PIONEERING WINE VENTURE INSPIRED BY DROUGHT

Wc22Aug11

PERFECT match with prime rib and roast vegies.

David Ellis

WORLD War II Air Force rear-gunner, later wheat farmer and wool-grower, Peter Robertson was all of these things before turning his hand to wine-grape growing and planting the very first vines in NSW’s Hilltops Region.

That was after a disastrous drought in 1969, and Peter cleverly planted his pioneering vines in contours where he noted his wheat crops had previously thrived; the result was instant success, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in particular flourishing as had his hillside wheat crops pre that 1969 drought.

Today Peter Robertson’s Barwang label is one of the most highly-respected in the Hilltops Region, an area where warm days with cooling evening breezes from the Great Dividing Range help Barwang’s winemaker, Andrew Higgins create distinctive, full-flavoured yet elegant and subtle reds.

The just-released 2009 Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon is one such wine: after drought again in 2007 and heatwaves in 2008, the 2009 vintage returned to textbook Hilltops with warm, gentle and even temperatures giving this 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon nice black currant and mulberry fruit characters, and well-structured tannins.

SHARE this one with hearty |Italian-style meat and tomato-sauce dishes.

At $19.99 it’s good buying to enjoy with prime rib and roast vegetables

ONE FOR LUNCH: TWENTY-FIVE minutes north of Canberra on a one-time fine-wool growing property, the Shaw family’s impressive Shaw Vineyard Estate is turning out some very more-ish reds and whites some 640-metres above sea-level.

These cool-climate wines are impressing consumers and show-judges alike, with vigneron Graeme Shaw’s 2009 Shiraz one of his finest-ever: loaded with rich black cherry flavours and nice varietal white pepper and spice, at $22 its  a beauty to share with hearty Italian-style meat and tomato-sauce dishes.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )