Gryphonwood is moving!

Digitally, not physically -

With the impending launch of our new website, our blog area is being incorporated into our website design!

I am excited as this will make the website more inclusive, and keep it up-to-date. It will also help me with having to crawl all over the internet trying to keep everything up to date (harder than it looks, I am sure you all know!).

It'll be a fresh look for a fresh start!

See you on the other side!

www.gryphonwood.com.au

2013 Wines have finally landed!

After a much extended delay, our new vintage 2013 wines are landing!

The 2013 Pinot Noir is in the same vein as the popular 2011, and as summer rolls on it will settle and starting opening up. A wine with lovely fruit and interesting oak - more complex than I expected!

The 2013 Chardonnay is exciting, subtly oaked, the wine is fruit driven, beautifully fresh and food friendly. That said, this baby will age beautifully and I can't wait to see how it develops! Good enough to make me think about entering a show...

The last of the 2013 gang is our first sparkling! We are still waiting for this one to come out of the winery, but we have high hopes for it. Of course, once it lands I can only sit and stare at it for at least four years...but I will fidget in anticipation, I promise you!


Try the 2013 Chard and Pinot this week on board the Spirit of Tasmania, or at Harvest Market!

Check out the Spirit's Flavours of Tassie infographic!

Trials and tribulations

Such a delay in posting! Sorry all. Summer and the start of 2014 have been a bruising whirlwind around Gryphonwood.

So what does one do when:

Winter and spring winds, followed by marauding escapee sheep have battered and torn apart our fledgling 777 Pinot Noir block. It is a replant job...and time for mutton.

The Tasmanian economy finally, truly, tanked. Retail (not only wine) has dried up to a trickle and I now fear for some of our customers, not to mention the cascading impact this is having on us and beyond. Our hope is that this weekend's election will see some calm come to the state soon, and give everyone a chance to recover.

The keenly awaited 2013 wines have failed to eventuate to date (we had a small yet special joy with the 2013 Pinot Gris; it is stunning, but only 15 cases!). Hopefully soon!

Mel's hip failed, Christmas eve of all times. It has been a painful and slow summer for her, and it is a basically a countdown now to a replacement. On top of that, child number one's auto immune disease is  back with a vengeance.

A tree limb came down on my car, whilst I was doing 70km/hr in it! I am stunned that it did not come through the windscreen and take my head off! Car is a little worse for wear and still awaiting repair.

Launceston's Festivale changed their strategies on wine this year and left a lot of little vineyards on the fallback list. Sadly they fell back on us only a few weeks out from the event, and there was no way we were going to be ready - so the festival season was a big non-event this year.

We find ourselves in a fight to keep our land and home, as an outside legal contest has managed to drag us into the fringes.

We got an offer to buy every case of our wine, by a big online retailer...at a price that was one third the cost of manufacture of the wine! Exactly who is profiting in the wine industry??? (we said no btw)

Something has eaten two out of three Peking ducks! Worked out they are easy pickings at night it seems...

So what does one do? Should one sit and sulk or grizzle about it? No...everyone has their troubles.

One cracks a red with family and friends, raises a glass and says 'Cheers!'

I hope your 2014 is awesome, truly.

Eagerly awaiting new vintage wines!

Well we have tasted our 2013 vintage wines...and I am excited!!

The 2013 Pinot Noir is shaping up like the award winning 2011(which is about to run out!!!), but with just a little bit more going on. Should be a lovely Pinot!

2103 Chardonnay is a stunner! I love it, and hope nothing distressing happens during bottling to detract from its great flavours.

And interestingly, we have scored a tiny amount of Pinot Gris!! It is a delightful wine, and will be a smash hit over Summer alongside our maturing 2102 Riesling. We have only a handful of cases of this one, so it will be a Cellar Door exclusive...well, a Harvest Market exclusive...

More to come once they are bottled!

Tasmania Unbottled is here!

It is pretty exciting for Gryphonwood to finally be working more on the mainland!

