Posts Tagged Fine wine
Landmark Tutorial Reflects Eastern Promise
This year’s Landmark Australia Tutorial in the Yarra Valley will build on the inaugural success with an expanded group of 14 participants.
The applications for the September 2010 experience were as keenly contested as the previous year, and reflected an increased awareness and interest from North and South-East Asia. China provides two participants from the mainland, plus one from Hong Kong, and there are two from Singapore and one from Japan. Add to these two Australians, and just over half the participants are representative of the Asia-Pacific region.
New and emerging markets are not the only benefactors, however, with exciting representation from Canada, the US, UK, Germany and Denmark. The 14 successful applicants are:
• Ms Sarah Ahmed, freelance wine writer and educator, United Kingdom
• Ms Kim Bickley, sommelier, Hilton Hotel, Australia
• Ms Jessica Harnois, wine buyer/sommelier, SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec), Canada
• Mr Tony Love, wine writer, News Ltd. metropolitan newspapers, Australia
• Ms Karen MacNeil, chairman, Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America, United States
• Mr Kenichi Ohashi, president, Yamajin Co. Ltd., Utsunomiya, Japan
• Ms Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Asian wine correspondent and reviewer, eRobertParker.com and The Wine Advocate, Singapore
• Ms Diwen Qiu, managing editor, “Wine in China” magazine, Singapore
• Dr Edward Ragg, wine writer, educator and consultant, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting, China
• Mr Thomas Rydberg, wine writer and editor, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
• Mr Joerg Sievers, editor, Weinwirtschaft, Meininger Publications, Germany
• Mr Simon Tam, wine journalist, educator and consultant, Independent Wine Centre, Hong Kong
• Ms Fongyee Walker, wine writer, educator and consultant, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting, China
• Mr Thomas Woolrych, buying manager, Direct Wines, United Kingdom
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, on discovering she had been selected, said: “The Landmark Australia Tutorial is one of the best educational tools ever to be developed by any wine organisation in the world and I’m very excited to be accepted to participate. Ever a wine student as much as a wine educator and commentator myself, I’m looking forward to this valuable opportunity to better understand the development of traditional versus new wine styles from Australia’s wide range of regions and the levels of quality and ageability that have been and are now being achieved.”
Wine Australia’s general manager market development, Paul Henry added: “The focus of the Tutorial remains to capture the interest and support of the next wave of international wine opinion leaders. The importance of addressing the image of Australian wine as a whole is well served by this program, and while it is delivered with a relatively small number of carefully selected wines (around 250), it capably displays the depth and range of Australia’s quality winemaking. Once again, a collaborative but uncompromised approach will demonstrate that Australia produces some of the best wines in the world.”
The Landmark Australia Tutorial 2010 will take place in the Yarra Valley from the 20 - 24 September. Click here to download the schedule for the 2010 Landmark Australia Tutorial.
Landmark Australia Tutorial 2010
A Landmark return for the Australian wine industry
Following the internationally acclaimed, inaugural 2009 Landmark Australia Tutorial, Wine Australia is today announcing the 2010 Landmark Australia Tutorial will take place in the Yarra Valley in September next year.
For the first time, Wine Australia is inviting applications from Australia’s leading wine professionals to join the best and brightest opinion leaders from around the world in the five-day tutorial.
The intensive course consists of a series of tastings and themed master classes charting the development of Australia’s fine wine credentials.
“We are searching for the next wave of leading wine professionals who will help shape an informed awareness and opportunity for Australia’s regionally distinct and fine wines in their respective markets,” Mr Henry says.
The first Landmark Australia Tutorial was held over five days in the Barossa Valley in June this year. More than 1,000 initial enquiries were received with 12 participants chosen from Australia’s key export markets including the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Japan and China.
Julia Harding MW, one of the UK participants from the first tutorial said, “The 2009 Landmark Australian Tutorial gave me more information to back up my belief that Australian wine is much more varied than most people think and also can be a lot more subtle than its stereotype.”
Some of the leading figures in the Australian wine industry have again confirmed their commitment and involvement in the tutorial such as Peter Gago, chief winemaker at Penfolds and Robert Hill Smith, proprietor and vigneron, the Yalumba Wine Company.
Next year’s tutorial will take place in the Yarra Valley which, like the Barossa Valley, is a renowned tourism destination and one of the key wine regions in Australia allowing Wine Australia to yet again showcase the regional diversity and ‘terroir’ of its wines to an international audience.
“Developing a shared understanding of Australian excellence in the fields of wine, food and tourism is critical to the evolution of our future success on the world stage,” Mr Henry said.
The 2009 Landmark Australia Tutorial wines
There was a staggering total of 248 fine Australian wines tasted during the 2009 Landmark Australia Tutorial - a selection of those and some of the accompanying mastersclass presentations are featured below. For a comprehensive overview of all the wines featured during the tutorial, please download the 2009 Landmark Australia Tutorial booklet.
Tutorial Wine List
What an amazing week!
