum of 10 vintages. In the Langton’s Classification in 2010, Odyssey received a rating of ‘Outstanding’, its stable-mate Prodigy
Katnook's chief wine maker, Wayne Stehbens
Shiraz a classification of ‘Excellent’ and the Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon a rating of ‘Distinguished’. Katnook is also a James Halliday 5-star winery with ten wines scoring ratings of 90 points or more in the 2013 ‘’Wine Companion’’. Wayne Stehbens has governed Katnook’s winemaking during the most dynamic growth period of the Australian wine industry. “Winemaking at Katnook is a challenge from year to year” he says. “Nothing is static. Seasons, knowledge, customers, markets, equipment, even record keeping, are forever changing. My philosophy is simply to optimise the quality of our estate-grown fruit within the styles made, and to reveal the unique characters of Coonawarra in every Katnook wine.” Wayne has seen tastes in wine change over the decades. “The 1980s was the decade of exploring fruit flavours and getting to know vineyard sites in Coonawarra. We really were making wines as fruity as possible back then – picking them late and ripe. Gold medals were going to overripe, over oaked white wines,
but towards the late 80s, lean, herbaceous Cabernet Sauvignons became the norm,” he says. In the 1990s, Wayne says, they began using less oak in whites and more in reds. It was a more sophisticated approach that had international appeal. This has continued into the 2000s, with Katnook launching their Founder’s Block range and the business being purchased by the Spanish wine company Freixenet. There’s more to Wayne’s life than wine. He cites his other loves as his family, fast cars (he owns two Bolwells which he built from scratch), water skiing and tennis. He enjoys bike riding along the long roads of Coonawarra and the odd drop of Guinness and Cooper’s Pale Ale. But wine remains his passion. “Today we continue to see solid investment in the vineyards and in our heritage through restoring the old Katnook buildings – these are the new developments that keep me committed to this winemaking journey,” he says.
winter issue 2014.
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supplier feature
there was a time when we aussies were ashamed of our convict past. now we’re kind of proud of it. and there’s certainly nothing bashful about 19 crimes wines. originally created for the canadian market, the range positively glorifies a rogues’ gallery of transportees. “bad seed, good wine,” they say.
19 Crimes wine takes its name from a list of 19 crimes drawn up to address the problem of overrun jails in 18th century England. Upon conviction, anyone guilty of those crimes was sentenced to ‘punishment by transportation’, rather than death. Many prisoners died at sea, but those who survived the arduous journey became the pioneers of a new country, building new lives brick by brick. The 19 Crimes range celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built. Some of the crimes on the list seem inexplicable today. Theft, assault and bigamy are self-evidently criminal. But what about “Impersonating an Egyptian”? Gypsies, who claimed to be on pilgrimage from Egypt, were often guilty of obtaining money through false pretences – palmistry, begging and theft. Therefore to dress as an Egyptian or Gypsy was punishable by law. “Stealing a Shroud out of a Grave” is just as baffling, but it appears graves were frequently desecrated to obtain fine-woven and delicate burial shrouds, a valuable commodity on London’s black market. Each bottle of 19 Crimes wine carries the profile of an actual convict transported to Australia. There’s John Boyle O’Reilly, for instance, an Irish-born poet, arrested for
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mutiny in 1866 and sentenced to 20 years servitude in the Australian penal colony of Bunbury. He escaped, with the aid of an Irish priest. And there’s Irish nationalist, Michael Harrington, who was involved in the ‘Catalpa rescue’, a dangerous escape orchestrated by fellow Irish prisoners. Leaving the British penal colony in Fremantle during an external work detail, Harrington and others escaped to the Catalpa, a waiting American whaling ship. With such swashbuckling stories to tell, it’s appropriate that the wines come from an area celebrated for its big, bold reds. Bailey’s of Glenrowan, now owned by Treasury Wine Estates, is among Australia’s most historic wineries. It was established in 1870, by Richard Bailey, a former shop-keeper who supplied local gold miners. As the gold rush dried up, the resilient Bailey family turned to farming and established one of the region’s first vineyards in the harsh, unforgiving Victorian countryside. Bailey’s also has its share of criminal history. It was in 1880 at Glenrowan – just a short distance from the winery – that notorious bushranger Ned Kelly was finally captured. Stories like Kelly’s define the rough and tumble upbringing of Australia. It’s from here that the inspiration for 19 Crimes was drawn.
sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
The 19 Crimes range celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built
750mL Bottle $2199
Today, Bailey’s stands among Australia’s finest wineries. It’s here, through a combination of old-world techniques and contemporary skills that 19 Crimes is produced. Winemaker for 19 Crimes, Paul Dahlenburg, takes his inspiration from traditional techniques where wine was made without electricity, just careful tending and a simple touch. Like all 19 Crimes wines, the 2013 Shiraz is designed to appeal to the drinker who appreciates craft beers and artisan spirits, combining a unique and sophisticated story and uncompromising quality. It benefited from an excellent vintage. Good spring rainfall, followed by mild warm weather, allowed for the even ripening of fruit and good flavour development. This resulted in very good quality grapes and wine. Made from 92% Shiraz and 8 % Durif (sometimes called Petite Sirah), this wine has vibrant red and maroon hues in the glass. Its sweet vanilla and chocolate aromas are supported by fresh and juicy red berry fruits. It’s luscious and full of flavour, with rich fruit balanced by layers of vanilla oak. The finish is round and soft, with an appeal that you’ll find very hard to resist – one that keeps you coming back.
winter issue 2014.
