We visited Rowlee a little over a year ago with a group from the Wine Media Conference This was a post-conference excursion to Orange Australia sponsored by Orange 360. We joined Nicole and James at their cellar door on the vineyard. We gathered on the porch to look out on the vineyard as the sun began to set, tasting through their Pinot Gris, Riesling, and rosé.
Rowlee is in the Orange Region of Australia which is a high altitude region. This 8-hectare vineyard sits at 950 meters above sea level. That’s over 3000 feet. They sit at the foot of Mount Canobolas with ancient volcanic soils.
As we gathered at Rowlee, we sipped wines and enjoyed snacks before a tour of the property.
Our evening began with Pinot Gris, Riesling and Rose from Rowlee
The cellar door at Rowlee is elegant and understated with a patio overlooking the vineyard
October and spring in Australia, the Pinot Gris at Rowlee was just leafing.
Nicole and James had a delicious dinner prepared for us in the tasting room, which paired with their beautiful wines.
We had a tour of the property, and James shared with us some of the fascinating studies and technological advances they have been working on. We then gathered around the table to feast and taste their wines.
2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo
One of the standouts from our tasting and a bottle of wine that we left with, was their 2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo.
They have 2 clones of Nebbiolo and they only make it in the best years. James says they know the Nebbiolo is right when it tastes like a piece of licorice when they taste it on the vine.
2017 was not a great year and it did not have those notes, so they decided to drop the fruit and mulch it back into the soil. They did save a little of the fruit and turned it into Grappa. The 2018 vintage, on the other hand, was spectacular.
My notes
The 2018 Rowlee Nebbiolo has notes of black fruit, red fruit, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco, licorice, and a lovely floral note in the back, like crushed rose petals.
It has great acid and flavors of bramble fruit and red cherry with a long finish.
14% abv 100% Nebbiolo $60 AU SRP
Bleu Cheese Burger with bacon and tomato marmalade
To pair with this beautiful wine, we made burgers with some toppings to tie in the flavors in the wine.
First, your meat should be 80% lean. Then you make a ¾ inch patty and make a deep thumbprint in the middle of each patty. This will keep them cooking evenly. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a cast-iron skillet with a bit of canola oil. 3 minutes for the first side then flip and cook 3 minutes on the other side. Then add your cheese, put a lid on it and cook for 1 more minute. The burgers come out medium rare and juicy.
For this burger, we cooked the 2nd side for 4 minutes and added bacon and bleu cheese. After that, I drizzled with a little balsamic reduction. We also topped it with spinach and a bit of tomato marmalade. This recipe we made a couple of years ago and I still have a jar left. It’s soo good. Maybe I’ll dig that recipe up to share with you later.
Blue Cheese bacon burger with tomato marmalade and the 2018 Rowlee Nebbiolo from NSW Australia
Burger with bacon, blue cheese, balsamic reduction, spinach and tomato marmalade, & fries
The wine with this burger was lovely. Usually eating a burger is a bit messy and drippy, oozing with umami and we pair it with a Syrah or a Cab Franc. This burger was delicious, but the wine made it behave. The wine was elegant, popping the bleu cheese notes and bringing out the tomato in the marmalade. It tamed the bacon, which always wants to be the star of the show. It made this burger ever so civilized. I almost felt like I should be eating it with a knife and fork.
Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs
To tie in the black fruit and cocoa notes in the wine, we made these fancy-schmancy blackberry goat cheese chocolate bombs. While we could have just hand-dipped them, we just bought silicone dome molds and I was dying to use them. So, I learned to temper chocolate (only afterward finding an easier way) and created these delights. We made them in 2 sizes and I kinda prefer the smaller ones that you can pop in your mouth in one bite, even though the larger size looks prettier.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Of course, I needed to adjust from metric and then, we just bought these great silicon molds, so rather than dip these, I wanted to temper chocolate and make domes! (What was I thinking!) I will admit to learning along the way with these and I will share some of my mistakes and what I would do differently as we go along. Keep in mind, if you don’t have silicone molds, you can follow Leanne’s instructions in the link above to dip these!
Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Yield: 8 Servings
In the mini chocolate bombs, you can see the filling
What to Pair?
2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo
We visited Rowlee Vineyard in the Orange Wine Region of NSW Australia in October of 2019. One of the standouts and a wine that we left with, was their 2018 Nebbiolo. They have 2 clones of Nebbiolo and they only make it in the best years. James says they know the Nebbiolo is right when it tastes like a piece of licorice when they taste it on the vine.
The 2018 vintage has notes of black fruit, red fruit, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco, licorice, and florals. It has great acid and flavors of bramble fruit and red cherry with a long finish.
14% abv 100% Nebbiolo $60 AU SRP
Tempered Chocolate
Ingredients
1 ½ cup of chocolate chips (be sure this is not composite chocolate there should be no fats or oils other than cocoa butter)
There are several methods for tempering chocolate, which if you are a cooking show junkie like me, you are probably aware of at least 2 of them. Tempering chocolate is a method of heating and cooling the chocolate to get the cocoa butter crystals to align themselves so that when the chocolate sets it is smooth, shiny, and crisp.
There are 3 methods I found:
Seed Method
Tablier Method
Microwave Method
The Tablier method is that one you see at the Chocolatiers, where they have a large piece of marble and a putty knife and they spread and scrape the chocolate.
The Microwave Method felt shady to Michael and we didn’t (think) we have a silicone bowl.
So the Seeding Method was what we were going with.
Directions
Melt 1 cup in a double boiler, (I use a glass bowl over a pot of water) stirring constantly until it reaches 115 degrees (55 C). Be careful that steam and water don’t get into your chocolate.
Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the double boiler (sit it on a towel on the counter) and add the remaining chips. Stir the chocolate to melt and continue stirring until the temperature drops to 83 degrees (you can, and probably should, move the chocolate to a second bowl after you stir in and melt the chocolate. This will speed up the cooling process. I did not and it took FOREVER!)
Now put this back on the double boiler and get it back up to 88 to 90 degrees which is where you want it to be when you are working with it.
*Plan B – use the microwave method! (see below)*
Now, you can make your domes
Using a spoon the appropriate size for your dome, drop a dollop of chocolate in the mold and then paint it up the sides using the back of a spoon. Here is a video that I followed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgSeH5nNB_w
These go in the freezer to set up for 15 minutes.
While they are setting, make the filling.
*Plan B – Microwave method of Tempering Chocolate*
Two days later I realized I did have a silicon dish! So here’s how you would do this in the microwave!
Place the chocolate in your silicon dish, microwave for 30 seconds on high, then stir (use your instant read thermometer) don’t let the temperature go over 90 degrees.
If the chocolate is not completely melted return for 30 seconds, then 15 seconds, then 10 seconds, stirring each time and checking the temperature. When the chocolate is melted, you are good to go.
This is sooo much easier than the seeding method. I will never go back! (I used this for another recipe that will be coming up!)
In your stand mixer, mix the goat cheese, honey and vanilla
Beat on high for 2 minutes
Add the coconut and mix another 20 seconds
Take the bowl out of the stand mixer and fold in the blackberries by hand
Assembling
Pull the set domes out of the freezer and fill (but not completely) with the filling.
You will need a bit more chocolate to finish these, coating the filling and forming a bottom.
Put these back in the freezer 15 minutes to set.
Watch our quick video for the highlights.
Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs with a Rowlee 2018 Nebbiolo
To tie in the black fruit and cocoa notes in the wine, we made these fancy-schmancy blackberry goat cheese chocolate bombs. While we could have just hand-dipped them, we just bought silicone dome molds and I was dying to use them. So, I learned to temper chocolate (only afterward finding an easier way) and created these delights. We made them in 2 sizes and I kinda prefer the smaller ones that you can pop in your mouth in one bite, even though the larger size looks prettier.
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As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Early one spring morning we headed into the Southern Highlands region in New South Wales Australia to visit Tertini Cellars. It was October and we were staying on the coast in Shoalhaven. We arose early and headed inland up through the Kangaroo Valley, past Fitzroy Falls. It was a rainy morning and the driving felt a little treacherous; winding roads into the mountains, with the rain and driving on the opposite side of the road and car than we were accustomed to.
This area is so lush and green. Spring was definitely in the air. It was so different than the Shoalhaven area we had just left.
We made it, arriving before the cellar door opened and Jonathan Holgate, the Tertini winemaker met us to tell us a bit about the wines, and show us the winery. He took us out to the Yarrandoo Vineyard which is closest to the winery before taking us through a tasting at the cellar door.
