Cart 0 items: $0.00
Grant Smith
 
7 November 2019 | Grant Smith

Recent Show sucess

Best White Wine of the Show awarded to Gartelmann

The 2018 Gartelmann ‘Sarah Elizabeth’ Chardonnay has been named the Best White Wine of the Show at the 2019 Orange Wine Show.

The young Chardonnay was awarded a gold medal with 97 points, followed by the Trophy for the Best Young Chardonnay prior to progressing under the guidance of Wine Show Chairman Nick Bulleid MW to winning the Best White Wine.

“We are particularly pleased to have been awarded this trophy as the Chardonnay class at the Orange Wine Show is always very strong,” said vigneron and owner Jorg Gartelmann. 

This year’s show received 50 entrants in this Chardonnay class, with 68% receiving a medal. The Chardonnay was judged by the full judging team, comprising Sarah Andrew, Stuart Knox, Jeff Byrne, Deb Lauritz, James Manners, Will Wilson, Monica Gray and Steve Mobbs.

“The Wine Show Committee have done a fantastic job pulling together a diverse judging team, with winemakers from within and outside of the region, as well as sommeliers. We believe that this ensures a rigorous judging of the wines, especially when it is overseen by a Master of Wine with the extensive experience of Nick Bulleid.

“We really enjoy working closely with our grape-growing partners and winemaking team to make the best possible example of the region’s Chardonnay. Winemaker Rauri Donkin is continuing to create lovely wines, with fruit purity, intensity and balance.”

The 2018 Gartelmann ‘Sarah Elizabeth’ Chardonnay was harvested on the 6th March and barrel fermented in new and one year old 500 litre puncheons and 300 litre hogsheads with the objective of achieving subtle oak characters. The wine was then matured in oak for ten months with monthly lees stirring, freshness and vitality preserved by inhibiting malolactic fermentation.

2018 Gartelmann ‘Sarah Elizabeth’ Chardonnay (Orange, NSW)                                          $30.00

Trophy, Best White Wine of the Show, , Orange Wine Show 2019
Trophy, Best Young Chardonnay of the Show, , Orange Wine Show 2019
Top Gold Medal (97pts), Orange Wine Show 2019

Time Posted: 07/11/2019 at 3:21 PM Permalink to Recent Show sucess Permalink
Jorg Gartelmann
 
6 February 2019 | Jorg Gartelmann

What happens at Vintage?

It's Vintage time again and wow, its sure been hot! But overall, we are really pleased with the Hunter Valley Harvest so far.

On January 9th we picked Chardonnay for our Sparkling white base, followed by Semillon and Verdelho the week after.

Despite very different seasons they were both picked at the same time as last year and are showing better acid and are a little more delicate in flavour than 2018.

Harvest time (vintage) is the busiest and most important time of the year for any winery. Picking is determined by the ripeness of the grapes measured by the sugar, tannin and acid levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick on the style of wine they are producing. The weather plays a huge part and can shape the timetable of harvesting with the threat of rain, heat, hail or frost which can damage the grapes and promote various diseases.

Different grape varieties respond to different conditions in their own way. Overall, Shiraz responds particularly well to dry, sunny conditions that favour the ripening of its sugars, that’s why growers in the Hunter Valley love producing wines made from this grape. In Tasmania however, the cool climate resulting from its southerly latitudes and surrounding ocean is highly beneficial to grapes such as Pinot Noir which flourish over a longer ripening period.

Grapes are therefore harvested at different times and, across Australia, Vintage 2019 will vary in timing across the different regions. In the Hunter Valley, the harvest usually lasts about six weeks beginning with white varieties including Semillon, Verdelho and Chardonnay in mid-January, before ending in February with the reds. In the cooler climate regions (Orange and Rylestone) however vintage will start later, usually around mid-March.  Most regions will start with their white grapes and conclude with their reds.

Depending on the grape, the region and the kind of wine that a winemaker wishes to produce, the following steps in the harvesting process will vary in time, technique and technology. But for the most part, every wine harvest includes these basic steps:

Grapes are picked
Either by hand or using machinery and transported to the winery
Grapes are crushed
The grapes are then run through a destemmer which removes the stems and crushes the grapes.  White grapes are then transferred to a press to remove the skins before fermentation, while red grapes are transferred to fermentation tanks with the skin on, which is what gives red wine its colour
Fermentation
This is the process in which the grape sugars are converted into alcohol. This stage includes adding yeast to the grape juice so that fermentation can take place.  The process of fermenting red wine is more labour intensive as the carbon dioxide released during the process causes the grape skins to rise to the surface. Winemakers must punch down or pump over the “cap” several times a day to keep the skins in contact with the juice.  After fermentation red wine grapes are pressed to remove the skins and then transferred to age in barrels.
Ageing
The flavour of a final wine is greatly impacted by the choice of ageing vessel and the duration of ageing. Winemakers can choose from stainless steel vs oak, new oak vs aged oak, French oak vs American oak etc.  Ageing can take anything from a few months to several years.
Bottling
When a winemaker feels a wine has reached its full expression in ageing, the wine is bottled for consumption.

Time Posted: 06/02/2019 at 4:03 PM Permalink to What happens at Vintage? Permalink