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store profile
Local Liquor Thirlmere Thirlmere is a small township just 95 km south-west of Sydney, part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Trevor McGuire opened Thirlmere’s Local Liquor store three years ago. Trevor has grown up in the liquor industry – his dad owned a pub in Nerriga, and he’s run stores in Bargo and Silverdale. The Silverdale store has been operating for nearly 20 years. Natasha Hallworth, who manages the Thirlmere store, has worked in all Trevor’s stores over the last nine years. So Vino spoke to Natasha on a busy Monday afternoon.
Natasha Hallworth and Trevor Mcguire.
what do you enjoy
what about wine?
do you have a
most about your job?
what’s your
lot of regulars?
I like the fact that our customers are generally a happy lot. They may not necessarily have a lot of money to splash around, but they’re genuinely friendly people. A lot of people call in on their way home, so it’s the end of their working day and they’re usually in a good mood.
best seller? Definitely Sauvignon Blanc, mostly for the ladies. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, at around the $10 price point.
what’s your own favourite friday
what do your customers typically buy? They’re a pretty down-to-earth lot, typical Aussies I’d say, so we sell a lot of beer. And while we do stock craft beers, the mainstream brands like VB, Toohey’s New and Extra Dry seem to be the favourites. That’s different from the Silverdale store, for instance, where the boutique beers are more popular. We do a pretty good trade in RTDs as well – not so much the lower alcohol types but more the high-strength premixes.
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night drink? I like a nice glass of wine. At the moment my favourite is the Yellowtail Moscato.
what’s the busiest time in your store? Well, Fridays and Saturdays are our busiest days. I guess that’s pretty standard in our business. And, as I mentioned before, late afternoon to early evening when people are on their way home.
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Yes, we have our loyal regulars. We’re not the cheapest, but we put a lot of emphasis on friendly service and that brings them back.
what was your first-ever job? I started working in a video store, and I’ve always been in retail. And Trevor started working in a supermarket store.
what makes your store special? We have a lot of tradies who come in the afternoons. So we got hold of an icecream freezer, and we put a plank in it from the cool room and cover it with ice. It’s just like a giant Esky. Then we put the beer in it with just the necks sticking out. It’s pretty popular. The beer may not actually be colder, but it seems colder when it’s straight off the ice.
500 million years in the making... 2012 Heathcote Shiraz vintage now available
www.tyrrells.com.au
supplier feature
The hot drop it’s set north america on fire, and now it’s creating a stir here in oz. fireball cinnamon whisky is a cinnamon flavoured whisky liqueur that just might be exactly what you need as winter draws on. the website is emphatic: “if you haven’t tried it, just imagine what it’s like to get a chuck norris roundhouse kick to the face if his legs were on fire and tasted of cinnamon.” well, yes.
We also suspect that the legend of this hot drop’s creation owes something to the makers’ imagination. “Rumour has it,” they say, “that Fireball Whisky was forged sometime in the mid-80s during the coldest winter Canada had ever seen when a mixologist turned mad scientist accidentally created a permanent solution to frostbite.” They claim that the concoction slowly and quietly made its way around North America for a few years as a secret handshake between veteran bartenders. Then Fireball took an important turn when several bottles were smuggled from Canada to the “lower 48” (read the states of the USA minus Alaska and Hawaii). Then the word spread. Fireball certainly took off, with US sales nearly tripling from 2012 to the middle of 2013. It’s the most popular liqueur at bars and restaurants where it’s offered – and that’s without resorting to Super Bowl ads, flashy billboards and skimpily-clad girls offering shots. It seems bartenders have been recommending it and it’s a hit on social media. Bloomberg Businessweek in the U.S. reported that “Fireball has become synonymous with 700mL Bottle $4599
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sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
fun for young hedonists throughout the U.S. It may be the first alcoholic beverage to have a larger presence in the virtual world than it does in taprooms and liquor stores. Fireball lovers post pictures of their whisky-soaked exploits on Instagram. They celebrate it on Twitter and use Foursquare to monitor the whereabouts of Fireball’s “brand ambassadors,” who go from bar to bar treating lucky patrons to free shots.” So what does it taste like? It’s sweet, with a spicy burn. Strong cinnamon candy and pepper aromas follow through to an oily, slightly sweet medium body of hot spicy cinnamon drops. Mostly, Fireball is drunk as a shot or on the rocks. At 33% alcohol by volume, much less than most whiskies, you can have a few without falling down. However, it’s also favoured as a mixer. Americans are topping up a shot with cider in a long glass, or simply taking a couple of swigs from the cider bottle and tipping the Fireball shot in. The Fireball people have also come up with a range of cocktails. Their Facebook page has lots of suggestions too. Whichever way you choose to try it, it’s a devil of a good drink.
