Balmoral Beach

Well.. for a fairly reasonable price, you get the opportunity to try wines from the participating winerys accompanied by matched food. You firstly need to purchase your “Lovedale Long Lunch” tasting glass for $5. From there, you can buy your choice of wine from $4 a glass and a plate of food for $15. There is live music to keep you entertained while you enjoy the food and wine and have a relaxing afternoon.

The participating wineries are going to be: Allandale, Wandin Valley, Cooper Wines, Emma’s Cottage and my two recommendations: Gartelmann and Warraroong Estate – who has the award winning 2005 Semillon which is simply excellent.

Food will be available from these Lovedale restaurants: Mojo’s on Wilderness, The Cellar Restaurant, Il Cacciatore and Lazzarini’s. The event is also putting on Shuttle buses that will be running all day free of charge from Spit Junction through Mosman to Balmoral Beach. Getting to the Spit Junction is easy from Wynyard Station via one of the many buses that go that way so there is no reason why you should miss it.

For more information, visit the Lovedale Long Lunch Site

The last time I visited the Hunter Valley, I picked up a mixed half dozen bottles from Gartelmann winery in Lovedale. I picked up two bottles each of 2004 Ambrossia, 2003 Chardonnay and 2002 Wilhelm Shiraz.

I decided to open one of the Wilhelm Shiraz bottles to have with a rich gravy beef pie. The 2002 Wilhelm Shiraz (13.5 % vol.) is made from hand picked shiraz grapes that are grown on a high trellis system for maximum ripeness. This wine won a silver medal (4th Place) at the 2003 Hunter Valley Wine Show.

The vivid red colour of this wine is appealing to the eye and I found it’s palette ranging from cherry to blackberry with a touch of vanilla. It also has a lovely hint of oak and spice and its tannins are very well controlled and soft. I think this wine would also go very well with Tuna steaks on the grill.

This is a very good Hunter red and I think it is up there with some of the more well known Hunter reds. I recommend the 2002 Wilhelm Shiraz highly and at $22 a bottle, I can’t wait to go back and get some more (and to also try the 2003 vintage).

The last time I visited the Hunter Valley, I discovered this treasure of a winery in Lovedale. Set in an Australian bush setting, this winery has established vines of over 35 years of age. The significance of the magpie on the label becomes clear if you take the time to get to know Jorg, the friendly owner of Gartelmann. The magpies swoop down and feast on the bugs that are attracted to the vines and therefore the requirement of sprays on the vines is greatly reduced. Gartelmann is also well known for its olives and has also won awards for it’s Chardonnay, Semillon and Shiraz wines.

I recently decided to re-aquaint myself with this lovely wine and a nice cheese platter. The 2004 Ambrosia (9.5 % vol.) is made from hand picked semillon and chenic blanc grapes that are grown on a high trellis system for maximum ripeness. The sweetness of this wine is not from botrytis, unlike many other dessert wines. The rich golden colour invites you to try this sweet wine and I found it’s palette ranging from apricots to marmalade to toffee.

This is my favourite desert wine by far. Highly recommended. $24 a bottle.