Festival News Blog

Australian Highlands Wine Show Results.

Fortunately the Wine Show, an industry event held indoors on 1 and 2 March, was not cancelled due to bad weather.

View and download the Show Results PDF here.

 

Due to the current erratic weather conditions and concern for the safety of festival goers, it is with regret that the Southern Highlands Food and Wine Association has had to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel the Dan Murphy’s Australian Highlands Food and Wine Festival.  Thank you to all of you for your support and we look forward to seeing you in 2013

 

Festival goers who have already bought tickets will be refunded the price of their ticket in about 72 hours.

Contact us for more information

 

Don't just take our word for it!

Click here and we'll see you there!

Established by Ricardo Farago and Katrina Hill in Canyonleigh .The vineyard was planted in 2003 with the intention to produce wine equal in quality to that of the best Pinot Gris regions in Europe.
 
Following planting, high caliber, viticultural practices were implemented, including minimal irrigation and constant hand tending of the vines.

Five years later, the combination of the terroir, which has been compared by experts to that of the best Gris regions in France, the micro-climate and hard work has produced an excellent wine that they are very proud of.  The result is due to a combination of nature, their experienced consultant, and an
outstanding winemaker, Suzanne Little, who has a long list of top wines to her name, including the Reserve range of Rosemount Estate.

Wine of note : The 2008 George Ellis Pinot Gris , the first public release and it, together with subsequent releases have been met with accolades.

Established in 1997, Diamond Creek Estate is an award winning family owned and operated vineyard and olive grove.

Diamond Creek Estate is situated on the northern slopes of Mittagong, around 120 kms south of Sydney.
 
The property for many years was dairy country, enjoys rich basalt soil, northern sun and although at an altitude of 680 metres, it has a unique topography, which leaves it relatively immune from frost. This creates an ideal microclimate for cultivating premium quality, cool climate wine grapes and the finest olives for extra virgin olive oil.

The vineyard occupies around 15 acres and a similar area is dedicated to olive trees.

The vines are subject to intensive management for improvement, hand pruned and leaf-plucked as required. They are personally tended, cropped for optimised yields to produce premium quality cool climate wine grapes. Diamond Creek Estate Wines are produced only from estate grown grapes.

Wines of note: 2006 Noble Diamond Botrytis, 2006 Diamond Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Interested in learning from the masters?

Looking for some tips on preparing fantastic meals using local and national ingredients?

View our full schedule for Saturday and Sunday Cooking Demonstrations (PDF) during the Australian Highlands Food and Wine Festival this coming Saturday and Sunday 3 and 4 March!

The family owned Cuttaway Hill Wines is cradled in the cool climate wine region of the Southern Highlands and owned and operated by the Bourne family on the outskirts of Mittagong and Bowral.



All vineyard sites are at an altitude above 550m and predominantly north-facing, providing good sunlight exposure for most of the daylight hours. Traditional harvest dates for this premium cool climate region are generally mid March through to mid May.

Cuttaway Hill wines are made entirely from grapes grown in the Southern Highlands and each vineyard provides a unique character that gives the wine lover a true taste of the Southern Highlands in a glass and its national and international award winning wines are building a strong reputation among wine connoisseurs.

Cuttaway Hill's range of premium quality table wines artfully blend traditional and new world wine styles and include classic varieties that are full flavoured and combine cool climate complexity and wide appeal to represent the unique terroir that is the Southern Highlands and Cuttaway Hill.

Wines of note: 2004 Lawrence Sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 & 2008 Chardonnay, 2008 & 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

The Cherry Tree Hill wine label, the culmination of twelve years of hard work, is now producing enough top quality wine to offer to the public.

Gabi Lorentz has had a deep love for wine since childhood, when his grandfather used to take him on a horse and cart through his vineyard in Hungary, where they produced some of the most revered wines in the country.

As a result of this lifelong passion, in 2000 Gabi decided to produce his own fine boutique wines on the family estate in the Southern Highlands. His son David manages the vineyard and overseas every aspect of the business from growing and harvesting the grapes to bottling and selling the wine.

Initially Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling grapes were planted in 2000. Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay were then planted in 2001. Ian Evans, who lives with his family on the property, is revered as the best vigneron in the Southern Highlands.

The team at Cherry Tree Hill is dedicated to producing a range of award winning quality boutique wines at affordable prices. So far, many of their wines have been recognized with accolades at several shows including the prestigious Sydney Royal Wine Show and Sydney Boutique Wine Awards.

Wines of note: 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 & 2006 Riesling and the 2006 Cabernet Merlot.

Centennial Vineyards is located just minutes from the historic township of Bowral, just over an hour south of Sydney. This premium cool climate vineyard at over 760m in altitude (in winter snow is possible) ensures grapes ripen slowly with enhanced flavour and intensity. Slow ripening together with fastidious attention to viticulture and low cropping levels, results in premium quality fruit, creating wines of elegance and distinction. Centennial wine has been acknowledged at wine shows, internationally and nationally, with over 330 medals from trophy to bronze, all in the vineyards first three years. The vines are planted over 80 acres consisting of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Albariño, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir & Tempranillo.

Wines of note: Centennial Vineyards N/V Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay, 2005 Reserve Cabernet Merlot and Brut Rose.

Tertini Wines : is dedicated to producing premium, cool climate wines with a particular interest in alternative varieties. The wines are subtle and elegant, with excellent fruit characters arising from the long, slow ripening period and our commitment to hand pruning, hand picking and low cropping. High natural acidity gives the wines a clean finish and good cellaring potential.

Tertini’s “Yaraandoo” vineyard is located near the historic village of Berrima in the Southern Highlands, an emerging cool climate region in New South Wales, at the relatively high altitude of 715 metres.

Although the vineyard is young, with the first plantings in 2000, it has produced outstanding fruit from the start.

Tertini’s viticulturist is a cool climate/Southern Highlands specialist who applies all his knowledge to obtaining the best possible results in the vineyard. Vines are hand pruned and then hand picked to ensure that only the best fruit is selected each year.

Winemaker, Jonathan Holgate is a  cool climate specialists who applies his  expertise and experience through careful, meticulous handling in the winery.

Wines of note: Tertini Riesling 2008 and Tertini Pinot Noir 2009.

More info on Tertini Wines.