c-4 1 part Fireball Cinnamon Whisky 1 part coffee liqueur Mix. Chill. Shoot.
bananas foster 1 part Fireball Cinnamon Whisky 1 part banana liqueur 1 part whipped cream vodka Mix. Chill. Shoot.
tennessee apple 3 parts Fireball Cinnamon Whisky 2 parts sour apple schnapps 1 part cranberry juice Mix. Chill. Shoot.
balls-o-fire (Cherry-infused Fireball and Fireball-infused cherries) Put some ripe cherries in an airtight container . Cover with Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. Refrigerate. For best results, chill in a refrigerator overnight. After that, the balls-o-fire and Fireball are ready to go.
A mixologist turned mad scientist accidentally created a permanent solution to frostbite the man-mosa 50ml Fireball 100ml champagne Splash orange juice Combine chilled ingredients and enjoy
winter issue 2014.
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region feature
Coonawarra In May 1899 William Catton, an agricultural educator, wrote in his publication Garden and Field that “noting the splendid growth of young vines at Coonawarra, one cannot doubt the suitability of the land and climate for vinegrowing…It is proved that the best varieties of grapes grow well, and that the quality of the wine made from them will probably be hardly surpassed in the colony…” Catton’s words were prophetic indeed, for an area that wine-lovers now recognise as Australia’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignon wine region. Coonawarra (an Aboriginal word meaning "honeysuckle") is near the South Australian town of Penola, 60 kilometres north of Mount Gambier and about half way between Melbourne and Adelaide. Driving around the district, you’ll find it home to a who’s who of the Australian wine industry. The large corporate entities are represented alongside fifth-generation familyowned operations. Coonawarra’s founding father was John Riddoch. Riddoch had come to Australia from Scotland during the Victorian gold rush in 1852 and, in 1890, acquired an extensive pastoral run in the South East of South Australia. A civic-minded man, his motive was “to give a fresh impulse to the prosperity of the district.” Initially established as the Coonawarra Fruit Colony, the district was soon given over largely to the planting of vines. The area prospered until the time of the First World War, then entered a difficult period.
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During the Great Depression, the South Australian Government even offered exservicemen payment to uproot their vines and convert the area to dairying. Only the tiny Redman winery continued production, while Riddoch’s original winery became a distillery producing brandy. In 1951, however, Samuel Wynn recognised the quality of the Redman wines. He purchased the old Riddoch Cellars and so began the renaissance of the Coonawarra. Since then, the combined efforts of many outstanding grape growers and talented winemakers have ensured that Coonawarra has produced wine of a truly unique style and quality. Many of these wines are recognised as Australia’s best and amongst the greatest in the world. Today, Coonawarra has established itself as a premium wine growing region with approximately 130 grape growers and a total vineyard area of just over 6,000 hectares. Coonawarra boasts the oldest recorded vineyard in the Limestone Coast and is dominated by the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, along with white varieties Chardonnay and Riesling. Cabernet Sauvignon represents 63 per cent of the estimated total value to the region. These wines are distinctive. During this writer’s early wine education, a term often applied to the Coonawarra ‘nose’ was “cowsheds”. These days, wine writers prefer to identify berries, mint and chocolate.
Red soil and a cool climate
Visiting Coonawarra
The secret of the Coonawarra is its unique terroir, a combination of soil and climate. The most famous vineyard soil in Australia and possibly the world is the renowned terra rossa (or red earth), the oldest and most fertile soil in the south east.
While there’s always hospitality at the cellar doors, Coonawarra also has a year-round calendar of events, including horseracing, petanque, an arts festival and, of course, wine-related festivities. The month of July is particularly special. Dubbed “Cellar Dwellers”, it features wine trails, degustation dinners and tastings at cellar doors. Coonawarra wines are well known for their aging ability and during this month old wines that are not normally available for tasting will be on show.
