Archive Oct 2016

The bone of contention is our character. We’re provocative by nature. Taking pleasure in healthy debate and challenging perspectives. It’s something that comes second nature to us. It’s hard to make great wine without ruffling some feathers. After all, with four founders at the helm, almost every decision we make is the result of diplomacy, negotiation and the odd…

McKellar Ridge 2015 Shiraz-Viognier, 2016 Riesling and the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc have all recently won Gold Medals in NSW, Queensland and Canberra and Region wine shows. The 2015 Shiraz Viognier won Top Gold and Trophy in the Boutique category of the NSW Small Winemakers Show and also a Gold at the Royal Queensland Wine Show.…

Contentious Character is a contemporary vineyard estate with winery, cellar door, diner and function facilities. This high quality, innovative experience in the Canberra cool climate region offers a new tasting and dining experience whilst maintaining a reputation for quality established from the founding Lambert family. These wines represent exceptional value and will be complemented with new releases under…

The 17th Canberra International Riesling Challenge featured an outstanding collection of wines from eight countries with a record number of medals awarded. This is clearly a reflection of the outstanding 2015 and 2016 vintages in the Southern Hemisphere, coupled with a heightened professionalism and attention to detail by winemakers and viticulturists. The Chair of the…

Four Winds Vineyard owner Sarah Collingwood is one of the finalists in the Australian Women in Wine Awards. Sarah has Four Winds Vineyard for the last six years and has taken the opportunity over the last 24 months to expand the winery using a crowd-funding campaign, re-design the packaging and branding for the business, secure…

To celebrate the 180th anniversary of Rob Howell’s family moving to Jeir (great great grandfather in 1836, unbeknownst to him until recently), and the 33rd year since the family development of Jeir Creek Winery itself, a startling new wine has been released. The late Dr Edgar Reik, a district winemaking pioneer, was insistent that his…

You won’t regret a visit out to Four Winds Vineyard. With their cellar door nestled between a block of Riesling and Shiraz you can kick back on the deck and enjoy a glass of wine in one hand and a slice of wood-fired pizza in the other. What started out as one couple’s dream to…

NINO is the name of a special project wine from the team at Mount Majura Vineyard. It’s a ‘pet nat’ or naturally sparkling wine that somehow came into being in the enthusiasm of vintage 2016. As a challenge the winemaking team set themselves, it was made with absolutely no additives (NINO stands for ‘nothing in,…

Helm Wines this year celebrated their 40th vintage, and 43 years of growing grapes in the Canberra Wine District, with further recognition of their premium wines by James Halliday and three wine show trophies. James Halliday has noted Helm Wines as a 5 red star winery since 2012 putting it in the top 10% of wineries…

Lark Hill was established by Sue & David Carpenter in 1978, on the Lake George escarpment overlooking Bungendore Village. Lark Hill is the highest & coldest vineyard in the District (at 880m) and from a wide range of grape varieties initially planted, the Carpenters quickly narrowed their focus on cool-climate suited varieties such as Chardonnay,…