Yes! This is where I'm going to taste the best of Melbourne :P
Set on Monday, 17th June 2013, The State Government of Victoria, South East Asia Business Office is proud to organise the Victorian Food & Wine Showcase in conjunction with Victorian Government Super Trade Mission to South East Asia. There are a total of 6 showcases ranging from IT, Finance, Health & Urbanisation but my focus for the day would of course be on the wines :)
Some of the handful of wines being showcased
There were a total of 15 wineries all over Melbourne, a handful from Yarra Valley of course which has participate in this meaningful event. In the Melbourne region , the major red grapes produced includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. As for the major white grapes, the variety which are dominant chardonnay, Muscat, Riesling and Topaque.
Mr John and Elizabeth Barnier of Goona Warra Vineyard
Sunbury has been a wine region since 1860 and Goona Warra has been producing wines since 1863.
When asked what does the name Goona Warra meant, I was informed that the name "Goona Warra" was translated from the local aboriginal dialect as "resting place of black swan".As expected, Goona Warra's wines are of Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes. The Shiraz produced from this region are known for their vibrant ripe black fruits, peppery spice, and soft and fine tannins, although alcohol levels never go too high, making them medium bodied. Chardonnay on the other hand produces wines with good natural acidity with an elegant fruit structure.
Mr Peter & Lydia Snow of Outlook Hill Vineyard
Yarra Valley is the home of Outlook Hill and is owned and managed by the Snow family. For the wine tasting, they have brought along their star performer which is their Cabernet Merlot & Pinot Noir Blend. One of the criteria of producing 5-star rated wines according to Lydia is that the grapes must be selected stringently hence in Outlook Hill, the grapes are actually handpicked one by one!
Hanpicked Supplier- Mrs Paolo Greblo of Sandhurst Ridge Winery
Speaking about handpicked, there is a new player in town whom call themself "Handpicked". Known as a Boutique Wine Distributor, Handpicked based in Kajang concentrate solely on Australian Wines. for a list of retailers carrying Handpicked wines, please feel free to visit www.handpicked.com.my . For Sandhurst, they have started with shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes. Further extension on 1994 and 2004 has includes sauvignon blanc and nebbiolo in their grape varieties. Ahh Yes!.. the winemaker name don't sound Australian right? in fact it is actually Italian! Hence, Sandhurst wines are Australian wines with Italian heritage.
Mr Dan Hudson of Rebello Wines
After booth and booth of wines, was really delighted to stumble upon Rebello Wines. What makes Rebello Wines stand out was their Cheeky Rascal Cider and Strawbellini!. Yes, Strawberies Wines! It is also one of its kind winery which operates from a strawberry farm. Strawbellini is composed of 25% fresh strawberries and 75% best late harvest moscato making it a zestful elaboration of the classic champagne cocktail with refreshing charisma.
There are 9 types of cider from the Cheeky Rascal range but for the showcase, Dan has only brought in 7 types which consists of apple, strawberry & apple, rasperry & apple, pear, strawberry & pear, rasberry & pear and summerberry. For a cider though, the alcohol level is actually pretty high which is a whooping 8% but yet I was still able to taste the sweetness of the fruits. Maybe using 100% fruit juice for the blending really matters :)
I had a great day tasting the wines from 11.00 am to 3.30 pm although I wish there was more time..hahaha...as being Asian, we tends to drink the wines, by right we should only be tasting which in the end after swirling the wines on our palate, the wines should be spitted out! Guess, I have more to learn on that. The only regret was none of them brought in the topaque wines but never the less, it is a good experienced to be able to taste wines from 15 Victorian wineries in one day!
Victorian Government Business Office-Kuala Lumpur office
Suite 23.1, Level 23 Menara IMC 8 Jalan Sultan Ismail 50250 Kuala Lumpur,
phone: fax:+60 3 2055 1502 +60 3 2055 1489
See more at: http://www.invest.vic.gov.au
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