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By Byron Kaye and Sherin Sunny, Reuters | February 13, 2025
Bottles of Penfolds wine are on sale at a wine shop in central Sydney August 4, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
Penfolds wine producer Treasury Wine Estates (TWE.AX), opens new tab pulled the sale of its cheap drinks division after failing to find an attractive offer and cut its prediction for annual profit, sending its shares tumbling.
The division’s weak results and outlook soured an otherwise upbeat first-half result for Australia-listed Treasury as exports to China roared back to life after the end to three years of crippling tariffs imposed by Beijing.
Treasury had planned to offload budget labels including Wolf Bass and Lindeman’s last year amid a global trend of young drinkers turning away from alcohol. But “the offers received for these brands did not represent compelling value and therefore their retention is the best course”, it said on Thursday. Net profit excluding one-off items jumped 33% to A$239.6 million ($150 million) in the six months to end-December, just short of the average analyst forecast from data aggregator Visible Alpha.
Bottles of Penfolds Grange wine and other varieties, made by Australian wine maker Penfolds and owned by Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates, sit on shelves for sale at a winery located in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, Australia, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
That owed much to the first full reporting period of exports to China since 2020 and the contribution of recently-bought U.S. winery business DAOU. But pre-tax profit from its “premium brands” unit, which includes its cheaper wine labels, halved, partly “reflecting softness in consumer demand for wine at lower price points”.
Citing reduced expectations for the unit, the company now expects pre-tax profit of about A$780 million for the financial year ending in June. That compares with an earlier estimate of A$780 million to A$810 million. Treasury shares lost 4% by midsession, having fallen as much as 8% at one point as analysts downgraded their forecasts in line with the new guidance. The overall market (.AXJO), opens new tab was flat.
“With the company deciding not to sell its commercial portfolio, (the premium brands business) might be a drag on group earnings for some time,” Citi said in a note.
UBS said the guidance downgrade was “disappointing but somewhat reflected in share price”. The stock is down 4% compared to a year ago while the broader market has gained 12%.
Treasury declared an interim dividend of 20 Australian cents per share, compared with 17 Australian cents last year.
It’s all very well making great Pinot, but what if nobody knows that is what you do?
On day three of the New Zealand Pinot Noir 2025 conference held in Christchurch, Wine-Searcher’s wine director David Allen took to the stage to talk everything data, particularly with respects to the grape’s worldwide reach and the supply and demand within key markets – and particularly how New Zealand Pinot was faring.
Using Wine-Searcher’s vast database of offers and price history broken down by both product, grape and region, Allen was able to extract where New Zealand Pinot Noir is now, with a direct comparison to where it stood eight years ago at the last New Zealand Pinot Noir conference in 2017.
However, before getting to the nitty gritty of New Zealand Pinot Noir, Allen produced some facts to give a general overview of where Wine-Searcher was in its global capture of wine and spirits data.
Today there are currently 14.7 million live offers for wines and spirits listed on Wine-Searcher – compared to the 6.7 million eight years ago. This is partly down to there simply being more products on the market; however, Allen noted, it is also down to Wine-Searcher’s greater ability to collect offers. Technology has simply gotten better.
Making up these 14.7 million offers are more than 850,000 products being listed by 37,500 merchants and auctions across 130 markets.
Every month, Wine-Searcher receives roughly 5 million unique users trawling the site for wine.
How many of those unique users are looking for Pinot Noir? Allen was happy to provide the answers.
In 2016, there were 12.8 million searches for Pinot Noir wines within 122 million wine searches worldwide – making up a total of 10.5 percent.
In 2024, there were 27.2 million searches for Pinot Noir within 176 million wine searches worldwide, accounting for 15.5 percent. A not insignificant increase, with the majority concentrated in the US.
When it comes to the number of offers for Pinot Noir listed on Wine-Searcher, the numbers tell more of the same story.
Back on 15 December 2016, there were 0.5 million offers for Pinot Noir Wine within the 5 million offers for wine worldwide, with tiny dark grape accounting for 9.5 percent of all offers.
