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20 Years at Two Rivers
Welcome to the Spring 2008 edition of "Off the Vine' which marks our 20th anniversary here at Two Rivers. On July 20th this year Brett, Steve and I shared a quiet moment (and several glasses of Reserve Chardonnay) reflecting on the 20 years that we have spent turning this wonderful property into the vineyard that our families live on today. The transformation from dairy farm to First class vineyard has been quite a journey for us. |
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4 ½ stars from James Halliday
It certainly was thrilling news for all the team when respected international wine judge and author James Halliday awarded Two Rivers a 4 ½ star rating in his 2009 Australian Wine Companion. This rating puts us in the "Outstanding Winery" category which is described as "Excellent winery able to produce wines of high to very high quality, knocking on the door of a 5 star rating". Endorsements like this make all the hard work worthwhile. |
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Rock'n at the RiversThe June floods were not all good news for the Denman community. Our local Children's Centre was completely flooded and had to be shut down for four months, causing a huge disruption to the many local families who use this great facility.
Stella Raleigh, our Administration Manager is President of the Children's Centre and along with her hard working committee, organised a fantastic fundraising event at the newest venue in town, the Two Rivers Cellar Door. Over 500 people enjoyed the perfect weather and a great day of family fun. Local band "Riverside" kept the adults entertained while the kids had a ball with jumping castles, giant slides, face painting and fairy floss. The Two Rivers wines were flowing well and even managed to loosen a few wallets for the charity auction! The day was a huge success and helped to raise some much needed funds to get the Children's Centre back on its feet. |
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Viewing PlatformLast winter we had the boys doing something a little different for a change - but with a great result. The boys have built a spectacular viewing platform which sits on the top of the hill overlooking not only our vineyard but literally the whole of the valley. The views are spectacular and with the changing seasons and weather one never tires of making the walk up the hill to experience this beauty. The platform gives us a wonderful vantage point from which to show guests our vineyard and the valley in general.
Janet & Mark Duff exchanged their wedding vows recently as did Mark & Natalie Debago, and they both chose this magnificent spot for their special occasion. Fortunately both couples enjoyed glorious weather and we wish them well in their married life. Another feature event held on the platform was a seasonal liturgy conducted by the combined Churches of Denman. The weather was perfect for the evening service with over 100 people attending. Local school children entertained us with a small dance performance and music was provided by Marie Samways and a local cellist. A wonderful evening of fellowship and fun was enjoyed by all who attended. |
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Cellar DoorAfter 18 years at Denman we are pleased to announce the opening of the Hunter Valley's newest attraction - the Two Rivers Cellar Door.
The contemporary building designed by Architect Robert Gibb features views over the magnificent Two Rivers vineyard and the Hunter River. We aim to provide our visitors with a feeling that they are entering a working vineyard where our passion for growing premium fruit will flow through to the Cellar Door. Visitors will be able to enjoy the traditional range of Two Rivers wines as well as an exiting new selection of wines available exclusively at the Cellar Door. For many years now we have been entertaining guests on the banks of the Hunter River which has been a load of fun and a unique vineyard experience. The Cellar Door doesn't mean that this will stop; it just gives us more options to entertain guests when the weather might not be so favourable - and allow us to sleep at night. We are so excited about this new development and look forward to sharing it with our friends of Two Rivers. Cellar Door opening times 10am to 4pm 7 days. |
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Two Rivers TrucksYou may have seen a bright new truck emblazoned with Two Rivers pass you by recently. We are very excited to have had commissioned two new truck curtains with our local trucking company Sowter Transport of Denman. These trucks travel daily to Sydney and Brisbane, which provides us with great exposure for our wines.
