Unveiling the new Penfolds premium wine releases

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago is one of the busiest men on the planet, constantly crisscrossing the globe to host tastings of Grange and Penfolds' other wine icons.

For the next few weeks, however, Gago is busier than usual, attending some of the 25th-anniversary Penfolds Re-Corking Clinics, as well as hosting media tastings for the new-release Penfolds Collection 2016. Yesterday it was Sydney's turn. 

The only problem is, much as I would like to tell you all about the new releases, I and all the other members of the media, are sworn to secrecy to "ensure an even playing field". 

I can tell you we tasted 21 wines, all undecanted, and the same wines will be tasted from Melbourne to London, Vancouver to New York, over the next few weeks. Oh, and an event in Paris, as well.  

Gago says the new wines, which stretch over five vintages from 2012 to 2016, "each have a distinct character, quality and provenance".

We finished up with a fun shot of the legendary Penfolds Fifty-Year-Old Tawny series three, of which 330 bottles are made a year and one will set you back $3550 should you be able to get your hands on one.

All of us who have tasted the wines will be able to unleash our thought bubbles on the wines, including the long-awaited 2012 Grange from a classic vintage, on October 6. The wines will be released to the public on October 20. 

I think I'm allowed to say some of the wines are well worth waiting for. 

Gago is certainly relieved to be unveiling a new Grange after the 2011 wine came from one of the most difficult vintages on record. 

'That's the other side of the game," he said. "In 2011 we had to use every winemaking trick in the book. In 2012 it was very different."

Just how different you will have to wait to find out. Sorry. 


  

Port Macquarie offers something for every member of the family

Gourmets from around Australia flock to Port Macquarie each October, but it is a fun destination any time of the year.

Mum wants good shopping and maybe a spa treatment or two. Dad is keen on good restaurants and maybe the chance of a round of golf.

The kids, meanwhile, are looking for a beach and the opportunity to play with someone their own age.



There are a lot of “family friendly” destinations that fail to deliver to one or more demographics, but Port Macquarie, on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to making sure all members of the family have fun - even down to creative ways to amuse the little ones at local cellar doors.

For a start, there are those food and wine moments; seriously good coffees at Drury Lane and Meg & Me, great dinners at the Stunned Mullet and terrific charcuterie and wines by the glass at Bar Florian.

Port Macquarie is on the rise as a gourmet destination with a new wave of eateries and watering holes.

And while the region's wineries are quite low profile, producers like Cassegrain, Rose's Vineyard, Innes Lake Vineyard and Bago Vineyards have family-friendly offerings.



Innes Lake Vineyard is an ideal family destination with delicious French-accented food at Little Fish Café from chef Steve Delandemare, as well as a special $10 menu for children, who can also run around the vines and extensive gardens. For adults think dishes like veal paupiettes with ratatouille, or a Provencal take on freshly caught local seafood.

At Cassegrain, parents can wine and dine on the deck at Seasons Café and Restaurant, which also serves meals for the younger family members. There are also picnic areas and barbecue facilities here.

And the kids are well entertained in town, as well, with the Hello Koalas sculpture trail featuring 50 one-metre-high hand-painted koalas at locations including wineries, beaches, parks and hotels.

There is so much fun to be had here, from the many beaches to the wild hinterland that it is easy to forget that from 1820 to 1830, Port Macquarie was a place of punishment, a convict penal settlement that housed the worst of the worst criminals "at constant hard labour".

Today what was once a place of fear and loathing has a population fast approaching 50,000 and is one of the fastest-growing holiday destinations in Australia.

While the Mid North Coast has in the past been something of a gastronomic desert, Port Macquarie now offers a cosmopolitan selection of restaurants and bars.



Among the stars are Stunned Mullet (above), where owner Lou Perri has earned a Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide hat. He also owns grillhouse Scampi's on the same block.

The Stunned Mullet space is a casual one, dominated by an artwork of wine cases, but the modern Australian food with a local bent is serious and the walk-in cellar and wine list reflect a global view with a focus on quality.

There may be a beachy feel, but there is some serious technique in dishes like southern yellowfin tuna sashimi with nori ash, ginger gel, avocado, cucumber, puffed wild rice and wasabi and local mackerel with toasted rice skin, sweet corn puree, green salsa, squid ink and fennel salad.

Dessert was salty creme caramel with yuzu, spiced rum jelly, brown butter crumb and black sesame gelato; another standout. The food here is as good as anything you might find in Surry Hills or Fitzroy – the service probably more friendly.



For a few wines by the glass, cheese or charcuterie platters, or a gourmet pizza try recent newcomer Bar Florian (above) with its casual, relaxed vibe and a Venice theme.