Nine years later on 15 December 2024, there were 1.1 million offers for Pinot Noir wines within 10 million offers for wine worldwide, making up 11.5 percent.
Both sets of figures show an increase in both interest and offers for the grape variety, with it claiming an ever larger market share as the years rolled on by.
Conversely, during the same time frame, other grape varieties shuffled. Big red Bordeaux blends, for example, slipped from claiming 22.3 percent of searches back in 2016, to 17.4 percent in 2024.
Chardonnay, however, that other great Burgundian variety, claimed 6 percent of searches back in 2016, but snaffled 10.3 percent in 2024, reflecting the often commented-on rise of Burgundy while Bordeaux continues to flail.
However, regarding those 2024 search stats Pinot Noir may be on the rise, but it won’t be evenly across the globe, so where are its main fan clubs?
Well, as Allen presented, France – naturally – accounted for the majority of searches, claiming 22.5 percent, while Hong Kong came in at a close second with 21.4 percent. China sat at 20.8 percent, while the UK and New Zealand sat at 15.5 percent and 15.3 percent respectively, and the US and Australia claimed 13 percent each.
Please bear in mind, the above facts and figures are all still pertain to any Pinot Noir from anywhere in the world.
Back to NZ
Allen then switched his focus firmly to New Zealand and where its Pinot Noir stood in the global market. When it comes to the 2024 searches for New Zealand wines broken down by variety, 35 percent unsurprisingly went to Kiwi stalwart Sauvignon Blanc, while Pinot Noir came in at a close second with 32.4 percent.
However, Sauvignon Blanc has dropped off from its giddy 45 percent back in 2016, while Pinot Noir has risen, albeit marginally. Chardonnay, however, claiming 12.6 percent, has also seen a slow but steady rise.
When it comes to offers, however, the figures fall sharply out of sync. The 2024 figures show 45.1 percent offers for New Zealand wine are for its Sauvignon Blanc, with just 20.7 percent for Pinot Noir, and 9.4 percent for Chardonnay. While Sauvignon Blanc has seen its offers increase from 2016’s 39 percent, Pinot Noir has seen it fall from 24 percent – despite the increase in interest – while Chardonnay has flat-lined.
Where these offers have been made has also changed dramatically. Back in 2016, the USA had the most offers at 28.4 percent, with New Zealand second with 22.4 percent, while the UK claimed 16.6 percent and Australia 10.5 percent.
In 2024, these figures have seen a dramatic shift with the USA now offering a whopping 44 percent and New Zealand increasing slightly to 27.7 percent. However, both the UK and Australia had dropped to 6.1 percent and 6.5 percent respectively. This reflected a comment made by Stephen Wong MW who noted that UK restaurant lists were largely failing to feature New Zealand wines.
Overall, however, since 15 Dec 2016 when there were 83K offers for New Zealand wine, making up 1.6 percent of the 5 million offers for wine worldwide, there has – as of 15 Dec 2024 – been an increase to 175K offers of New Zealand wine within 10M offers for wine worldwide, claiming 1.8 percent, showing slow but steady growth.
As Allen noted, there were a few key takeaways – chiefly the rise of the Burgundian varietals, and how that places New Zealand in good stead. As well as the opportunity to target both the lower pricing tiers as well as the upper, where the big Napa giants lurk.
Finally, a message that has been drummed in over the course of the past three days by various speakers – but one worth listening to. The world is keen, ready and waiting but ever so slightly deaf, and New Zealand Pinot Noir just needs to raise its voice.
It’s that time again when we greet the new year with the world’s most wanted wines.
And kicking off this most anticipated series is that old French stalwart-cum-Kiwi icon, Sauvignon Blanc.
Fresh and vibrant with the capacity – if aged in oak or on lees – to be rich, textured and unctuous, although these expressions are rarer than their steelier counterparts.
This year’s list incorporates styles ranging from traditional Loire elegance to the New Zealand zingers that threw the Antipodean islands onto the world stage.