This is a high-altitude region with a moderating maritime influence. We had just driven up from the coast. This gives them a long growing season. When I say high-altitude, the vineyards here sit between 650 and 715 meters above sea level. That’s around 2100-2300 feet. The Yarrandoo Vineyard is the highest of their vineyards at 715 meters. Here they grow, Pinot Noir, Arneis, Riesling, and Chardonnay.
Tertini is sensitive to the needs of the wildlife locally and leaves 30% of their property undeveloped. They say doing this gives the animals shelter and places to forage, so they don’t bother the vines, so everybody wins.
The Tertini entrance sign, unpretentiously nestled in the trees
The Tertini Tasting Room in Australia’s Southern Highlands
The Patio at Tertini Wines
The elegant Tertini Tasting Room Southern Highlands NSW Australia
Spring Vines in Tertini’s Yaraandoo Vineyard in Southern Highlands
Tertini Wines Yaraandoo Vineyard in Australia’s Southern Highlands
Tertini 2018 Private Cellar Collection Arneis
This Arneis is from the Yarrandoo Vineyard that we visited with Jonathan on that drizzly spring morning. There were only 62 cases produced. This does a partial oak ferment. Yes, I said ferment. Jonathan said that at the time he did not know of another Arneis being made in this way in Australia.
13.5% abv SRP $42 AU
This Arneis was medium lemon in color, with notes of light smoke, dusty citrus, bruised herbs like tarragon, grilled peach, earth, and roasted nuts.
Medium in alcohol, body, and medium to high acidity, it had pronounced flavors of tart yellow apple, almond, vanilla, and under-ripe white peach, with a long finish.
This wine was not loud, but quietly confident. It swam around the food enveloping it beautifully. When you return to sip it on its own it is bolder and brighter. It’s like a brilliant friend who is a good listener.
This vintage is sold out, but the 2019 Vintage is now available.
We paired this with a grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad. If I could have found duck, I would have used duck, but…pandemic, ya know!
Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis
I sliced the roasted chicken and warmed it in a pan with olive oil and butter. After removing the chicken to a plate to keep warm, I added honey and more butter to the pan. When the butter melted I added lemon juice and salt, stirred this up, and removed it from the heat.
Sliced peaches and shallots are cooked on a grill pan, then the salad assembles with greens on the bottom. We used artisan salad greens, frisee, red leaf, and butter lettuce, but you can use whatever you have on hand. This gets topped with roasted chicken, grilled peaches, and shallots and drizzled with the honey dressing. Finish this off with fresh tarragon and sliced almonds.
I found that this barrel-fermented Arneis really made the tarragon pop.
Ingredients for roasted chicken, grilled peach and tarragon salad
Tertini Private Cellar Collection Arneis with grilled peach, chicken and tarragon salad
Peach crisp
Dessert was a peach crisp made in two individual gratin dishes. We mixed fresh and frozen peaches with sugar and flour to coat and placed them in the buttered gratins. This was topped with a mixture of butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and rolled oats. We served this warm with vanilla ice cream.
This was warm and wonderful with the Arneis, much of that was due to the fresh peaches which cut the sweetness of the dish.
If you find yourself in Australia (I realize that is unlikely to happen soon unless you already live there). Head to Southern Highlands and visit Tertini. The region is beautiful especially in the spring and the wines at Tertini are a step above.
While they are sold out of this vintage, I spoke with Craig their Cellar Door Manager and he recommends the Tertini 2019 PCC (Private Cellar Collection) Arneis, which spends 10 months in oak and he says “Looks terrific”.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
This is such a simple recipe, it almost doesn’t need measurements. I whipped this up after lunch for Michael and me to enjoy as a dessert with a wine that really wanted peaches.
What to Pair?
Tertini 2018 Private Cellar Collection Arneis
This wine comes from Tertini Wines in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales Australia. It is Arneis which is a white Italian grape from the Piemonte region.
Time: 45 Minutes
Yield: 2 people
peach crisp ingredients, oh and the peaches of course
Ingredients
Peach crisp
For the topping
¼ cup of flour
6 tbs of light brown sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
¼ cup of unsalted butter cut into cubes (keep this cold)
½ cup of rolled oats
Filling
2 cups of peaches (these can be fresh sliced or frozen or a combination, which is what I used)
2 tbs sugar
1 ½ tbs flour
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Butter 2 individual gratin dishes
In a large bowl mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt
Add the cold butter, mixing with a fork or pastry cutter. This should come together and be crumbly (I used my fingers a bit at the end, just be careful not to melt the butter)
Stir in the oats, then toss the bowl in the fridge while you get the fruit ready
Put the peaches in a large bowl, sprinkle with the flour and sugar. Stir until the peaches are covered.
Spoon the mixture into the 2 gratin dishes.
Cover with the topping
Bake for 30 minutes until they are bubbly and the top is lightly browned
Cool only slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Peach crisp
Watch our quick video for the highlights.
Peach crisp with Tertini Private Cellar Collection Arneis
This crisp was so easy and made the house smell terrific. Don’t forget to top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This was warm and wonderful with the Arneis, much of that was due to the fresh peaches which cut the sweetness of the dish. These were late-season peaches and were crisp and not as sweet as summer peaches.
This Arneis is from the Yarrandoo Vineyard that we visited with Jonathan on that drizzly spring morning. There were only 62 cases produced. This does a partial oak ferment. Yes, I said ferment. Jonathan said that at the time he did not know of another Arneis being made in this way in Australia.
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Valentine’s Day is a day for Love. We decided to go all-in on our Valentine’s Pairings. I encourage you to celebrate, spoil your partner or a relative or friend that you are sheltering with during the pandemic. Celebrate with your fur baby, with a bit of this steak for your favorite pooch, and pull out [...]
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Using a Portabella mushroom is a great flavorful way to go meatless. This delicious dish can be made gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan. Filled with a wide variety of vegetables, the flavor in the sun-dried tomatoes really kicks it up a notch. Stuffed Vegan Portabella Mushrooms I will admit, that I didn't go all the way [...]
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Sometimes you look at a plate and it just needs some green. What if you really DON'T feel like a salad? I found a quick and easy recipe for Pea Mash on Sprinkles and Sprouts and updated it adding fresh mint to brighten the dish. The mint brightens it, making it taste as vivid green [...]
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I was looking for a roasted baby potatoes side dish to pair with an Oregon Pinot Noir and was surfing Pinterest for inspiration. It's the visuals of the food I love. You eat with your eyes, you know what I mean? I came across this dish and couldn't get it out of my head. Inspired [...]
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This recipe for Roasted Cornish Game Hens was an elegant dish that we paired with a Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. We wanted something that would not be too heavy, but would match the elegance of this wine. Incorporating Pinot Noir into the dish as well as adding a savory berry drizzle, help to [...]
Alloro – Stunning Wines from Oregon’s New Laurelwood District AVA
“Alloro” It’s the Italian word for laurel. When David Nemarnik purchased this now 130-acre site, he named it after the Laurelwood soils found on the site. He grew up nearby in Portland, making homemade wine in his garage. He searched the area for the right site, testing soils to find the best for growing the [...]
An Affordable and Aromatic Gewürztraminer Paired with Thai Red Curry #WinePW
This month the #WinePW crew is looking to pair with Asian dishes, led by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. The premise is Saké or another wine with Asian dishes. I enjoy saké, but it is something that I enjoy the ceremony of, out at a sushi restaurant with friends. Oh great, now I’m nostalgic, [...]
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis
You can never go wrong with grilled peaches and this salad looks so lush and elegant. Grilled peach has those lucious fruit notes, with the texture made soft and the umami from those grill marks.
Find some good greens, I used frisee, red leaf and butter leaf, but you could incorporate herb greens, other lettuces or even beet greens or chard!
While I used roasted chicken, any poultry would be good here and you can choose your onion. I went with shallots, because I had them on hand and they are milder.
The tarragon and the dressing are the finishing touches that make this salad, utilizing the pan drippings with butter, honey and lemon juice.
Time: 25 Minutes
Yield: 2 people
Grilled Peach and Roasted chicken and Tarragon Salad Ingredients
What to Pair?
Tertini 2018 Private Cellar Collection Arneis
This Arneis is from the Yarrandoo Vineyard that we visited with Jonathan on that drizzly spring morning. There were only 62 cases produced. This does a partial oak ferment. Yes, I said ferment. Jonathan said that at the time he did not know of another Arneis being made in this way in Australia.