As part of our efforts, we are attending Wine Tasmania's premier event - Tasmania Unbottled 2013! 

This came together fast and furiously in the past couple of weeks, and unfortunately it meant we were not able to make it to Brisbane this year...but we will make up for that next time around!

 We will be in both Sydney and Brisbane however! We would love to catch up with you and say hi, so check out the details below. The events and dinners surrounding the main tastings look awesome, so we will be definitely fully involved next year!

See you there!!!

Sampling wines on the Spirit of Tasmania

The gang at Spirit of Tasmania have put together a fantastic event called the Flavours of Tassie!

Photo care of Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spirit_of_Tasmania_I_21Feb08.JPG

It is a brilliant effort on their behalf, allowing Tasmanian producers to meet travellers on their way to and from Tasmania. 

We sailed from Tassie on the night of 29th May, and came back down on the night of the 31st. The crews of both ships made us most welcome, helping me set up in the rear lounge and bar area.

We will be back on the ship heading to Melbourne on the 26th of June and back down to Devonport on the 1st of July sailing. If you are on the ship at the same time, make sure you come and say hi!

Investment in Tasmania's Wine Industry!

In a most pleasant surprise, the Tasmanian Government has announced its support for the Wine Industry!

The Government will launch a new initiative to support growth in the Tasmanian wine sector, through a $1.2M five year program to assist producers with new plantings. 

Here is the link for their media release. 

So if there is a chance this comes off, we may have to ramp up our planting program! 

Chardonnay...Pinot Gris...Gruner Veltliner??? 

Festivale Round-up - we have our winners!

Well Festivale is all over, and we still trying to catch up on sleep!

However, our two promotions have their winners!

Our new Twitter follower Tundra Howe has come up as the winner of our Riesling promotion!

At Festivale, Clare Smith bought a lucky bottle of wine that has won her a set of Plumm Red or White Glasses!

Congrats to you both, Ladies! We will be in touch soon!

Festivale 2013 is here!!! And Harvest has its FIRST birthday!

It's back!
Launceston's Festivale 2013 has arrived, and it is celebrating its 25th birthday!

Not only that, Harvest is Turning ONE!

This is also the official launch of our 2012 One Bunch Riesling!

To make the most of the event, we have put up some promotions to brighten everyone's day!

Every bottle of wine sold at Festivale or Harvest Market on Saturday will earn a ticket into a draw to win a 4-pack of Plumm Red or White glasses!

Every new Like we get on Facebook, and new follower on Twitter from the weekend will go in the draw for a bottle of 2012 Riesling! Of course, all our current buddies and followers are already in the draw!

On top of that, our 2010 Pinot noir and 2011 Chardonnay will both be available at 25% off through our website until the end of March!

We are at both Festivale (stall 23), and Harvest (our usual corner), so come and say hi to us!

Harvest Market Launches Christmas Wine Packs!

Launceston's Harvest Market is launching some Summer wine packs, and we are really thrilled to be included in them!

Winsor's Pick 6 Pack

This summer / Christmas pack includes a Sharmans' 2008 Sparkling and 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, a Humbug Reach 2009 Chardonnay, our One Bunch Chardonnay 2011, a Humbug Reach 2010 Pinot Noir and our gold medal One Bunch Pinot 2011.

Gold Medal 3 Pack

This three pack is exciting because Harvest's three wine producers all won gold medals over the previous few months! Sharmans' 2011 Pinot won a gold and a trophy at the International Cool Climate Wine Show in Mornington Peninsula, the same show where our One Bunch Pinot 2011 won a bronze. Our 2011 then won a gold medal, the only in its class, at Bathurst's National Cool Climate Wine Show. The sister wine to this one won a gold at the Hobart Wine Show under Guy Wagner's Bass Fine Wines label! The third wine is Humbug Reach's stunning 2011 Chardonnay - the only gold in it's class at the Hobart wine show.

We are all really proud of these wines, and I'm sure you'd find them a worthy Christmas to give someone...or give to yourself!

OBP2009 now available through The Trig!