The soil was formed by a succession of ice ages that caused the shoreline to extend and recede by turns, resulting in the chalky white limestone of the district. With subsequent ice ages, the Coonawarra land rose higher above the sea level, exposing the limestone to the air and elements. Rain began to break the limestone down into coarse sand, while winds deposited particles rich in iron-oxide from dry and dusty lake beds to the west. After nearly a million years in the making, this ancient shoreline ridge, just 27 kilometres long and two kilometres wide, is now carpeted with vines. Coonawarra is considered a cool climate region, influenced by maritime heating and cooling from the Southern Ocean – a climate that has been compared to Bordeaux. Cold water from Antarctica wells up just off the coast between Pt MacDonnell and Robe, which brings cooling air to the region during the late summer afternoons. This produces ideal ripening weather, with warm days and cool nights. The wines can reflect subtle variations in soil and climate. Grapes at the southern end of the region, closer to the ocean, may take two or three weeks longer to mature than those in the north. The downside to the cool climate is periodic spring frosts. The 2007 frosts wiped out up to 80% of some wineries’ crops. The frosts, however, are rare, and the Coonawarra remains a singularly perfect red wine growing location
If you do visit, though, you’re asked to help keep the region safe from contamination by Phylloxera – a vicious insect that attacks the roots of vines, depriving them of nutrients and eventually killing them. While vines in some areas of Australia are grafted onto Phylloxeraresistant root stock, more than 95 per cent of the Coonawarra plantings are on their own roots. “We ask our visitors, especially those from interstate, to make sure their shoes and clothing are free of soil before they visit our vineyards,” says a Coonawarra winemaker. “It’s also important to keep cars on roadways and to remove any mud from the vehicle if you’ve visited vineyards interstate. And, of course, it’s illegal to bring any vine material into South Australia.” It seems little enough to ask, when there’s so much here to discover. There are more than 20 cellar doors, where the chances are you’ll be served by the proprietors or the winemakers themselves. Coonawarra and Penola offer a range of accommodation options including cosy B&Bs, award-winning retreats, hotel accommodation, caravan and camping facilities and four star motels.
winter issue 2014.
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supplier feature
Wines with character Phillip Shaw at Koomooloo
philip shaw has been making wine in australia over a career that spans five decades. his first efforts, at the age of 12, involved a bathtub and lemonade bottles. fortunately, he went on to bigger and better things, eventually becoming what one wine-writer described as the most powerful winemaker in the country. following many years at rosemount estate, he became head of production and winemaking for southcorp, overseeing major brands such as lindemans, wynns coonawarra estate, rosemount estate, penfolds and seppelt.
During this time, he twice won the title of Winemaker of the Year at the London International Wine and Spirit Competition. He was also the 1999 Qantas Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine’s Australian Winemaker of the Year and was awarded the 2000 Graham Gregory Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the Australian wine industry. Then he turned his back on the corporate world. It wasn’t a sudden decision. For years he’d been quietly pursuing his own dream. Shaw spent years investigating and exploring many regions within Australia until he noticed the undulating roll of the countryside when flying over the Orange region. After some intense research into this highland area he returned to find the region had a near-perfect balance of elevation and sunshine. Because of its elevation, the climate of the Orange wine region is one of the coolest in Australia. Most of the rain falls in winter and spring, and it’s not unusual to see snow. The three driest months are the ripening period
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of February, March and April. Orange is also noted for intense sunlight. Coupled with the cool growing season, this results in wines of bright fruit and distinct elegance. In 1988 Shaw purchased Koomooloo, a 47ha vineyard on the side of the extinct volcano Mt Canobolas. This cool climate vineyard rises to an altitude of 900m (2,950 ft.), making it one of the highest in Australia. He began extensive plantings of Shiraz, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier. The Orange region and particularly Koomooloo Vineyard is perfect for the styles of wines Shaw is keen to make, although understanding the uniqueness of this region has been an unravelling journey. Immaculately tended, the vineyard produced the "Prix D'Excellence" Chardonnay at the 1998 VinExpo in Bordeaux and the "Best Red Wine" at the 2002 National Wine Show in Canberra. The fruit from Koomooloo has clearly defined varietal character that displays elegance, power, and length.
sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
Koomoloo is one of Australia's highest vineyards
Philip Shaw Wines are made only from grapes grown on Koomooloo. "I waited a long time to make sure the vineyard had enough maturity before attempting to make wine from it," Shaw says. "I think great wines should have silk, a softness, a texture – in chardonnay and pinot particularly but to some degree it should be in all wines. The tannins should be elegant and soft. It's about finishing a wine off, not refining it, but getting it right. It's in the making – a marriage between the vineyard and the winemaking. You only have to look at a lot of Burgundian winemakers where there may be 10 to 20 different vignerons in the same vineyard owning three to four rows each and the quality of the wines and differences in styles is just enormous – it’s not only the vineyard, it's the making, the union." Shaw still approaches each aspect of wine making with a mix of innovation and unrelenting quality. He has a passion for all wine varietals, but his most awarded wines are the now-iconic Philip Shaw No. 11 Chardonnay and Philip Shaw No. 8 Pinot Noir.
He has also released the ever-popular “Character Series”. Each “Character” is an element of what he believes is required to be an exceptional winemaker. This range includes “The Idiot” Shiraz, “The Wire Walker” Pinot Noir, “The Architect” Chardonnay, “The Conductor” Merlot and “The Gardener” Pinot Gris. The character series wines show the expertise and care that Philip Shaw emphasises in the vineyard and the winery as well as expressing the varietal and cool climate regionality. Son Daniel has joined Philip Shaw in the winery, at a time when the quality of the range is going from strength to strength, with exports to the UK, the US and other major markets.
750mL Bottle $1699
winter issue 2014.
