Fabulous Aramis window display designed by couture designer Bowie Wong

Fabulous Aramis window display designed by couture designer Bowie Wong.The photos were taken at 46 Balfour St, Chippendale Sydney on the ground floor of Bowie's offices (April 2011).

WWHQ 2011 New Catalogue Now Released

Click here to download WWHQ 2011 Catalog featuring my new selections for World Wine HeadQuarters&trade.

Nick Haselgrove wins the 'James Busby Trophy'

Congratulations to Nick Haselgrove of Blackbilly. Winestate Magazine tasted and rated over 10,000 wines during 2010 and Nick’s wines were all highly rated to claim the "Australian Winemaker of the Year".

"This award is fantastic for our wines as it shows our commitment to quality across our ranges. Thanks must be given to the team in the vineyards and winery who all strive for quality. The award also pays homage to the great vineyards of McLaren Vale and the Adelaide wine regions where high quality vineyards make it a joy to make world class wines".

Nick Haselgrove, is the grandson of Ron Haselgrove, who produced the great Mildara wines of the late 1950's and 1960's and great-nephew of Colin Haselgrove, a winemaking legend at Chateau Reynella. Grapes for Haselgrove's wines are mainly from McLaren Vale, where the companies own vineyards are predominantly planted with old Shiraz vines.

Ichanka Bonarda Receives Gold Medal at Mundus Vini International Wine Awards

‘Quality must be rewarded’ has been the maxim of this year’s Mundus Vini International Wine Awards held in Neustadtan der Weinstrasse, Germany.

The event, internationally renowned as one of the most prestigious in the world, saw wineries from across the globe bring a total of 5,883 entries to the table, to be examined in a blind tasting by 285 wine experts from 49 different countries.

The event which took place from the 27th August – 5th September 2010, saw Argentina ranked 11th on the medals table, receiving a total of 17 gold medals that distinguished some of the country’s finest wines.

Valle de la Puerta was honoured to receive one of the 17 gold medals for its 2009 ICHANKA BONARDA.

‘We are very proud to be receiving accolades at this level. It confirms what we have long-since known about this wine; that it is one of the finest examples in Argentina of the exciting new direction of this grape’ – Andrew Noble (VP Sales & Marketing)

This varietal is no newcomer to Argentina’s soils yet it is one of the most exciting new prospects for the country’s wine industry. Despite being widely cultivated for many years, it has only come into its own in recent vintages, where it has displayed a level of complexity and varietal character unique to Argentina’s climate.

This wine shows rich, deep red hues in the glass, and a delicate balance of wild flowers and vibrant plum on the nose, while the palate provides an abundance of red and black forest fruits. The 50/50 blend of oaked and unoaked wine creates a harmonious Bonarda laced with fine tannins that give it an elegant structure which lingers in the mouth.

This 2009 vintage of ICHANKA ALTA BONARDA is an unrivalled example of the new standards being achieved with this varietal in Argentina.

The ICHANKA ALTA BONARDA is available exclusively in Europe & the U.S.

WWHQ 2010-11 New Catalogue Now Released

Click here to download the 2010-11 Catalog featuring my new selections for World Wine HeadQuarters™ and The Australian Premium Wine Collection™ (TAPWC).

Great 34 case Wishing Tree display at Parkhill

Photos of a great 34 case Wishing Tree display that went up on 21st August,2010 at Parkhill in Tulsa. Great display at the Number 1 account in the State of Oklahoma!

World Wine HeadQuarters Portfolio Tastings

3 City Tour starting August 23rd. Members of the Trade are cordially invited to attend any one (or all 3) of our "Mega" Portfolio Tasting, which will feature all Current Releases. Many of our talented Winemaker/Owners from across the world will be present and pouring.

Dates and venues as following:

August 23rd 2010: San Francisco, California

Time: 11AM-5PM Monday, August 23rd 2010

Venue: The Golden Gate Room, Fort Mason. San Francisco, California

August 25th 2010: New York City, NY

Time: 11AM-3PM. Wednesday, August 25th 2010

Venue: TBA

August 26th 2010: Chicago, IL

Time: 11AM-4PM. Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Venue: Sunda, 110 West Illinois Street. : Chicago, IL

Please RSVP to info@worldwinehq.com or 1 800 485 5753 

Bordeaux Blended With Syrah

A 19th-century practice is revived for modern tastes
Eric Arnold Posted: May 17, 2007
Published on: www.winespectator.com

When it comes to France's winemaking rules and regulations, it seems the thought is "less is more." In theory, the name of the producer, region, classification and vintage on the label should be enough to tell you everything there is to know about what's inside the bottle. But some French winemakers have decided to dispense with the rules and traditions.

Up until the early 1900s, Bordeaux winemakers often added small percentages of Northern Rhône Syrah to their wines if they had a difficult vintage. In 2004, Château Palmer in Margaux made an experimental cuvée (only 100 cases), called Historical 19th Century Wine L2004. It's a blend of 85 percent 2004 estate fruit from Palmer and 15 percent Syrah from Hermitage.

