Harewood Estate Great Southern Riesling 2008 received 94 points in James Hallidays latest edition of the 2010 Australian Wine Companion. He wrote about Harewood riesling 2008: "Pale colour; tightly wound and expressive bouquet, showing lime, mineral and a touch of floral character; graceful and poised, with precise acidity and some green apple freshness on the finish.…

The Vine Press together with Fourth Village Providores on Wednesday 15th July 09 presented a selection of   wines from Bird In Hand of Adelaide Hills expertly matched with Farmhouse cheeses from Small Regional Farms in Australia. Rhys Connery from The Vine Press, along with Bird in Hand Wines' Justin Nugent were on hand to present their wines from the Adelaide Hills.  Set up by Andrew Nugent, formerly of Tatachilla, Bird in Hand is a family owned wine producer.  Their aim is to produce full flavoured, yet finely structured and elegant wines to reflect the quality fo the Adelaide Hills region.   James Halliday rates them in Australia's top 15% of wineries with a 5 star winery rating. Cheese specialists from Fourth Village Providores in Mosman, were on hand to present the array of cheeses, including a seasonally made cheese from Woodside Cheese of South Australia that is only made during the colder months of winter. It was a fun and educational sit down tasting with special offers and a lucky door prize.  Guests were met at the Cheese Room with a complimentary glass of bubbles and canapes on arrival.  Cost was $45 per person. It was a fantastic night discovering the pairing of two of life's greatest pleasures - cheese and wine. Stay tuned for more food and wine tasting nights.   For details of upcoming events email: rhys@thevinepresstg.wpengine.com or call 02 9908 4994.

The Rockburn Pinot Noir 2007 is the latest vintage from this award winning New Zealand winery to arrive at The Vine Press.   This wine took home the JF Hillebrand Champion Pinot Noir and the Fairfax Media Champion Open Red Wine trophies at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards late last year. A panel of twenty-six local and international judges led by Chairman of the Judges, Steve Smith MW, expressed that “This wine represents an exceptional class of 2007 with real poise and personality. It’s Pinot, deep dark and exposed, an absolutely sensational nose of spice, licorice, dark cherry lifted by hints of wild thyme, red fruits and summer flowers. Beautiful definition on the palate, one minute luscious the next fine and dry, and the famous peacock’s tail finish. Outrageously fine.” In addition to the two trophies, the Rockburn Pinot Noir 2007 also earned an Elite Gold medal, which is awarded to wines scoring 19 points and above out of 20. The competition is owned and organised by New Zealand Winegrowers, the national organisation for the country’s 1,300 grapegrowers and winemakers.  The competition saw 1,751 entries across all varietal categories. The trophies are the third and fourth for winemaker Malcolm Francis, having joined Rockburn Wines for the 2006 vintage at their new winery at McNulty Road, Cromwell.  Prior to becoming head winemaker for Rockburn, he completed four vintages as assistant winemaker at Felton Road Wines. In addition to the Air New Zealand Wine Awards trophies, the Rockburn Pinot Noir 2007 has also earned gold medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, the New Zealand International Wine Show and the Liquorland Top 100.  In addition, it was awarded 5 Stars in the November 2008 edition of Cuisine Magazine, the August/September 2008 Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine and two editions of Listener magazine.

Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2007 from the Barossa Valley has just received these excellent reviews. Jane Faulkner from The Age talks up the Teusner Riebke shiraz 07 writes: "This is a joyous Shiraz with its subtle and vibrant fruit notes of plums and red berries on the nose, lightly spiced, fruit....cakey too with hints of chocolate and cedary notes alongside a plush mid-palate, ripe and voluptuous with giving tannins but nothing heavy-handed as it glides on to an excellent,long finish...mmmmm." Tony Harper from the Brisbane News writes about Teusner Riebke shiraz 07 : "The Teusner philosophy is to showcase the Barossa Valley in wines that are first and foremost affordable. The Riebke is the one that most clearly shows this promise. The fruit is sourced from Ebenezer and it has spent time in old oak hogsheads so that the fruit shines without distraction. It’s a delicious, plush, juicy shiraz at a ridiculous price. "

Teusner Salsa Rose 2008 has really got Jane Faulkner from The Age going! She writes: "Spicy, seductive and alluring, she goes by no other name than grenache. With her favourite dance partner mataro, they tear up the night. The backbone of shiraz cutting in at the end." Thats the label of this rose thats full of tangy, juicy fruit fragrant with rose petal and rhubarb notes, some creaminess and sweet fruit on the palate before finishing dry with crisp acidity. Teusner Salsa Rose is made in the european dry style and is the perfect wine for lunch

Congratulations to Spy Valley Wines for winning the New Zealand Producer of the Year for 2008 at the International Wine and Spirit Competition. The Spy Valley Riesling 2008 also picked up Gold at the 2008 New Zealand International Wine Show.   Other accolades for another of Spy Valley's wines, the stunning 2008 Sauvignon Blanc also stocked at The Vine Press, include Gold at the 2008 New Zealand International Wine Show and Gold & Best in Class at the New World Wine Awards 2008.   Bob Campbell from Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine said of this wine:  “In a normal vintage I would pick this as an Awatere Valley wine for its typical pea-pod and tomato leaf flavours. It is however from the lower Waihopai Valley, a cooler branch of the Wairau Valley. … an appealing mineral/slate character adding a distinct touch of class. The flavours show good focus and purity while knife-edged acidity overcomes an initial hint of sweetness to five a satisfyingly dry finish..”

