WINES from two Hunter boutique producers are boosting the national and international profiles of the region by taking to the skies in Qantas first class and to the seas in luxury P&O ocean liners.
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Bill and Vicki Widin's Leogate Estate at 1693 Broke Road, Pokolbin, has had its Leogate 2013 "The Basin" Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz selected for serving to Qantas International first-class passengers and the Leogate Estate 2013 Brokenback Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz will be served in Qantas International business class.
The Australia-wide selections were made from blind tastings of 1200 wines by an expert panel of 16 led by the head of Sommeliers Australia, David Lawler.
Leogate chief winemaker, Mark Woods, said the selection of the Leogate wines provided a great opportunity for international tourists to be introduced to Hunter Valley wines while airborne - encouraging them to visit the Hunter after they arrived in Sydney.
Glandore Estate Wines at 1595 Broke Road, Pokolbin, had success afloat with a contract to supply more than 30,000 bottles of its wine to five P&O cruise ships.
The deal was unveiled this month during a visit to Glandore by NSW Minister for Small Business John Barilaro.
Glandore, owned by a four-member group headed by chef-turned winemaker Duane Roy, set up a fully functioning cellar door on board two of P&O's latest ships the Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria.
P&O said it was the first time cellar doors would be available to passengers on Australian cruise ships.
Duane said last week the cellar doors would offer passengers tastings and sales of 14 Glandore wines by the glass and/or the bottle.
Among them were the $30 Glandore 2014 Elliott Semillon and the $28 Glandore 2011 White Label Tempranillo, reviewed in today's Wine List.
At a cost of $14 or $18, passengers would be able to have sit-down structured tastings of Glandore wines and order one or more for serving at one of the ships' restaurants or for post-cruise home delivery.
John Barilaro praised Glandore and P&O's initiative.
"This is yet another example of how small-business owners in NSW combine a quality offering with innovation to reach new markets at home and overseas," he said.
P&O Cruises' senior vice-president Sture Myrmell said as the only cruise company based in Australia, P&O sought to source as much produce as possible from small businesses across Australia.
Glandore and Leogate share a Broke Road location and were both previously part of Rothbury Estate's highly regarded Brokenback vineyard.
The Glandore operation was established in 2005 by Duane Roy and three equal stakeholders on land that was planted with wine grapes in the 1930s by brothers Mick and Jack Phillips, who named the vineyard Glandore.
Vicki and Bill Widin, an accountant by profession who branched out into farming and grazing, bought their sections of the Rothbury Brokenback vineyard in 2007 and 2008 and renamed it Leogate Estate.
They upgraded and expanded the vineyard and built a new high-tech winery and a luxurious cellar door, tasting rooms and the Villa du Pays Restaurant and function centre.
They recently won the NSW Regional Caterer of the Year and Wedding Caterer of the Year awards at the 2015 Savour Awards for Excellence.
The two shiraz reds selected by Qantas were both available at the 1693 Broke Road, Pokolbin, cellar door or at leogate.com.au.
The Leogate 2013 Brokenback Shiraz sells for $40 and the Leogate 2013 The Basin Reserve, which is reviewed in today's Wine List, sells for $115 a bottle.
ROSE Kentish and Rebecca Duffy, two of Australia's most skilled and innovative winemakers, are among the four winners of the inaugural Australian Women in Wine Awards.
Rose, who makes wines in McLaren Vale and in France's Provence and Corsica areas for her Ulithorne label, was crowned winemaker of the year.
Rebecca, who has run Holm Oak Wines at Rowella in northern Tasmania with her viticultural agronomist husband, Tim, since 2006, won the owner-operator title.
The workplace champion of change was Dianne Laurance of Laurance Wines, Margaret River, and the viticulturist of the year was Irina Santiago-Brown of Inkwell Wines of McLaren Vale.
The Hunter's Liz Riley, who runs her own Vitibit consultancy as well as managing the Scarborough family wine company's vineyards, was one of the three finalists in the viticulturist of the year judging.
The winners were announced last night via a live-stream broadcast screened at functions in regional wine areas, including one at the Scarborough vineyard in Gillards Road, Pokolbin.
The Women in Wine Awards were established by the Fabulous Ladies' Wine Society to turn the spotlight on positive female role models and bring about a significant rise in gender diversity in the Australian wine industry.
NOMINATIONS are now open for the 2016 Maurice O'Shea Award, which recognises an individual or group for an outstanding contribution to the Australian wine industry.
The awards honour legendary Hunter Valley Mount Pleasant winemaker Maurice O'Shea and are staged every two years by the McWilliam's wine company.
Presentation of the 2016 award will take place on Monday, July 25, 2016, in Adelaide.
It will be held in conjunction with the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and Trade Exhibition and the Winemakers' Federation of Australia Outlook conference between July 24 and 28.
O'Shea Award nominations can be lodged by emailing nominations@mcwilliamswines.com.au.
Glandore Estate 2011 White Label Tempranillo, $28
HERE’S a fruit-driven red that registers 13.6per cent alcohol and has bright crimson hues. Scents of pomegranate and herbs come through on the nose and spicy cherry flavour homes in on the front of the palate. The middle palate introduces blueberry, mint and star anise fruit characters integrated with restrained coconutty oak and dusty tannins show at the finish. Get it at the Glandore Estate cellar door at 1595 Broke Road, Pokolbin, or at glandorewines.com.
DRINK WITH: chicken cacciatore
AGEING: five years
RATING: ●●●●
Glandore Estate 2014 Elliott Semillon, $30
NAMED after proprietor-winemaker Duane Roy’s 11-year-old son Elliott, this classy Hunter semillon is straw with brassy tints and brings tropical fruit salad aromas to the nose. Zippy lemon flavour features on the front of the palate and lime zest, mineral and nascent honey and toast characters chime in on the middle palate. Gunmetal acid refreshes at the finish.
DRINK WITH: pan-fried snapper with preserved-lemon dressing
AGEING: eight years
RATING: ●●●●●
Leogate 2013 The Basin Reserve Shiraz, $115
I FIRST tasted this red in July last year and it maintains its wonderful vibrancy and balance. It glows deep, dark purple and has blackcurrant aromas. It has 14 per cent alcohol and intense satsuma plum flavour rolls onto the front of the palate and cassis, dark chocolate and mocha coffee fruit characters integrate with savoury oak on the middle palate. Minty tannins home in at the finish. It’s available at leogate.com.au and at the 1693 Broke Road, Pokolbin, cellar door.
DRINK WITH: rib of beef with bearnaise sauce
AGEING: 15years
RATING: ●●●●●