august update » cloudscape NAP bargain of the year

Cloudscape Winery has undergone a change of ownership, and as a result you have the opportunity to purchase their wines at a bargain basement price until stocks are sold.

At the more premium end of the scale a big bold red from the Barossa that truly over delivers for its price. The Moppa shiraz from Kalleske is voluptuous and multi-layered, and suitable for medium term cellaring if you can keep your hands off it

What is the difference between organic and biodynamic? The answer to this question takes more than a couple of lines, but I have attempted to give my take on the salient points below. Plus some links for some interesting further reading.

Happy drinking (and reading)!
Michelle Gadd

Cloudscape Winery: No Added Preservative Wines from $12pb

Drummond > Macedon Ranges > VIC

no added preservative > vegan suitable

Made from estate grown fruit. The vines are un-irrigated, grown without chemicals and are nurtured with organic compost and biodynamic preparations. The wine is not filtered and contains no fining agents.

Cloudscape 2007 Pinot Noir

The nose shows wild brambly berry fruit with a little bit of thyme & Christmas cake spice. The earthy palate is smooth with fine drying  tannins.

Cloudscape 2006 Cab. Sauvignon Merlot Cab. Franc

This wine displays a vibrant ruby red colour and aromas of raspberry & blackcurrant. The palate reveals blackberry cherry and spice as well as secondary flavours of pencil shavings, cedar and mocha. Subtle oak flavours and soft tannins give great mouth feel and length.

Cloudscape 2007 Shiraz

Garnet red in colour, it has aromas of wild red berries, with a touch of aniseed and pepper. The palate delivers with savoury spice, juicy acid, and fine chalky tannins.

Pricing
mixed case: $14.00
straight case of 6: $144.00
less than a case buy: $16.00

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Kalleske 2008 Moppa Shiraz » limited stocks

Barossa > South Australia

certified organic > vegan suitable

In 1853 the Kalleske farm and vineyard was established at Moppa, a small sub-district of Greenock in the Barossa’s North-West. The Moppa district was a flourishing settlement of pioneering farming families and gold miners, and as a wine growing sub-region it produces substantial reds.

Tasting Notes: Emanating from the glass are lifted, powerful aromas of cloves, perfume, deep rose, tar, black plum and dark chocolate. These flavours continue to the extremely mouthwatering and juicy full-bodied palate. Rich fruit intensity is supported by stylish and subtle barrel fermentation characters and ripe, dusty tannins add good structure to the wine. » read more

Review: "This, from one of the Barossa’s best young winemakers, Troy Kalleske, is a delicious drop and amazing value when compared to some of the region’s more famous brews. The aromas are of dried spices, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, together with dark berry and plum base-notes. In the mouth it’s soft and sweet fruited, savoury tannins chiming in to provide a dry but supple finish. It’s quite succulent, round and smooth."
91 Points Wine of the Week » Huon Hooke, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26th January 2010

Pricing
mixed case: $27.50
straight case: $318.00
less than a case buy: $29.00

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What is the difference between organic and biodynamic?

making compost

cow horns for horn manure

lunar calendar

stirring preparation 500

Ok most people understand the basics of organics, no use of synthetic herbicides pesticides fertilizers etc. Sourcing nutrients and compounds needed to grow your produce from natural and sustainable sources and being as self contained as possible. Biodynamics, sometimes referred to as 'enhanced organic' or 'super-charged organic', is all of the above but goes further. It employs an overlaying philosophy that comes from the teachings of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner back in the 1920’s. His is a holistic approach to agriculture, where all animals, plants and the solar system are thought of as living inter-related system that impact on each other.