Tutorial Wine List
What an amazing week! 248 wines, a couple of beers, not enough sleep, and here’s what the inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial participants had to say:
- How truly and clearly we see depends on our perspective. And Landmark has given us a chance to gain an almost unparalleled perspective on the Australian fine wine dimension. It is a brilliantly devised and near-perfectly executed course in which we’ve been able to access the distilled wisdom of some of the industry greats, while at the same time trying benchmark wines that are rarely, if ever, brought together in this context. I’m profoundly grateful for the chance to participate in this thrilling exercise. – Jamie Goode, UK
- It’s a wonderful program and I feel as if I learned more in five days than I would in 10 years in Japan! – Yukari Iwashiro, Japan
- In spite of the (quite natural) differences in winemaking philosophy, the message from the industry representatives is clear: We are working together to make the best, most individual wines we can and we want the world to know. The philosophical differences promote interesting discussions and resulting selection of diverse wine styles. – Barbara Philip MW, Canada
- These days have expanded my horizon on Australian wines dramatically. – Frank Kämmer MS, Germany
- I predict this to become the most sought-after tutorial in the wine world. Being able to taste and discuss the best wines of Australia with a great number of its leading authorities and winemakers is a privilege. This Tutorial has opened my eyes to the direction where top Australian wine is going. - Essi Avellan MW, Finland
- Really excellent – or “Ripper” in the vernacular. The range of wines and consistency of quality is superb and the historic tasting was a once-in-a-life-time experience. – Dermot Nolan MW, Ireland
- The Landmark Australia Tutorial is a superb opportunity to learn about and taste through the diversity of Australian wine today–as well as excellent mature wines. The five days went by too fast! - Tyler Colman, Ph.D., USA
- The Landmark Australia Tutorial has been a rare and exciting opportunity to discuss and reflect on the voice of Australian wine’s past, present and future. – Sean Razee MS, USA
- This week has been an excellent learning process and provided a completely new perspective on Australian wines. – Bell Pei-Tang (China)
- I enjoyed the Landmark Australia Tutorial tremendously as it was an absolutely eye-opening experience. All the maserclasses were extremely well-organised and comprehensive, I have tasted many classical Australian fine wines and learnt so much from the experts. This is surely a once-in-a-life-time experience. – Rebecca Leung, Hong Kong
- The Landmark Australia Tutorial is an intense and focused wine program. The amount of information and exposure to the vast depth of Australian wines is tremendously beneficial to promoting and marketing Australian fine wines. From the encounter this week, it shows the seriousness of the Australian wine industry in reaching their intended objective, and it will be my pleasure to be of assistance to their efforts in Singapore and the region. - Mr Lim Hwee Peng, CSW
- The opportunity to taste this range of high-quality, meticulously selected wines, and to be able to see the diversity and evolution of style and the specifics of regions thanks to the openness and knowledge and experience of the tutors and speakers, is exceptional. The only downside is that there’s just not enough time to taste the wines and reflect on them, though this is hardly unique to the Tutorial and underlines the fact there is so much to taste and see.” – Julia Harding MW, UK
The week concluded with a single positive affirmation: Australia has a diverse landscape within which a range of wine styles can find a distinctive and convincing expression. Click here for a copy of the Landmark Australia Tutorial - Full Wine List and Overview.
Some of the 248 wines from the Landmark Australia Tutorial
An Historic Perspective
Fine Wine History with James Halliday and Andrew Caillard MW
James Halliday sharing his knowledge of Australia's fine wine history (Photograph: Peter Hoare)
Sitting in a room where James Halliday was sharing his encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of fine wine in Australia was an absolute privilege. The significance of yesterday’s tasting was not just the quality – and in many cases, longevity of the wines shown - but that each wine represented a significant milestone in Australia’s fine wine evolution. Andrew Caillard MW who co-presented the masterclass with James Halliday commented, “These remarkable wines illustrated an extraordinary commonwealth of fine wine making. The sheer quality and diversity of winemaking philosophy and regional definition illustrate that Australia has made great wine for decades. This is the unfolding story being told this week.”
The masterclass wines were shown to illustrate the history of Australia’s fine wine with the 50s charting the story of now legendary labels; through the 60s and 70s when region and preferred variety began to find a voice; the 80s saw individual estates emerge as front line producers; the 90s began to set a context for Australian wines place on a global stage; and recent years have seen the frontiers being pushed again with new regions, new labels and new generations.
The full wine list can be found below:
- 1954 Seppelt Great Western Hermitage K72 Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians
- 1955 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Multi-region South Australia
- 1955 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz, Coonawarra
- 1962 Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Coonawarra / (Kalimna) Barossa Valley
- 1971 Penfolds Grange Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Multi-region South Australia
- 1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
- 1985 Wendouree Shiraz, Clare Valley
- 1986 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley
- 1986 Brokenwood Hermitage Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter
- 1990 Mount Mary Vineyard Lilydale Cabernets Quintet, Yarra Valley
- 1995 Cullen Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Margaret River
- 1996 Clarendon Hills Astralis Vineyard Shiraz (Syrah), McLaren Vale
- 1996 Penfolds Block 42 Kalimna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley
- 1996 Best’s Wines Thomson Family Great Western Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians
- 1998 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
- 1999 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz Viognier, Barossa Valley
- 2001 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir, South Gippsland
- 2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, Canberra District
- 2002 Seppelt St Peters Great Western Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians
- 2004 Balnaves of Coonawarra The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon
When asking Chester Osborn (Chief Winemaker at d’Arenberg) what he thought of the legendary 1962 Bin 60A after the tasing he stated: “Just the colour on this wine is extraordinary – it has all the balance, ripeness and freshness you would hope to find in a 10 year old. Amazing!”
