Five months after the bush fires

July 17, 2009

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Forest near Glenburn

Nature is amazing. The landscape around Glenburn looks almost normal. The paddocks are green and the winter sun is warming the earth. But the scares from the fires are everywhere. We hear terrible stories from neighbours and friends.

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Driving through the area makes you sad. Amazing, that not everything burned and vanished in the flames. One finds burned out homes next to fully intact ones. Many of the burned gum tress show new signs of live. The splendid winter sun makes everything more bearable. We pray for the 173 people who lost their lives in the fires.

Much of the debris had been cleared up already. Fences have been rebuilt, sheds are under construction, burned out places have been cleared up. Where the Glenburn pub once stood, there is an empty space right now. Nothing left.

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No pub any more

Question: What flower can you find in the southern hemisphere in July?
Answer: Daffodils
Signs of hope. Life goes on.

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Greetings from Down Under: Two Hills Vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria

July 15, 2009

Down Under

Greetings from down under

Finally, I am on leave and I will enjoy a month long break at the family vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria. It is winter in the southern hemisphere but after many months in the tropics the cool temperatures of a Victorian winter do not scare me. After the devastating bush fires in February, a lot of cleaning up work awaits us.

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Lucy and Charlotte collecting debris from the fires

Every meal is accompanied by Two Hills wines. There are just a few bottles of the 2001 and 2004 vintages left which we consume with our meals. The ‘2006 Two Hills Merlot’ is very fruity, the intense cherry taste knocks you over. We have to organise the new labels for the 2006 vintage before going back to Bangkok.

But we drank also a lot of local wines, for instance from Giant Steps Vignerons in Healesville (2006 Harry’s Monster) in the Yarra Valley or from Rees Miller Estate (2004 Cotton’s Pinch Merlot) and Kinloch Wines (2003 Pinot Meunier) in the Upper Goulburn. Both Merlot wines went well with a Spanish omelette with mushrooms collected from our paddocks. Winter in Glenburn is just wonderful. The Pinot Meunier we had with a pasta.

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The mushroom omelette

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Lashings of Merlot from Rees Miller and Two Hills

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The lucky vintner

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Two Hills Wine arrived in Germany

June 15, 2009

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My friend Uli sent me the above pictures of a 15 t truck delivering two pallets of Two Hills Merlot to his residence in Ramsdorf, Muensterland. It was not an easy manoeuvre. But they got the bottles safely into place.

The shipment consist of the last Merlot bottles from our 2001 and 2004 vintages. We also had some 2004 Merlot, which was somehow left behind, re-bottled so that the two pallets could be fully filled. Only the next shipment will contain the Two Hills 2006 vintage which is officially not yet released in Germany.

The sale is on. If you are interested in our wine, please contact Uli and make an appointment to pick up your bottles. In case that you need it to be sent to you directly, I will try to arrange it myself through a mail service in Trier.

Cheers everybody and thank you Uli for doing this for us again.

Address:
Dr. Ulrich Hillejan
Holthausener Strasse 19,
46342 Velen
Tel.: +49-2863-6802 (p)
+49-2863-95135 (w)
Mobil:+49-1732755342
Fax: +49-2863-6807
E-mail: ulrich.hillejan@s-h-r.de

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Fencing at Two Hills Vineyard

June 2, 2009

It’s autumn in Glenburn, Victoria. Our vineyard shows beautiful coloured leaves before the onset of the Australian winter. We are so happy that our property, though the fire went through it, did not vanish in the bushfire of February 7th. The volunteer fire fighters saved our place. Thank you again folks from the bottom of my heart.

Through the burned gum trees you can see the vineyard and our “shed”, the small house where we spend our holidays and which holds our vineyard equipment and machinery. We are so lucky to still have it.

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Two Hills Vineyard in autumn

We lost some kilometres of fences, though. Our neighbours have started to rebuilt the damaged joint border fences. My brother-in-law, Michael and his wife Helen helped us to get the new fences going. Volunteers also showed up to help.

They came through Blaze Aid a civil society organisation mobilising support for those who suffered through the fires. Meanwhile several hundred of kilometres of fences have been resurrected by them. They helped us to take off the old wires and posts. Thank you folks. Blaze Aid is a great initiative and shows the vibrancy of Australian society.

