Accolade Wines wrapped up its 2018 Accolade’s Finest Expo roadshow in Sydney today with more than 250 wines showcased for retailers and on-premise.
It was a chance to meet the winemakers behind 25 labels including House of Arras, Croser, Grant Burge, Hardys, Houghton and St Hallett.
The expo visited Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane before concluding at Doltone House, overlooking Hyde Park. The room was busy and buzzing throughout the day. Aside from tastings, visitors also had a chance to attend masterclasses on Langtons, Shiraz and Australian Sparkling.
Accolade even built a mobile App for the expo, which provided details on all of the brands and wines, featuring descriptors, pricing and vintages. The App was also designed to help keep track of tastings for future reference by taking notes and rating the wines as you went. Attendees were also be able to request deals on the wines that most interested them via the App.
Winemakers were universal in their excitement about the 2018 vintage, which they praised as the best in years. There was a lot of talk about the quality of the rieslings that are coming out of Eden Valley and generally strong yields across the country.
We spoke to some of the winemakers and brand managers about the wines they are most excited for people to try this year and the latest news from their vineyards.
Courtney Treacher
Senior Winemaker, Brookland Valley
Must-try wine: “Our 2017 Estate Chardonnay comes from an amazing patch of fruit.”
This year’s highlight: “We’re doing some clonal plantings this year, which is very exciting, for our Chardonnay and Cabernet. We’re also releasing our first small batch of rosé – our first rosé for many years.”
Ross Pamment
Winemaker, Houghton Wines
Must-try wine: “The Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is a wonderful expression. 2013 is one of the great years and I think we’re selling it too cheap in terms of what it delivers!”
This year’s highlight: “We’ve just finished the northern intake and the quality looks very good. We harvested our chardonnay in Margaret River last week and it’s looking exceptional after two difficult years.”
David Pike
National Sales, Kirrihill Wines
Must-try wine: “Our Regional Selection Riesling 2017 is a really, really good vintage. It’s drinking well now but will have a lot of life to come. It’s great value for money.”
This year’s highlight: “Vintage is looking really good for both reds and whites. The quality is certainly up.”
Andrew Hardy
Winemaker, Petaluma
Must-try wine: “Our Riesling is our longest standing wine. The 2017 is a beautiful, simple translation of the fruit. It’s a great riesling year.”
This year’s highlight: “We’ve revamped the labels on our Petaluma Project wines. As the name suggests, they’re new varieties from old regions or old varieties from new regions or other experimental wines. We only bottle 200-600 dozen and they’re only available from cellar door, by mail order, and at some independents and restaurants.”
Nathan Hughes
Winemaker, Willunga
Must-try wine: “The Hundred Grenache is from our best vineyard. The 85-year-old vines are grown in sand and it really tipifies what Mclaren Vale is all about. We’ve been giving our grenache a push over the last two years and it’s really coming into its own as a variety”
This year’s highlight: “It’s looking like it’s going to be a great vintage. It’s dry at the moment, perfect growing conditions, and our yields are up 20%.”
Jeremy Ottawa
Winemaker, Tatachilla
Must-try wine: “The Foundation 2014 Shiraz is a pure single vineyard wine. It’s from the Clarendon edge of the Adelaide Hills and ripens about three weeks later than our other Shiraz in hard, beautiful soil.”
This year’s highlight: “We don’t have a cellar door, so I’m going to spent 2018 taking the brand to people. I drive a campervan I’ve converted into a mobile wine tasting counter that I drive all over the country.”
David Hook
Winemaker, David Hook Wines
Must-try wine: “The 2015 Central Ranges Barbera is such a food friendly wine and has beautiful acid. I’ve been making Barbera for 15 years and its a great Italian varietal.”
This year’s highlight: “It’s looking like another great year in the Hunter, it’s really going to be a vintage to look out for.”
Nic Bowen
Winemaker, Yarra Burn
Must-try wine: “The Yarra Burn Vintage 2015 is a lovely complex sparkling wine with aromatics of brioche and Anzac biscuit.”
This year’s highlight: “We’re doing a 100% Yarra vintage, it’s two years in the making and the best sparkling I’ve worked on.”
Toby Barlow
Winemaker, St Hallett Wines
Must-try wine: “The Eden Valley Riesling 2017 is amazing. In a year like 2017, nature gives you every opportunity to make a good wine. Riesling is such a window to the vineyard.”
This year’s highlight: “All our Shiraz has ripened together, which has kept us working 24/7, but the fruit looks awesome and the weather has been great.”
Main photo: Kristy from deVine Cellars trying the many fine fortified wines in the Accolade Wines portfolio.
