Rozentals travel-wine

17/05/2021

MOLONG LADIES GOLF NEWS

Last Wednesday 5 ladies hit off for a 9 hole stabelford and it was lovely to welcome Sandra Foy who played with us. Next Wednesday 26th we will play 9 holes then lunch at 12.30 at the new cafe Wildflower in Gidley Street

19/03/2021

take note ...

The Molong Advancement Group will be putting on their Molong Village Markets on Monday 5 April!

Make sure to dress up for the Roaring 20's and come along to enjoy the markets!

07/03/2021

JOHN ROZENTALS tastes a range of biodynamic wines.

CAPTION: Chester Osborn: classifies and determines the ideal picking time for each individual vineyard.

All d’Arenberg estate owned and leased vineyards are NASAA certified for organic and biodynamic processes.
This natural and environmentally friendly philosophy encourages strong root systems that pe*****te the soil, resulting in lively tannin structures, soil characters and fine minerality. These practices also ensure that yields are kept low with concentrated flavours and excellent natural acidity.
From entry level to iconic, all d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, reds and whites, with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation.
Walking the vineyard rows and tasting grapes, Chester Osborn classifies and determines the ideal picking time for each individual vineyard.
Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, then transferred to five tonne headed-down open fermenters, all batches remain separate until final blending. The red wines are foot trod two thirds of the way through fermentation, and then basket pressed.
d’Arenberg is one of the only wineries in Australia to basket press both white wines as well as reds, making for a labour intensive process, but the quality of the results makes this worthwhile as the action is controlled and extremely gentle.
WINE REVIEWS
D’arenberg 2019 Anthropocene Epoch Mencia ($30): There’s a heap of red currants, pomegranate and earth on the nose. The palate is edgy and vibrant, with spicy rhubarb and red berry flavours. The finish is long, fresh and persistent.
D’arenberg 2016 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier ($30): An enticing mix of primary fruit characters entwined with flowers, ginger and stone fruit.
WINE OF THE WEEK
D’arenberg 2017 The Custodian Grenache ($21): This is a fuller-bodied style of grenache. There's masses of blood orange and amaro on the nose, with fleshy red fruits and savoury spice on the palate. The texture is great, with prominent rhubarb and pomegranate flavours. Nice acidity and slightly grippy tannin on the finish.

06/03/2021

PIC: intrepid.jpg — Intrepid Urban Adventures: offers online virtual experiences.

Intrepid Urban Adventures, the day tour arm of global tour operator Intrepid Travel, has launched online virtual experiences to give families a taste of travel during the pandemic.
These live and interactive tours—launched in response to the growing demand for virtual experiences amid the on-going global pandemic—connect Australian families with local tour guides and their families around the globe.
All tours are hands-on and offer families the chance to learn something new. Highlights include cooking pierogi with a family in Krakow, baking Anzac biscuits with a Melbourne mum, and creating a watercolour masterpiece inspired by the works of Frida Kahlo.
The new family tours are part of the wider Urban Adventures At Home range of online experiences, designed to support local guides whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic.
Visit www.urbanadventures.com.

PIC: mool.jpg — Mooloolaba: offers spacious apartment-style living.

Newport Mooloolaba, offers spacious apartment-style living in the heart of Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.
Boasting both ocean and wharf views makes it a breeze to enjoy a mid-week stay.
Book between February and June to save with a five-day getaway from $204 per night, three-day red-hot deal from $215 per night or a two-day escape from $239 per night.
There is free unlimited wifii and parking. (Excludes Friday and Saturday nights and not available school holidays, public holidays and event weekends and subject to terms and conditions).
Visit www.newportmooloolaba.com.au.

PIC: william.jpg — William Bay National Park: well known for its pristine turquoise water.

William Bay National Park, located near the southern West Australian town of Denmark, and home to picture-perfect Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks — has reopened to the public after receiving upgrades to the park's infrastructure.
Sealed roads, additional car parking bays, new toilet blocks, picnic tables, bicycle racks and signage are set to improve the visitor experience.
Located a 4.5-hour drive from Perth, the national park is well known for its pristine turquoise water and white sandy beaches edged by granite boulders which create ideal swimming, snorkelling and diving conditions.


PIC: canada.jpg — Canada: does winter like no other destination.

Canada does winter like no other destination, with residents eagerly embracing the cold and finding original ways to dive into the snowy white stuff.
Case in point: several local National Hockey League players, along with Olympic Gold Medallist ice skater, Patrick Chan, flew to the remote mountains of British Columbia to shoot pucks on a mountaintop rink.
Because, why not?
While Aussies dream and plan for their next North American winter adventure, some quirky off-slope frolics will pique your curiosity and spark your imagination.
As an example, at the sprawling Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, liquid gold awaits at the igloo-like 10-below Icewine Lounge.
Constructed out of 13,607 litres of ice, including an ice bar and ice benches, the lounge is kept at a chilly –10˚C, the ideal temperature for harvesting ice wine grapes.
Here, visitors can sip on sweet nectar produced from grapes that have been frozen on the vine and learn fascinating facts about Canada’s ice wine industry (did you know Canada produces more ice wine than any country in the world?).
Visit www.visit-canada.ca.

