News

Hollick Wins Tourism Award

Hot on the heels of our success at the Limestone Coast Wine Show where we picked up 5 trophies, Hollick' received further recognition at the SA Tourism Awards, where competition was fierce.

Ian & Wendy Hollick attended the award dinner in Adelaide and were genuinely shocked to receive the award in the category of "Tourism Wineries".

The award provided a great boost to the entire team, with the award endorsing all the efforts of the staff. It was doubly exciting for Wendy Hollick who spent countless hours preparing the extensive submission with the help of Jane Staude.

State winners were then eligible for the National Tourism Awards, and in the face of stiff competition we were delighted to be named runner-up in the Tourism Wineries category.

It is always pleasing to receive third party endorsement for all the efforts and expenditure undertaken!

Hot Summer Night with John Waters

Hollick Wines hosted "Hot Summer Night" with John Waters on January the 22nd. The decorating team headed up by Claire Mossop, Jane Staude, Deb Kilsby and Megan Caldersmith excelled themselves and set the scene for the evening by decorating the barrel shed with hundreds of stars.

200 guests were greeted with aged Hollick Sparkling Merlot and Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling in the entrance of the barrel shed which was lit by candles and fairy lights. A sit down three course dinner accompanied by a selection of Hollick wines, including back vintages of the Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, was served before the concert. Guests enjoyed an entree of chargrilled asparagus, wild rocket, prosciutto and shaved parmesan salad, followed by a main of scotch fillet with dauphinois potato and Ravenswood glaze or chicken breast with sweetcorn pancake and french peas. Cheese platters were bought out just before the much anticipated arrival of John and his band.

As the band made their entrance on to the stage, which was featured by a large Union Jack as a backdrop, people were getting excited and clapping for John to join them. Finally he made his way to the floor, greeting the guests and launching straight into his first number. It only took two songs before people were up and dancing and by the end of the evening the dance floor was a maelstrom of frenetic activity and there was hardly an occupied seat left in the barrel shed. John belted out a collection of Brit rock songs including classics from Elton John and John Lennon. A tongue in cheek rendition of the Play School theme followed after ample encouragement from the audience.

The "Hollick staff Tabernacle Choir" (pictured) got right into the swing of things joining John and the band on stage to help them belt out the song 'Gloria'. As the show drew to a close it was evident people weren't ready to go home calling John and the band back for three encores.

The night was a roaring success with bookings received on the night for next year. Ian and Wendy kindly donated the proceeds for the night to the Red Cross Tsunami Appeal along with money raised from a raffle held on the night.

We have already started planning next year's "Hot Summer Night" and will advise the date and details in the next edition of Expressions so you can start planning your next visit to Coonawarra.

Vintages Club News

Congratulations to John & Val O'Hara from Geelong who have won 3 bottles of 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon in the Vintages Club lucky draw from the last edition of Expressions.

Any Vintages Club member buying a dozen before April 31st will go in the draw to win 3 bottles of 1995 Sparkling Merlot.

Vintages Dinner - April 9th. "The Raw Materials"

As reported in the previous edition of Expressions we are hosting another "Vintages Dinner" on April 9th. This will coincide with the 2005 vintage, which should be in full swing at that time.

The itinerary for the day will be as follows:- Activities commence at 2pm, when those attending will meet at the Cellar Door. From there Ian Hollick will take you on a tour of the vineyards to check out the vintage action. For those who are interested there will be an opportunity to partake in vintage, so we encourage you to wear some old clothes. All will be revealed. After the vineyard activities we will return to the winery to taste some of the 2005 vintage wines and fermenting juices. The Vintage activities will conclude at around 5pm giving everyone a chance to return to their hotels and freshen up for dinner.

Dinner will be served at 7pm "Upstairs" and will feature a 5 course Degustation menu. Our chefs have designed a menu that challenges many of the established food and wine matching conventions and will be sure to generate some healthy discussion and fresh ideas for your next dinner party. Wines on offer will be a selection of current and back vintages, and it should be an enthralling evening.

The total cost for the dinner (including 5 courses plus wines) and the vineyard/winery activities is $110 per head. Please phone Wendy Hollick on 1800 654 189 to secure your place.