13.5% abv SRP $42 AU (the new 2019 vintage is now available)
Grilled peach Roasted Chicken and tarragon salad
Ingredients
½ roasted chicken (you can roast yours if you like, I bought mine at the store pre- roasted)
2 peaches
1 to 2 shallots cut into rings
2 tbs honey
3 tbs butter
1 lemon juiced
Fresh tarragon
Assorted greens (I used frisee, red leaf and butter lettuce)
¼ cup of slice almonds
Olive oil
Sea salt
Directions
I sliced the roasted chicken and warmed it in a pan with olive oil and butter. After removing the chicken to a plate to keep warm, I added honey and more butter to the pan. When the butter melted I added lemon juice and salt, stirred this up, and removed it from the heat.
Sliced peaches and shallots are cooked on a grill pan, then the salad assembles with greens on the bottom. We used artisan salad greens, frisee, red leaf, and butter lettuce, but you can use whatever you have on hand. This gets topped with roasted chicken, grilled peaches, and shallots and drizzled with the honey dressing. Finish this off with fresh tarragon and sliced almonds.
Slice the roasted chicken and warm in a pan with olive and 1 tbs of the butter
Remove this to a plate to keep warm
In the same pan add the honey and the remaining 2 tbs of butter.
When the butter is melted add the lemon juice and salt.
Stir this to combine and remove it from the heat. This is your dressing
Slice the peaches and shallots and cook on a grill pan. Make sure to get bar marks, they make this extra pretty.
Assemble in your serving bowl, placing the torn lettuce on the bottom
Top with the chicken, peaches and shallots
Drizzle with the honey dressing, making sure to dress all the chicken.
Top with torn fresh tarragon and sliced almonds.
Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad
Watch our quick video for the highlights.
Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis
This Tertini Arneis was rich, but with good acid and with the notes of tarragon in the wine, I knew this would pair well. It would also be really good with duck breast, but alas, I had no duck breasts.
I found that this barrel-fermented Arneis really made the tarragon pop, and the richness of the wine from the barrel aging worked well with the rich flavors and still had good acid to cut through. The grilled peach pulled up the fruit notes in the wine.
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As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
It’s no secret, I like bubbles, so I was excited for our visit to Printhie while we were in Orange, NSW Australia. Printhie has a second label, called Swift, for their passion project under which they bottle traditional method sparkling wines.
Ed Swift of Printhie Wines and Swift Sparkling Wines
Swift happens to be the family name of the owners of Printhie Wines. Ed Swift, who manages the business with his brother Dave, met us with winemaker Drew Tuckwell at the Packing Shed that has become their tasting room in Orange.
The Printhie winery, where their cellar door has been located, is a 30-minute drive from here. This new property in Orange, allowed them to move their cellar door, closer to town, and this location has great elevation for growing grapes for sparkling wines.
Located in the foothills of Mt. Canobolas at between 920 and 1000 meters (2600 to 3200 feet) this area is ideal for growing grapes for sparkling wine.
Drew Tuckwell, the winemaker for Printhie and Swift, pouring a Swift Sparkling wine.
Orange, historically has been an orchard region. At its peak, there were 268 orchards within a 12 km radius of the city. Today there are just 40 in the same area. The area is known for hail, which can damage the fruit and requires netting. Insurance companies won’t insure for hail here and supermarkets only want to buy perfect fruit, so it’s been tough for the orchards.
When they bought this 56-acre property it was an apple orchard. While they took out some of the trees to plant the vineyards of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, they wanted to keep sections of the orchards. They won’t make money off of them, but they can preserve the history and heritage of the region as well as add a bit of biodiversity. They cherish the view from the ridge with the dappled farmland of vineyards and orchards.
New Vines at the Millwood Vineyard at the Printhie Packing Shed Cellar Door
The cellar door here is the old packing shed for the apple orchard. They have hung a chandelier and brought in tables next to the apple packing equipment, giving the place a shabby chic feel. There is a platter of fruit and cheese on the table and a wine barrel whose top is covered in ice and is full of Sydney Rock Oysters.
We get a little education on the oysters while we are here. The flavor and size change depending on the tributary the oyster beds are on. These are Clyde River oysters that Ed had shucked just before our arrival. What could be better with sparkling wine?
They began Swift in 2010, with the intent to make premium sparkling wine from Orange. They sent Drew to Champagne to soak up as much information as he could over the 2-week harvest in France. He spent time with Rodolphe Peters of Champagne Pierre Peters. Rodolphe’s advice to him was to blend for structure.
“If you have the structure, you have the freshness, and you have the backbone to build complexity. “
Drew Tuckwell October 2019
They currently produce 5 sparkling wines: a Non-Vintage Cuveé, a Non-Vintage Rosé, a 2012 Vintage wine, a Blanc de Blanc, as well as a Blanc de Noirs which had yet to be released at the time but is available now.
The Swift Sparkling Wines
Swift NV Cuveé
This wine was based on the 2013 vintage with some reserve wine from earlier vintages. It spent 5 ½ years on tirage lees. It is chardonnay dominant with 60% and then 40% pinot noir. Dosage is 7.0 g/L and abv is 12.7%. This is their entry point sparkling wine.
It has white fruit, with a bit of red fruit (think strawberries) from the Pinot Noir. There are florals and yeast and a wonderful nuttiness.
This entry-level wine is $40 AU and took the Best of the Best Award in the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards as well as a 96 pt score. It is a consistent award-winning wine.
Swift NV Rosé
The pink version of their NV is 65% chardonnay and 35% pinot noir. The color is given by pinot noir added at disgorgement which gives them a bit more control. The dosage here is 5.0 g/L and 11.5% abv. It spends 60 months on lees.
Another value at $40 AU which garnered a 95 rating from the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion.
Swift 2012 Vintage
The vintage blend is 72/28 (chardonnay/pinot noir). Chardonnay is the strength of this region. The wine we were drinking had been disgorged 12 months prior and spent 6 years on lees. Dosage is 5.0 g/L and abv is 12%. This again got 95 points in the 2012 Halliday Wine Companion.
It’s a bit more expensive at $50 AU, but for this wine, it is still a steal.
Swift 2010 Blanc de Blancs
100% Chardonnay, this wine is their flagship. It spent 8 years (that’s 96 months!) on lees. With low dosage at 4.0 g/L, it sits at 11.5% abv.
Drew speaks about blending for structure and how that allows these wines to age so beautifully and stay so fresh. It also is why they evolve so slowly. Drew tells us that this wine as a young wine had such sharp acidity it was almost undrinkable. Now it is rounder and richer, still with amazing acid.
This pinnacle of their wines runs $85.00 AU per bottle.
We discussed gyropalettes and disgorging machines. While Ed dreams of having a riddling and disgorging line, they currently send the wines out for this. The wines leave the “above ground cellar” for 2 weeks total for this. 7 days in the gyropalette does what months in a riddling rack would do.
We continued chatting, sipping on these tasty bubbles, rescuing the oysters from the melting ice, and storing them away in our stomachs, as the sun started to set. We emerged from the Shack in time to witness the sun going over the ridge in the vineyard.
The sun setting over the orchard on the ridge at Printhie's Nashdale Cellar door
These were delicious wines and fascinating people to speak with. They are passionate about creating quality sparkling wine and that’s not an easy task. Champagne has had a couple of centuries to figure out this process and Swift has only been making it in Orange for 10 years.
They know that they are not making Champagne, but the goal is to make a glass of wine, from Orange, that can stand on its own next to a glass of Champagne. That, I think, they’ve done.
How To Find Them!
The Printhie Cellar door is located in the Packing Shed at 208 Nancarrow Lane in Nashdale, just 10 minutes from Orange. Check the website in advance for hours and to schedule a booking. https://printhiewines.com.au/
More on Orange, Australia!
Want more information on the Orange Wine Region in Australia? Check out these other pieces we’ve written on the region!
Our visit to Printhie occurred during our post-conference tour at the 2019 Wine Media Conference, This media trip was arranged by Orange360 who provided accommodations and internal travel. No other compensation was received. All opinions are our own.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Last spring, we found ourselves in Australia for the Wine Media Conference held in the Hunter Valley. Well really, last fall for us in October, but it was spring in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
After arriving in the Orange region, our first stop was at Angullong Cellars in the village of Millthorpe. Our group was set up in the garden behind the historic bluestone stable that is now their tasting room and we were greeted with sparkling wine.