PIC: kentucky.jpg — An American classic: the famous Kentucky Derby.

An exciting paddlewheeler journey along one of America’s great rivers and the thrill of the world-famous Kentucky Derby horserace will be paired in a special cruise through America’s heartland in May, 2022.
The American Queen Steamboat Company has released a new eight-night 2022 Kentucky Derby sail and stay package which includes VIP tickets to the famed horserace in Louisville, Kentucky.
American Queen Steamboat Company’s latest paddlewheeler, the newly launched, 245-guest American Countess, will take racegoers for a seven-night cruise along the legend-steeped Ohio River and even become a contestant in one of the Kentucky Derby’s colourful events itself — the 14-mile Kentucky Derby Festival Great Steamboat Race, with guests able to be ‘jockeys’ aboard the ship as it races other steamboats for the prized Silver Antlers trophy.
During the river cruise, guests can enjoy gourmet, locally-inspired cuisine, complimentary, unlimited beverages onboard, complimentary hop-on, hop-off shore excursions, live jazz and blues music as well as a panoramic lounge, fitness centre and free onboard internet.
Visit www.aqsc.com.au.

PIC: riviera.jpg — Riviera Travel River Cruises: will debut a new VIP guest program.

Luxury European river cruise line, Riviera Travel River Cruises, will debut a new VIP guest program in 2022 called Riviera Plus which offers premium suite passengers luxury additions designed to enhance the enjoyment of their five-star cruise.
From next year, guests booked in deluxe and superior suites and all upper-deck cabins will receive a host of complimentary benefits including use of a smart handset with maps, translator, currency converter, unlimited calls, text messages and internet service for use onboard or ashore.
Premium suite guests will also receive L’Occitane en Provence luxury toiletries, a bottle of chilled Prosecco on arrival, a platter of fresh seasonal fruits during the cruise and a refreshing aperitif each evening.
Visit www.rivieratravel.com.au.

13/02/2021

JOHN ROZENTALS tastes some New Zealand wines that survived covid-19.

CAPTION: Winemaker Duncan Schuller: held his breath during the coronavirus outbreak.

In 2020, with covid-19 looming on the horizon and harvest fast approaching, the New Zealand wine industry held its breath.
Preparations for a nationwide lockdown meant there was a very serious risk that harvest would not be allowed to go ahead.
The inability to pick grapes would have meant no 2020 vintage produced, affecting wine production and retail for several years to come.
Rather than cross their fingers, the Giesen team sprang into action and were among the first to take drastic action to protect its workers and preserve the chance of a successful harvest.
This included separating the team into night and day shift teams, each with their own winemaking staff, and going above and beyond to ensure their safety.
Many of the teams were moved into hotels and accommodation away from home a full week before the nationwide lockdown was announced, with staff banding together to ensure Giesen could still deliver on harvest goals.
This, coupled with the industry’s classification as essential business, meant that harvest proceeded under unprecedented safety standards including rigorous physical distancing measures and significant additional work.
Workers overcame the challenges of running completely separate day and night shift teams, developing brand new processes, and in many cases being isolated from friends and family as well.
WINE REVEWS
Giesen 2020 Sauvignon Blanc: A wonderful expression of typical New Zealand sauvignon blanc, with emphasis squarely on ripe, fresh gooseberry-like fruit. Some residual sweetness in a popular style. Inexorably drawn to Thai dishes such as green curry.
Giesen 2020 Uncharted Sauvignon Blanc: This very different sauvignon blanc, a dry white which spent three to four months on yeast lees for to build a beautiful mouth-feel, to back maturation in oak. Uncharted ok. Match with smoked trout and herby new potatoes.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Giesen 2018 The August Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: Dry and flinty with rich, ripe tropical notes and layers of toasty almond and brioche flavours. Its a tribute August Giesen’s legacy which is inextricably tied to the Giesen story. Complex and a match for quite rich cuisine.

13/02/2021

12/02/2021

PIC: gladstone.jpg — Mantra Gladstone: Gladstone’s premier hotel.