Fusion 7 and Burger Rebellion are also extremely popular while ZeBu Bar and Grill (below) is a great spot for a couple of cocktails with keen mixologists and a choice of wood-fired pizzas or an a la carte menu.



Local producers worth visiting include Ricardoes Tomatoes, where you can pick your own strawberries or tomatoes, perhaps buy some jams and chutneys made from both, as well as enjoying a Devonshire tea at Café Red.

City kids will relish the chance to pick their own fruit treats and a genuine farm gate experience.

For those with more adult tastes, the Little Brewing Company makes a range of boutique brews and is about to open its own beer bar. Try labels like the Wicked Elf, Fastidious Bastard and Stab In The Dark.

There are two major food and wine festivals each year, a Slice of Haven at nearby Camden Haven, held each May, and Tastings on Hastings over three days each October. Try to check out local producers like Barbushco bush foods, Lorne Valley Macadamias and Comboyne Culture cheeses.



The town itself is encircled by beaches on one side and the Hastings River on the other side, and plenty of attractions are within walking distance of the many hotels and motels.

History buffs, meanwhile will enjoy the Port Macquarie Historical Museum, one of the several museums in town, the convict-built St Thomas Church and the old graveyards on Horton Street.

There are plenty of walking tracks, too, river cruises and golf are popular and there are several delightful beaches to choose from. The only Koala hospital in the world, Timbertown and the Glasshouse arts and entertainment centre are all major drawcards.

THE FACTS

Port Macquarie is a four-hour drive north of Sydney or a one-hour flight from Sydney and Brisbane. Call 1300 303 155 or go on-line at www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au.

Tastings on Hastings (October 28-30, 2016) is the region’s biggest culinary festival and this year features celebrity chef dinners with Matt Wilkinson, a Harvest produce lunch with Matt Golinski, and culminates on the Sunday with the main event, a huge outdoor festival held on the banks of the Hastings River with over 120 local artisans, farmers, wine growers, brewers, restaurants and cafés. Now in its 14th year, the festival has a hugely expanded program including beer and wine masterclasses, oyster shucking and cooking demonstrations.You can find the full program at www.tastingsonhastings.com.au.

Other key events include: Jazz In The Vines, held every second Sunday of the month at Bago Vineyards; Ekam Yoga Festival (September 18), a day of music and connection that features talks and classes by some of the most senior yoga teachers in Australia and Port Macquarie Beer and Cider Festival (September 24) with live music and dozens of brewers and cider makers in attendance.

Macquarie Waters (above) is an award-winning 4.5-star boutique apartment hotel that is close to cafés and restaurants. It has a heated outdoor pool and spa, spacious apartments with fully equipped kitchens, a roof deck with a hot tub and water views, and an on-site café and restaurant. There is free wifi, security parking and room service. www.mwaters.com.au. 

# This is an edited version of a story that originally appeared in Nourish Magazine. 

 

A joint passion for malbec leads to a new business

Malbec is a grape variety that can arouse great passion. It is loved in Argentina and Chile, admired in France and Australia and is pretty much a curiosity everywhere in the wine world.

On a trip with Wines of Argentina last year, I learned that it can be made in many different styles - and in a range of terroir, although they shine in Mendoza (below).

This dark grape originates in France, where it was primarily used as a blending grape in the country’s famous Bordeaux reds. Cahors in the south of France was the first commercial producer of the variety but in the late-19th century, phylloxera nearly destroyed the wine industry, although today it is undergoing something of a renaissance. 

Cahors achieved AOC status and has been gaining momentum ever since. In Cahors, Malbec is called "Cot" or "Auxerrois" and was called “black wine” due its colour. 

Malbec was brought to Argentina in 1852 by Michel Pouget, a French agronomist and it is today Argentina's flagship variety.

Australia has some of the oldest malbec vines in the world, dating back to the late 1890s and each April 17 World Malbec Day is celebrated around the globe; an initiative developed by Wines of Argentina.

My trip to Argentina was partly organised by a charming lady called Daniela Penno, an Argentine who runs a PR business in Sydney. 

Now she and her husband, German Fumis, have launched Artisan Malbec, a wine club and retail outlet that aims to make it easier for Australians to access world-class malbec; and also plans a range of events centred around not only Argentine malbecs but the best from around the world. 

"We are starting, of course, with Argentina but then increasing our offer to Australian, French and Chilean malbecs soon," she says.

"This is a niche business, offering personalised customer service and a project with a lot of passion, effort and dedication from myself and my husband."

Don't expect to be bombarded with PR material, however. Penno aims to grow the business slowly. Prices start from $21 a bottle, so it might be fun to do some malbec exploration.

For full details check out www.artisanmalbec.com.au.

