Australia

News August 7, 2011

This Week In Wine 8/7/11

    Fiji water’s owners buy Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards Fiji Water’s owners announced this week the company’s second California winery acquisition in less than a year. Fiji Water and parent company Roll Global are buying Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards, known for high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah (a winery featured on this website). The deal includes the winery, inventory and an 11-acre vineyard. The sale price was not disclosed. In December, Roll Global purchased its first…

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Funny, News July 25, 2011

This Week in Wine 7/24/11

    Oops! Forklift smashes $1M worth of Australia wine A malfunctioning forklift dropped 462 cases of wine in Australia on Thursday, a spill with a price tag of more than $1 million. The 5,544 bottles of 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove shiraz, with a price tag of $185 a bottle,  fell almost 20 feet to ground of a wharf in Port Adelaide as the forklift was loading it for shipment abroad, according to media reports….

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News July 17, 2011

This Week in Wine – 7/17/11

    Gallo’s Growing Barefoot Brand Is No. 1 Sutter Home is No. 2, while total domestic retail wine sales increased 7% in June. E. & J. Gallo Winery’s fast-growing Barefoot brand remained No. 1 in retail sales for the 52 weeks ending June 13, with $255 million in sales. With Carlo Rossi ranking seventh in sales and Gallo Family Vineyards ninth, the Gallo company owns three of the top 10 brands. Two other Gallo…

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Reviews June 14, 2011

D’Arenberg The Hermit Crab, Viognier / Marsanne, Adelaide – Australia 2009

Grapes 72% Viognier 28% Marsanne   Facts You’re excused if you haven’t seen this kind of blend before, Viognier and Marsanne are more commonly found blended together in the Southern Rhone region of France. D’Arenberg is certainly one of the most recognized wineries in Southern Australia. The company was established back in 1912 by Joseph Osborn after he purchased land in what has now become the McLaren Vale. Interesting thing to note is that Joseph…

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Reviews June 5, 2011

Layer Cake Shiraz, South Australia 2009

Grapes 100% Shiraz Facts The popularity of Layer Cake really seems to have exploded over the last couple of years, and why wouldn’t it!?!? There’s picture of a delicious looking cake on the front label! People are suckers for good-looking wine labels (myself included). Layer Cake is a winemaking venture from Jayson Woodbridge (no connection to Woodbridge wine), who first first came onto the radar in 1998, with a little-known wine called Hundred Acre. He…

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Pairings May 20, 2011

Samuel’s Gorge Tempranillo from McLaren Vale, Australia.

Grape 100% Tempranillo Most often found in Spain, particularly in the Rioja wine region, the name Tempranillo is thought to be linked to the Spanish word “temprano” meaning “early”. The grape supposedly ripens weeks earlier than other varietals.   Facts So this would be my first Aussie Tempranillo, at least from what I can remember, but then again my memory is pretty horrible. Tempranillo has always been a grape that has fascinated me. It is…

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News April 9, 2011

This Week in Wine…

  Trump buys Kluge winery operation for $6.2 million The Trump Organization, headed by business mogul and potential presidential candidate Donald Trump, bought the bulk of the Kluge Estate Winery & Vineyard at auction. So it seems that The Donald wants to get into winemaking! It’s nice to see that he wants to restore Kluge to its former glory, only time will tell how that works out for him! No word on whether he’s going…

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