Black & Ginger pays tribute to Lily with a premium shiraz

Out on one of our motorcycle road trips we always come across interesting winemakers with their own unique stories, reports two-wheeling correspondent Rod Eime. 

Hadyn Black at Black & Ginger in Victoria's Grampians region is just one such character.

Along with wife Lucy and business partner Darcy "Ginger" Naunton, the trio kicked off in 2015 with the purchase of a tonne of shiraz grapes from the Pyrenees, while their own vineyard took shape.

"We started B&G in 2015, with that single tonne of shiraz. At the end of 2016, we bought a rundown vineyard with a rundown house on it," Hadyn tells us as we sit in his rustic wine shed just off the main road and grafted onto Barney’s Bar & Bistro.

But that's just a hint at the real story.

"My mum Lily had recently retired, and so she spent as much time up here as she could, doing everything from helping me clean up the house, strip the horrible wallpaper, repaint, and clean up the garden. Then we’d get stuck into pruning and fixing the vineyard," Hadyn tells us. I can see his throat is getting a bit lumpy. "We managed to only properly prune a couple of rows at the top of the vineyard. We picked our grapes in 2017; most were sold, but we kept all the fruit from the rows Mum helped properly prune for ourselves. 

"Mum and Lucy and a couple of our mates helped pick it, and the fruit was fantastic. It was fermenting away nicely in the winery when I got a call that Mum had very suddenly passed away. So we named the resulting wine 'Lily’s Block' in her honour. We only release the wine under her name when it is good enough, so it is not made every year. The label is pink, an obvious choice given her favourite colour was pink, I also added her signature to the side label."

Lily and Hadyn

As well as Lily's Block, the small-batch wines have been well received, getting some great scores from wine writers and a couple of medals at wine shows.

Find the BLACK & GINGER WINE SHED at:
3447a Ararat-Halls Gap Road, Pomonal, Victoria, 3381

Victorian wines to get a higher US profile

 

Wine drinkers in the US are about to be blitzed by a $2.2 million sales campaign by Wine Victoria.

The USA Market Development Strategy aims to increase premium Victorian wine sales in the south and south-east states of the US.

The new strategy - funded by the Victorian Government through Global Victoria - will see Wine Victoria deliver a number of programs over the coming years to amplify the presence of Victorian wine in the region, and help grow its market.

The USA Market Development Strategy is divided into two phases and will be completed by mid 2024.

The program focuses on five core initiatives: 

# Supporting new entrants to the US market primarily through the Wine Australia Market Entry Program.

# Trade promotions with distributors, retailers, restaurants, and e-commerce platforms

# Attendance at selected trade shows

# Communications to build awareness and engage with trade and consumers.

# Appointment of a US-based business development manager to drive the program and support wineries.

Chair of Wine Victoria, Stephanie Duboudin, said the USA Market Development Strategy is an exciting opportunity for Victorian wine producers.

“These programs and activations are a great way for Wine Victoria members to showcase the quality of their wines and to tell their own unique stories on a global scale," she said.

“Wine Victoria is delighted to be working with the Victorian Government and Global Victoria to amplify Victorian wine in the United States, and to create more ways to educate people on the diverse and world-class wine styles grown and produced in our beautiful state.”

Wineries wanting to be involved in the USA Market Development Strategy Program can email secretariat@winevictoria.org.au 

# Wine Victoria is the peak body representing the Victorian wine industry.

Image: Dal Zotto vineyard, King Valley. Supplied

Wine Victoria pushes the sustainability message

Sustainability is the key buzzword in the wine industry right and Wine Victoria has announced a series of sustainability workshops to make sure the state's wine producers stay ahead of the sustainability curve.

The workshops are part of the Growing Victorian wine into the future program in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture.

Working with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) the workshops will cover two key areas:  Sustainable Winegrowers Australia (SWA) certification and moving towards carbon neutrality in the vineyard and winery. 

The first series of workshops are to be held in May and June across five locations and are aimed at supporting Victorian vineyards and wineries seeking sustainability certification (SWA).

Participants will be provided with a set of customisable templates and resources to support their preparation for audit and maintenance of the program.

The second series of workshops, also held in May/June 2023 across five locations, will be are focused on working towards carbon neutrality. 

According to SWA’s 2022 Impact report, 78% of Australians want action and consider a brand’s social and environmental actions when making a purchase. 

Additionally, 54% of global wine drinkers only trust sustainable wine that is officially certified - although I've never come across one of them. In my experience, a large proportion of wine drinkers buy because the label is eye-catching, or they like the price. 

“There has been strong growth in the uptake of the Sustainable Winegrowers Australia certification," says Wine Victoria chair Stephanie Duboudin. 

"Wine Victoria is strongly committed to providing the opportunities for our winemakers and growers to gain this important certification to ensure that our members have the skills and accreditations required for a future-focused industry. 

For a full list of workshops or to register, see https://winevictoria.org.au/growing-victorian-wine-into-the-future/