However, what’s interesting about this list is how virtually unchanged it is from last year’s with Louis-Benjamin – Didier Dagueneau’s Silex once more leading the pack.
Didier Dagueneau was himself a risk-taker and, after a career in motorcycle sidecar racing, he eventually brought his rebellious spirit to winemaking.
However, despite ruffling feathers up and down the Loire Valley, Dagueneau succeeded in revitalizing the region. After his fatal ultralight plane accident in 2008, Dagueneau’s children have continued his legacy, with the bottles now bearing his son Louis-Benjamin’s name.
Despite being the world’s most popular Sauvignon Blanc for a second year in a row, with an aggregated score of 93 points, the Silex has changed very little pricewise, dropping from last year’s $225 to this year’s $223, while ten years ago, it hovered around $115.
Number two is Marlborough‘s perennial Cloudy Bay, which took third place last year. Cloudy Bay was founded in 1985 by David Hohnen – who had already established Cape Mentelle Vineyards in Australia’s Margaret River – and successfully put New Zealand wine on the map.
With an aggregated score of 90 points, it’s clear since those heady days in the 80s, that Cloudy Bay has yet to fall out of fashion, while prices have remained remarkably benign. Last year, it was $33 and has dropped a dollar to this year’s $32. Ten years ago it was roughly $27, proving astonishingly stable despite the passing of a decade.
Third is the Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, which took second place last year. One of the Médoc‘s most illustrious estates, Château Margaux is best known for its classic red blends, however, their whites still clearly hit the mark.
With an aggregated score of 94 points, it currently sits at $318, a minor drop from last year’s $328, although a marked increase from the $181 of ten years ago.
Number four is another from Louis-Benjamin – Didier Dagueneau, this time the Pur Sang. The name is a direct translation of “purebred” – which often refers to thoroughbred horses – the label depicts the famous Lascaux cave painting of a horse.
The name suggests excellence, and this is reflected in the critic score of 93 points. It occupies the same spot as it did last year, and near enough the same price, coming in at $146 versus last year’s $145, having crawled up from the $87 of a decade ago.
Number five was also on last year’s list in the exact same place, the Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Neore. A small producer, Edmond Vatan is one of the most lauded producers in the Loire Valley, having built a reputation for making Sancerre that can age for decades.
However, with an aggregated score of 93 points, it also comes at a cost. A price tag of $367 makes it the second most expensive Savvy on this list, however, it’s still a marked come down from last year’s $455. Ten years ago, it sat at $101.
Six is the only American to make this list and the most expensive by several country miles. Last year it flew in at number seven, this year it’s clambered up a slot, absolutely no prizes for guessing what, it’s Screaming Eagle.
The luxury Californian winery based in Napa’s Oakville was first established in 1986 by former real estate agent Jean Phillips, who initially sold fruit to other Napa producers. However, after building a winery, 1992 saw the release of the first vintage of Screaming Eagle to rapturous praise – particularly from Robert Parker – firmly establishing cult status.
However, despite a 93 points critic score and the perennial waiting list, prices have dropped. Ten years ago, the wine stood at $3820 and last year it came in at $3955, however, this year it’s dropped to $3398 proving even the great eagle can’t escape a cost-of-living crisis.
Number seven is a Sancerre by Domaine Vacheron which didn’t feature on last year’s list. Another leading family-owned Loire producer, the estate is biodynamically run by third winemaking generation cousins, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique.
Ten years ago, it came in at $24, today – with an aggregated critic score of 90 points – it rocks in at a still modest $38.
Eight is another Kiwi offering, the Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc, which has slid two places from last year’s list. The Marlborough winery is owned by Kevin Judd, whose previous stint as a winemaker for Cloudy Bay saw him rise to prominence. As well as an excellent winemaker, Judd is also an impressive vineyard photographer.
The wine itself has an aggregated critic score of 91 points, while its price has been resolutely consistent. Ten years ago it was $20, last year it was $23, while this year it’s dropped a dollar to $22.
