After a tour of several decks of The World with Marinela Ivanova, we settled down to a tasting of our wines. We presented five wines, and two of these had not yet been bottled. We started with our 2009 Riesling, followed by a tank sample of our 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, then our 2009 Viognier which is due for release shortly. Our reds for the tasting were our 2007 Shiraz and a tank sample of our 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.
It was refreshing for us to hear positive comments on all of our wines from a highly regarded sommelier, who tastes wines from all over the world on a regular basis. Marinela was impressed with the style and varietal expression in our wines, and the care that we had taken with our oak barrel selections.
Marinela has selected our Riesling, Viognier and Shiraz for The World, and would also have selected the Cabernet Sauvignon if it had been in bottle.
Our passion and belief in sauvignon blanc to make great wines took us to Austria in August 2008 to attend the World's first conference devoted entirely to Sauvignon Blanc ...
"The critters -and-creeks branding and cheerful flavours of Australian wine have ruled the bargain bins overseas, but changing tastes and competition are threatening a world we took for granted...
Over the past year sales have dropped in nine out of ten of our top markets, with total exports falling 18 percent in volume. Add to that a drop for the first time in 15 years of domestic wine sales due to softer demand and a serious dint in market share caused by imports of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, and Australia's wine producers are frowning noticeably into their glassware .... ..