We are pretty excited to see our 2009 OBP has been taken on by a boutique accommodation in Lilydale - The Trig, on Mt Arthur.

Susie and Gordon have created a new eco-friendly place to stay with stunning views over the surrounding region. It is a perfect spot to relax and share a bottle of red.

At the same time, through Susie's work with the Launceston Polytechnic, our 2010 Pinot is being used there at the Bistro, and is featuring as this week's featured wine!

GRYPHONWOOD GETS GOLD

Well we are a little bit excited!!!!

Gryphonwood's One Bunch Pinot 2011 has just won a GOLD medal at the 2012 National Cool Climate Wine Show in Bathurst!

Ours was the only gold for the 2011 Pinot  Noir Class, and one of only three golds awarded to Pinot Noirs in the Show!
Big wave of thanks to our winemaker, Guy Wagner!!

Check out all the results here and come and try our Pinot at the Harvest Market Launceston.

See you soon!!

We're In! Festivale 2013

Gryphonwood is going back to Launceston's Festivale in Feb 2013!
We will have five wines to share! Check out some of our pics from 2012 to see the sort of fun to expect, and we'll see you there!

2011 Pinot Review

Our OBP2011 has been reviewed by Winsor Dobbin in the Sunday Examiner, noting the 2011 as "by far the best to date" of our Pinots.

He says this is "a wine that is drinking delightfully well in its youth with bright, forward fruit, spicy/savoury notes and some delicious softness on the palate".

Many thanks to Winsor for that one!

Published in the Sunday Examiner, July 29, 2012.

We are Back in White!

It is with relief and excitement that we have our Chardonnay available once again!!

Our One Bunch Chardonnay was a real favourite with the punters that were looking for a fresh, clean and crisp white white over summer. People looking for Savvy, Pinot Gris or Grigio were all pleasantly surprised that a Chardy could fall into the range of wines they enjoy!

Check the website, or come and see us at Harvest Market Launceston to try it!

New post hole digger!

We thought we'd trial a new post hole digger on the vineyard...

It is a Lotta, 2012 model.

It's enthusiastic, but I am not sure if it is efficient enough... 

International Cool Climate Wine Show 2012

The results are out!

Congrats to Mike Sharman of Sharmans Wines for his top gold and Trophy for Best Pinot Noir in last week's International Cool Climate Wine Show! It is extremely good to see a Tassie Pinot taking out such an award!

Our OBP2011 won a bronze in the 2011 Pinot class...which is nice...

New Stockist - The Aproneers

We are pretty excited to see The Aproneers, in Lindisfarne (near Hobart) taking on our wine! They have the 2009 at the moment, but stay tuned for us to be doing some tastings down there of all our wines!

Check out their fantastic store - The Aproneers (great look to the site btw folks!)

Tasmanian Red Wine Weekend

In Hobart this weekend, on the 26th & 27th of May, is the Tasmanian Red Wine Weekend; put on by Wine South. This event is being held as part of Savour Tasmania - a celebration of Tasmanian Food & Wine.

Our One Bunch Pinot Trio will be present at the Red Wine Weekend, and we are happy to see our 2011 selected to be served at the Feast of Chefs Dinner on Saturday night! This dinner for 400 people has sold out!!




If you are going, let us know how the weekend goes, especially the Feast of Chefs Dinner!!

OBP2010 at Jailhouse Grill

Something I have said to myself for a while now is why haven't we opened any avenues with restaurants in our own home town?

Well, I am very happy to see our OBP2010 being taken on by Launceston's Jailhouse Grill! 

The Jailhouse is a place I love - great atmosphere, fantastic people, a surprisingly excellent winelist, and some of the best steak I have enjoyed (I make sure Josh Hammersley is on the grill when I go). The menu has a great variety of dishes.

If there is anywhere that our 2010 Pinot is going to feel at home, it is in a steakhouse!

When you are in Launceston, make sure you visit the Jailhouse Grill! 

(I suggest you get a group together and book the private room!)