Tag Archives: Mildura

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Let’s Taste – The Local Drop Intrepid Wino Pack #1 – Italo-Australians

I was thrilled to have been contacted by the team at The Local Drop recently, who are fans of my podcast The Vincast, and invited me to curate my own wine packs based on things I was excited about. I’m very proud to share my first collection, which probably wouldn’t surprise some of you is all around Australian wines made from Italian varieties. I continue to be blown away by the quality of these wines and their applicability not only to the Australian climate but also the culture around food and wine here. I hope you enjoy my tasting video, please head to The Local Drop website to find out more and to purchase, please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

Wines tasted;
Trentham Estate Prosecco NV
Wine Unplugged ‘The Dagger’ Pinot Grigio 2016
Range Life Garganega 2015
Unico Zelo Dolcetto 2017
Fighting Gully Road Sangiovese 2016
Vino Intrepido Spanna in the Works Nebbiolo 2017

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August 7, 2018 · 11:44 am
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Vino Intrepido 2017 Part Four – Blend & Bottle

A little late to the party (vintage 2018 is almost over already), but I got there eventually. Here’s the fourth and final video on the 2017 vintage for Vino Intrepido, finishing the wine and getting it into bottle.

The vermentino and nero d’avola components were racked and blended in September 2017, and bottled not long after that. The nebbiolo was racked and blended in October, returned to barrel, then racked and bottled in January 2018.

Find out more about all of the 2017 wines here!

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March 8, 2018 · 12:03 am
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Vino Intrepido 2017 Part Three – The Press

Increasing the volume of fruit for this vintage meant a lot more pressing. Luckily that was largely automated thanks to the pneumatic press, but there was quite a lot of manual labour required, bucketing solids into the press. Six separate skin-contact ferments were all press at different times, and every time the press needed to be cleaned. The pressing program was as follows;
– One of two tonnes of Riverland Vermentino were fermented on skins in two separate ferments. One was pressed immediately after the completion of fermentation, spending a total of nine days on skins. The other was pressed twelve days later, spending a total of three weeks on skins. Both were transferred to neutral white barriques for ageing.
– One tonne of Mildura Nero d’Avola was de-stemmed and split into two fermenters. After only two days of fermentation one half-tonne was pressed and completed fermentation in a stainless steel tank, whilst the other half-tonne completed fermentation on skins but was pressed soon after, a total of 10 days on skins. Each press went to a 300L mature hogshead barrel for ageing.
– Two tonnes of Pyrenees nebbiolo were de-stemmed and split in half. Both finished fermenting on skins. Nothing was added or removed from these ferments. One tonne was pressed after 15 days on skins, the other spent 56 days on skins. They were split between 2010 and 2012 vintage barriques.

Vino Intrepido is a (soon to be launched) brand that combines great Italian grape varieties with great Australian wine regions and growers, experimenting with different winemaking techniques to bring you delicious wine! If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via email on vinointrepido@gmail.com

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July 5, 2017 · 8:24 am
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Vino Intrepido 2017 Part Two – Fermentation

The 2017 vintage was very prolonged, and each of the three varieties finished fermenting before the next one arrived. The fermentations were as follows;
– Two tonnes Riverland Vermentino were split in half – one tonne was pressed and one tonne de-stemmed for skin-contact fermentation. Half of the pressed juice was transferred to neutral barriques for barrel-fermentation, the rest fermented in stainless steel. The two skin-contact ferments had a neutral commercial yeast added to help them through ferment.
– One tonne of Mildura Nero d’Avola was de-stemmed and split into two fermenters. After only two days of fermentation one half-tonne was pressed and completed fermentation in a stainless steel tank, whilst the other half-tonne completed fermentation on skins. Due to the low acids and high pH, tartaric acid was added to help balance the wine.
– Two tonnes of Pyrenees nebbiolo were de-stemmed and split in half. Both finished fermenting on skins. Nothing was added or removed from these ferments.