History of Angullong
Angullong was established in 1950. This family-owned wine company has vineyards on the southern lower slopes of Mount Canobolas. This ancient volcano is the highest point in the region. If you head west, everything gets lower and flatter out to West Australia. Ben told us the next highest peak to the west is in South Africa! The Angullong property has steep undulating hills that quickly descend to meet the Belubula River.
Ben & his brother James are the third generation of their family managing this property that at one point grew wheat and raised cattle and sheep. They still raise cattle in addition to growing wine grapes on the 5000-acre property.
Ben greeted us in the garden, welcomed us to Millthorpe, and filled us in on the Orange region.
The Orange Wine Region
The wine region is named for the city of Orange, and vineyards must be at a minimum of 600 meters (1968 feet) above sea level. They sit just west of the Blue Mountains. This area is considered “Central West New South Wales” or the “Central Ranges”.
Originally known for its orchards of apples and pears the region has now added wine grapes. Over the last 30 years or so around 30 vineyards have been planted in the area, of all sizes.
The region is known for having all 4 seasons. But at the time we were there, the region was in a drought. This is the drought that led to the horrible fires in January. They are in better shape than areas east of them, as we could attest to driving in from the Hunter Valley, where dams are empty, and lakes are dried up.
Currently the Orange region was green with blossoms on the trees and the bright green of trees just leafing out. Spring was in the air.
This is considered a cool climate region to the altitude. Most of Australia’s other cool climate regions are in maritime climates to the south.
They get a bit of snow. In fact, there had been snow on Mount Canobolas the previous weekend. It was brief, and high on the Mountain. Spring at this point had sprung with the vineyards in bud burst. During the summers temperatures can get to the high 30’s typically (100-102 degrees Fahrenheit).
With a long winter and late budburst, their growing season pushes into late summer and fall. The fruit ripens in late summer and then has a long slow ripening into fall that gives them better color in the reds and allows the grapes to retain their natural acidity as well as intensity of flavor.
The Angullong Vineyard
Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW
The Angullong vineyard straddles the Orange Region and the Central Ranges with vineyards from 550 meters to 650 meters (1800 to 2100 feet). The vineyard is about 30 km from Millthorpe in Panuara and is one of the larger vineyards in the area with 200 hectares (almost 500 acres) of vines.
The property is diverse with a good supply of water due to being on the Belubula River. They have a high-security water license that allows them to pump out of the river, which is a very fast-moving river.
Climate change
While they have only had grapes here for 20 to 30 years, crops have been grown here much longer. Farmers say cereal crops have come forward almost a month (a day per year) over the past 30 years.
“As farmers in Australia, we are on the receiving end of the global damage.”
Ben Crossing, October 2019
Angullong Cellar Door in Millthorpe
They moved their tasting room into this old bluestone stable about 10 years ago.
Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard converted stable into Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard converted stable into Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Ben Crossing and brother James in picture Angullong Vineyard at the Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard converted stable into Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Welcome to Country
At this point we stopped as Michael Newman gave us a First Nation welcome in the Wiradjuri tongue which he then translated to English.
He began by teaching us the greeting “Yamandhu marang” which translates roughly to “are you well?” He gave us a traditional Welcome to Country greeting. This begins with extending respect to the Wiradjuri elders as well as beyond to elders of other nations that call this area home.
He then spoke his welcome in the Wiradjuri tongue, then at the end translated for us.
“Ladies and gentlemen, young men, young women, and distinguished guests, First I want to pay my respects to Wiradjuri elders both past and present. By acknowledging that I pay my respects to other elders of other nations here today, I want you to remember, you are on Wiradjuri land today.
Our people lived and cared for this land for a long time. Our people have lived and danced for a long time on this land.
Our land the Wiradjuri land is known as the land of the three rivers, the Lachlan, the Murrumbigee, and the Macquarie. You must respect and honor, all people, and all part of country.
Give honor, be respectful, polite, and patient with all, then the people will respect you. Hold fast to each other, empower the people, respect everything living, and growing. You look after the land and rivers and those land and rivers; they’ll look after you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s wonderful to see that our footprints are side by side in the soil on Wiradjuri land, that indicates that our people are walking and talking together, so let’s work together to make everything good for all people.
So ladies and gentlemen my name is Michael Newman, I’m proud to be Wiradjuri, I’m proud to be on Wiradjuri land, I thank you very much and Welcome!”
Michael Newman, Proud Wiradjuri Man
Indigenous Dances
We then moved into our welcome through dance. The indigenous dance troupe performed several dances.
Welcome Aboriginal Dance
The first dance symbolized the indigenous peoples first meeting with the settlers. Wary of these new people they would begin spears drawn, checking the new people’s energy, and seeing what kind of respect they had for the people and the land. The greeting went well, and the spear were stuck safely into the ground.
Dances to tell the story of a people
These dances told us about the history of the Aboriginal people, and welcomed and cleansed us. A fire was lit, in the traditional way and gum leaves were put on it to create the smoke which was used in a cleansing dance. The dancers used branches to wave the smoke out to cleanse the area and the people and sang out to the ancestors to join & bless us.
This is a reminder of how we are connected. The earth is the Mother, and the trees are part of the earth, so when the elders pass, they return to the earth and so they are part of the trees and these branches. This theme of being connected with the land continued. The next dance began on the ground to connect their souls to Mother. The dancers jumped up to draw in our energy and connect that to the earth, this earth that they then paint their bodies with. The earth and ochre, the original paint has been used by people around the world for thousands of years.
We move to a bit of creation story, To a dance symbolizing 4 animals that connect to their creation story. They begin with Goanna the ancient one (monitor lizard) who has been here since time began. They then move to the kangaroo, and the emu who both move forward, which is important, as these are two very different animals, but like all of us, they move forward together. Lastly the echidna who when confronted, digs in and stands his ground.
Mother Earth Dance
The next dance was introduced by reminding us of the drought. There are places in New South Wales that have been without water for over a year now. Rivers are empty, and while the country is always dry, none of the elders have ever seen the rivers run dry before. The rivers here are a life source and not just for the aboriginal people. Mother is suffering, her energy pulled out but not replenished.
This dance sends vibrations into her, to let her know that we are here, and mean her no harm. They then request a bit more energy of those of us there, pulling that back and returning it to Mother. Typically this dance is done on dirt (they were on grass here). The idea is that the dance kicks up dirt from Mother, uniting her with Father in the sky. This dance is their Mother Earth dance.
Personal stories through ancient dance
The last dance The Eagle gives respect to the dance troupe leader’s totem. It creates a spirit connection with his Grandfather, whose shares the eagle as his totem. He says that often when he dances it, his grandfather will call him and say he felt it.
These connections, to history and heritage are so important. These stories remind us that however different we are, we all move forward together.
Indigenous Cultural Adventures – and Bush Tucka
Gerald tells us about the Indigenous foods we are about to taste here in Millthorpe Australia
Kangaroo, Emu and Crocodile on the menu at Angullong Cellars
Another Emu dish from Indigenous Cultural Adventures
Emu Kofta with smoke bush tucka dressing and Johnny Cakes
Kangaroo with bush tomato relish from Indigenous Cultural Adventures
Crocodile with lemon myrtle sweet chili sauce from Indigenous Cultural Adventures
Gerald Power of Indigenous Cultural Adventures speaks next, they have set up a spread of bush tucka for us to enjoy.
Gerald introduces himself, beginning with his Mob. He is from far North Queensland the Djiru Mob with is from around the Whitsunday area and the Kanaka who were South Sea Islanders brought to Australia in the 1800s. He is part of the Vanuatu people as well as Aboriginal.
He explained that we were now going to tuck into some of the animals the dancers had portrayed. These are foods that the people on this land have consumed for over 60,000 years. They share their journey because the aboriginal history is not taught in the Australian system, so it must be shared by people like Michael Newman, the dancers like Luke and his family and Gerald with the food.
We tasted bites of Emu with Warrigal Pesto on Wombok, Emu Kofta w/smoke bush tucka dressing & Johnny Cakes, Crocodile with Lemon Myrtle Sweet Chili Sauce, and Kangaroo skewers with bush tomato relish and paired them with the wines.
