Indicators around Northern Tasmania are pointing to a rough end to the 2011 vintage. Many producers are facing yield losses and the possibility of not picking at all! The cool season has pushed back ripening into dangerous waters, as canopies begin to senesce and leaves fall. Add to that cooler temperatures and the ever present threat of further rain.
Looking in the winery, there are numbers of producers having to sacrifice ideal sugar levels to secure a crop. Some are hoping that berry shrivel will help them get to the necessary level of sugar to make a wine. Others still have decided that they will achieve neither the sugar level or the quality of fruit to warrant harvesting their crop.
A hard year for all, it seems....
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A new wine community!
Spitbucket - the community for all things wine
I stumbled across a new Australian online wine community - Spitbucket!
This is pretty exciting, as I have oft looked at communities on the web that revolve around wine, and they are almost exclusively American, with very little content or relevance to Australians and our wine industry.
I really hope this community (and its upcoming forum) thrives!
Check it out, support it, and I'll see you there.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Pinot Unearthed's Sydney dinner a great success!
The guys at Pinot Unearthed hosted their Tassie Pinot Dinner at Fix St James in Sydney this week, and by all accounts so far it was a booming success! The wines were a hit.
OBP2009 tasted well - I heard this from a new and unusual source (for me): tweets!
One of the night's commentators had a tweet link that I thought I would follow (like a trail of bread crumbs). Little did I know that a group of diners at the event were tweeting their way through each wine!
There was a whole sublayer of conversation going on under the table and in peoples' laps...
had I been there, I am sure I would have been shaking my head at these people playing with phones in the middle of a dinner function, despite the fact they were actually saying nice things about our wine!
The irony, eh?
OBP2009 tasted well - I heard this from a new and unusual source (for me): tweets!
One of the night's commentators had a tweet link that I thought I would follow (like a trail of bread crumbs). Little did I know that a group of diners at the event were tweeting their way through each wine!
There was a whole sublayer of conversation going on under the table and in peoples' laps...
had I been there, I am sure I would have been shaking my head at these people playing with phones in the middle of a dinner function, despite the fact they were actually saying nice things about our wine!
The irony, eh?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Pure South takes us on!
We are really excited to have the excellent Pure South Restaurant, in Melbourne's Southbank district, take OBP2009 on board!
It was at Pure South that our wine featured in Pinot Unearthed's Pure Tassie wine dinner. Whilst the night was a massive success, Pure South's food was a stand out part of the evening, with reports of the event all raving about their menu.
So, it is extremely pleasing for us to now be involved with Pure South, where our ventures into the greater winosphere first launched.
It was at Pure South that our wine featured in Pinot Unearthed's Pure Tassie wine dinner. Whilst the night was a massive success, Pure South's food was a stand out part of the evening, with reports of the event all raving about their menu.
So, it is extremely pleasing for us to now be involved with Pure South, where our ventures into the greater winosphere first launched.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The curious effect of position...
When I say position, I do not mean prime real estate, global marketing position, financial position or any other similar position of note.
Rather, I refer to the much more interesting position of where our OBP2009 has been sitting in the warehouse! Over summer, our collections of wine from Guy Wagner's have been from pallets sitting on Bass Fine Wine's main concrete floor - shaded and kept at a moderately cool temperature thanks to the slab's thermal mass.
Our last wine collection, however, came for Guy's mezzanine level, a good three to four metres overhead and close to the ceiling. Temperatures up here have been a good couple of degrees warmer over summer.
The difference in the wines? Quite a bit! The mezzanine level wine has progressed a good three to six months beyond the same wine that has been stored on the concrete. Without doubt, it is still a young wine; however, the nose is more pronounced and the flavours much fuller. The more developed wine is considerable more interesting, which is rather exciting really.
Rather, I refer to the much more interesting position of where our OBP2009 has been sitting in the warehouse! Over summer, our collections of wine from Guy Wagner's have been from pallets sitting on Bass Fine Wine's main concrete floor - shaded and kept at a moderately cool temperature thanks to the slab's thermal mass.
Our last wine collection, however, came for Guy's mezzanine level, a good three to four metres overhead and close to the ceiling. Temperatures up here have been a good couple of degrees warmer over summer.
The difference in the wines? Quite a bit! The mezzanine level wine has progressed a good three to six months beyond the same wine that has been stored on the concrete. Without doubt, it is still a young wine; however, the nose is more pronounced and the flavours much fuller. The more developed wine is considerable more interesting, which is rather exciting really.
Friday, April 8, 2011
OBP2009 at Remi de Provence
We very are excited to see our Pinot being picked up by Remi de Provence in Hobart! Remi's establishment is impressive, with wine bar, a fantastic wine centre and the lovely bistro. Remi de Provence specialises in authentic French cuisine.
I have been looking forward to seeing One Bunch Pinot in restaurants, bistros and cafes, as I think the wine such a complement to fine food. We will be working hard to see OBP onto wine lists around the country.
If you visit Remi's, try a glass of our wine and let us know how you go!
I have been looking forward to seeing One Bunch Pinot in restaurants, bistros and cafes, as I think the wine such a complement to fine food. We will be working hard to see OBP onto wine lists around the country.
If you visit Remi's, try a glass of our wine and let us know how you go!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
OBP2010 is bottled!
Our 2010 is finally in the bottle! We tried it recently and it is a little fuller, a little spicier than the '09, which makes me happy indeed. Here's hoping it delivers same on the other side of bottle shock. It will not be approachable for a number of months yet.
This makes me wonder, how do such young wines cope in a wine show? The International Cool Climate Wine Show is coming up, and has a field especially for the 2010 vintage. Do the judges take into consideration that these wines are barely through bottling? Is it a two or three horse race between those wines that get through bottle shock earlier than the rest of the pack? We shall enter the show and find out!
This makes me wonder, how do such young wines cope in a wine show? The International Cool Climate Wine Show is coming up, and has a field especially for the 2010 vintage. Do the judges take into consideration that these wines are barely through bottling? Is it a two or three horse race between those wines that get through bottle shock earlier than the rest of the pack? We shall enter the show and find out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)