Ben Haines was my guest on the 93rd episode of The Vincast wine podcast. He is the winemaker and estate director at Mount Langi Ghiran in the Grampians region of Victoria, and has made some incredible improvements there in the last few years. Ben also produces his own wines, and took me through a tasting when I visited. Here are my impressions of one of his wines, let me know what you think in the comments below.
Ben Haines Under Woods Syrah 2013
Yeringberg was my epiphany producer; the 1997 Pinot Noir is the reason I continued working in the wine industry. Back when I worked at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, I went to Yeringberg’s Open Day to taste, and bought these two 2004 wines. I’ve relinquished them from my cellar and thought I’d share my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Yeringberg Red & Pinot Noir 2004
You may have heard my chats on The Vincast wine podcast with Nathan Reeves and Dave Chatfield on Episode 76. You may also have seen me taste a few of their Out of Step wines on previous editions of Let’s Taste. Based out in the Yarra Valley, they make a range of wines from fruit sourced from a number of vineyards. Amongst the most important is Lusatia Park in the Upper Yarra Valley, particularly for the white varieties. The newly released Margin Walker is from a particularly good parcel of Lusatia Park fruit, here are my impressions of the wine, let me know what you think in the comments below.
Out of Step Margin Walker 2015
I opened my last bottle of the Yering Station Reserve Pinot Noir 2002 from my cellar, and shared my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Yering Station Reserve Pinot Noir 2002
Ben Haines wasn’t sure what he wanted to do as a career, but his father sensed that the wine industry would be a great option. After studies and experience in viticulture, he discovered that quality doesn’t stop once the grapes are harvested, it continues all the way through to bottling. Postgraduate studies in winemaking lead him on a career path that would include vintage experiences overseas, and eventually led he was appointed chief winemaker at famed Grampians estate, Mount Langi Ghiran. Ben spoke about his journey on this episode of The Vincast.
Follow Ben on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the Intrepid Wino channel on YouTube and watch a few videos!
Follow The Vincast on Twitter and download all the previous episodes here
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or PlayerFM and don’t forget to rate and review!
Ben Haines from Mount Langi Ghiran
Yeringberg is one of the most historic viticultural sites in the Yarra Valley, and is also one of the oldest family owned wineries in Australia. The de Pury family have been in this part of Victoria since the 1860s, and have an incredible connection with their land, farming a number of different agricultural products. They make a number of outstanding wines, and the Yeringberg sits at the top. I opened the 2005 vintage from my cellar and shared my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below.
Yeringberg 2005
My first real wine job was working in the cellar door at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, which I did for 18 months from the beginning of 2006. One of my colleagues there lived at Coldstream Hills as her partner was one of the winemakers. She very generously put together a mixed dozen of back vintages of their Reserve wines, many of which are still in my cellar. I decided to open the three wines from the 2004 vintage (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon), and these are my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Back when I worked in the cellar door at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, one of my colleagues lived at Coldstream Hills as her partner was one of the winemakers. She was kind enough to put together a mixed dozen of reserve wines of various vintages, some of which are still in my cellar. I thought it was about time to open this bottle, the Reserve Pinot Noir 2002. What are your thoughts, do you agree? Let me know in the comments.
My guests on episode 76 of my wine podcast The Vincast were Nathan Reeves and David Chatfield from Out of Step Wine Co. After seeing my tasting video of their chardonnay they reached out and offered me some wine, and I thought I’d do them even better and have them on a double-episode to tell their story. They brought me some wines after all, and I tasted the two Sauvignon Blanc wines from 2015 on this video.
If you’re a fan of ’90s alternative music you can thank David Chatfield for bringing out international cult acts like Interpol, Mudhoney and Bon Iver. After 20 years in the music industry, Dave became more and more interested in wine, and decided to pursue a career as a winemaker. Thanks to his music cred he got a job at Giant Steps with Steve Flamsteed, and hasn’t looked back. He joined forces with former university friend Nathan Reeves (my guest on part one of this episode), and formed Out of Step Wine Company in the Yarra Valley.
Follow Out of Step on Twitter and Instagram
Follow David on Twitter and Instagram
Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the Intrepid Wino channel on YouTube and like a few videos!
Follow The Vincast on Twitter and download all the previous episodes here
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or PlayerFM and don’t forget to rate and review!
David Chatfield from Out of Step Wine Co.
A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
All content on this podcast remains the sole property of the author unless otherwise acknowledged and appropriately credited. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of content without express and written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Content may be used for reproduction provided that full and clear credit is given to James Scarcebrook and/or The Intrepid Wino with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The Intrepid Wino 