Vino Intrepido is a (soon to be launched) brand that combines great Italian grape varieties with great Australian wine regions and growers, experimenting with different winemaking techniques to bring you delicious wine! If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via email on vinointrepido@gmail.com

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July 4, 2017 · 11:20 am
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Vino Intrepido 2017 Part One – Processing the fruit

To say that the 2017 vintage was different to the 2016 vintage would be one of the biggest understatement ever. Just speaking personal circumstances, this year not only did I finish up with my employer of over three years and start with a new importer/wholesaler, I also welcomed the arrival of my first child! Considering the location I made my wine at this year is a lot further from home than last year, I wasn’t able to be at the winery as much this year. Then I ended up increasing production from one tonne to five tonnes! I also worked with three new varieties; vermentino, nero d’avola and nebbiolo. Finally, the 2017 vintage was late and long; first grapes arrived on the 19th of March and last were the 24th of April!
On this Part One video I process all the fruit. Processing involves the intake of grapes, and making the first decisions for the wine (whether to press, whether to de-stem, whether to do neither). This is all before the fermentation begins and it transitions towards wine.
Vino Intrepido is a (soon to be launched) brand the combines great Italian grape varieties with great Australian wine regions and growers, experimenting with different winemaking techniques to bring you delicious wine! If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via email on vinointrepido@gmail.com

Ricca Terra Farms – http://riccaterrafarms.com.au
Chalmers – https://www.chalmers.com.au
Malakoff Vineyard – https://www.facebook.com/Malakoffestatevineyard/

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May 25, 2017 · 4:58 pm
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AAVWS 2016 Part Four – The Fellowship Experience

It was a distinct honour and a privilege to be named the third fellow for the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. What an incredible insight into one of the most forward-thinking initiatives in the Australian wine scene today! Here are some of the amazing experiences that came with such an honoured award, I was truly humbled. Many thanks to the AAVWS for the opportunity to attend as the 2016 Fellow, I heartily encourage everyone to consider applying for this years show!

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May 4, 2017 · 2:08 pm
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AAVWS 2016 Part Three – Trophies Long Lunch

Without question, the most fun part of the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show calendar is the famous Long Lunch where the trophies are announced. The five-course menu is designed by none-other than Mildura institution Stefano Di Pieri, with a selection of wines from the previous years show, many of them trophy winners. The festivities are emceed by the Chair of the AAVWS, which this year was former guest on The Vincast wine podcast and all around lovely guy, Ashley Ratcliff. Have a watch, then head to the show website to find out all of the trophy winners. Don’t forget to let me know what you think in the comments below, like share and subscribe, and be sure to visit my website and follow me on social media. Many thanks to the AAVWS for the opportunity to attend as the 2016 Fellow, and also for the use of some pictures from the Facebook page.

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December 5, 2016 · 2:07 pm
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AAVWS 2016 Part Two – Talk and Taste seminars

On the second part of a series looking into the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, I look at one of the most valuable events of the week – particularly for the producer exhibitors – Talk & Taste. These seminars provide a forum for guest speakers, some of whom are on the judging panel, to discuss topics very pertinent to those working with alternative varieties in Australia. This year panels covered three areas, I took some (very amateurish) footage from the front row, here are a few talking points. Many thanks to the AAVWS for the opportunity to attend as the 2016 Fellow, and also for the use of some pictures from the Facebook page.

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November 28, 2016 · 5:39 pm
Video

AAVWS Part One – How the show works

I was honoured to be named the 2016 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show Fellow, given an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the show and the events run around it. Heading up several days early and offering to steward a few days, I took the opportunity to learn more about the show, and how it improves the quality of Australian wine made from emerging grape varieties. Here is the first video in a short series on the show, outlining how the show is run. Please let me know if you have any questions, feel free to make comments below!

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November 20, 2016 · 5:09 pm
November 15, 2016 · 9:00 am

The Vincast with Ashley Ratcliff from Ricca Terra Farms

For the past fourteen years, Ashley Ratcliff has worked for arguably Australia’s most important family-owned wine business, Hill-Smith Family Vineyards. Over those years he worked in many different elements of the business, from viticulture to marketing, operations to running one of the wineries. More recently he has established a vineyard in the Riverland – considered one of the warm-hot irrigated regions known for large volume grape production – and has been planting more alternative varieties to show the potential for these grapes in the region, particularly for high quality fruit. He has now thrown himself 100% into Ricca Terra Farms, and even has other plans for the future.

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Ashley Ratcliff from Ricca Terra Farms

Ashley Ratcliff from Ricca Terra Farms

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