The "Vintages dinner" has been timed to coincide with this year's "Coonawarra After Dark" so is the ideal opportunity to make a weekend of it. Experience all the thrills, excitement and the lights of vintage as Coonawarra wineries open their doors to visitors at the peak of the grape harvest (vintage). Take a tour of a working winery, meet and chat with the Winemakers, watch the grape harvesters in action, enjoy our wonderful local produce and sample our region's finest wines.

At Hollick on Friday night from 6.00pm you will have the chance to "Get Shucked". To celebrate 'After Dark' we will be shucking fresh oysters and offering a specially selected seafood menu for one night only. Oyster shots are our specialty.

For bookings call Katie on (08) 8737 2752

New Releases

2003 Reserve Chardonnay

We were obviously thrilled when the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon received 3 trophies at the Limestone Coast wine show, but we were also rather pleased that this wine received a gold medal in the Chardonnay class. It was pipped for the trophy by the Balnaves Chardonnay, which is always a super wine. Production for the 2003 Reserve Chardonnay is one third the norm due to the low crop levels in 2003, and subsequently the entire production is reserved for domestic sale. This is a very elegant, restrained style of Chardonnay that delivers nectarine and peach fruit characters with mealy, nutty influences from the winemaking process. It's a very complex and well-balanced wine that is not at all heavy and we recommend partnering with fresh Crayfish.

2004 Pinot Noir

The 2004 vintage was around 2 weeks later than the norm following a coolish summer. In short, perfect conditions for Pinot Noir. For the third year we have sourced some fruit from the cooler Mt Gambier region some 50kms south, to blend with our own Coonawarra fruit. The Mt Gambier fruit contributes black cherry fruit flavours to the riper fruit spectrum of the Coonawarra material. The longer growing season has lent this wine a darker colour. While it drinks well today, it will certainly benefit from 3 years or so in the cellar. Our chef recommends serving this wine with a Soy Glazed Duck with a Shitake Broth.

2003 Wilgha Unoaked Chardonnay - Close out price $120 per case

It's the old story - package up the wine for the European market, change distributors and we're left holding wine that's not suitably labelled and so our Mail Order customers receive the benefit. We have one pallet only available at $120 per dozen, to be taken in dozen lots only. First come, best dressed.

'Upstairs' happenings

"The Goog Life" At "Upstairs" we have always focused on sourcing as much local produce as possible. We recently tracked down some local growers of Murray Cod, and we are the first restaurant in the district to feature it on our menu. But recently we have taken it a step further and have started producing some of our own ingredients. The chefs have always been dab hands at growing their herb requirements, but this summer they commissioned Ian & Wendy Hollick to produce the restaurant's tomato requirements. As they won all but one of the trophies at last years "Coonawarra Tomato Championship" they were the natural choice. The Wilgha Tomato patch has been particularly productive, so much so that the staff are taking home surplus produce on a regular basis. This year Ian (who is pictured with Winnie Redman and Marg Murray) won the "Johnny Holmes" trophy, which is awarded to the largest tomato in the Coonawarra Championship, with much of the success attributed to the fertility of the Wilgha soil.

Another project is the production of Wilgha 'free range' eggs. Stuart Sharam (pictured) our vineyard manager built a chook shed just off the Wilgha vineyard to house 15 chooks with proposed output of a dozen eggs per day. The feisty chooks were a little bit slow to get going, but now the restaurant boasts the most golden aioli in the district.

It also represents a nice example of recycling as the kitchen vegetable trimmings are used to fuel the chooks, and there by reducing waste.

Hollick Produce

Chefs Ian Perry and Sean Emery have also been developing a range of "Upstairs" produce which has been used in the preparation of many dishes and is also available for sale at the Cellar Door.

"Upstairs" produce to date has included Chardonnay Lees Mustard, Balsamic Glaze, Marinated Olives, Quince Paste and Cabernet Jelly.

The next project is the release of a Hollick Red Wine Vinegar, which is in the final blending stages with the help of winemaker David Norman. The base material shows great complexity and purity, and we well know that the wine used to make it was pretty smart!

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