A Toast to the Coast - and don't forget the Moorabool Valley

Geelong's main wine, food and music festival, Toast to the Coast, is once again being held over two days of the Melbourne Cup weekend - Saturday and Sunday, October 29-30. 

Now in its 15th year, Toast to the Coast attracts several thousand visitors, who attend the festival to sample wines from 33 leading and lesser-known wineries participating.

Wineries throughout the region offer guests the chance to soak up the atmosphere while showcasing award-winning cool-climate wines and offering the opportunity to meet the makers behind the wineries.

In addition, guests can meander through the vineyards, enjoy a delicious lunch and be entertained by the best local musicians.

The Geelong wine region actually comprises three very different regions; the Surf Coast in the direction of the Great Ocean Road, the Bellarine Peninsula and the often-overlooked Moorabool Peninsula, where I recently spent a couple of extremely enjoyable days.

Take Clyde Park winery at Bannockburn (below).

On any given weekend there are a couple of hundred people enjoying the buzzy atmosphere, some of them tasting the new vintage wine releases, others tucking into a veritable lunchtime feast in the cellar shed that serves as a bistro.

Here dishes like Moroccan lamb shank pie with chickpea and pumpkin hummus; or perhaps a classic bouillabaisse or wood-fired pizza are matched with the winery's stand-out chardonnays, pinot noirs or maybe a new-release sangiovese.

Just down the road at Del Rios winery at Mount Anakie, there is a crowd feasting on Spanish-accented food and wines.

Here visitors enjoy a tapas menu featuring albondigas (Spanish meatballs), garlic prawns and mussels Espanola, while paella for two can be matched with the 2015 Carmen Tempranillo.

The Moorabool Valley is something of a well-kept secret to those outside Geelong and Melbourne, overshadowed even by the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast - but the largely rustic cellar doors, and family-owned artisan wineries, offer a delightful contrast to the slick sales operations often found in more high-profile wine regions.

The Moorabool Valley, nestled in quiet countryside between Geelong and Ballarat, is regarded as one of Australia's best cool-climate wine regions with a range of classic and new varieties.

The region was first planted with vines by Swiss migrants in 1842 before being wiped out by the Phylloxera virus in the late 1800s. The valley's renaissance began in the 1960s – and is now in full swing.

Scott Austin, from Austins & Co, says: “The difference out here is it is a bit more rugged. It's a farming region where everyone is very hands-on. There are no corporates out here. We are all intrinsically connected to the land and that is the experience we want to give people.

“The Moorabool is very dry, so vines struggle, but also get a longer ripening period to add balance. It's also a very exciting region which is best known for chardonnay and pinot noir, but shiraz has huge potential here, as does riesling.”

Maree Collis from Lethbridge (below) says the Moorabool has its own style, due largely to geology. “There is a lot of basalt, a lot of rock here and at Lethbridge, particularly, there is low vigour and good concentration of flavour. Water can be an issue, however.” 

Collis and partner Ray Nadeson are experimenting with several different grape varieties including Italian varieties nebbiolo and nero d'avola – and sometimes buy in fruit from other regions of Victoria.

She describes the Moorabool as offering an “authentic” experience for tourists.

While two of the biggest-name producers in Bannockburn and Farr/Farr Rising (as well as tiny producers like LiveWire and AttWoods) do not have cellar doors there are several star wineries to visit, including Clyde Park, Lethbridge, Austins and Paradise IV along with tiny producers like Moorabool Ridge, Rowsley Fault and Spence's Wines.

Clyde Park, where the bistro is open seven days a week and where there are three different ranges of wines, is the biggest tourism drawcard with vines dating back to 1979 and a wide range of wines sparked by the enthusiasm of owner Terry Jongebloed.

The warm ambiance of Del Rios, meanwhile, makes it hugely popular at weekends. Some of the vines here are planted on the side of an extinct volcano.

Lethbridge is another ”must visit destination”. The wines – and there is a large range – are both innovative and outstanding.

Some of the smaller producers are open only on the first weekend of each month, or by appointment, but that is changing fast with Austins building a new cellar door to replace their barrel room pop-up tasting facility.

Paradise IV was replanted in 1988 on the site of a vineyard dating back to the 1840s, and winemaker Doug Neal is hugely knowledgeable about the region, while Moorabool Ridge is a tiny cellar door with great views and ideal for a picnic or light lunch. 

Here you'll find a vineyard overlooking the Moorabool River, an olive grove and a shop selling farm produce. Owner Tim Harrop (above) is usually on site at this unpretentious tasting facility, which is open only at weekends.