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byo feature
Remember the summeR… yes, it’s cold now. the boardies have been banished to the back of the wardrobe and you’ve dug out the winter woollies. but sometimes, just sometimes, you feel like recapturing some of that summer feeling. we draw the line at hauling the banana lounge into the family room, but there’s no reason why you can’t bump up the thermostat just a touch and open something light and refreshing. like these smart, seasonable drops that bring back the sound of the surf and the memory of the sun on your back.
4pk $1799
4pk $1299
holgate road
mountain goat
monteith’s crushed
trip ipa
steam ale
apple cider
Since start-up in 1999 in Paul and Natasha Holgate’s back-yard, Holgate Brewhouse brewing company has been producing genuine craft beer from the village of Woodend in Victoria. Road Trip was inspired by a US beer tour by the Holgates. A super-charged but dangerously sessionable all-American hop bomb, this golden hued IPA (India Pale Ale) is loaded up with multiple additions of Chinook, Centennial and Citra hops from the Pacific Northwest of the USA, resulting in an explosion of piney, citrus and grapefruit flavour and aroma. Like all Holgate beers, it has no preservatives, no chemicals and no pasteurisation.
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6pk $1899
Original Steam Beers were lagers fermented warm, at ale temperatures (the steam rising off the outside of the tanks is where the name comes from) delivering the best of both ale and lager characters. Sessionable, yet characterful. The Mountain Goat partners, Cam Hines and Dave Bonighton, decided to turn that on its head and ferment an ale yeast slightly cooler, arriving at the same place, but by a different route. Steam Ale is certified organic, with a fresh, zippy taste thanks to the American Citra hops. It carried off a bronze at the 2012 Australian International Beer Awards.
sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
With nearly 150 years brewing experience, Monteith's Brewing Company has become recognised as the leader in the New Zealand craft beer market. Their Crushed Apple Cider is a light French-style cider made from 100% sun-ripened Nelson apples, not from a syrup concentrate. The apples are freshly crushed to retain their natural flavour. The result is a nottoo-sweet, refreshing brew that’s great served on its own or over ice. It’s good with food too. Try it with sweet French crepes, a soft blue cheese or nutty Gouda with crackers.
…embrace the winter. there is something to be said for winter, of course. it’s a great time for indoor pursuits – like eating and drinking. some of the richer dishes that don’t go down so well in the heat are just the ticket on a cold winter’s evening. it’s the season for hearty stews, roasts and game. and what could be better to accompany these dishes than a classy red? our selection includes a full-blooded spanish number, a classic mclaren vale shiraz and a refined cool-climate pinot from victoria’s yarra valley.
750mL Bottle $1599
750mL Bottle $1799
750mL Bottle $2299
2012 little yering
torres sangre
2012 wirra wirra
pinot noir
de toro
catapult mclaren
The Little Yering Pinot Noir is the youngest sibling from Yering Station, the oldest winery in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. This is a wine with distinctive pedigree. First you notice the lifted perfume of violets and lavender. There are notes of allspice intertwined with gamey, briary red and black cherry fruits. On your palate, you’ll find a lovely mix of elegant fruit, savoury spice and earthy undertones, complemented with subtle vanillin oak. It drinks soft and juicy, with supple tannins and a velvet-like finish.
This fine wine is more elegant than its name of ‘Bull’s Blood’ might suggest. Made from Garnacha (Grenache) and Carineña grapes, it complements the stews, game, meat paellas and traditional mountain cuisine of its native Spain. The Torres family has more than 140 years of wine-making tradition and created Sangre de Toro to express the authentic character of the land. The wine has a deep ruby colour with a hint of ochre, and rich complex Mediterranean aromas with exuberant notes of spices and blackberries. You’ll fine velvety tannins on the palate with flavours of liquorice and small dark forest fruits.
vale shiraz If your winter cuisine runs to rare fillet of venison with red wine and wild mushrooms , this is the wine for you. Of course, it will work equally well with a leg of lamb. The 1% plays a minor supporting role to the style that’s a juicy, bright and utterly drinkable McLaren Vale Shiraz. The nose has displays plums, red fruits and blueberries, with complexity added by florals, musk, violets and spice. The fruits are echoes in the palate, balanced by fresh acid, fine cerary oak and silky tannins. One to drink now, or keep for up to eight years.
winter issue 2014.
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new product spotlight
New Product Spotlight A balance of tradition and innovation
4pk $1699
imaginatively crafted fruit flavours Winner at the 2011 World Spirit Award and 2010 Vodka Masters in London in the 'smooth' category, Vodka O’s silky clean taste has won it many fans.