Sowter Transport has been a family owned and operated trucking company since it was established back in 1972 by Bro and John Sowter. Bro is one of Denman's long standing community members; he and his wife Betty raised all 10 of their children in Denman and they have certainly been an asset for the district in more ways than one, adding significantly to Denman's population. John, Bro and Betty's eldest son and his wife Leanne now own and operate the business from their Denman premises. Sowter Transport for many years has carried out our grape transport to our winery in Pokolbin. We now look forward to having all of our packaged wine and any other transport requirements being carted by Sowter's. At Two Rivers we really value the support of our local businesses and see the relationship between ourselves and Sowter Transport only growing stronger. Hopefully in the future there will be a whole fleet of Sowter's trucks adorned with the Two Rivers logo passing you by! |
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Wine Show ResultsTwo Rivers has had some outstanding success in the wine show arena in the past 18 months with over 60 medals awarded to our wines. 2005 Lightning Strike Chardonnay - Silver 2005 National Wine Show, Silver 2005 Melbourne Wine Show, Silver 2006 Brisbane Wine Show, Top 40 2006 NSW Wine Awards. 2005 Stones Throw Semillon - Gold 2007 Sydney Wine Show, Gold 2006 Hunter Valley Wine Show, Silver 2006 Sydney Wine Show. 2005 Reserve Chardonnay - Top Gold 2006 Hunter Valley Wine Show 2006 Hidden Hive Verdelho - Silver 2006 Hunter Valley Wine Show 2006 Stones Throw Semillon - Gold 2006 Hunter Valley Wine Show, Gold 2006 Melbourne Wine Show, Silver 2006 National Wine Show, Highly Commended 2007 Sydney International Wine Comp. A wine to watch out for is our 2006 Stones Throw Semillon which is showing some brilliant results. Currently this wine is right up there with what is regarded as one of the top Semillons in Australia if not the world, Tyrrell's 2006 Vat 1 Semillon (RRP $40.00). We have gone head to head three times at recent shows with both wines achieving gold medals at the Hunter Valley and Melbourne Shows. |
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Upper Hunter Wine & Food AffairOgilvie Street Denman will be buzzing when an anticipated 5000 people enjoy the 4th Annual Upper Hunter Wine & Food Affair. This great weekend has become the feature wine and food event of the Upper Hunter.
The weekend starts on Friday evening with a bush poet's night which has become a mecca for the local bard's to spin a yarn; tickets to last years event sold out in 15 minutes. Thankfully all the poets including one Brett Keeping agreed to back up again on the Saturday night for a second show. Saturday will hopefully dawn bright and beautiful and over 40 stalls will transform Ogilvie Street into a Wine & Food paradise. These stalls provide samples of award-winning Upper Hunter Wines and delicious gourmet foods. Visitors will enjoy a variety of local produce such as BBQ kangaroo sausages, thai chicken, yummy noodles, traditional Coq-a-vin and Beef bougonine. Other food stalls included local olive oil products, fudge, crepes and delicious Dutch pancakes. Three fabulous Jazz bands will keep the crowd entertained all day as well as loads of kid's entertainment with rock-climbing walls, face painting, helicopter flights over the Valley and to top it all off a big dose of good old-fashioned country hospitality. Sunday is recovery time with a round of social golf at what the locals call 'Royal Denman'. Make a note in your diary for next year's event, May 2008. Final date to be confirmed.... |
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Semillon Shines AgainAfter the success of the 2000 Two Rivers Stones Throw Semillon the 2002 is backing up bigger and better. This wine has been a real success story for Two Rivers. The 1998 Inglewood Reserve Semillon picked up a Silver medal at the 2003 Hunter Valley Wine Show. This wine is now displaying the magnificent aged Semillon characters for which the Hunter is renowned. Its other accolades to date are:
Look out for the 2003 Two Rivers Hidden Hive Verdelho - at the 2003 Hunter Valley Wine Show this wine was awarded 55.5 points, the highest score in the Verdelho class, and would have won the only gold medal - and a trophy - had the wine been bottled at the time of showing. The good news is this wine is now bottled and I'm sure you'll agree - its gold in taste if not in name. |
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Marriage in the VinesOver the past couple of months our vineyard has been chosen as a venue to either tie the knot or have some spectacular photographs taken of the newlyweds. Amber and Joey Nebauer had their wedding photos taken on a beautiful but chilly evening on October. They were married at the lovely old Catholic church at Gungal and as the evening sky darkened the dramatic wedding photos were taken nestled in amongst the vines. After a day of constant rain, Saturday November 1 dawned bright and sunny for the 10.30am nuptials of Ebony Jones and Ian Cope. The wedding was held on one of the highest points of the vineyard, on our newly constructed viewing platform, which provided a truly spectacular setting for the ceremony. Over 80 guests not only witnessed the outdoor wedding but stayed on and enjoyed refreshments and the view before moving onto the reception. All at Two Rivers wish both Amber and Joey and Ian and Ebony all the very best for their future together. |
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Wine, Fashion and Fast Cars!In October the winemakers of the Upper Hunter banded together and hit the road to take our wines to the people of Sydney.
