australian wine

Morilla: "A Subversive Disneyland" with Wine, Art, Beer and Atheists

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art

"Apropos of nothing, it's nice to have you here and thank you we need the money."

I was standing in the living room in "Esmond", one of Morilla's winery's four new guest pavilions, and the black carpet with the red block letters only caught my eye after I'd admired the contemporary art on the wall, had gotten myself oriented to the in room control panel (lights, TV, window shades, music) and had gone out onto the balcony to take in the panoramic view of Tasmania's Derwent River.

Of course, the idea of Morilla needing money is entirely preposterous. This hotel/winery/brewery/event space and oh yeah, soon-to-open museum called MONA that will be the largest private art collection in the Southern Hemisphere -- is owned by a guy with deep pockets, a Tasmanian named David Walsh.

A math whiz, Walsh made his money gambling -- two years ago, he proposed that a story about him in the Australian newspaper AGE start with "David Walsh is a rich wanker." Morilla is one place where he's been spending some of those riches since he bought it in 1995.

Often, when a rich person gets the idea to go into the hospitality business as a lark, you end up with places that are on the bizarre side of idiosyncratic. But Walsh has not skimped out on hiring experienced staff, so as he's added on to one of Tasmania's most venerable wineries, the result is a place that definitely showcases his personality -- for instance, there's no bible in guest rooms, but there is a copy of The God Delusion -- but also meets standards of a well-run luxury accommodation.

Gallery: Morilla: "Subversive Disneyland" in Tasmania

Source
Source

Tags: australia, australian wine, contemporary art, hotels, morilla, museum, tasmania, tasmanian wine, tourism, travel

Continue reading “Morilla: "A Subversive Disneyland" with Wine, Art, Beer and Atheists”

Study Shows Plastic Wine Bottles Only Good For Short Term

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Green

We've been seeing more and more wine companies considering plastic wine bottles as a greener alternative to glass. The bottles are lighter and 100 percent recyclable. One Australian producer, Wolf Blass creates a line called "Green Label" that uses these lighter bottles. But a new study which was commissioned by the plastic bottle manufacturer Portavin shows that while the bottles might be better for the environment they are not so good for wine over the long haul. While wine stored in plastic or glass taste similar at first, after eight to 12 months the taste changes. The PET bottles let air in, oxidizing the wine. The cheaper, lighter bottles should be used for more inexpensive wine which will be consumed quickly.

Source

Tags: australian wine, AustralianWine, green, plastic bottles, PlasticBottles, wine

Yarra Yering Winery Up for Grabs

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Looking for a new investment? Yarra Yering Winery near Melbourne, Australia is up for sale and bids are due in just a few weeks. The three-level, 150 ton winery which produces up to 7,000 cases per year spans approximately 36.4 hectares with 73% of that property planted with low-yielding vines. Especially known for their intensity of flavor and longevity, Yarra Yering wines typically sell for $50 to $105 and range from Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, Merlot, Viognier, a number of blends and several Portuguese varietals. If you're considering your own bid on this well-known vineyard just know you'll have to contend with about thirty interested buyers across Australia, England, France, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Source

Tags: australia, australian wine, AustralianWine, melbourne, melbourne australia, MelbourneAustralia, yarra yering, YarraYering

Penfolds Grange Selling For Record Prices

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Prices for Bordeaux may be dropping but down under, the latest vintage from the Penfolds Grange may be the priciest yet. The 2004 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange, which will be released on May 1, is already selling in pre-release for $599 Australian (around $422 a bottle). It is said to be among the great vintages of the Grange (recent past top vintages have been the 1998, 1996 and 1990).

Decanter also reveals that the Penfolds' super-premium collection will also be released on May 1. The complete collection is seven wines that includes he 2006 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon with a recommended retail price of AUS$185; 2006 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz - $170; 2006 Magill Estate Shiraz - $100; 2005 St. Henri Shiraz - $95; and 2007 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay - $90.

Penfolds Grange is one of the top name brands for wine in the world and widely regarded as Australia's most prized wine but at a time when even marquee name wines like Mouton Rothschild are being offered at the lowest prices in years it seems a daring strategy to charge this much no matter how highly regarded a wine it is.

Source

Tags: australian wine, AustralianWine, penfolds grange, PenfoldsGrange, wine

Whole Foods Launches Green Path Wines

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Green

The move toward the acceptance of wine in Tetra Pak packaging gets a big boost with the introduction of Green Path wines at Whole Foods market. The Green Path wines are made with certified organic grapes using a growing process with minimal environmental impact and "bottled" in Tetra Pak Tetra Prisma packaging. The wines being sold are a 2006 Chardonnay and a 2006 Shiraz from Australia, sourced from Organic One Wines. The wines sell for $12 each.

Source

Tags: australian wine, chardonnay, organic wine, shiraz, tetra park, wine

Kono Baru Wine, Upside Down Is Right Side Up

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Don Sebastiani & Sons, the folks behind Used Automobile Parts wine are at it again. This time with wine with upside-down labels. Kono Barú. The upside-down labels represent the fact that the wines are sourced from vineyards in the Southern hemisphere. The initial launch is of six varietals from three countries. A Sauvignon Blanc, unwwoded Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile; a Riesling and a Shiraz from Australia; and a Malbec from Argentina. The Chilean and Australian wines are around $12 and the Malbec is around $16. The line is meant to represent a step up from the bargain-priced wines from Chile and Australia with something a little bit more upscale. The initial launch is around 100,000 cases.

[via Wine Business News]

Source

Tags: australian wine, AustralianWine, cabernet sauvignon, chilean wine, kono baru, KonoBaru, malbec, red wine, RedWine, riesling, sebastiani, shiraz, white wine, WhiteWine, wine

Clarendon Hills 2003 Syrah Astralis Vineyard

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The 2003 Syrah Astralis Vineyard from Clarendon HIlls is the latest addition to my list of fantasy wines. Usually the thought of an Australian Syrah doesn't inspire me to dream of the day my ship comes in and my wine cellar runneth over but this is no ordinary Syrah. This wine has received high marks from Wine Advocate which proclaimed it as being nearly as good as the 2002, a wine Robert Parker referred to as being "akin to midnight oil." Parker has anointed Clarendon Hills winemaker as one of the world's best. The Astralis vineyard is planted with the old clones of low-yielding Syrah grapes and matured in French oak barrels. The 2003 has an inky purple color with aromas of white flowers, chocolate and espresso roast. It sells for $319.99 from wine.com and should be cellared for another five to eight years for maximum enjoyment.

Source

Tags: australian wine, clarendon hills, ClarendonHills, fine wine, luxury, syrah, syrah grapes, wine

Australian Wine Sales Down

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Is Australia losing its taste for the fruit of the vine? Australian wine has been grabbing a larger share of the worldwide market over the past few years but sales of wine in Australia are down 4.2 percent from last year. Red and rose wine sales were off 9.3 percent. The news was even worse for brandy, down 44.7 percent, and fortified wines, down 18.4 percent. Also with wine consumption down through much of Europe and wine surplus issues rising, the tide seems to be turning for the Australian wine industry in general. The Barossa winemaker Cockatoo Ridge saw profits fall 42 percent in the second half of the year and their chief exec, Ivan Limb was quoted in the The Advertiser as saying these are tight times for winemakers.

Source

Tags: australia, australian wine, cockatoo ridge, shiraz, syrah, vines, vineyards, wine, wine consumption, wine facts, wine surplus

australian wine

Featured Galleries

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular

Also on AOL