700mL Bottle $6499
what whisky can be “Every good whisky starts its life as a good beer” says David Vitale from New World Whisky Distillery. It’s not surprising, then, that Starward Whisky hails from the microbrewing capital of Australia, Melbourne. The beginnings of the New World Whisky Distillery came from a chance meeting at a micro-distillery in Tasmania. The encounter captured David’s imagination for whisky and led to a handshake agreement to return to Melbourne and start a new distillery. That was in 2004. Through years of determination and hard work, New World Whisky Distillery has developed a world class premium malt whisky – Starward. A balance of tradition and innovation, Staward has a bright aroma of ripe orchard fruits, pears, bananas and apples, coupled with caramel, vanilla, raisins and dried figs. The palate is filled with rich, toasty caramel, crème brulée and dried orchard fruit, with hints of pepper, sandalwood, nutmeg and marzipan. It’s a testament to the New World team, built around the vision of offering the world an exceptional modern whisky.
Now Vodka O has created a refreshing new range of unique flavour combinations, inspired by the founders' favourite cocktail recipes. They’re in line with the global trend towards more premium, healthconscious choices. The range contains no artificial colours or flavours, with less sugar and fizz and the addition of 100 per cent real fruit juices and purees for a more authentic taste. There are four great flavours – try them all: Pear and Vanilla: juicy green pear combined with soft vanilla, a great choice when the occasion calls for something special. Pineapple, Cucumber and Mint: a unique blend of real pineapple and refreshing cucumber and mint. Strawberry, Cranberry and Basil: this mouth-watering mix takes that favourite berry taste to a whole new level. Apple, Ginger and Spice: just like biting into a crisp apple, these flavours are the three musketeers of refreshment and good times.
No artificial colours or flavours, with less sugar and fizz winter issue 2014.
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supplier feature
Hops in the Hills White Rabbit Brewery is the younger brother of Little Creatures, the Western Australian brewery that was launched in November 2000 by several ex-staff and shareholders of the Matilda Bay Brewing Company. While Little Creatures is a Western Australian concern, White Rabbit is based in the Yarra Valley, just outside Melbourne. When Little Creatures commissioned a new brewing facility in Fremantle, it left a question of what to do with the original equipment, which was still performing well but was too small for their needs. The answer was the custom-built facility in Healesville, which opened in 2009. The White Rabbit crew make much of the move across the continent. “Rabbits might be notorious for breeding,” they say, “but this bunny's birth was far from simple. It's a long hop from Fremantle to Healesville, particularly when you've got several tonnes of gear to bring with you. All sorts of stuff made the long journey over from the West. Mash tuns, hopbacks, whirlpools, tanks, filters, yeast propagators - thingameejigs, dooverwackies and mechanical whatsies beyond count.”
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The new brewery had some challenges to overcome, including bushfires that circled the site during construction. Their first beer, White Rabbit Dark Ale, was produced in May 2009. This launch beer was subsequently refined so successfully that it picked up a gold at the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards. Their second beer – a honey-conditioned White Ale made in the traditional Belgian witbier style – was introduced in 2010, created by head brewer Jeremy Halse, formerly of Matilda Bay. White Rabbit takes its name from the character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and their brewing method is as unconventional as their brand. Whereas most breweries use closed containers, White Rabbit is unique in Australia in using open fermentation tanks. This centuries-old method, they claim, produces unique complexities in the beer and gives them greater flexibility in the management of yeasts. The way they talk about themselves is unconventional too. “We like to think of ourselves as free thinking Belgian hippies that have just gate-crashed an old English tea
sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
party,” their website explains. “To be unusual in brewing is easy,” they add. “To be unusual and remain a wonderful drinking beer is where the story gets really interesting. “To make great beer you need four basic ingredients; water, malt, hops and yeast but the magic happens when you expand your mind and step into a world where fermentation is dosed with a generous amount of imagination. We source and experiment with the best quality ingredients we can find and use our bag of tricks and tools in the brewery to create our two ales.” The White Rabbit Dark Ale is rich, dark and flavoursome but at the same time refreshing. It’s malt-driven but with the aromatic lift of generous doses of hops. “With the help of traditional open fermentation tanks we let our Dark Ale yeast play... and it likes to play hard,” the brewers claim. “Yeast normally does its thing in closed tanks that tend to constrain its work, but with open tanks (that are just like a big soup tin without the lid) the yeast is allowed to run wild.”
The result of this wildness is raisin-like esters binding a balancing act of flavour with a malt bill that rewards the parched palate and delivers a rich, dark colour. Passed through a hop back laden with whole hop flowers, prior to a liberal dry hopping regime during open fermentation, this is a dark ale with a generous amount of reassuring bitterness.
“We like to think of ourselves as free thinking Belgian hippies that have just gate-crashed an old English tea party”
The white ale story harks back to medieval times when Belgian monks played with flavour enhancing ingredients and spices such as wheat, coriander and orange peel and suspended yeast in their ales to create a cloudy white appearance. White Rabbit White Ale celebrates this tradition of brewing and delivers refreshing hints of coriander, juniper berry and bitter orange, blended with a hefty dose of unmalted wheat. Light citrus aromas round out a classic, cloudy white ale with just a gentle hint of bitterness. White Rabbit is now proudly established as part of the community in Healesville. In its branding and identity it’s distinctively different from Little Creatures, although it’s still very much part of the family.