A very big thank you to all the wineries and individuals who donated wines for this masterclass.
Yukari Iwashiro at todays Historic Perspective masterclass
The first vintage of Grange (1955)
Article from The Shout: Landmark Australia Tutorial begins
The below article appeared in today’s edition of the industry news website, The Shout, entitled “Landmark Australia Tutorial begins”.
The wine industry has today (June 1) kicked off its biggest ever investment in telling Australia’s fine wine story to an international audience with the inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial.
Wine Australia is hosting 12 of the world’s most influential wine media and educators in the Barossa Valley for the five-day celebration of the nation’s wine, food, hospitality and tourism before moving on to other regions in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia.
More than 200 of Australia’s top wines will be presented by the country’s leading winemakers and commentators over the week, which will also include an original series of seminars.
One highly anticipated masterclass will feature sought-after wines including the 1954 Seppelt Great Western Hermitage K72 Shiraz, the first vintage of Penfolds Grange (1955) and an extremely rare 1955 Wynns Coonawarra Estate ‘Michael’ Hermitage.
A Slow Food/Slow Wine evening will also showcase the best of the Barossa’s local produce and the new wave of alternative varietals and sustainably-grown wines.
Wine Australia’s general manager of market development, Paul Henry, said the Landmark Australia Tutorial would create an important forum for people to discover and debate.
“It should serve as a rallying point for informed wine opinion and aspires to be the most influential residential wine course in the world,” Henry said.
“It certainly promises to be the most authoritative and extensive exploration of Australian fine wine yet undertaken.”
Anyone interested can watch the action and respond throughout the week by contributing to Wine Australia’s blog or via Twitter.
The Pursuit of Excellence
Landmark Australia refers to Australia’s regionally distinct and fine wine story: wines, vineyards and producers with an individual expression distinctly different from any other. To make such wines, every aspect of production, from where it is grown and when and how it is harvested through to the philosophy of the winemaker, needs to allow the character of the fruit, region and or site to show through. The benefit of such an approach can only serve to deepen the appreciation of Australian wine, and in many senses it is the next logical step and the timely extension of our existing story.
In 1989 Hugh Johnson wrote in The Story of Wine that “Australia is the France of the southern hemisphere: there seems to be no limit to her potential (enormously reinforced by modern technology) for producing ideally-balanced, delicate wine very much in the French style (though with original touches of her own). But potential alone has never been enough. Fine wine has only been made at moments in history when the market has asked for it.”
Wine Australia hosts a number of tastings around the world to showcase some of Australia’s best wines. None of these tastings have a finite list, however each tasting does have an audience of high-profile trade and media keenly debating not IF Australia makes great wines, rather what their top 20 would be. This is a debate that has only just begun, and it is as exciting to witness as it is rewarding to participate in.
Landmark Australia is not just a list of impressive wines aimed at refreshing Australia’s market position; it is the conclusive and sustaining part of Australia’s wine story that needs to be told.
Latest News
- @nywines Spot on! great example of -#apluswine coming from the Yarra Valley. Also check out de Borts reserve Syrah - similar style!
- 31/07/10 2:34pm - @winewomansong I think it was Margot Asquith, the then PM's wife... Sorry, pedantry is a curse...great quote though!
- 31/07/10 2:32pm - @wine2010 with #apluswine from Australia, I would called that 'overwhelmed' rather than 'overhung' - hope you enjoyed the ride!
- 31/07/10 2:29pm - ABC now CBA as Chardonnay is Back Again! http://bit.ly/d4boS4
- 31/07/10 11:19am - Wine Australia working with Harrods in month long southern Aussie promotion http://ow.ly/2iJVR /via @HarpersWine > go #apluswine choices!
- 30/07/10 9:43pm - @jojericho Thanks mate! FYI, had a great time with Wayne on China tour for #apluswine - a legend, for sure!
- 30/07/10 9:12pm - @TheQwoffBoys @sarahwine Thanks everyone - only #apluswine this weekend for yous all!
- 30/07/10 9:09pm - @cherubinowines Great work, Larry, to you and all the team. Good news too for Great Southern #apluswine !
- 28/07/10 8:54pm - Love their Pinot noir! RT @KARimports: @winehero Ocean Eight just got rated 5-stars in Halliday's new 2011 Wine Companion #apluswine
- 28/07/10 9:17am - @ReserveEstate congrats for your #bpluswine - hope you enjoy sharing them with your mates!
- 28/07/10 3:29am
Taken from @winehero- @nywines Spot on! great example of -#apluswine coming from the Yarra Valley. Also check out de Borts reserve Syrah - similar style!