Number nine is a final entry from Louis-Benjamin – Didier Dagueneau with their ‘Blanc etc.’ / ‘Blanc Fume de Pouilly’. The name somewhat convoluted by the wine previously being called ‘Blanc Fume de Pouilly’ until it was later renamed ‘Blanc etc.’
Having dropped one place from last year’s list, Blanc.etc has still retained an impressive score of 90 points, however, the price has seen various shifts. Ten years ago, the wine came in at $60, last year it was $97 and this year, it’s crept up to $104.
Lastly in this year’s most wanted Savvy B, is the Francois Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés occupying the exact same spot as it did last year. Francois Cotat is known for producing a traditional style of Sancerre from its esteemed Monts Damnés vineyard. Today, the estate is run by cousins Pascal and Francois Cotat who have followed in their fathers’ – the original founders – footsteps.
With an aggregated score of 92 points, this sophisticated sav has remained fairly consistent pricewise. Ten years ago, it hovered around $44, and the in the last two years, the price has remained at a steady $80.
When it comes to the world’s most sought-after Sauvignon, there’s not just one thing people are looking for. Some people are searching for French, others Kiwi. Some are searching for bargains, others the most expensive wines they can think of. From traditional to tongue-tingling modern styles, Savvy B really does offer it all.
This was a superb evening featuring worldwide bubbles.
The special food matched some of the wines and was well thought out and tasty. It is always interesting to see what change the food makes to the wine you drink.
This has left everyone with some thoughtfully selected wines to source for Christmas celebrations.
As a reminder of what to put on your shopping list, the wines we tasted were:
De Bortolli Family Selection Sparkling Brut NV – Australia
Graham Norton Prosecco D.O.C. – Italy
Perelada Brut Reserva Spanish Cava – Spain
Pongracz Sparkling Brut – South Africa
Hunter MiruMiru Marlborough Methode Traditionelle Brut – New Zealand
Aimery Grande Cuvee 1531 Cremant De Limouix Rose NV – France
The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz NV – Australia
Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling 2007 AND 2017 – New Zealand
It was an interesting and fun evening for everyone, thanks to Wayne, Murray, Terry Gayl, and everyone else who helped with the food on the evening.
Detergent is the enemy of effervescence, so always rinse your sparkling glasses in warm water to remove any residue. Photo / Getty Images
From weekend brunches to housewarming parties to casual happy hours at home, popping a bottle of bubbles generally promises a good time. This tasting has been put together with assistance from our friends at Eurovintage and presents many affordable wines from around the world that may well surprise you with their wide range of styles and tastes.
And if you then go out and seek one or more of these wines after the tasting, we will be well pleased. Wines to be tasted will include:
De Bortolli Family Selection Sparkling Brut NV – Australia – Our welcome wine
Graham Norton Prosecco D.O.C – Italy
Perelada Brut Reserva Spanish Cava NV – Spain
Pongracz Sparkling Brut – South Africa
Hunter MiruMiru Marlborough Method Traditionalle Brut – New Zealand
Aimery Grande Cuvee 1531 Cremant De Limouix Rose NV – France
The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz NV – Australia
Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling – New Zealand
The club will supply you with a flute to taste the wines, but bring your flutes or tasting glasses if you prefer.
As there are eight wines for the evening, members are encouraged to have a good meal before attending the evening.
There will be extra small food supplied for some of the above wines to enhance the experience and make the evening extra special.
Hiking in Girraween National Park. Photo / Lachlan Gardiner
You’re not alone if you’ve never heard of Queensland’s Granite Belt. This little-known wine region has been kept closely under wraps. With epic scenery and delicious drops, no wonder Queenslanders don’t want us to know about it, writes Caroline Gladstone.
Balancing Heart Vineyard occupies a prime position in the shadow of Girraween National Park – a 117sq km expanse of forests and creeks dominated by spectacular granite outcrops, arches and bizarrely shaped lumps of stone sitting precariously atop lofty peaks.
This is the Granite Belt region of southern Queensland, home to more than 50 vineyards, wineries and cellar doors.
