News

Happy 21st birthday!

The first vintage for Hollick Wines was 1982, thus this year we are celebrating our 21st birthday. Ian and Wendy have spent the last 21 years looking forward, but in recognising that this year marks the company's 21st, it has provided a good opportunity to look back for once.

That inaugural vintage was a mere 230 cases. Then, Ian and Wendy's dream was to grow the winery to a point where total production was around 5,000 cases. Today, average production is around ten times that, but Hollick represents the same ideals today that encapsulated their first vintage. Grow the best fruit, preserve those flavours in the winery, and with each vintage, aim to produce wines that are the ultimate 'expression of Coonawarra.' In an era when many family-owned wineries have been absorbed, floated and merged, Hollick remains somewhat a survivor of an industry that has changed markedly over the past 20 years. In that time icons of the industry such as Petaluma, St Hallett, Katnook, Brand's, Coldstream Hills and most recently Peter Lehmann, have been lost to overseas or corporate interests. And the good news is that Ian and Wendy have no plans to retire...perhaps, just perhaps plan to slow down a little!

What's on Upstairs?

New chef on board

During September we farewelled second chef Simon Bowen from the kitchen as he headed to the Lake House at Daylesford to continue his career. We are pleased to say that in time for the peak season we have found a highly credentialed chef to assist Sean in the kitchen.

Ian Perry commenced what we hope will be a long tenure in early November. Originally heralding from the UK, where he can boast working in a Michelin starred restaurant, Ian most recently has been head chef at Cunningham's Inn in the Yarra Valley, which is featured in the Age Good Food Guide. Prior to this, Ian spent three years at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne. We now suspect that he has hedonistic tendencies (a necessity to work at Hollick), as he also has revealed that he worked for four years at a private resort in Bermuda, between visits to Australia. Ian and Sean have just penned the new Summer menu, which we encourage you to sample during the holiday season.

Maggie Lends A Hand

The Limestone Coast Export Awards Dinner was held at 'Upstairs at Hollick' earlier this year, with chef and author Maggie Beer the guest speaker. Maggie found time to retreat to her natural habitat the kitchen and have a chat with the Upstairs team.

Hollick merchandise

Now available are some subtly branded womens 'Hollick Wines' or 'Upstairs at Hollick' t-shirts (as shown in the photograph to the right). They are very smart and composed of 95% Cotton and 5% Elastine, with a black satin trimmed neck. Yours for $35.00 each.

Coonawarra Calendar

Given the limited accommodation in Coonawarra, it is recommended that if any of these events are tempting, book your accommodation now. The Penola Visitor Information Centre is a good place to start. Phone them on (08) 8737 2855. For up to date information on these events check www.coonawarra.org

Coonawarra After Dark
APRIL 16, 2004
A unique event where you are able to sample the excitement and lights of vintage ...after dark.

Penola and Coonawarra Festival
MAY 15-17, 2004
Some great Cellar Door events, opera, exhibitions and activities focusing on local artists.

Coonawarra Cabernet Celebration
OCT. 16 & 17, 2004
Lots of fine food, wine tastings and the famous Sparkling Brunch and Barrel Series Auction.

Early warning!
Mail order dinner in Brisbane
We are planning to host a dinner for our mail order customers in Brisbane during Autumn next year. We will send information to our valued customers in Queensland early in the new year once we have finalised details.

New Releases

2002 Reserve Chardonnay

The lower than average yields combined with the cool 2002 vintage contributed ideal conditions for the growing of Chardonnay in Coonawarra. As with previous vintages, after barrel fermentation, the wine spends about ten months in French oak, of which about 25% of the barrels are new. The 2002 is more focused than the 2001 at this stage of its development and displays a crunchy acidity, indicative of the cooler vintage, together with generous amounts of ripe white peach Chardonnay fruit flavours and aromas. The finish is fresh and racy, and this wine will age effortlessly for 5 years plus.

2003 Riesling

We have been espousing the challenges presented by low yields over the past couple of vintages, but this vintage of Riesling has been decimated in terms of volume. Only a little over 200 cases was produced, and necessarily it will only be available at cellar door. The wine displays wonderfully pure, floral Riesling flavours with a twist of lime. Eminently slurpable with summer salads, but with the structure to age for 10 plus years. Be quick with this one.

2003 The Nectar

Again produced in small quantities, the 2003 Nectar is a blend of botrytised Riesling and Semillon from the Wilgha vineyard. Sweet, but not cloying, it shows floral Riesling fruit characters and marmalade nuances derived from the botrytis. The wine finishes with good acidity, and although great with cheese at this stage of its evolution, the wine will develop further richness and complexity with bottle maturation.

News in Brief

Hollick is First Class

We are proud to announce that soon passengers travelling First Class with Cathay Pacific will be able to complement their meal with a glass of 2002 Reserve Chardonnay. In all, around 30,000 glasses of Hollick will be slurped at 30,000 feet.

Chainsaws at the ready

Last year we chainsawed a dozen rows of the original 1975 Cabernet Sauvignon plantings on the Neilson's Block as its canopy had become overburdened with non-fruitful wood, and their resultant yields had declined significantly in recent years. The fruit quality has not been reflecting these miserly yields and the nature of the canopy on these old vines meant that at times the harvester picked a fair bit of vine with the grapes. These chainsawed rows have regrown well, and we are expecting almost normal crops from them this year. So Stewy and Luke have unsheathed their chainsaws again this year and have cropped another 20 or so rows, so that within three years the entire block will have been renovated.

Vintage Dinner

We are planning to hold a dinner during vintage on a Saturday night at the winery during March or April next year for our mail order customers. Activities including winery and vineyard tours, and barrel tastings will precede the dinner. At this stage we would like to gauge the level of interest, so if you are interested please e-mail Wendy Hollick at wendy@hollick.com by December 23rd. The last one of these that we held was a truly memorable night.

Aqua! Aqua!

We are pleased to report that for the first time since 1992, Coonawarra has received above average rainfall for 2003, including a record 175mL in June. We are hopeful that after ten consecutive years of below average rainfall that there will be some much needed recharge of the aquifers.

Hollick Vintages Club

Elect to receive one or more cases of any of our outstanding range as they are released from the winery. Members receive many benefits apart from ensuring continuity of vintages for cellaring and most favoured pricing, so don't hesitate to download an application form at www.hollick.com/vintage_club.html, or call Wendy Hollick on (08) 8737 2318 for further details.

VC Prize draw

Any Vintages Club member who orders between now and December 24, 2003 goes in the draw to win a Magnum of 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.

New varieties imminent

We are expecting to release our first vintage of a Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon blend from the Red Ridge vineyard at Wrattonbully around March next year. The wine from the 2003 vintage is wonderfully coloured and perfumed, and suggests a great future for this blend.

Also a minuscule quantity of 2003 Tempranillo from the same vineyard will be released at that time, exclusively for Cellar Door and mail order customers. We are quietly quite excited about both wines.

We will keep you posted.