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Michael working on the fence at Two Hills Vineyard

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Spring in Schoden, Saar

May 25, 2009

Spring was in full force when I visited Germany recently. The sky was blue and everything was fresh, a young green covered the land. As always I accompanied my friend Heinz on the hunt in Schoden, Saar. We took a tour around the 500 ha of hunting ground rented from the local land owners association (“Gehoeferschaft).

I took photos of the vines at “Herrenberg” one of the best terroirs at the steep hillside overlooking the Saar valley.

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The canes are bent down and arranged in a circle

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The Herrenberg vineyards are very steep

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The view downwards

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New shoots

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The flowers are almost ready

And guess what I found in my mothers cellar? A rare bottle of ‘2001 Two Hills Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc’.
The colour of the wine was still a splendid light straw, and it was drinkable. Of course it had lost its zest, almost no finish but it was still OK with my meal, I must say. A clean white wine.

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The “good” Lehmann and not the Lehmann brothers

May 23, 2009

While we were working on Thursday, May 21st. in Bangkok, our German colleagues were celebrating Ascension Day, also known as “Fathers Day” in my native Germany. “Father’s Day” is usually celebrated in the following way: young fathers, some older ones among them, and many other men, usually the ones who have not fathered any child they are aware of but eager to celebrate whatever comes their way, gather in the morning around a handcart loaded with all kinds of drinks and food. Then they set out and walk into the surrounding countryside to drink with their mates and have a jolly good, all-male time. Sometime they have a specific destination or they walk around a circuit. I will refrain from describing the usual end of these walks.

In short, the occasion warrants a special treat.

On this Father’s Day in Bangkok, I had the great pleasure of enjoying some hearty Italian meals, delicious pastas and insalata caprese and other delicacies. The rather colder nights in Bangkok, due to the beginning of the rainy season somehow incited in me the desire for some good reds; Australian was the natural choice.

Swirling College Wine

Peter Lehmann and his Shiraz wines seemed to be just the right stuff. Since wine prices are dear in Thailand we have to be careful with our choices.

Peter Lehmann is one of the few Australian vintners who became a legend in his own lifetime. Today, Peter Lehmann Wines in the Barossa Valley, South Australia is part of the Hess Family Estates with wineries in the Napa Valley, South Africa and Argentina.

Peter Lehmann Wines was established in 1979 as a response to the serious grape overproduction at the time (sounds terribly familiar in 2009 too). Most of the grapes come from about 185 contract growers. Only about 3% of the total wine output is derived from the self-owned vineyard (73 ha which is not small for a boutique vintner like me).

The Shiraz wines are the flagships of Peter Lehmann which assured me that nothing could go wrong.

We bought the following wines:

1. A ‘2006 Peter Lehmann Weighbridge Shiraz’
Peter Lehmann 2006 web

2. A ‘2005 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz’
Peter Lehmann 2005 web

Both were “reasonably” priced for Thai conditions. The price for the bottle of Weighbridge Shiraz was about 700 Thai Bath (US$ 20 or € 14.6) and for the Barossa Shiraz about 1,000 Thai Bath (US$ 29 or € 20.8). Retail prices in Europe range from € 8-12 resp. € 15-17 or £ 6.50 and £ 7.50 in the UK. Interesting these price differentials. That’s the price of protectionism. Long live free trade.

Both wines went well with the Italian food. They had a beautiful dark red colour, were spicy and full of black fruit, plum in the case of the Weighbridge Shiraz. The 2005 Barossa Shiraz was “heavier” with lots of chalky tannins, a wine to be chewed so to say. We started with the 2006er bottle and went on to the older, in my view better, wine, which was absolutely the right choice.

I have not visited the Peter Lehmann winery in South Australia myself. The website is beautiful, informative and very enticing. I conclude: one should visit the place.

It takes about one to one and a half hours to drive to the winery from Adelaide Airport.

Address:
Peter Lehmann Wines LTD
off Para Road
Tanunda SA 5352
South Australia

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Thailand: New Latitude Wines – GranMonte Vineyard

March 27, 2009

As you probably know, I am busying myself with finding drinkable Thai wines. My first ventures into the world of Thai wines did not yield promising results. Alas, after some more tastings I was successful.