Balancing Heart takes its name from a heart-shaped chunk of granite that rolled down the mountain eons ago and has pride of place among the vineyard’s premium shiraz vines.
Balancing Heart Vineyard is home to bizarrely shaped lumps of stone sitting precariously atop lofty peaks.
With altitudes between 800m and 1500m, the Granite Belt is Australia’s highest wine region, which took root, so to speak, 15km away at Ballandean Estate. There, in 1968, Angelo Puglisi produced the first shiraz on a vineyard his grandfather had bought 30 years earlier to grow table grapes.
Five decades on and shiraz and its cool-climate cousins, – chardonnay, cabernet, and merlot – are still the region’s mainstays, however, a growing number of Mediterranean varieties including fiano, petit verdot and nebbiolo and an Eastern European wine, saperavi, are gaining notoriety.
Yet, despite high praise from wine writers, the region – three hours from Brisbane and an hour from the New South Wales border – is relatively unknown. Mention it to a sophisticated Sydneysider or Melburnian and you’ll likely draw quizzical looks. It seems this 305ha pocket, on the eastern spine of the Great Dividing Range, is still very much a Queensland secret.
And Queenslanders love it, flocking there in record numbers during the Covid border closures to sample the fruits of the vine and stock up on gourmet produce and snuggle into guesthouses during winter, fondly known as brass monkey season.
At its centre is Stanthorpe, Queensland’s coldest town, which proudly displays its chilly temperatures on a giant thermometer outside the visitors’ centre.
Barrel View Luxury Cabins in Ballandean are designed to look like giant halved wine barrels.
The town (population 5500) and a clutch of northern Granite Belt villages have a long agricultural history. Decades before commercial vines were planted, they grew apples, pears, berries and stonefruit. Today the region’s one million apple trees produce around 20 per cent of Australia’s crop, while fruit and vegetables are still very much part of the economy. Growers such as Nicoletti Orchards and Eastern Colour open their farms to the public for apple and strawberry picking and the hottest ticket at the biennial Grape & Apple Harvest Festival, a fixture on the calendar since 1966, is the public grape crush where bare-footed folk squish as many grapes as they can to be crowned Queensland’s grape-crushing champion.
With such a bounty of good food and wine, a Granite Belt trip deserves at least a two-night stay and an escorted winery tour to remove the angst of drink-driving. Mini-van day tours visit five wineries and include lunch, while new ways to explore the vineyards include self-guided or group cycling tours that travel on e-bikes.
Accommodation choices run from the cosy to the curated with many guesthouses, bushland cottages and cabins set among the vines. One that has grabbed the headlines since its opening in October is Barrel View Luxury Cabins in Ballandean.
Views of the grapevines and distant hills from Barrel View Luxury Cabins.
Designed like giant halved wine barrels with exterior timber cladding bound by metal hoops, each of the three cabins is the last word in decadence, with curved travertine walls, slick kitchens with the latest appliances and huge oval windows bringing in the views of the grapevines and distant hills.
Another property embedded in a vineyard, with the added advantage of an onsite cellar door, is Ridgemill Estate. Comprising 12 studio cabins and a three-bedroom cottage, guests have several wine experiences at their fingertips from tastings, master classes and vineyard tours led by the winemaker.
Heading out from Brisbane, a good place for a lunch break or even an overnight stay is Warwick, an historic town of impressive sandstone buildings and eclectic events including the annual rodeo and the Celtic Festival. Here the place to stay is the Abbey Boutique Hotel, an 1891-built Gothic-designed former convent and girls’ boarding school. Each of the 12 individually themed rooms has a story, such as the sought-after Bavarian room, once the girls’ dormitory and later the nuns’ chapel, and the Mother Superior’s room, created from four smaller nuns’ cells, with a glorious, canopied bed and cosy fireplace.
Ridgemill Estate boasts 12 studio cabins embedded in a vineyard.
