Dear Savour Life Wine Club Member,
Winter Tasting Pack
A special welcome to all our new members and to all our existing supporters. In this pack we have included 3 white and 3 red wines for those ordering the mixed pack. In the white range we have included one bottle each of our aged Semillon 2002, Chardonnay 07 and the Chardonnay 06 unwooded. The Semillon has been cellared by us in bottle for the past 6 years and has just been released showing some lovely lime and grapefruit characters overlaid with honey and butterscotch making it a great compliment to seafood. The Chardonnay 07 is organically grown and won the Trophy and Gold medal at the Hunter Boutique Wine Show last September and goes superbly with chicken and pasta. The Chardonnay unwooded has been very popular with our members and is a light and refreshing wine for afternoon enjoyment or lazing around on a picnic.
For the reds we have included 1 bottle each of our Cabernet Sauvignon 06, our Matthew Merlot 06 and our Shiraz 06. The Cabernet Sauvignon is quite youthful and would benefit from a little cellaring as the tannin structure will become smoother. The Merlot is drinking really well inspite of its young age – the wine is probably the biggest Merlot in the Hunter and is very delicious with a silky tannin structure. The Shiraz is a lighter style with minimal oak tannins. The wine has an interesting fruity bouquet.
Our “Certified Biodynamic” wines are produced with low sulfur levels, about one third the level of common bottle shop brands, and the wines are showing beautiful clean flavours on the back palate.
We hope you enjoy these environmentally friendly wines.
Wine Club Dinner
Max Allen gave a highly entertaining as well as thought provoking speach
Our second Wine Club Dinner was held on the 12th April 2008 and it was a great success with nearly 70 people enjoying the beautiful organic meal prepared by the dynamic duo of Ros and Adam Baldwin from Mojo’s Restaurant in Wilderness Road and the delicious Macquariedale Wines to compliment the fare.
Our guest speaker, Max Allen, contributing wine writer to both the Australian Newspaper, Gourmet Traveller and wine book writer was inspirational in his talk on the background to Biodynamics and its future impact on the planet.
Ross introduces the Macquariedale Wines at the
2nd annual Wine Club Dinner
One of Max’s most thought provoking comments was about the question of “What did you do to help the war?” Refering of course to the battle against global warming and the subsequent climate change issues.
Wine Availability
As time goes on we are supplying more and more of our wines on a direct basis through our internet web site www.macquariedale.com.au .Whilst we recognize the importance of having strategic retail outlets for our wine we feel long term that many consumers yearn for a direct relationship with the producer, as evidenced by the growing farmers’ markets, and consequently we are now supplying in case lots free of charge to the main centres on the east coast.
Hunter Valley Cellars located in Hunter Valley Gardens, Pokolbin now has a range of our wines for those that do not have time to come out to our vineyard when visiting the Hunter Wine Country. Also the refurbished Royal River Inn, Morpeth, NSW has a range of our wines in their new restaurant.
Cellar Door / Club Membership
Our Cellar Door has now been operating for over two years and we are extremely pleased with the response from many of our members who find the time to visit us on their journeys through the Hunter. We now have available Certified Olive Oil at the cellar door and several books on Biodynamics including “What is Biodynamic Wine?“ by Nicolas Joly from Coulee de Serrant vineyard in the Loire valley, France.
Other Events
We exhibited at the Randwick Council Eco Living Show in April which proved once again the real interest in our Certified Biodynamic Wines.
We presented our wines at the Tocal Field Days near Paterson, NSW in early May and this was a great event with over 30,000 people attending. Our wines were very well received with the range of local food and wines on display.
You should diarise the weekend of the 26th/27th July for the Organic Expo which will be held at Darling Harbour. This is a great event showcasing all that is good about organics and environmental supportive from clothing, cosmetics, food, wine and much more.
We are showcasing our wines at Warringah Councils “World Environmental Day Expo” on Sunday 25th May at James Meehan Reserve, Dee Why Beach. This day is developing into a great opportunity for residents to review all aspects of sustainable living.
Review of 2008 Vintage / Global Warming
The least said about the 2008 Hunter vintage the better! From 6 years of combating drought to the wettest year in 30 years – created quite a challenge for all grape growers.
We picked some of the white grapes before the big deluges in February however most of the reds did not ripen sufficiently to make good wine.
The good news is that we have been fortunate to secure some Certified Biodynamic red grapes from another grower to supplement supplies over the ensuing period. From the high rainfall levels the water table in the Valley is now completely filled and we should have enough water availability to last at least 3-4 years if we do not receive any further rains.
Another piece of good news is we are planning to launch our first sparkling wine towards the end of this year which will be called “EMMA’S BUBBLES” after our beautiful young daughter.
One final point is that we continue to use cork closures in our red wines as they are much more environmentally friendly - they are a totally renewable resource from trees! The cork we are using is called DIAM and it is claimed to eliminate all cork taint issues, we will have to wait and see.
Biodynamic Certification / 10281BD
As previously advised we are now certified Grade A with the ACO. This is an ongoing process where we are audited on a regular basis for compliance. You should look out for the “bud” logo (on the bottom of our letterhead) on food and drink packaging to be assured that the product in question is properly certified.
There is a great deal of confusion about “Preservative Free” wines. Many people think that this term refers to Organic wines however “preservative free” wines are not necessarily Organic. We do not produce these wines as our wines have low preservative levels and our wines are Certified Organic.
Sales
We have enclosed our price list detailing our current wine availability. Remember all wines are purchased with a 20% discount and we are happy to put together mixed cases for you and delivery is free! Delivery can be arranged to your home, office or to a friend, if so required. Another brochure is enclosed so please pass this onto a friend who may be interested in our quality, great drinking Certified Biodynamic wines.
“Macquariedale wines are cleaner, fresher, with real fruit characters” Klaus
We look forward to any comments you have about our wines or how we can improve our service. Enjoy the wine!
Cheers,
Ross, Derice and Pauline
