In our house we don’t need a special occasion to crack open a bottle of sparkling. The big question is what type of sparkling to drink? For this year’s World Champagne Day on Friday 18th October we celebrate all types of sparkling wine. They’re made in a range of styles from red, white or rosé, different flavours and levels of sweetness and have a variety of names.
We are huge fans of Dune wines. Honest wines with attitude, intensity, balance; all with fruit from their own healthy vineyards. The Lloyd brothers have been converting their vineyard to organic to restore soil health. They see it as the way of the future but are honest about their concerns. It’s refreshing to have vignerons that are frank and honest about how they make their wines – just one more reason why we support Dune. Continue reading Rebel Wine Chats: Dune’s Peter Lloyd
The Eastwell family purchased the Freehand vineyard in Denmark, WA in 2007 and immediately commenced conversion to organic and biodynamic farming. Led by winemaker Matt Eastwell and joined by Danni Saviour-Smith in 2013, the direction of the brand changed when Matt was introduced to preservative free wine by mentor winemaker Todd Faulkner-Pearce. Today the Freehand brand has a clear of point-of-difference: made with zero sulphur additions.
There is a distinctive energy and balance about these wines. Vibrant colours, intensity of aromas and powerful fruit flavours.
Continue reading Rebel Wine Chat: Freehand’s Matt Eastwell and Danni Paviour-Smith
It’s cold and raining on a Sunday morning, coffee’s on, the heater is blasting and you have no intention of getting out of your PJs until after midday. Planning the all important dining menu for the day, you decide it’s the perfect day to have a casserole cooking slowing (who’s in a hurry?) allowing those developing aromas to fill the house as you binge-watch a new series.
Now onto the even more important wine accompaniment for your indulgent winters day. Most of us will instinctively reach for a bottle of a warming red but if you have a thirst for loungeroom wine adventures perhaps it’s time to consider some winter white alternatives.
All wine is natural right? Just sunshine, grapes and yeast? There’s a bit more to it with different farming techniques and winemaking methods. We’ve put together a guide to the terminology we think you need to know. Easy to understand. Learn the difference between Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable farming. Find out the difference between certification, in-conversion and practising. Don’t forget about Low Intervention, Vegan-friendly and Preservative Free!
See Saw Wines owners Justin and Pip Jarrett moved to Orange from Young in 1991, and bought their first block of land. Prior to the move they had wanted to grow grapes, but before committing, they also considered growing apples and protea flowers. The plan was to become fully self-employed and create a product which they could add value to; something they could put on the table, have their name behind and tell you all about it. So, they decided to go ahead with vineyards.
Listen, wine and International Women’s Day were meant to be celebrated together. Have a little look at the shade of purple nominated as the official colour of the day and tell us that it’s not the spitting image of a glass of organic pinot noir catching a flash of the midday sun.
Better the balance, better the world #BalanceforBetter is the theme and hashtag for this year’s International Woman’s Day. As a woman working in a male-dominated industry, the significance and meaning of this is important not just for me but all woman working in the industry.
James Thomas is originally from the UK where he grew up around farming. His grandparents were part of the green revolution and his granddad at 94 is still growing flowers and potatoes. His parents planted a two-acre hobby vineyard when he was a teenager, so there are no surprises as to what influenced him to become a grower and winemaker. James has been in Australia since 2004, gaining an oenology degree at Latrobe University.
We spent a couple of hours in the vineyard with James where he generously shared his time, passion, organic vineyard management techniques and a good old car boot tasting.
A drop of top quality wine is always an appropriate present for that special someone in your life. At the very least it’s the perfect ‘us’ present and you can’t go wrong with that.