Ben Crossing and the wines of Angullong
Vineyards in Orange are relatively young. 30 years ago when the vineyards were being planted, there were a lot of alternative varieties available, so the region is planted with more than Chardonnay, Cab, Shiraz and Merlot. Here you will find Vedelho, Pinot Grigio, Savignon Blanc, Tempranillo and Sagrantino among others.
When they started their vineyard, they contracted with some big wineries like Southcorp which is now Treasury. They sold grapes to them for the export market, but always had their own small vineyard with some alternate varieties.
2019 Angullong Sav Blanc
This is their biggest selling wine, and it leans a little riper in style to find more of those passion fruit notes. This is fresh and zesty $22 AUD
2019 Angullong Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris, is being made into multiple styles in the Orange region. At Angullong they lean a bit more to the Italian style which is why they call it Pinot Grigio. They do several picks to get that acidity, then a few later to bring in the flavor. This wine has one a Trophy as well as several gold medals. . $22 AUD
2018 Angullong Chardonnay
Grown at the Angullong vineyard at about 600 meters, this Chardonnay is a modern wine with layers of citrus and stone fruit and balanced oak. $22 AUD
Angullong 2017 Shiraz Vionier and Angullong 2017 Tempranillo at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong 2015 Crossing Reserve Shiraz at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong 2017 Tempranillo and 2016 Sagrantino at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong 2019 Vermentino at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
Angullong 2019 Verdelho and 2019 Pinot Grigio and 2019 Savignon Blanc at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW
Angullong Rose and Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia
2018 Fossil Hill Chardonnay
From the higher altitude Balmoral vineyard which sits at 850-950 meters, this Chardonnay has some barrel fermentation with 20% new French oak. You get more citrus with the higher altitude compared to stone fruits in lower altitude vineyards. $26. AUD
2019 Fossil Hill Vermentino
Vermentino is one of the alternative varieties that you don’t see grown often in this area. Planted on a rocky ridge with lots of sun, its thick skin holds up to the exposure and sunburn, without getting too phenolic. It requires some major canopy management to prevent too much sun in these high altitudes where the UV is higher. They have been using kaolin the clay-based product which coats the grapes to protect from sunburn and coats the leaves, so they reflect the heat and keep the temperature of the vine lower. While this vermentino gets pretty ripe it still holds its acid and has notes of nectarine. $26 AUD
As we got into tasting the Sangiovese, Ben’s wife Heidi came around with cheese biscuits made by Ben’s mom.
2018 Fossil Hill Sangiovese
They originally planted sangiovese back in 1998 and keep planting a little bit more, because it is so successful. They moved to Brunello clones which have more fruit intensity and use original Sangiovese now mostly for their Rosé. This wine is still a harder sell. Aussie palates are tuned to Shiraz, and that is only beginning to change in the past 15 years or so as they see an increase in imported wines. $28 AUD
2017 Fossil Hill Barbera
This is just the 2nd vintage of Barbera made from vines they planted in 2010. Barbera is late ripening, but it has thick tannic skins. They are right on the margins for growing it here. Any cooler and it would not grow. This wine holds its acidity and is beginning to soften in the bottle. Ben suggests this wine would be great with a great big steak or perhaps some kangaroo. $28 AUD
2015 Crossing Reserve Shiraz
This Family Reserve is the highest of the 3 tiers of Shiraz they produce. This comes from barrel selections from low yielding vines that are dry grown. It is aged in first and second year oak, so it needs a little time. $48 AUD
Exports and the Australian Market
They export a bit to Germany, and they used to export to the UK, but since the Australian dollar and American dollar hit parity it’s hard to get things to the US. China is a big market for them.
There are pros and cons to the import market. While it exposes Australians to a wider variety of wines beyond, Cab, Merlot, Shiraz and Chard, it is still competition. It breaks Ben’s heart when he is in Sydney and see’s wine lists filled with imported wines.
Plan your visit to Angullong
After a wonderful afternoon, learning so much about the Wiradjuri culture and the wines of Angullong. We set off for our next adventure.
If you want to visit them, you can find them in Millthorpe, jusst 15 minutes from Orange. They are in the Old Bluestone Stables at the corner of Park and Victoria Streets. Be sure to call ahead for a booking. During these times of COVID appointments are necessary to keep their beautiful but small tasting room safe for everyone.
Last October Michael and I visited Australia and while in the Hunter Valley, we visited Krinklewood Vineyard. Rod Windrim the Vigneron, took us on a walk around the property. Rod is using biodynamic farming methods in his vineyard and it was something I really wanted to discuss with him.
When we met him, he gave us a bit of the history of the vineyard. You can read about that here. It also includes a couple of videos from our visit.
Rod Windrim Vigneron, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard
Varieties in the vineyard
Rod and I start our wander, heading out into the vineyard and he tells me about the varieties they are growing. This includes Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Shiraz, Tempranillo and a little bit of Gewurztaminer. They were growing Mourvedre, but it just wasn’t suited to the site, so they switched to Tempranillo, which does very well. The Gewurztraminer was added because he really liked adding it to the Verdelho to give it a slightly savory note, and he could not find a place to source it.
They produce some varietal wines and some blends. Their Wild White is a mix of all of their white grapes. The Verdelho was Rod’s alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Not a fan of “Savy Blanc”, the Verdelho is his answer to a wine that Sauvginon Blanc fans find they like (even if they have trouble pronouncing it.)
With some varieties they must put in a bit of extra work to keep them healthy. With the Tempranillo it is important to keep the canopy open for the breeze to come through, because the big soft Tempranillo leaves are prone to downy mildew. The Semillon, which is so famous for botrytis in Bordeaux, they carefully drop fruit so that none of the bunches are touching. This again, keeps the bunches safe from mildew and disease.
Yeast
I ask if they use native yeast. His answer? They do both native & inoculated. They create a pied de cuve, which you can kind of think of as a sourdough starter.
“We culture our yeast with … the nicest bunches we can get, put them in small carboys then just leave it out of the sun so you get about 25 degree temp and just monitor it with a hydrometer until it gets down to about 6 baume and then shandy it into the…mix it in gradually.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
Sometimes they have used cultured yeast, when the weather has been uncooperative and they could get good grapes to start the pied de cuve.
The beauty of the site
The vineyard seems like it’s own universe, spread between Yellow Rock (the hills to the East) and Mount Isobel off in the western distance. Mount Broke and Mount Adams frame Drews Creek that feeds into Wollombi Brook. There are neighbors, but you don’t feel like there are.
“It’s heaven! I think being surrounded by mountains, it’s lovely. At night it gets that you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s wonderful for lying on the grass, looking at the stars”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
Here I must give a shout out to Willa. She was our constant companion joyfully playing on our wander. She is Rod’s daughter Carla’s dog.
Solar for energy efficiency
Rod points out the solar panels in front of us. They have a 15 kw set up here and another 10kw on the other side of the property.
Solar panels at Krinklewood Vineyard
This leads to……
“we don’t want to rave about organics too much. To me it’s like telling someone you’re honest. The moment someone tells me they’re honest, hmmmm. We feel a little bit the same way about organic and biodynamic and also getting caught in sort of the thing I hate this “I’m more organic than you and I’m more biodynamic than you and all that.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
But I have asked. This is not marketing or bragging, this is answering the questions I am asking. I like the fact that he is doing this because he believes in it, and does not want it thought of as a marketing ploy.
We pass the sheds with tractors and cultivators, the flow forms and stainless steel tank for making compost teas. There is a patch with buried cow horns and areas for making compost that has fencing so you can see the layers. These were built back when they did weekend biodynamic classes here with Hamish Mackay.
Influences and sources for biodynamic information
The farming here is just farming biology. Rod rattles off names; Arden Anderson who was a student of Carey Reams. Both do what is called biological farming. He also mentions Elain Ingham, a microbiologist and Philip Calahan, who got into the frequencies plants put out. I am grateful we are recording so I can look up there work later (I’ll include links in case you are curious, below). Rod did his research and he is quite well read on the subject.
I learn from him about biological coverage on leaves from compost teas that keep pests from attacking it. You can check the brix of the sap within the stems of the vines. If the brix are at 16-18, the plant is healthy and the pests won’t attack it. Pests, like predators, attack the weak and unhealthy. This is where Callahan comes in. He was monitoring the frequencies that plants give out and discovered that when they give out certain frequencies, the pests detect it and come running.