NEED TO KNOW

How to get there: 

The Moorabool Valley is a one-hour drive from Melbourne Airport, or 20 minutes from Avalon Airport, which is served exclusively via Jetstar.

Where to stay: 

Recently-opened Devlin Apartments is well-situated in Geelong, Victoria's second-largest city. There are 37 self-contained apartments on Moorabool Street, next to Skilled Stadium and within walking distance of restaurants and wine bars. www.devlinapartments.com.

For more information: 

Visit Tourism Greater Geelong at www.visitgeelongbellarine.com.au
or Toast to the Coast at  www.winegeelong.com.au/toast-to-the-coast




    

Lego never loses its allure

It is a simple collection of interlocking bricks, but Lego somehow has a global appeal.

No fewer than 600 billion Lego parts have been sold since the toy brand was launched in Denmark in 1949 and last year Lego was named the "most powerful brand" in the world, overtaking Ferrari.

The basic bricks are accompanying an array of gears, figurines and various other parts. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct objects; vehicles, buildings and working robots. 

Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. So simple, but so popular.

In Australia, Brickman Experience, the country's largest exhibition made entirely from Lego has enjoyed sell-out tours in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland and is now headed for Hobart for the school holiday - running from September 27 to October 9 at Princes Wharf 1, Castray Esplanade.

The exhibition features the complete collection by Ryan McNaught, including 60 original works made using over 5 million bricks.

In addition to McNaught's pieces, works from other Lego artists will be on display, based around the theme of "transport".

"Lego brings people together, everyone loves it - kids, parents, grandparents, everyone has a memory of playing with Lego," says McNaught.

BRICKMAN EXPERIENCE. Hobart: Princes Wharf 1, Castray Esplanade, September 27-October 9. 

Open daily. Booking advisable. Tickets on sale from September 7 at www.ticketek.com.au.

What's old is new again: the Pike family branches out

The Pike family is synonymous with fine wines from the Clare Valley, particularly superbly crafted rieslings.

The Pikes also combine with the Joyce family to produce some excellent Adelaide Hills wines under the Pike & Joyce label.

The Pike link with the Hills stretched back decades - and now brewer Alister Pike - son of viticulturist Andrew Pike - is reviving old drinks recipes from the historic family brewery, starting with a “healthy” tonic beer that can be mixed with gin.

"The family brewed beer until 1938 and then went on to do soft drink and cordials,” explains Pike, whose great-great-grandfather, Henry Pike, established the Oakbank brewery in 1886.

After the Pikes stopped brewing beer, the Tonic Ale was the only fermented drink they continued to produce. It was made with orange and lemon peel, coriander seed, ginger and hops, and sold as a “non-intoxicating healthy drink”.

“Back then there wasn’t much scientific research – it’s really just a lightly alcoholic soft drink with added botanical ingredients,” explains Alister. “At a guess, the alcohol volume was around 1.5 per cent.”

In the late 1960s, when the Oakbank brewery was sold, the Pike family interests moved to wine production in the Clare Valley and the Tonic Ale recipe became part of the family memorabilia.

After a stint working with Good George Brewing in New Zealand, Alister Pike decided to join the family business in 2012 and help create a new direction for Pikes beer, which had been brewed under contract since 1996.

“I’ve been quite attracted to the idea of doing historical brews,” he says.

“I had all these old labels that had been collected by the family over time and the Tonic Ale was always the beer that Pikes was known for back in the day.”

In 2014, the family decided to “take back the reins” and begin brewing “in-house” in a purpose-built brewery at the Clare Valley winery site, appointing head brewer Brad Nolen (ex-Mildura Theatre Brewing and Gage Roads Brewing) and Alister as assistant brewer.

In addition to the sparkling ale, stout and pilsener lager already being made, Pikes has since released a pale ale, a Red Hefeweizen and a seasonal Belgian-style sour cherry beer called “kriek” which is made with second-grade cherries and fermented in old shiraz barrels. It has also re-introduced the historic Tonic Ale.

“The difference between the original Tonic Ale recipe and the updated version we’re using now is that we’ve added cinchona (Peruvian bark), malt and fresh coriander,” says Alister.

“Most people just have a stubbie of it on a hot day, pour it over ice and drink it like a cider, while others are taking it home to use as a mixer with gin.

“The familiar quinine flavour comes through from the cinchona and other people pick up the citrus, coriander, and ginger.”

Alister says he plans to have a play with some of the Pikes historic cordial flavours to create new alcoholic beverages.

“I can’t say exactly what it will be just yet, but there will definitely be something new from the brewery next year.”

Pikes Tonic Ale is currently on tap at Osteria Oggi in Adelaide and the next batch of Pikes Kriek is due for release just before Christmas.

# This story is based on a release from The Lead South Australia