Posts Tagged Wine Australia

Harpers Wine & Spirit - Australia, October 2009

Posted by Lucy in Buzz on October 21st, 2009

Andrew Catchpole, Harpers Wine & Spirit supplement editor, travelled to Australia earlier this year and reports on the discoveries he made:

Songlines - Australia is at a turning point as it seeks to move on from its easy-going image of yesterday and celebrate its maturing legacy of fine and regionally distinct wines.

Australia is at a turning point as it seeks to move on from its easy-going image of yesterday and celebrate its maturing legacy of fine and regionally disctinct wines.

Like so many songlines coming together, this supplement aims to present a fresh insight into Australia, while conveying the excitement, passion and quality being delivered in the wines.

Harpers Wine and Spirit - Australia Supplement

After a break of almost four years from touring Australia’s vineyards it was refreshing to return Down Under recently to catch up with the good and the great in Victoria. Refreshing not just because winter in Victoria’s high country is as chilly as any London winter’s day, but also because there is a palpable sense of a reinvigorated and renewed direction in the Australian wine industry. And, in many ways, the wines of Victoria perfectly encapsulate the messages that are coming out of Australia today.

The cool of winter is a great time to taste,with wines poised and palate fresh. At cellar door after cellar door, I was met by elegant, fresh Chardonnays, perfumed, sensual Pinot Noirs, spicier, intense, yet finely structured, Shirazes, and finally, warmed by the raisiny rich fortified wines of Rutherglen. Across regions and within, the wines spoke eloquently of climate, people and a sense of place, of terroir.

All this helped impress that Australia has been fine-tuning the way in which it presents itself to the world. Within this renewed focus, much emphasis is being placed on the highest quality wines, on Australia’s still evolving, but already Australia is at a turning point as it seeks to move on from its easy-going image of yesterday and celebrate its maturing legacy of fine and regionally distinct wines well defined, sense of regionality, with this year’s Landmark Australia Tutorial and Regional Heroes campaign as highlights of this move. It is precisely these themes that are examined in this supplement. Taking Victoria as a microcosm for Australia as a whole, we look at the quality of the fine wine offering, exploring both this and the maturity of Australia’s regionality through blind tasting, round-table debate and interviews with leading winemakers from Victoria and across the diverse states.

Elsewhere, we canvass opinion-formers in both the UK on and off-trades and invite feedback from those involved in the Regional Heroes promotion, also assessing how our retail and restaurant environments compare with the innovative wine scene in Victoria. This is topped off by interviews with wine critic James Halliday and Wine Australia’s Lisa McGovern for good measure.

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Landmark Australia Tutorial 2010

Posted by Lucy in About on September 18th, 2009

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.

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A Bold Case for Australian Excellence

Posted by Lucy in About on May 31st, 2009

Media Release

Sunday May 31, 2009

Monday 1st June marks the wine industry’s most significant investment to date in telling Australia’s fine wine story to an international audience.  Aimed at celebrating Australian excellence not just in wine, but also in terms of food, hospitality and tourism, 12 of the world’s most influential wine media and educators will be hosted by Wine Australia in the Barossa Valley for five days, before travelling further afield on regional tours across South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia.

The inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial will comprise more than 200 of Australia’s finest wines, presented by the country’s leading winemakers and commentators, and accompanied by an original series of seminars devised uniquely for the event.  Anticipated highlights include an ‘Historic’ masterclass featuring sought-after wines such as 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 also promises to be an inspiring experience, showcasing the best of the Barossa’s local produce partnered with Australia’s new wave of alternative varietals and sustainably-grown wines.

Paul Henry, Wine Australia’s General Manager Market Development, commented: “The intention of the Landmark Australia Tutorial is to create a forum for people to discover and debate the voice of our top Australian wines.  It should serve as a rallying point for informed wine opinion, and aspires to be the most influential residential wine course in the world. It certainly promises to be the most authoritative and extensive exploration of Australian fine wine yet undertaken.”

The 248 wines chosen to articulate the Australian fine wine story were nominated in collaboration with the guest tutors for each masterclass, and are intended to capture a sense of Australia’s winemaking history, as well as to give an indication of Australia’s intended future direction in terms of style, varietal expression, technical development and regional signature.

“The world should be much more familiar with the contribution Australia can make as a producer of fine wine, and also as a leading exponent of exceptional cuisine, cutting edge hospitality and inspiring regional tourism,” Henry concluded.

Anyone around the world can watch and respond with their thoughts throughout the week, by contributing to Wine Australia’s blog or via Twitter (@winehero)

NOTES:
The Landmark Australia Tutorial will take place at The Louise in the Barossa, between June 1 and June 5 2009.

A complete schedule of the week’s masterclasses can be found online along with regularly updated postings of the wines tasted, dinner menus and interviews with the participants.

The inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial participants are: Ms Essi Avellan MW (Finland), Mr Tyler Colman (United States), Mr Jamie Goode (United Kingdom), Julia Harding MW (United Kingdom), Ms Yukari Iwashiro (Japan), Mr Frank Kämmer MS (Germany), Ms Rebecca Leung (Hong Kong), Mr Dermot Nolan MW (Ireland), Mr Hwee Peng Lim CSW (Singapore), Ms Barbara Philip MW (Canada), Mr Sean Razee MS (United States), Ms Bell - Pei Tang (China)

The participants were required to apply to the Tutorial Executive Committee in writing last year, and were selected from over 130 formal applications.

Tutors Dr Tony Jordan, Mr Andrew Caillard MW and Mr Michael Hill Smith AM MW, will direct the course and represent an authoritative and yet highly contemporary Australian viewpoint. In addition, winemakers and industry commentators will be on-hand as guest tutors to discuss highlighted varietal styles, the origins of classic expressions, and new areas of winemaking interest that will undoubtedly define Australia’s future landscape.  A full list of tutors is available online.

Wine Australia is the brand under which the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, a Government organisation established to provide strategic support to the Australian wine sector, delivers its international marketing programme.

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