Unhealthy conventional farming cycles
There is a cycle that you might be familiar with, that happens in conventional agriculture. You add a fertilizer recommended from a company, nitrogen perhaps. The plants start growing fast. They send out all this soft new tissue and that attracts the pest who come to eat it. Then of course the company recommends a pesticide to kill off those pests. It’s a vicious circle. It’s also about quantity over quality. Add the fertilizer and you get bigger plants, bigger crop, but with less nutritional density.
Natural innovation to save a vintage
I ask about the pressures of summer rains when using biodynamic farming methods. Most of the regions we have seen using these practices are blessed with dry summers. Rod gets excited here. He has a story for me.
“We started using biodynamic preparations here in 2002. We got to 2008 and local contractors and colleges, when we said we’d survived another year, they were like “yeah, but it’s a fucking drought”. 2008 came and it pissed down raining the whole vintage. We had downy starting to break out. Lawson, that worked for me at the time was really awesome. We’d met up with some guys in the cotton industry that were heading toward organic. This guy was breeding a geni of fungi that predated on downy spores. So we got some and made a compost tea, we bred the numbers up and sprayed this out. We survived the vintage with downy and picked every grape on the property.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
Downy Mildew (Plasmopara vitikola) is a fungal disease that affects a grape leaves. Common grapevine diseases and treatment. bildlove, Adobe stock
Downy spores are white on the underside of the leaf. The tea turned them a rusty red color. They hadn’t wanted to give up on biodynamics after working so hard for so many years.
“This wine writer rang me in March after vintage and asked how the vintage was. I said it was pretty tough. He said, so what do you mean? I said it pissed down rain, we got downy breakout. So he said you are going back to…I said No Way! We are convinced now, we can actually wave the flag, we’re biodynamic, cause we survived!”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
We walk around the back and he points out the Verdelho, the Shiraz, the Gewurz, Chard and Semillon that is next to the creek.
Irrigation
I ask about water and Rod says they have a dam and then drip feed. Here you have to irrigate or the vines would not survive. But they only irrigate to keep the biology healthy and breeding. They use the system to place biological food for the vines, like fish emulsion, kelp and molasses.
Soils
Soils here are sandy loam, which are great for white grapes, not so great for red. Red wines want those rich red volcanic soils to make powerful reds like those in McClaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. Here the reds are more akin to a big Pinot Noir.
Spraying biodynamic preparations with a recovery system
Tractor with biodynamic spray and catch unit at Krinklewood
At that point the tractor pulling a sprayer comes toward us. This sprayer has a recovery unit on it. This early in the year there is not as much foliage, so there is a cover on both sides to recover about 80% of what they are spraying. This keeps the spray from being wasted in the air or on the ground.
We spent quite a bit of time with Rod, so check back with us as we continue our walk and get into the winery for a bit of barrel tasting.
The truth of 2020
It’s worth saying that a biodynamic approach can help you through drought, it can help with the health of your vineyard, but there are some things that are beyond the help of biodynamics. Australia and the Hunter Valley were hit with major fires this year. Krinklewood, like so many vineyards in the Hunter, lost an entire vintage to smoke taint. Rod tells me they tested and after getting the results, they did not harvest. After that, they were hit by COVID-19, having their cellar door again closed down.
Cellar door at Krinklewood, Biodyamic Vineyard, in New South Wales, The Hunter, Australia
They have been able to reopen their cellar door, which is an amazing place to get away, enjoy the country, watch the peacocks (who roam and preen), and enjoy some amazing wine. I encourage you to go visit. It will do your soul good. You can taste and see for yourself the difference using a biodynamic approach can make in a wine. The wines here are really spectacular. Make sure you have room in the car to take some home.
Be sure to call ahead and set an appointment. They are appointment only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, for the moment. Pre-book your tasting by calling 0265791322 or via email [email protected].
You can find them at 712 Wollombi Rd, Broke NSW 2330, Australia
If you see Rod, please tell him I say hello.
Sources & Resources
If you, like me, are fascinated with biodynamics and want to learn more, here is a list of the authors that Rod mentioned.
One other book, that I really need to pick up and read is The Future Makers -Australian wines for the 21s Century by Max Allen. I met Max at the Wine Media Conference. In his book, he looks at Australian winemakers and vineyard owners, and the directions the wine industry will need to take to combat global warming. He spent some time speaking with Rod about Biodynamics.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
This area in the Western part of the Hunter Valley feels isolated and remote. As you pass through the village of Broke and drive down the 2 lane Wollombi Road, the hill of Yellow Rock rises up on your left while fields reach out past Wollombi Brook to the Mount Broke on the right. Out here is where you will find Krinklewood, a biodynamic vineyard and winery in the Broke-Fordwich sub region of the Hunter Valley.
We arrived and turned down the lane at Krinklewood. You can’t help but be transported. Green vineyard rows are capped with mirror balls. The sunlight catches them and bounces the morning light about. It’s beautiful with a bit of joyful ktich.
Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard with its disco balls and Minti
Rod Windrim, the owner of Krinklewood, met us with his dog Minti. Meeting Rod, there is no doubt that you are in Australia, he sports a bush hat with a colorful hat band, and an easy going demeaner.
Rod Windrim, Vigneron at Krinklewood.
Birds and disco balls
Rod asked if I had seen the disco balls before. I had not. They use this here, as a deterrent for birds. It’s a bit flashier than the tinsel you see in many places.
“With birds there’s all sorts of partial solutions, there’s no total solution. Other than standing over them with a machine gun. This came about because I’ve got a neighbor that moved into the area across the road and the sound of electronic speakers and things drove him nuts. He was a miner so he was working shift work, so it was my attempt to try to get on top of the problem in a gentle soft sort of way.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
He’s even thought about adding wings to them, to catch the breeze better. They look fantastic and let you know that this place does not take itself too seriously. Driving up to the cellar door, you won’t expect a hauty, snooty greeting after seeing those. It sets the mood. It also makes you think immediately of music, and music as we will see, plays a big part in these wines.
The History of Krinklewood
Rod and his family live in Sydney and started coming to the Hunter in 1978. They planted a vineyard in Polkobin in 1981.
“We then moved out of Pokolbin to Wollombi because we felt Pokolbin was becoming too suburban. Actually we thought, next there will be traffic lights and there were tarred roads…so it wasn’t what we were looking for. So we ended up moving to Broke, because it was sort of like we were in the country.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019
In 1996 they decided to plant the vineyard here. They spent 2 years doing the research with soil pits etc. In 1998 they planted to conventional methods, but Rod was researching and found a book by Nicolas Joly on biodynamics. He was fascinated and took a night course on biodynamics. He would rush home late after the class and wake his wife up to tell her all the exciting things he had learned. It was the synergy of this method that really attracted him.
The contractor they were working with was open to this, while still a bit skeptical. They started using biodynamic preparations in 2002 and were certified biodynamic in 2007.
Krinklewood, Biodyamic Vineyard, in New South Wales, The Hunter, Australia
When I say certified biodynamic, it is for the entire property, which includes an orchard and garden, as well as multiple animals they have on the property.
They had sheep, but spent so much time moving the electric fencing, as they moved the sheep from area to area, that it became too much work. With biodynamics, you cannot use chemical drenches to kill worms and parasites in your sheep. The alternative is to have pasture open to heat and light and allow the parasites to die before allowing the sheep in that field to graze. Hence the moving of the fencing constantly.
The inspiration for the Krinklewood label
They still have cattle, but the numbers are dwindling due to the draught. The cattle are an important symbol here, you see them on the label. These are Limousin cattle. When they bought the property they had 60 head of these cattle here. This breed comes from the Limoge province in France. The ancient cave paintings here were the inspiration for the Krinklewood logo.
Cave Paining in Lascaux Cave in the Dordogne region of France, the inspiration for the Krinklewood logo Thierry, Adobe Stock
Krinklewood, Biodyamic Vineyard, in New South Wales, The Hunter, Australia
In addition, they have chickens and there are geese. The idea is biodiversity. It is bucolic and beautiful and it makes you breathe deeper, wrapping you in a sense of calm.
Next we head out for a “wander” as Rod says, to see the property and discuss their biodynamic approach. You’ll want to check back to join us.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
The drought in Australia fueled the fires we saw the beginning of this year. We talked with David Lowe at Lowe Wine about the drought and about biodynamics, a subject you know we are very interested in.
The drought in Australia
David says that the drought has been very damaging for people who were not prepared for it. We later spoke with another winemaker who explained the earlier longer drought that the country had gone through. After a short reprise they plunged into the current drought which is more severe.