6pk $1999
6pk $1999
Enjoy beer and pizza 7 days a week at the White Rabbit Brewery in Healsville, Victoria.
winter issue 2014.
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supplier feature
Something About the Water how a small town in sweden makes the world’s number-one pear cider
The town of Kopparberg has 3,016 people, a picturesque clock tower, and magic cidermaking water. (Well, the locals confess, it may not actually be magic but it makes a good story – and great cider.) Tucked away in the middle of the Swedish woods, the little Kopparberg brewery still stands on the original site where it was built in 1882. To this day it remains the main employer for the town’s people. Generations of local families have worked for Kopparberg and today the brewery is a family-run business, majority owned by brothers Peter and DanAnders Brosman. Kopparberg has always drawn its wealth from the ground. Originally, it came in the form of copper and gold – hence the town’s name, which means ‘Copper Town’. But there was another resource that was just as precious: soft water. Soft water has a low mineral content, which allows natural tastes to come through unaltered. It’s important in the manufacture of fine beers and Japanese sake,
as well as playing an important part in making these Swedish ciders among the most popular in the world. Kopparberg cider was first created in 1930. Its key ingredient is that unique water, sourced from a naturally occurring spring beneath the town. At Kopparberg the great art of cider making combines the refreshing taste of fermented apples or pears with soft Kopparberg water. Production itself takes place under the strict supervision of the Brew Master Wolfgang and his apprentices - sons Raynhardt and Rickhard. Like all Swedes, they believe in the virtues of simplicity.
In Australia, you can buy Koppaberg ciders in 500ml bottles and 330mL cans, while two varieties – Strawberry and Lime, and Elderflower and Lime – are available on draft in selected bars. No matter which variety you choose, Koppaberg ciders are best enjoyed over ice in a tall glass.
While Koppaberg ciders were originally created for the local market, they are sold throughout the world. If you’re a cider purist, Koppaberg’s Naked Apple may be your drink of choice. However, there are four more flavours to choose from: Elderflower and Lime; Pear; Strawberry and Lime; and Mixed Fruit. Koppaberg produces the world’s best-selling pear cider, which is exported to over 30 countries worldwide. $699 each
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sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
At Kopparberg the great art of cider making combines the refreshing taste of fermented apples or pears with soft Kopparberg water.
About cider Cider has a long history. Apples are an ancient fruit, with wild apples depicted in prehistoric cave art. The first written record of a cider-like drink dates back to 55 BC, when the Romans arrived in Britain. Julius Caesar himself is reported to have enjoyed the local beverage made from apples and in the centuries that followed Roman writers mentioned similar drinks, which they called pomorum, in various parts of Europe. During the dark ages after the fall of Rome, monasteries continued to cultivate apple trees, and by early in the ninth century cider was widely available in north-western Europe. A reference by Charlemagne confirms its popularity. Cider enjoyed a ‘golden age’ in the 17th and 18th centuries. Around that time, in some parts of Britain, cider was even used as currency – people could pay their church tithes in cider. The changes that came with industrialisation led to a decline in its popularity. In the late 20th century small specialist producers began a revival, establishing a new market for this ancient drink. In Australia, too, cider has been enjoying renewed popularity, with the annual cider festival seeing locals lining up to taste Australian and imported brands.
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supplier feature
The Power of Three Award-winning wines from New Zealand’s best grape-growing soils.
Everyone’s heard of Marlborough, New Zealand’s iconic Sauvignon Blanc region. But there’s a lot more to New Zealand wines than Sav Blanc and a lot of great wine-growing country that’s not Marlborough. Yes, Mud House has a Marlborough vineyard. In fact, the Woolshed Vineyard in the Upper Wairau Valley is their home base. But their wines also come from two other premium South Island regions: Waipara and Central Otago. All three are cool climate regions, with unique soils, climate and landscape. The Mud House name originated with the founders of the company. Arriving in Marlborough, they built their home with mud bricks made from the local earth. The Mud House Range remains true to that adventurous spirit, and celebrates the South Island of New Zealand, with crisp whites, rich aromatics and reds with depth and purity. The Woolshed Vineyard is a sheltered site nestled into the Delta Hills. The area’s unique clay soil profile gives the wine produced great complexity and depth of character. This vineyard serves as the backbone for the Mud House Sauvignon Blanc