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Main building, Gran Monte family Vineyard

We visited GranMonte Family Vineyard, a family winery in the Asoke Valley in Khao Yai, about a two hours drive north of Bangkok. This nascent wine business is owned by the family of Vissoth Lohitnavy. His daughter Nikki is the first-ever female oenologist of Thailand. She was recently awarded a Bachelor degree with honours by the University of Adelaide in South Australia.

The GranMonte Family vineyard is a state of the art boutique producer of fine wines. The return of Nikki marks a new chapter in the development of the family business. A new winery has been built and new equipment was bought including stainless steel tanks from Germany.

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During the last couple of years Thailand has become a grape and wine producing country. High taxes on imported wines make sure that the international competition does not destroy the domestic wine industry. However, various awards won by Thai wines at international wine shows are proof that the wine in this tropical land has made good progress.

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The general wisdom was that wine grapes could only be successfully produced between the 30th and 50th latitudes north and south. However, in recent years countries in the tropics and the sub-tropics such as Indonesia (Hatten Wines on Bali Island), Brasil, India and Thailand have shown that this is not true.

New latitude wines, a term coined by local wine writer Frank Norel, is the catchword. Much has been written about “New Latitude Wines” and wine production and I will come back to this topic at a later stage in more detail. The climate allows for two, or even three harvests but some producers forfeit the second (and/or third) vintage altogether and go for low yields.

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As regards the varieties it seems that Chenin Blanc and Colombard of the white, and Syrah/Shiraz of the red varieties grow well at least at GranMonte family vineyard. The total area under vines is about 40 acres, 25 of which are planted with red and 10 with white grapes.

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State of the art trellis systems, spacing and row management

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Mr. Vissoth, the owner, explaining the vineyards to his visitors

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Modern stainless steel cellar equipment

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Freshly fermented grape juice

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The tasting room of Gran Monte

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Another view of the Gran Monte tasting room

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The vineyard owner, Mr. Visooth Lohitnavy, in the tasting room

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The “normal” product range

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The award winners

I recommend to buy the award winners. They are the best wines. I particularly like the unfiltered Syrah, a great drop, smooth in the mouth, with plenty of fruit and a wonderful explosive finish.

So if you should visit Thailand in the near future, please plan a trip tpo Khao Yai and GranMonte Vineyard. The family of Mr. Vissoth is very enthusiastic and will make you feel very welcome. Below you’ll find the address and a map.

Address:
Granmonte Co,Ltd.

17 / 8 Soi Sukhumvit 6, Sukhumvit Road,
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110

Tel : 0-2653-1522 Fax : 02-653-1977
Mb. : 08-9169-7766
Marketing@granmonte.com

Address at Khao Yai

Granmonte Vineyard & Wines
52 Moo 9 Phayayen, Pakchong,
Nakornrachasima, Thailand
Tel : 036-227-334-5

Map
map-granmonteweb

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A new farm car at Two Hills Vineyard

February 25, 2009

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Isn’t it a beauty?

For twelve years we were driving our old Mazda, a sedan, suitable for a family of four, a family which lives in the city, but not in the country side. I loved the car. I carried seedling, straw, fertilizer, wood and wine boxes with it so that it looked like a farm vehicle. Even an encounter with a kangerooh at dawn could not end the live of it.

But last year the Mazda had it. It broke down every week of our holidays which proved to be too cumbersome for us. It’s not funny breaking down with the car in rural Victoria miles from any habitation. It slows you down though you get to know how nice your fellow Australian citizens are.

Therefore, we bought a new vehicle, an old pick-up truck, from Chris and Lu Birchall of Yarra Glen. Our old friend Peter Brown put a lot of work into the “old lady” to make it a true treasure (he made the back dust proved, repainted some parts and many more things). Thank you Peter!

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Two Hills new Nissan

This pick up truck is just what we needed. While in Glenburn over Christmas we transported all kind of farm gear and other items from growceries to wine boxes. It was a delight to go around in this Nissan. The “lady” was built in 1986 (!) but it looks like a spring chuck of a car. On long drives the back passenger seats are not so comfortable, so the kids find it sometimes hard to sit there, their legs a bit twisted.

When we visit again in winter, we will need the truck to carry posts and other material to rebuilt the fences which we lost to the fire. Do you want to join me?