A short detour to Allora, 25km north, would appeal to history lovers: it houses both the restored Glengallen homestead, considered the finest house in Queensland when built in 1864 by wealthy pastoralists, and Mary Poppins’ House. The latter was the childhood home of author P.L. Travers, who as a 6-year-old girl moved there with her family in 1905. Guided tours tell the story of the girl, born Helen Lyndon Goff, who later adopted her father’s first name of Travers, and changed Helen to Pamela, reportedly because she thought it was ” pretty”. She moved to England in 1924 and began writing her famous novel, the first of a series of eight Mary Poppins stories, 10 years later.
From Warwick it’s an hour’s drive to wine country and the first Granite Belt village of Cottonvale, home of Heritage Estate Wines. Another 50 wineries are located down country roads in the villages of Thulimbah, Applethorpe, Severnlea, Ballandean and Wyberba that lead off the New England Highway as it wends south towards Girraween National Park and the NSW border.
Wine enthusiasts can partake in a “Winemaker for the Weekend” course at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism.
Each has something different to offer.
Heritage Estate Wines holds tastings, lunches and monthly five-course degustation dinners (complete with old movies) where guests dress to the nines in a huge mid-19th century cellar door that was once an apple barn. Owners Therese and Robert Fenwick love to entertain and their latest offering is a weekly Friday night progressive dinner that begins with hors d’oeuvres among the vines and culminates with dessert in the cellar door.
Ballandean Estate, the oldest winery in Queensland, offers daily tastings and grazing platters in the rustic barrel room amid century-old wine barrels, while Whiskey Gully Wines’ cellar door occupies the 1880-built colonial homestead known as “Beverley”, where owner and multi-instrumentalist musician John Aldridge entertains guests at Saturday night dinners with an array of tunes.
Robert Channon Wines offers guided wine tastings including their award-winning verdelho in a venue that overlooks beautiful Singing Lake, and weekend lunches in the Persian Poppy, the region’s most exotic restaurant where dishes such as camel tajine grace the menu.
Discover a spectacular setting of giant granite boulders in Girraween National Park.
While locations and quirky features differ, what unites Granite Belt wineries are their “Strange Birds” – the wine varieties that represent less than 1 per cent of Australia’s vines, which include fiano, frontenac gris, malbec, gewurztraminer, marsanne, sylvaner, saperavi and nebbiolo. Visitors can pick up a Strange Bird Trail map and head out on a journey of discovery. One not to be missed is Bent Road Wines; owners Glen and Andrew provide tastings in an old timber church they bought on eBay, and show visitors the huge amphora vessels, known as qvevri, imported from Georgia (the former Soviet Republic) that has made saperavi, a robust red wine, for more than 8000 years.
“Winemaker for the Weekend” course at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism, the only facility of its kind in the world, or book a “Wine Philosophy” course with Balancing Heart Vineyard’s winemaker and viticulturalist Mike Hayes.
Named 2017 Queensland Winemaker of the Year, Hayes leads a fun session of swirling, sniffing and tasting of five of the vineyards top drops, including the acclaimed Campfire Company Red, in a spectacular setting beneath the granite boulders of Girraween National Park.
Getting there
WHERE ARE WE? Southern Queensland, Australia. Within 3hrs drive of Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Byron Bay.
Brisbane is the easiest airport to fly into from New Zealand, with many of the Granite Belt’s townships sitting a 2.5-hour drive south of the airport.
With most of the club familiar with Australian wines, but not necessarily Victoria wines, this was an interesting introduction for most of us.
Keith introduced firstly, Mount Langhi (Ghiran) is an extremely famous cool climate-based winery in the Grampian range of Northern Victoria, established 1969 by the Fratin Family.
Secondly, we were introduced to Yering Station is an acclaimed producer almost as famous for its cellar door and restaurant as their amazing Yarra Valley Wines. Originally the first grapes were planted in 1838 by the Ryrie brothers.
The styles included a Prosecco to start [yes it was sourced and made in Australia], as well as two each of Chardonnay, Pinot and Shiraz. That everyone present enjoyed Keith’s presentation and wines was reflected in the excellent orders received. Thanks again to Keith and EuroVintage for their continued support of our club.