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The Waipara valley is renowned for producing vibrant aromatics, many of which hail from Mud House’s Home Block and Mound Vineyards. Here, the gravelly soils, in combination with Waipara’s long autumn ripening period, create perfect growing conditions for Riesling and Pinot Gris. The Mud House Claim 431 Vineyard, in the Bendigo region of Central Otago, delivers their expression of the region’s signature variety. The huge diurnal temperature range adds to the structure and increases concentration in the fruit. The vineyard’s free draining loam soils over schist gravel make it a natural home for growing outstanding Pinot Noir. The Mud House Estate Vineyards in these three regions are the sources for their acclaimed single vineyard Estate range: accessible, consistent new world wines with great clarity of fruit. The best parcels of fruit from each vineyard are identified and the wine is handcrafted to be a true representation of the variety and vintage. The people behind these exceptional wines are winemakers Ben Glover and Nadine Worley. Ben has more than 15 years of
sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
Australasian wine show judging experience and a passion for making pure, elegant, innovative wines. His favourites are Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. "It’s exciting being involved with Mud House and their strategic viticultural and winemaking resources,” Ben says. “Being associated with the exciting group of innovative people within this small, dynamically-focused team creates a real buzz - this is what winemaking is all about!” Nadine studied oenology at Adelaide University. After completing her degree, she worked with cool climate varietals in Victoria and the Adelaide Hills before spending two vintages at a family winery in Italy. A preference for cool climate winemaking led her to Marlborough where she’s been since 2006. The Sauvignon Blanc is a labour of love for Nadine. She says there’s nothing better than the smell of a perfect ferment. “Lift the lid on the tank and behind the yeast will be pungent aromas of passionfruit and guava,” she says. “That’s when you know it’s going to be good.” The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc is good. “We couldn’t have written a better season, with the warm, dry days and cool nights Marlborough
Chief winemaker Ben Glover dives for his dinner
is famous for. The perfect summer set us up for a harvest that was full-on from the word go! All sub regions ripened simultaneously. We experienced a ‘rush’ on getting fruit off at the optimum time. The resulting 2013 vintage wines are showing an amazing range of vibrant flavours.” Awards and accolades have been forthcoming. In January of this year The Mud House 2013 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was named by Cuisine magazine as New Zealand’s #1 Sauvignon Blanc. Also this year, The 2012 Mud House Estate Claim 431 Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir received the overall ‘New Zealand Pinot Noir Trophy’, as well as the ‘Central Otago Pinot Noir Trophy’, from the highly acclaimed 2014 International Wine Challenge (IWC).
Winemaker Nadine Worley is passionate about cool climate wines
"It’s exciting being involved with Mud House and their strategic viticultural and winemaking resources”
750mL Bottle $1799
750mL Bottle $1799
Ben Glover wasn’t surprised. ”The 2012 Claim 431 was always a cracker and so unashamedly Bendigo – rich and robust, but also delicate and lively; a great drink!” he remarked.
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contact details
Store Locations all products can be found at the following participating stores
Local Liquor Ainslie
7 Edgar Street
Ainslie
6230 6622
Berowra Village Tavern
1 Turner Road
Berowra Heights
9456 2660
Bowral Hotel
412 Bong Bong Street
Bowral
4862 2646
Sydney Cellars Broadway
227 Broadway Road
Broadway
9660 9996
Local Liquor Bungendore
1/15 Gilbraltar Street
Bungendore
6238 1735
Denman Cellars
Shop 1-3, 68 Halley St
Chisholm
6292 5713
Coffs Harbour Hotel
135 West High Street
Coffs Harbour
6651 4257
Pier Hotel Coffs Harbour
365 Harbour Drive
Coffs Harbour
6652 2110
Local Liquor Conder (Corks Lanyon)
Norman Lindsay Street
Conder
6284 7000
Coonamble Cellars
83 Aberford Street
Coonamble
6822 1756
Local Liquor Curtin (Statesman Hotel)
Cnr Strangways & Theordore Streets
Curtin
6281 1777
Dulwich Hill Cellars
572 Marrickville Road
Dulwich Hill
9560 2946
Local Liquor Griffith (Shop-Rite)
2 Barker Street
Griffith
6295 0781
Islington Cellars
110 Maitland Road
Islington
4969 4772
Station Hotel South Lismore
2 Casino Street
Lismore
6621 5966
Local Liquor Lyneham (IGA)
Wattle Street
Lyneham
6249 7263
Nambucca River Co-Op Macksville
17 Cooper Street
Macksville
6568 1163
Argyle Tavern
205 River St
Maclean
6645 4134
Bottle Plus Malabar
3/1215 Anzac Parade
Malabar
9661 4184
Mosman Cellars
154 Spit Road
Mosman
9969 4368
Nambucca Liquor
36 Borwa Street
Nambucca
6568 6714
Commodore Hotel North Sydney
206 Blues Point Road
North Sydney
9922 5098
Pitt Town Bottleshop
1A Eldon Street
Pitt Town
4580 9007
Local Liquor Thirlmere
5/ 83-85 Westbourne Avenue
Thirlmere
4681 8027
Ryans Hotel Thirroul
138 Phillip Street
Thirroul
4267 1086
C'ellar Vie Turramurra
8 Princes Street
Turramurra
9449 8550
Urunga Cellars
16 Bonville Street
Urunga
6655 6012
localliquor.com.au Want to receive future issues of SoVino magazine online? Subscribe for free at localliquor.com.au
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sovino. lovers of fine wines, craft beers and premium spirits.
MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR Delightful red cherry and plum fruit flavours. Juicy and bright. Fruity and charming.
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