Biodynamics and how it helps with drought
Droughts can be debilitating and this is a country that waffles between severe drought and flooding. David feels that he has set his vineyard on the right path over the past 20 years setting it up to be more drought resistant. Removing all the damaging pesticides and letting diverse native grasses grow have helped with ground cover and have limited pests. They don’t irrigate so the roots have dug deep.
“In fact our Shiraz roots go 5 meters deep were all planted with a shovel and a bucket of water and we’ve relied on rainfall scarce as that’s been, all the time and we’ve never lost a vine. They’re quite productive in fact they look better than most vineyards that are drip irrigated. “
David Lowe, October 2019
An explanation of biodynamics
David tells us there is no recipe for bio-dynamics, it is about observation, learning when to interfere and when not to interfere. He gives us a description from his consultant on bio-dynamics, comparing Newtonian science, which is absolute and the philosophy of Goethe, who looked at the precedents and how they occurred and looked for an explanation. If he didn’t find it, it was because it was something we did not completely understand.
“So to me bio-dynamics understands and respects the precedents and what’s happened in nature over the last 5 or 7 thousand years as been mapped and tries to apply Newtonian science to it. I find it a really interesting way to do it. We’re not just looking at the sky and the cosmos and the land and saying, oh we’re all hippie about it. But there is a scientific reason it happens and we’re trying to find it. If we can’t understand it, at least appreciate, this has happened and work with it.”
David Lowe, October 2019
Soils in Australia and Mudgee
We move on to discuss the soils here in Mudgee and within Australia. This is an ancient and eroded land. It is the oldest land form in the world, part of the Gondwaraland. Changes in soil here come from erosion. So the top of the hills are stony and rocky while the bottom fills with silt and loess. On the slopes, of course you get a variation. Variation makes winemakers happy.
Working with soils to make the best wines
David has tried to map the soils and work with it. There is quartz and shale with minerals. It’s well drained and that important for the grapevines, it encourages them to dig deep which promotes drought resistance and increases the quality.
“We’ve said we don’t care about what crop we get off it any year, we care that it’s the best wine possible. Because we are in control of our market, because we are in control of our all of our sales, as you see, our only sales are here, we can tell the message. People can respond to the authenticity of growing and making it and selling it onsite. That’s worked with us. Probably as an accident, but we’re not going to stop it now.”
David Lowe, October 2019
More from David Lowe
We have one more conversation to share with you from our visit with David Lowe. The next one gets pretty geeky on yeasts and barrels!
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Mudgee, it’s a fun name to say. The name of this region in Australia’s New South Wales is derived from the word “moothie” for “nest in the hills” in the Wiradjuri tongue. We drove from the Hunter Valley over the mountains and into this region to speak with David Lowe of Lowe Wine. I asked David about his history as well as that of his family in this region.
European Settlers in Mudgee
The region was settled by Europeans in 1824, with people moving west from Sydney. The agriculture then was mostly sheep and people settled along the river for water. It was 1825 when Robert Lowe was granted land in the Mudgee Region and 1832 when Robert’s widow Sarah and her 11 children moved to Mudgee, to live on this land. David’s family worked with sheep, cattle and wheat crops.
Farms started to pop up. Australian horticulture at this time was like the American Midwest. They set up large expanses of land devoted to a single crop (you know, mono-culture). This area, however, was a bit more varied and one crop, or way of growing, didn’t work for the entire region. They found that much of this land was better for smaller farms and raising more diverse types of agriculture.
Similar to California, grapes got started with the gold rush. Where there are people, there is bound to be wine. The gold rush in this region of Australia hit around the 1850’s.
How David Lowe got into wine
David Lowe of Lowe Winery in Mudgee Australia NSW
David’s family have always been in agriculture. There was a winery next door as David was growing up and he worked on the bottling line. When the laboratory technician had to be gone for a while, they put David in the lab. He found he loved the chemistry. So, at 15 when he had to choose the elective that would be his career, he announced to his family that he wanted to be a winemaker.
“I made that decision and I’ve stuck to it. So, who knows if I’m good at anything else or not. In fact, my parents, I found out later on, I think used to go to church to pray for my soul. Their view of a winemaker, was someone who had a bottle in a brown paper bag under a bridge.”
David Lowe, October 2019
Eventually he did convert them, and they started their own wine cellar. David helped his father plant the first vines at Tinja, the family property in Mudgee in 1973.
Len Evans – an early influence in David’s career
After graduating with his degree in Oenology from Roseworthy College, David worked as the Assistant Winemaker for Rothbury wines. Rothbury in the Hunter valley was run by Len Evans and Murray Tyrrell.
Len Evans was a writer, vineyard owner and much more. Those of you who are older might remember “The Galloping Gourmets” a book he co-authored with Graham Kerr, which Kerr later turned into the syndicated cooking show. More importantly, he became one of the most influential people in wine. He created the Australian Wine Bureau and was chairman of several wineries over his career including Rothbury Wines, Petaluma, Evans Wine Company and Tower Estate. He transformed blind tasting into a sport and to this day the Len Evans Tutorial aims to educate Australians in the wine industry through an intensive 5-day tutorial of tasting and judging wines with Masterclasses on the greatest wines of the world.
“I was very fortunate to work for a wine company that had … as the chairman of the company arguably one of the 5 great men of wine in the world. His name was Len Evans….I was exposed to some of the great wines of the world. He was adamant…on Day 2 when I was working there, that I had to try the best 20 wines in the world. I think he wanted to have them himself afterwards, but at the time, I went along with it.”
David Lowe, October 2019
Discovering biodynamics
Bush trained vines at Lowe Wine in Mudgee Australia
Nine of the twenty wines that Len Evans had him taste were either bio dynamic or organic. This made him want to explore bio dynamics. What was it that made these wines better? What was this relationship between bio dynamics and quality?
It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that he was able to attend a conference in Australia on bio dynamics. This changed the way he wanted to grow. He headed home to the family farm. His parents were older and had not been working the vineyard and the property was rundown from being inactive. He looked at bio dynamics as being a way to fix the property.
“So, we started down the path to learn about bio dynamics. And that’s taken now nearly 20 years to get right. And I don’t think we have it right or anywhere near it, but we’ve made an improvement.”
David Lowe, October 2019
Zinfandel Vines with leaves just coming out at Lowe Wines Tinja vineyard in Mudgee Australia
More to come…
We will speak more with David about Bio dynamics later. His philosophy of Slow Wine making was one of the things that drew me to this place. He cares deeply about the land and continues to try to improve his stewardship of the land each vintage.
You can read more about David and his Zinfandel (yes I said Zinfandel, in Australia) here.
For more on the Mudgee Region check out Visit Mudgee, and take a look at our interview with Cara George.
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
First things first. Many of the wineries and vineyards in Australia have been severely affected by the drought and the bush fires. The best way to help? Get out and drink Australian wine. Some of these vineyards may not have a vintage this year, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have wine. Most have their cellar doors open. If you are in Australia, go see them! If you are not…well head to your local wine shop, where ever you are on the globe and ask for Australian wine. Search for smaller producers that could really use your help. Yes, it might be difficult to find. Keep asking, drive up the demand.
It was October and we found ourselves in Australia’s New South Wales for the Wine Media Conference, that was held in the Hunter Valley. At the time, this seasons bush fires had only recently begun. Most of these were happening north of where we were in Queensland and our friends who were touring the Granite Belt wine region brought us stories of the fires there. Small fires were popping up. You could see the worry when you spoke with people. But at this point, the concern was mostly about the drought.
Drought after drought
There was a significant drought from 2003 to 2012. After a few years, that were a bit more normal, drought hit again in 2017, this time the impact was more severe. We spoke with people who had family farms that were suffering as available water levels dropped to a point where they could no longer irrigate. We also spoke with winemakers who were concerned about the future of their vineyards.
The drive from Hunter Valley to Mudgee
We traveled through several regions in New South Wales, but our drive to and from Mudgee illustrated the difficulties of the drought most starkly.
We drove into Mudgee from the Hunter Valley. The Hunter, at this point in the spring, was pretty lush and green. From the Hunter we headed inland through the Goulburn National Forest. This is considered “the bush” in Australia. The “bush” is an area that is undeveloped and filled with indigenous flora and fauna. Think of it as backwoods or hinterland, it’s really just a mostly untouched natural region. These regions cover a large portion of Australia.