UPDATE: We have just been advised that these are now in transit from the Auckland Warehouse, despite the logistical delays [weather issues etc.] and will be delivered to you, via Murray, either this weekend, or early next week.
Wednesday 8th February, 7.45 pm Door Price: Members $14 / Guests $18
Victoria’s wine regions. labelwines.com
There is much to admire and emulate in the wines of Australia. For many members such wines may well be amongst your favourites. Perhaps such wines are from South Australia, perhaps Western Australia, but for this tasting to kick the year off for the club we are highlighting Victoria.
For many wine enthusiasts the wines of this state fly under the radar. If so, you are missing a treat. On a much smaller scale than the neighbouring South Australian state, the wines of Victoria have their own charm, distinctiveness and award-winning status. And some plantings are indeed old vines.
As with NZ there are a number of different vineyard regions within the Victorian state and some well-known vineyards which we will explore under the guidance of Keith Tibble from EuroVintage, who is very well acquainted with these wines.
Across the state from the south (Mornington) to the central near Melbourne (Yarra Valley) to the interior (Grampians , Murray River) there is a diversity and quality that elicits awards and a dedicated following
Mount Langhi (Ghiran)
…is a highly famous cool climate-based winery in the Grampian range of Northern Victoria. Established in 1969 by the Fratin Family, the site had been planted (like Hawkes Bay’s Te Mata ) back in the late 1890s; after one poor and challenging year in 1980, the Fratins decided they needed a consultant and hired the noted winemaker Trevor Mast. Six years later, Trevor his wife and partner Ian Menzies purchased the varied blocks. They started to develop the concept of Cool Climate (Victorian) Shiraz, a personal vision of Trevor that has led Mount Langhi to be regarded as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz producers. We will taste two shiraz wines, the superb but great value Billi Billi and the superb ‘Mast’ awarded 96/100 in Decanter.
Yering Station
…is an acclaimed producer almost as famous for its cellar door and restaurant as their amazing Yarra Valley Wines. Originally the first grapes were planted in 1838 by the Ryrie brothers; this was Victoria’s first winery and was the largest Victorian vineyard right up to the 1980s. Purchased by the Rathbone Family in 1996, Yering Station is sister to Yarrabank, a sparkling producer jointly owned by a champagne House Devaux. However, Yering is famous for its Burgundy style wines – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – and we will taste the legendary reserve chardonnay along with two superb Pinots, the superb Yering station 2021 and the unique value Village 2021.
Victoria, Australia tasting with Keith Tibble, February 2023
A well-kept secret of the international wine scene, and certainly the most diverse wine-growing state in Australia, is Victoria. [Wine Folly]Something about Victoria suggests that it is easily accessible to members directly from Melbourne when they travel, the state flies under the wine radar, and there are several other sub-regions of significant note, such as Mornington and Rutherglen and along the Murray River, so this will be an evening different from the South Australian wines that we have had previously.
March – Forrest Estate
One not to miss out on. Wines continue to impress after more than 30 years.
Weilong Grape Co, one of the biggest wine producers in China, has announced the sale of 320 hectares of Australian vineyards for AUS$143 million (RMB 660.6 million).
Weilong is China’s third largest wine producer and the country’s biggest organic winery.
The company announced plans to sell its vineyard holdings in Coomealla and Nyah in Murray, which account for 76% of its total wine production in Australia, as reported by Vino Joy.
According to a statement released by Weilong on 6 July, the sale will “alleviate its financial and managerial stress for its Australian subsidiary”.
But for Weilong Grape Co, punitive tariffs’ financial weight has proved too heavy.
This marks the first major selloff from a Chinese company heavily restricted by these tariffs from selling Australian wine back to the Chinese market.
The Shandong-based wine producer bought the vineyards between 2016 and 2018, when international relations were friendly, China was Australia’s most profitable export market.
Weilong purchased approximately 600 hectares of vineyards in Victoria and New South Wales, according to Vino Joy, building a 26,000-tonne capacity winery just south of Mildura.