"we are helping wines catch the climate and soil"
Nicolas Joly » renowned French biodynamic winemaker

In practical terms, biodynamic agriculture focuses on having healthy, alive, nutrient rich soils and a well balanced environment to allow the plant to harness everything it needs to grow. It uses specific herb and mineral preparations to achieve this – quite similar to homeopathy. These preparations are used to enhance the vitality of plants, soils, composts and livestock. One of the main preparations is called preparation 500 or cow horn manure. It is produced by burying cow manure in a cow horn over winter, digging it up in spring, stirring the resultant rich humus in water to dynamise it and spraying it over your vineyard. Manual/ mechanical weed control, nontoxic pest management, and sustainable animal husbandry are also employed.

"It’s just such a satisfying way to farm."
John Nagorcka » Hochkirch Winery

Biodynamic also teaches that all specific vineyard and winery operations should be timed to coincide optimally with cosmic rhythms, particularly lunar cycles. This concept is a bit harder to grasp for most of us. But in very basic layman's terms, just as the moon influences the tides, it also influences water in plants and animals.

"Biodynamic grapes are a great expression of terroir and a sense of place"
Vanya Cullen » Cullen Wines

So you can see that some people might perceive biodynamics to be a bit whacky, but anything that we don’t yet have the knowledge to fully explain can be seen as whacky. I think the farmers/grape-growers that are walking around their properties everyday and observing what is happening are the best ones to judge, and the rate at which more and more of them are burying their cow horns is quite convincing!

"But I believe, in well made biodynamic wines, I can taste a difference. I can taste a liveliness on my tongue that really is quite different from conventionally grown wines."
Max Allen » 2008 Sydney International Wine Competition

From a non-practising biodynamicist, this is my brief attempt to explain the basics of biodynamics, it is quite an intriguing topic. There are many websites that can add further to the discussion; such as
» Max Allen's biodynamic wine website
» wikipedia.org
» biodynamics.com
» Grgich Hills Estate

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Offers Still Available From Our Previous Newsletter

Juniper Green Organic Gin & Utkin UK5 Organic Vodka

United Kingdom

certified organic > vegan suitable

The Organic Spirits Company, based in the U.K., launched in January 2000 with Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin. The gin went on to win the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Challenge in the United Kingdom, named the world’s finest gin the same year it debuted. The following year, the company introduced Utkins UK5 Organic Vodka, and both products won first place in their categories at the International Spirits Challenge. It became apparent that the Organic Spirits Company was not only riding the wave of organics, but knew how to distill top-quality spirits.

Effective from January 2007, Organic Spirits have been awarded the Prince of Wales’s Royal Warrant by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, a prestigious honour indeed.

Juniper Green London Dry Organic Gin

Dry, aromatic and zestful, only the finest organic botanicals such as juniper, coriander, angelica root and savoury go into this superb organic gin which the company have been making since 1999. 37.5% ABV

Utkins UK5 Organic Vodka

Great vodka from the finest organic grain. The purer the vodka, the better it is! UK5 uses the world's purest water and finest organic grain - perfect for making premium organic vodka.

Pricing
mixed case: $69.00
straight case of 6: $390.00
less than a case buy: $75.00

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Yalumba Organic Shiraz and Viognier

Riverland & McLaren Vale > SA > Australia

certified organic > vegan suitable > wild yeast ferment

2009 Yalumba Organic Riverland Viognier

The wine is lemon straw in colour with green hues. Lifted honeysuckle, lemon rind, apricot and peach mixed with hints of cashew and freshly turned earth deliver a complex and funky aroma. The palate is rich and textured. A luscious wine with layers of spice, citrus and apricot, showing the distinct characters of varietal Viognier which persist through to a lovely fresh finish. Enjoy with spicy Asian.

2009 Yalumba Organic Shiraz

The wine is crimson red and offers aromas of plum, cherry and mulberry and violets and forest floor fragrances. A medium bodied wine delivering flavours of plum, all-spice and blueberries and hints of almond kernel. This wine, with its plush soft tannins and bright juicy finish is ready to drink now or enjoy it over the next three years.

Pricing
mixed case: $15.20
straight case: $174.00
less than a case buy: $16.20

» read more

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