The drive to Mudgee from the Hunter Valley
As we drove the road became smaller. The population is lower in the inland regions. Most of Australia’s population forms a ring around the country on the coast. With smaller population come smaller roads and we went from 4 lane to 2 lane to a road with no center stripe, and even a section of gravel and dirt, as we crossed through the forest to Mudgee.
The impact of the drought on wildlife
We saw our fair share of kangaroos and wombats, sadly none were living. People asked when we returned if it was like dear on the East Coast of the US. No…it was a dead animal every 50 yards for a great portion of the trip. Much of this comes from the drought. We were told by a winemaker that the roos come to the green strip of grass on the sides of the road to feed, because there is so little for them to feed on otherwise. At dusk and dawn, drivers are hard pressed to miss them.
They do care deeply about their wildlife. We saw signs, like the one below, along all the roads with numbers to call if you hit or see injured animals.
WildLife Injuries Hotline in Australia
The fires increase
It was not long after our return to the states that the fires spread. In early December a friend was visiting Sydney and took a photo in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Standing in a spot close to where I had been just a month and a half prior, she took a photo of the Lewis Wolfe Levy fountain, a statue of the goddess Diana, with a background of a brown and orange glow of a sky filled with smoke. I had been following the fires as they encroached on Sydney, but this picture brought home the severity of the fires, showing me the stark contrast to the city I had visited.
photo credit Rebecca Zoltowski
The Gardens in October 2019
The 2020 Harvest
Wineries and vineyards now look to what to do this harvest. While, the wineries and vineyards we visited have not been directly impacted by the fires there are those indirect impacts, greater lack of available water, smoke taint, lack of access for visitors and impacts on their employees, many of whom may travel in from areas more affected by the fires.
We have seen wineries, like Tyrrell’s, one of the oldest and largest wineries in the Hunter Valley, publicly state that they will not pull in a harvest this year. Read more from the Guardian here They do not want to compromise the quality of their wine and do not feel comfortable with the amount of smoke taint that their vineyards may have encountered. Depending on the location of the vineyard and the winds, some may be impacted, while others are not.
2020 in the Mudgee Region
I reached out to Cara George with Mudgee Region Tourism to see how the Mudgee Region had been affected this year by the fires and the drought. Cara provided me with a statement from Mudgee Wine
The 2020 grape growing and wine making vintage has been a particularly tough one for growers throughout Australia including the Mudgee Wine Region.
We have all felt the effect of the prolonged drought, extreme heat and continued bush fires and subsequent smoke. Firstly we want to express our sympathy to those who have lost vineyards, wineries and stock in various wine regions in Australia. We also sympathize with those regions that may be dealing with the effects of smoke in grapes in the upcoming harvest.
Secondly, it is important that we acknowledge that 2020 is not the ideal vintage for everyone in the Mudgee Wine Region. As a region we pride ourselves on making top quality wines that consistently win awards across the country. With our commitment to the very high standard of wines that drinkers have come to expect from Mudgee, and the effects of the drought and smoke across the region we are expecting to see a much smaller than average harvest in 2020.
Mudgee Wine Association along with many individual members have been and continue to conduct testing with the Australian Wine Research Institute in relation to effects of smoke in the grapes. Given the results of these tests along with some small batch ferments conducted in wineries, it is likely that many brands will choose not to harvest in 2020. Those who do choose to harvest will be doing so with confidence that the quality of the wine will remain at the high standard expected of the Mudgee Wine Region.
Despite the harsh realities of the 2020 vintage, our region is full of beautiful vineyards, cellar doors, accommodation and restaurants that continue to be open for business and ready for visitors. Our various Mudgee wine brands currently have fantastic vintages available from 2016, through to 2019 for tasting and purchase. In fact, there couldn’t be a better time to visit and support these small growers and winemakers in our beautiful region.
Mudgee Wine Association January 28th, 2020
What is smoke taint
Smoke taint. Okay, I heard a bit about this issue with the fires in Sonoma in 2017. The difference was that those fires happened in October, and harvest was well underway. Many vineyards were not affected at all. In the case of Australia, the fires were beginning in the spring. Late January into March is harvest here in Australia, and the risk smoke taint increases after verasion (when the grapes change color).
The chemicals in smoke that cause smoke taint are volatile phenols and glycosides. These are found in fresh smoke and in lignin from burnt wood. They dissipate in 1 to 2 hours typically, so vineyards that are close to fresh smoke will be affected. At longer distances (and keep in mind smoke can travel long distances), you mostly just see suspended carbon particulates that are less likely to affect the grapes.
bushfire in grassland with trees in Australia
Affects of Smoke Taint
Smoke taint in wine is aromatic and tactile. In small quantities it can present like Brett, with dulled fruit and a strange dryness in the mouth that is similar to oak. In higher concentrations this becomes magnified and decidedly off putting (think burnt garbage).
So…how to determine if your grapes are at the level that they will have off putting smoke taint? Well, the compounds can be detected on grapes by gas chronography, but this is an expensive process. Keep in mind we are trying to detect in parts per million. For most winemakers, the solution is to do a sample pre-harvest and do a sample ferment. Volatile phenols release during fermentation. The levels in fermented grapes are 5 to 10 times higher in fermented grapes compared to fresh grapes. In fermented grapes these volatile phenols can be detected, by smell or taste.
The New South Wales Government is providing grape growers with funding for smoke test kits. Labs that do the detailed work are working overtime and expect to be busy into March. The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Australia is also pretty advanced with technology in vineyards and a piece by Wine Australia gives some details on new spectrometry techniques for diagnosing smoke taint.
A word from David Lowe in Mudgee
We spent time in Mudgee before the conference visiting for an afternoon with David Lowe of Lowe Wines where he is growing bio-dynamically and making some superb Zinfandel. Yes…I said Zinfandel, yes…in Australia. David was kind enough to send us a few words on how they were coping.
The drought has proved challenging and we know we will have about ½ normal yield.
Additional challenges re the dust storms and constant smoke, which we are working through on an ongoing basis.
It’s a national problem and the fires close to houses and vineyards like California means we are sharing experiences that are tough on everybody.
Fred Peterson made contact with me recently it seems the whole world knows about our problems and there is great camaraderie offers of help and sympathy. The wine industry is a close one.
Immediate impacts are tourism and visitation, which are such a part of the experience we are offering.
Our solution is to increase our range of hospitality experiences, increase local visitation and keep the farm watered and viable particularly so we can maintain our ecosystem.
David Lowe, Lowe Wines January 30th, 2020
From Mudgee back to the Hunter via the Golden Highway
On the return trip, we headed to the Golden Highway to the north of the region. Here roads were wider and the landscape went on forever over dry brown hills dotted with trees, that didn’t look so good. The dry brown grass, sometimes gave way to burned patches and often to dark brown expanses where there was not enough water for even the grass to grow. There were cattle farms here with cattle bunched together with little to eat. Mind you, this was spring, when you should see some green somewhere. It was desolate and eerily beautiful, in a post apocalyptic way. Some cattle were lying on their sides…as we weren’t close, I decided to believe that they were still breathing.
Cattle and sheep farmers are struggling. Deny climate change if you will, but these folks are witnessing it first hand.
Now come the rains
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service announced that the fires were contained on February 12th, 2020. We will hope that this continues. But now we are on to the rains. These rains assisted with putting out many of the fires. I’m sure there is gratitude for the rain, but being from California where we have our annual fire season, followed by our annual mudslide season, I am well aware of the devastation that torrential rains cause on areas already devastated by fire. The ground cover is gone and there is little to hold the soil down as creeks become rivers rushing downhill.
The region along the Golden Highway that were so dry? Well hopefully this rain will be helpful. For other regions like the Shoalhaven Coast, this could cause difficulties with roads for visitors to arrive and depending on where they are with harvest, they could have additional complications. We will continue to follow these regions.
The takeaway
Australians are nothing if not resilient. They will rebuild and find a better way to do things. For many this means the loss of a harvest. That is extremely difficult, watching an entire year of work disappear. The cellar doors are still open, they still have wine. Much of the reds from last years harvest are still waiting to be bottled and whites just bottled this spring are ready to be poured. Support the industry and these people. Visit if you are able and if not search out their wines.
For more…
You can read more on our visit to Australia and our #ouraussiewineadventure here on Crushed Grape Chronicles.
You can look forward to more in depth pieces on with winemakers we spoke with as well as our visit to the Orange & Hunter Valley Regions of New South Wales.
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