"Most of the great names of Bordeaux used to have a little bit of wine from the north of the Rhône to improve the color and depth of the wine," explained Palmer winemaker Thomas Duroux. "They had to do this sometimes since they had difficult vintages. We now know how to deal with difficult vintages. But I was very curious to understand what would happen if we did [this] with the wine we have today."

The wine will only be available in select restaurants in the United States, said Duroux. He tried to make the wine again in 2005, but it didn't work since the Bordeaux component was already so concentrated from the strong vintage. "In 2004 it worked very well. In 2005 with 15 percent of Syrah, it doesn't really change. To change it I'd have to put in more Syrah," he explained, adding that he'll probably try again with the 2006 vintage, since the overall quality is considered lower. A little Syrah might help a lot. "It's just experimental stuff," he said. "Maybe also a little controversial."

Of course, this wine will probably be out of reach for most, since there's so little of it. For everyone else, there's winemaker Alexandre Sirech. His new wine, Les Deux Terroirs, is a non-vintage Merlot-Syrah blend of grapes from several parts of France.

Born in Bordeaux, Sirech was a wine sales rep by the time he was 18, and later had a long, on-and-off career with spirits giant Pernod-Ricard. At one point he was working with the company's Cuban arm, in charge of young and old rums that were regularly blended in order to maintain a consistent product. It was then that Sirech realized he could do the same thing with wine.

"I wanted to make the most pleasurable wine possible for less than $20," said Sirech. "Vintages have limitations, so I decided to blend regions as well as vintages." His first bottling of Les Deux Terroirs was 90 percent 2005 Merlot from the Bordelais and 10 percent 2003 Syrah from southeastern France (under French law, Sirech is not permitted to say if any components came from official AOC regions, such as a certain part of Bordeaux, the Rhône or the Languedoc, for example).

Though Sirech's first cuvée was only just over 800 cases, the next blend and bottling was five times as large. Part of that bottling is now available in the United States. In a blind tasting held in Wine Spectator's New York office, which included several Merlot-based blends from different regions around the world, Les Deux Terroirs scored 85 points.

Sirech simply tastes wines after they've finished malolactic fermentation, and decides whether or not they'll suit the style he strives to maintain. If he does, he buys the wines. "I have complete freedom," he said. "If Gigondas is great next year, I can use that." He starts with a 50-50 blend of Merlot and Syrah, and modifies it until the blend tastes like the previous bottling. Different parts of the blend are fermented in new oak, old oak or stainless steel. "I want a consistent flavor and structure profile with each cuvée."

Good a wine as either Sirech or Duroux might make, the bad news for both is that since they operate outside the regional rules with these particular wines, they automatically get the lowest French designation, "vin de table," on the label. Neither winemaker can list the appellations the wine came from on the label, either. Les Deux Terroirs can only display the varieties--Merlot and Syrah--and France. Duroux even had to take the drawing of Château Palmer off his front label, since vin de table cannot, by law, have an illustration of a particular place on the label.

But the strict rules haven't stopped Sirech from doing his best to make a good, consistent house wine that's reliable in restaurants and at retail alike. Because Sirech's wines can vary so radically in composition from year to year, the back label of Les Deux Terroir indicates the bottling year as well as the peak drinking period. The 2006 cuvée, for example, suggests the wine be opened between 2007 and 2010. He's also explored making a white blend, but that's proven to be more difficult. "It's a Sauvignon Blanc-Chardonnay blend, but I'll only release it if it's good enough," said Sirech. "Right now, the product is good, but the price is wrong."

So for the moment, Sirech remains squarely focused on the red Les Deux Terroir--and keeping it consistent. "I'll only increase the volume to the point that quality can stay strong," he said.

Les Deux Terroir will be available in New York, Florida and Illinois at the end of May 2007.

WWHQ 2010 New Catalogue Now Released

Click here to download the 2010 Catalog featuring my selections for World Wine HeadQuarters™ and The Australian Premium Wine Collection™ (TAPWC). 

Cafayate 2009

Standing in a 80 year old dry grown torrentes vineyard at 9.00 am with a backdrop of the mighty Andes is quite spectacular. Tasting the Altivo 2009 Classic Torrentes makes you realise what a pristine unpolluted, unpopulated environment these vines live in!! The wine is as beautiful as the vineyard from which it comes. Bright, crisp, clear and wonderfully vibrant. These old vines still have spring in them.

Charlie Palmers Steak at the Four Seasons, Las Vegas.

The inaugural showing of the wines of WWHQ were matched with a series of spectacular dishes. A total of 9 wines from Isabel Estate in Marlborough NZ, Altivo from the Uco Valley in Mendoza, and Ichanka in La Rioja made quite an impression. Great aromatics, intensity of flavor, and charm.