Gladstone has welcomed a Mantra hotel to a central business district location with the opening of Mantra Gladstone.
Formerly the Mercure Gladstone, this stylish and modern hotel has won a raft of awards, including the accommodation and resorts category of Gladstone’s Best in Business Awards for five consecutive years.
To strengthen the hotel’s position as Gladstone’s premier hotel, Mantra Gladstone has undergone a number of upgrades and enhancements as part of the rebrand, including transforming 33 of its 60 guestrooms into spacious open plan self-contained apartments — suited to holidaying couples and corporate travellers who are seeking greater space and self-contained amenities.
Mantra Gladstone is ideally located near the CBD and adjoins the Yaralla Sports Club.
The hotel features many amenities, including fitness centre, food and beverage options and the soon to be opened swimming pool, in terms of choice and quality in the region.
To celebrate the launch, Mantra Gladstone is offering overnight stays from $120 per night in a hotel room and from $135 per night in a refurbishment apartment room.
Visit all.accor.com.

PIC: orange.jpg — Orange’s Food Week: celebrating 30 years.

Rediscover natural foods, forage in the forest and taste bush-tucker in Central NSW with new food trails, events and farm tours in 2021.
Orange has launched Country Food Trails and The Orange Wild Weekend, Parkes’ Outback Lamb is offering Farm Tours, and Oberon’s Field to Forest Festival in April is a mushroom forager’s delight.
Central NSW is perfect for a foodie road-trip, located two-hours’ drive from Sydney it includes Oberon, Bathurst, Orange, Blayney, Lachlan, Cowra, Canowindra, Grenfell, Parkes and Forbes.
From 9-18 April, Orange’s Food Week is celebrating 30 years as Australia’s longest-running regional food festival with six signature events and over 90 satellite events hosted at local restaurants and cellar doors.
There’s the Sampson Street Lunch with some of Orange’s gastronomic icons, Meet the Producer workshops and a Producer Market and Brunch, across a COVID-safe format.
Visit www.orangefoodweek.com.au.

PIC: ritz.jpg — The Ritz Hotel, Geelong: a heritage-listed building.

The Ritz Hotel, Geelong, a heritage-listed building in the heart of the city, which has sat dormant for 40 years, has had an extensive makeover and will open its doors to the public on 1 March.
Formerly known as the Belle-Vue Hotel and built circa 1854, The Ritz has undergone a transformation and will launch with 128 rooms and apartments over nine floors, with views over Geelong's north facing waterfront and city skyline.
Located a five-minute walk to Eastern Beach, Ritz Hotel Geelong offers visitors a 4.5-star full-service hotel experience with hotel rooms, one and two bedroom self-contained apartments, pet friendly apartments and a 24 hour reception.
All guest rooms are air-conditioned and have LCD TV, free high-speed wi-fi, free cable channels, refrigerator, espresso machine, room safes and laundry facilities.
Visit www.ritzhotelgeelong.com.au.

PIC: silver.jpg — Silversea: centrepiece of each package is a 17-night all-inclusive cruise between Darwin and Perth.

Cruise Traveller has released a package for August 2022 that pairs free business class flights and hotel stays with an ultra-luxury voyage exploring the wild, rarely visited places and islands along almost the entire Western Australian coastline between Darwin and Perth.
The 19-night fly-stay-and-cruise package with Silversea – ‘Wild Western Australia and the Kimberley’ – offers two departure dates – August 2, 2022, from Darwin to Perth and August 19, 2022, in the other direction from Perth to Darwin.
The centrepiece of each package is a 17-night all-inclusive cruise between Darwin and Perth aboard the luxurious. 144-guest, all-suite expedition ship, Silver Explorer, which offers complimentary adventure excursions, beverages, gourmet cuisine, wifi and personal butler service.
As a special exclusive offer, Cruise Traveller is offering free business class flights across Australia at the start and end of the trip as well as a free hotel stay before and after the cruise for bookings made before this March 15.
The 17-night voyage aboard Silver Explorer features a range of wild, remote and rarely visited places along the WA coast such as the Abrolhos Islands — scene of the infamous Batavia shipwreck in 1629, Dirk Hartog Island, pristine Ningaloo Reef near Exmouth and the birdlife sanctuaries of the Montebello and Lacepedes Islands.
Also featured are the ancient rock engravings in the Dampier Archipelago, the pristine Buccaneer Archipelago where guests can speed on Zodiacs through the gushing tidal phenomenon, Horizontal Falls, the spectacular waterfalls, soaring sea cliffs and abundant wildlife of the World Heritage Kimberley region and Wyndham where a complimentary scenic flight over the breathtaking Bungle Bungle Ranges is offered.
The 19-night ‘Wild Western Australia and the Kimberley’ package is available from A$16,290 per person, twin-share, including business class flights, hotel stays, adventure excursions and onboard beverages.
Visit www.cruisetraveller.com.au.

PIC: woody.jpg — Glamping on Woody Island: individually styled.