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Restaurant Review: Giant Steps in Healesville, Victoria

February 5, 2009

A place which I love to visit whenever I can is Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander, a winery cum restaurant, bakery, cheese maker, coffee and sweats sellers as well as a fun offering place in the heart of Healesville, the picturesque little town in Victoria about an hours drive northeast of Melbourne.

Despite the huge hall with the public dining facilities, the wine tasting and other desks (to sell bread, sweats and so on), the place is quite cosy somehow. It’s a place for large family and other groups as well as for having a coffee or glass of wine by oneself. They have a German “kicker” game and other entertainment facilities. In the mornings you see many young mothers with their kids. Free wireless internet access is another bonus the place has to offer.

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The “hall” with tables and counters

It was of course packed with people in the pre-Christmas period when we came in. We went for lunch before heading home to the vineyard and decided on pizza. Ever since we have lived in Rome, Italy, we love thin pizza of the Roman type. My favourite pizza is the simplest one, a pizza margherita (that is it’s usual name) with just tomatoes and mozarella cheese and basilico.

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Pizza Margerita

The pizza served in Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander is quite nice, though not as thin as a Roman one.

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Tomatoes to be dried

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The pizza oven

Pairing pizza with wine is a tricky thing. The recent controversy of my fellow blogger Do Bianci with Dr. Vino is a case in point. I think Jeremy Parzen is mostly right. When we lived in Rome we had never pizza with wine. Beer was the usual drink. However, as with any food one can have wine with it. That applies also to pizza.

Frankly speaking, I drink whatever wine is offered with the pizza if in a friends home. In a restaurant my choice of wine depends on my mood. My mood told me wine, local wine.

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A sniff and a mouthful

I decided on a ‘2008 Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir’ which is not a complicated wine but rather young and fresh. As regards the pizza margherita there is a lot of cheese on it which might not go well with the high acidity of the Pinot since it destroys the “harmony”. However, the earthy character of the Pinot is what I think makes it somehow acceptable, at least to me.

On www.theworldwidewine.com there is a list which shows which grapes go with which pizza.

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The pizza-wine pairing suggestions

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Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir

The four of us we had a great time at Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander. I highly recommend to visit the place to any casual tourist. If in Healesville do as the Healesviller do!

Address:
Giant Steps Vignerons – Innocent Bystander Winery
336 Maroondah Hwy.
Healesville, Victoria 3777
Australia
Tel.: +61-(0)3-59626111

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A map

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Jean-Paul’s Vineyard, Yea

January 30, 2009

Recently I had the opportunity to taste wines from Jean-Paul’s Vineyard in Yea, Victoria, a boutique vineyard owned and operated by Will de Castella. The de Castella philosophy is, “it’s all about the fruit”. The vineyard is organic/biodynamic certified. Will produces hand crafted, award winning wines of excellent quality. Jean-Paul’s Vineyard also recently joined our association, the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association.

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‘2006 Jean-Paul’s Vineyard Shiraz’

I bought a bottle of ‘2006 Jean-Paul’s Shiraz’ and a bottle of ‘2004 Jean-Paul’s Bold Colonial Red’ from the Yea super market. Recently the ‘2005 vintage Shiraz’ was awarded 94 and the ‘2005 Bold Colonial Red’ 88 points by James Halliday. I guess that the different vintages might not have been significant as regards the quality of the wine. Who can taste a one or two point difference anyway.

Both wines were consumed together with friends over hearty Australian country meals. To say it from the outset, I loved both wines; they were delicious. Since I am more of a Shiraz than a CabSav drinker, I personally prefer the Shiraz.

If you are in the vicinity of Yea, grab some bottles of these wines, it’s a bargain. I also recommend to visit the Jean-Paul’s Vineyard website and order from there directly.

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‘2004 Jean-Paul’s Vineyard Bold Colonial Red’

By the way: Will de Castella’s great grandfather was Hubert de Castella, the pioneer of the wine industry in the Yarra Valley establishing vineyards such as St Hubert’s near Yarra Glen.

Will and his wife Heather live since 1988 near Yea and produce small quantities of fruit from which distinct wines are made which won accolades for their outstanding quality.

Address:
Jean-Paul’s Vineyard
Post: RMB 6173
YEA VICTORIA 3717
AUSTRALIA
Phone: 03 57972235
Email: william@jeanpaulsvineyard.com.au
http://www.jeanpaulsvineyard.com.au

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