Ravensworth Marsanne 2007 is a sensational white just in stock at The Vine Press that has to be tried.  An excellent food wine, will cellar well and a delightful alternative to Chardonnay. White Rhone varieties love the Canberra growing conditions – hot days and cold nights – and Bryan and Jocelyn Martin’s Marsanne in particular is superb.  Leaner and more delicate than previous vintages but still with complex notes of stonefruit, nuts and citrus.  So darn good. Here are some mouthwatering reviews: "Has admirable focus and intensity, with aromas of honeysuckle and lemon zest; texture is partly chalky, partly minerality.  Will age beautifully. Drink 2017.  92 ponts" James Halliday - www.winecompanion.com.au In some ways, marsanne is a little like viognier. It has some of the same musk and almond nuttiness, but in a more subtle guise.  The Ravensworth has a lovely luscious texture, but with plenty of fresh acidity to carry it off on the finish.   With its array of subtle flavours, like apricot kernel, orange peel and nutmeg, there's plenty of satisfying complexity to amuse the most jaded white-wine lover. 5 stars 5 Dollar symbols" Fergus McGhie - The Canberra Times, July 08 This is a very fine marsanne.  It’s long, slatey, shelly and delicate, the flavour of it interesting and the cellarworthiness of it obvious. I’m an instant fan. Drink: 2008-2012. 94 points." Campbell Mattinson - Winefront Monthly www.winefront.com I can offer more than a few incisive comments about this wine which is always a good thing. First is it needs to be served not too cold, secondly it looked much better after being open for a day and lastly (or thirdly if you enjoy a jolly good count) it's a wine of character that really engages you.  It smells of no one thing in particular but you might include things like melon, lemon, flowers, woody spices, nuts and minerals if you were to list them - tending to savoury as much as fruity. On the palate its dry and tight with clean acidity, a little bit of phenolic grip to build texture and a distinct mineral character.  It's mid-weight like a Chardonnay, has a touch of warmth poking through and finishes dry and flinty. A paradoxical wine - it's a great food style because it's dry and fairly neutral but it also challenges you and demands your attention with every sip. I think it needs time in bottle to show its best but meanwhile you might like to decant it for best results." 92 points Gary Walsh - www.winorama.conm.au

The Canberra district is fast becoming one of Australia's leading riesling regions and Ravensworth Wines excells at the variety.  We love the Ravensworth Riesling 2008 at The Vine Press - here's a review: "Another superb Canberra District Riesling from the cool 2008 vintage that shows precision and clarity. Striking mineral quality to the nose, quite savoury and elegant, the palate is crisply restrained, holding gentle apple and lime flavour with a  squeeze of lemon through the finish. 92 points" Nick Stock - WBM top 100.

Ravensworth Viognier 2007 has just landed at The Vine Press from the cool high country outside Canberra. More than just your average apricot loaded Viognier... check out this review: "Bryan Martin has transformed this into a rich, ripe savoury barrel-fermented style, adding nutty appeal to the waxy gingerbread fruit characters. Rich savoury palate follows suit, more ginger biscuits and honeysuckle. 90 points" Nick Stock - The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2009

Ravensworth Sangioverse 2008 is the latest release from Ravensworth Wines available now at The Vine Press. Ravensworth Wines from the Murrumbateman area in the cool climate high country, north of Canberra produce some fine drops. We've just received the current 2008 vintage of the Sangioverse which I think is a cracker Here's some reviews of the previous vintage: "Only 200 dozen made and I’m late getting on to it. Hopefully there’s a bit left.. Earth, black cherry, spice, roses, almond and even a bit of plasticine(or something like that) - all the right smells and flavours. Medium bodied with fairly high acidity, light furry tannins and good concentration with some dried herb and bitter almond lending additional interest. It’s structured and lengthy but also pretty young and backwards. A snip at the price (and I think I said that last year too) with its best days still ahead of it." Gary Walsh - The Wine Front The main problem here will be that it has probably sold out - they made only 200 dozen of it. So keep an eye out for future releases of this and, of course, if you see this vintage, grab a bottle. It was a severe frost year in the region, but those reds that made it through tend to be high quality. 2007 RELEASE It's an excellent example of what Australia can do with the sangiovese grape and at what price. The tannin structure here, the savoury depth, the dark, nutty, cherried flavour: it's all lovely. This will be beautiful given another couple of years' rest in the bottle. DRINK 2009-2014." VALUE: 5 drops SCORE: 92 Campbell Mattinson - The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10. "Lovely Italianate brick dust and brandied cherry smells. Attacks dry and dusty with marzipan cherry flavours, while the tannin is dry and building. Some caraway wafts. This is the smartest Aussie sangio I've tasted in ages" Tim White - The Age Magazine.