Woody Island, one of the 105 islands in the Recherche Archipelago located just 15 kilometres off the coast of Esperance, has recently welcomed the addition of four glamping tents to its accommodation offering.
Operated through Woody Island Eco Tours, the four new tents are all individually styled with decking and supreme ocean views of Shearwater Bay, and start from $250 per night.
Other accommodation options on the island include safari huts, furnished tents and camping sites, as well as a kiosk with food, drinks, a fully equipped camp kitchen and equipment for hire.
Guests will enjoy the natural and unique island environment, with opportunities to swim, snorkel, fish, and hike; or simply just relax on the beach.
The town of Esperance is located a 7.5 hour drive south-east from Perth, in WA's Golden Outback region.

PIC: victory.jpg — Ocean Victory: will offer deep-nature, all-inclusive expedition voyages.

Victory Cruise Lines has launched its 2022 Alaska program featuring its new exploration ship, Ocean Victory, which will offer deep-nature, all-inclusive expedition voyages.
Cruise Traveller is offering savings of up to US$2000 per couple for bookings made by March 31.
The season will feature 14 one-way voyages lasting from 10-12 nights between Vancouver in Canada and Sitka in Alaska between May and September, 2022.
Each voyage will showcase Alaska’s cliff-lined fjords, thundering waterfalls, mighty glaciers soaring peaks, dense fir forests and wildlife such as humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, bear, deer, moose, mink, otters and sea lions.
Only 104m long, weighing just 8500 tonnes and with a shallow draft of 5.1m, Ocean Victory will take guests to a range of more distant destinations in Alaska and British Columbia including Kake, Petersburg, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Misty Fjords, Frederick Sound and Tracy and Endicott Arms.
Fares for a 10-night Alaskan cruise in 2022 are available from US$4516 per person, twin-share, for a stateroom with a French balcony.
Fares include one night pre-cruise hotel stay, all onboard meals, onboard beverages, comprehensive shore excursions, port charges and on-board gratuities.
Visit www.cruisetraveller.com.au.

05/02/2021

JOHN ROZENTALS tastes a range of Tyrrell wines from much further afield than the family’s beloved Hunter Valley.

Bruce Tyrrell: the Heathcote region is nestled between Bendigo, the Macedon Ranges and the Goulburn Valley, 120 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Rich in gold mining history, the Heathcote region is nestled between Bendigo, the Macedon Ranges and the Goulburn Valley, 120 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.
Wine production first developed in the region during the 1950s, before undergoing significant expansion during the 1980s.
The temperate climate, with hot summer days followed by cool nights, and the deep-red Cambrian soils, are ideally suited to the production of full-bodied, rich and textured red wines; full ripeness is always achieved, but the climate is not so warm as to diminish varietal character.
Consequently, Heathcote has established a reputation for high-quality table wines.
Shiraz wines of unimaginable depth of colour and extreme weight of fruit are now the hallmarks of this relatively young region.
Planting of Tyrrell’s 26 hectares of shiraz and malbec vines in Heathcote began in 1994 and finished in 1997, the year our first Heathcote wine was released.
Situated at an elevation of 160–320 metres on the eastern slope of the Mount Camel range, the vineyard is high enough to be out of the frost zone and is protected from the hot sun in the late afternoon.
WINE REVIEWS
Tyrrell 2019 Beside Broke Road Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon ($20): The grapes for our Beside Broke Road Cabernet Sauvignon were sourced from Margaret River, one of Australia’s pre-eminent regions for Cabernet. Maturation took place in older French oak barrels, helping to highlight the fruit’s vibrancy and structure. This is a full-bodied wine with classic lifted dark cherry and blackberry aromas, along with a hint of violets and olive tapenade. The palate is vibrant and fresh, showing dark fruits and herbaceous varietal notes, silky tannins and a bright natural balance.
Tyrrell 2019 Beside Broke Road King Valley Pinot Gris ($20): The grapes for our Beside Broke Road Pinot Gris were sourced from the King Valley, a cool-climate region in north-eastern Victoria. This is a classic, cool-climate-style Pinot Gris with the lovely fine-grained texture and soft acid finish that are hallmarks of the variety. The bouquet shows lifted citrus notes and hints of pear and ginger, with the palate continuing these citrus and pear flavours.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Tyrrell 2019 Beside Broke Road Heathcote Shiraz ($20): The family sourced the grapes for the Beside Broke Road Shiraz from Heathcote in central Victoria, where the dry climate, cool nights and warm days combine to create one of the best sites for growing Shiraz in Australia. A bright, fresh wine with distinctive of regional character, it has a core of dark plum, mulberry and chocolate flavours, balanced by subtle peppery spice and flinty mineral notes. The palate has the soft, rich feel of a medium-to-full-bodied shiraz.