As disclosed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the sale includes 167.6 ha of vineyards in Coomealla and 260.4 ha in Nyah, along with other associated assets, for AUS$26.6 million and AUS$44.4 million each.
The March evening with Victor Kattenbalt and Confidant Wines was a taste experience for all those that could attend. We tried some Waipara Downs wines, which are largely exported to Australia, and some Portuguese wines that were quite different grape varieties to what we see in NZ.
Victor explained a little about the areas of Portugal where the Portuguese wines came from, and some of the Cellar Club members started dreaming of visiting and exploring those regions further.
Our thanks go out to Victor for moving his planned tasting forward to March at very little notice.
By Walt Dickson. First published in Wairarapa Lifestyle Magazine, Winter 2020.
The new owner of Gladstone Vineyard Eddie McDougall, also known as the Flying Winemaker. PHOTO/EMMA BROWN
Contrary to what the name might suggest, The Flying Winemaker doesn’t own a plane, nor does he hold a pilot’s licence. But there is sincerity in Eddie McDougall’s moniker, yes, he does literally jet in to make the wine.
Born in Hong Kong, based in Australia, Eddie might be relatively new on the scene in Wairarapa, but he is an established name in other parts of the world; an award-winning winemaker, chairman of the Asian Wine Review, wine judge and TV personality behind one of Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic wine brands, The Flying Winemaker.
He swooped into the region in late 2018 buying the Gladstone Vineyard with lofty ambitions to make the best and most expensive wine in New Zealand.
Last year, his first vintage, he made two special wines at Gladstone that he says, will turn heads when they’re released: a field blend of three aromatic white varietals and an icon Pinot Noir that will be positioned as ‘New Zealand’s most expensive wine and best pinot’.
Eddie grew up in Brisbane and was studying for a business degree and working as a waiter in the early 2000s when he had a wine epiphany one night. Someone handed him a glass of Alsace pinot blanc and he was hooked. He enrolled in a winemaking degree and worked vintages across Australia and Italy. In 2009, he launched his wine label, making wine in the King Valley (Victoria), and later, Margaret River (Western Australia), buying fruit and leasing space in other people’s wineries.
His big break came in 2009, when he moved back to Hong Kong to set up the city’s first urban winery, shipping frozen grapes in from Europe and Australia. That’s when he earned his Flying Winemaker name, attracting the attention of television producers. Fast-track to 2018 and he was again looking for opportunities, initially in Australia, but when nothing caught his fancy, he looked across the Tasman.
‘I was happy to go wherever good wine is made, and Gladstone ticked all the right boxes
Making it such a great acquisition was that at Gladstone, all the ‘really hard work’ has been done, he says. ‘We believe that it is still the oldest white wine vineyard in the area – the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes were planted in 1986’.
Pinot Gris and Riesling have also since been planted, and instead of making three wines, Eddie makes a blend of all three.
‘Coming here we want to represent the region, and on a brand, level to represent what our true unique selling point is …we think we can make some serious, serious wines’.
In addition to the winery site, Gladstone Vineyard also owns considerably larger blocks of vines at nearby Dakin Road, as well as leasing crops from other growers. It is from the Dakins Road block that Eddie hopes to produce his icon Pinot Noir – to be called The Wairarapa – which he says will be the most definitive wine of the region, only made in the best possible years, 2019 is one of them.
The Flying Winemaker Team
With a global team based in Hong Kong and currently exporting throughout Asia, Australia, Norway, UK and USA, the sky is the limit. But he is not ignoring the domestic market and is determined to continue Gladstone Vineyard’s reputation for hosting terrific events.
Building on the success of the nearby Harvest Festive, Eddie aims to run up to four events a year at the winery. Exactly what they will be and when, wine lovers won’t want to miss out if his super cool Rose’ Revolutions, a mainstay on the calendar in Asia, are anything to go by.
Meanwhile, if you are in the neighbourhood, the cellar door is open daily from 11 am – 5 pm (except public holidays), but don’t expect to see Eddie, after all, when you have wings you gotta fly.
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