In a joint promotion between BMW and the MLC Centre the Upper Hunter Winemakers spent three days promoting our wines and our region in the heart of the city at Martin Place. The event was an outstanding success, with a whole new range of people finding out about the many great assets our region has to offer. As well as the wineries we were also able to show off some premium olive products with local grove 'Pukara Estate' and 'Ogilvies' displaying their delicious goods. It was great for our region to be involved with such high profile professional sponsors. BMW showcased their new Z4 roadster, which created enormous interest, and the MLC Centre provided a fashion show that turned more than a few heads!! All in all it was a great promotion for all the wineries and it really showcased that the Upper Hunter could mix it with the best of them. |
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River StoriesOur local Newcastle ABC radio has recently been running a fantastic series called 'River Stories'. This series features the issues, the people, the places and the sounds of the Hunter River.
ABC reporter Phil Ashley-Brown started the series at the source of this great river in the Barrington Tops region and has been gradually making his way down the Hunter River and will broadcast his final series from Newcastle Harbour. Previous readers of "Off the Vine" would know that the Hunter River is a huge part of our lives here at the vineyard and that we have been playing a leading role in improving the river health in our area. As a result of this work, Two Rivers featured on 'River Stories' with a whole episode dedicated to the vineyard. Phil conducted the interview with Brett on the banks of the Hunter but the story was quickly dominated by Millie, our Labrador who insisted on taking (very noisy) flying leaps into the river just when Brett was trying to make a meaningful point. Thankfully, in the end the interview went really well and we have actually made the cut for the CD of the series that is being produced. 'River Stories' can be heard every Wednesday morning on Newcastle ABC or viewed on their web site at www.abc.com (follow the prompts). |
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Rotary Club of Silverwater/Homebush BayTwo Rivers has had a long and very rewarding association with the Rotary Club of Silverwater / Homebush Bay. For the past couple of years a bus load of Rotarians and their partners aptly led by wine buff Albert Zenere makes the journey to Denman. Once refreshed with a cup of tea and some scrumptious warm crusty scones, they tour the vineyard, sample our wines and have a lovely relaxed lunch by the river before they head back south home again. As something different, this year Brett & Linda made the trip with our wines to Sydney and enjoyed a beautiful lunch at the FIG Restaurant in Leichhardt. Profits from the wine that the Rotary Club members purchase go to many worthwhile causes that this Club supports. |
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Vineyard ReportAnother season has started and as predicted, the vines have bounced back well after last year's incredibly dry season. It hasn't been all plain sailing, though, with widespread frosts across NSW creating havoc with many grape growers. Most of our vineyard at Two Rives was untouched, but part of our flat country was quite badly affected. The frost occurred on September 30th, which is unseasonably late for us in the Hunter. The damage occurs once the temperature drops below about -2°C, the water in the shoots freezes, expands and then ruptures the cell walls within the shoots. These succulent new shoots wither, turn black and die as if they have been burnt - it's not a pretty sight! The end result is that we will have a slightly reduced crop in these areas this year but nothing too serious. As far as the rest of the vineyard goes, it is powering along with canopies as big now as they were for the whole of last season. All the vines have now set their crops, so it's a matter of maintaining the balance until late January/February when we start harvesting. Although the drought has not officially broken, we seem to have had just enough rain here to satisfy the vines and keep them in peak condition. I'm sure we will all rest easier once the grapes are harvested.
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Two Rivers on Tour
.We are very fortunate to have Club members like this wonderful trio. In May Clive & Caroline Cooper, David & Cecily Kinder and Brian & Margaret Hunter spent a leisurely week here in our Guest cottage soaking up the tranquil atmosphere and planning their overseas trip. At the top of their packing list were their Two Rivers caps and here we can see them being proudly worn while the group were enjoying their visit to Amsterdam Thanks guys for being such loyal Two Rivers supporters and for flying our flag around the world! We look forward to seeing which country our caps pop up in next. |
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New Releases
In the last few months we have released two new wines in the Cellar Door Range. 2008 The Corner Block Viognier We planted this variety a couple of years ago in the south east corner block of the property and are thrilled with this first release. This wine displays a lovely floral perfume aroma of apricot and tropical fruits. The subtle use of oak in this wine gives it lovely depth . The palate is medium-bodied with ripe fruit flavours and has a delightful lively acid finish. 2007 The Confluence Cabernet Merlot It's good to see the return of the blend of these two great varieties and this new Cabernet Merlot has been very well received in the Cellar Door. This wine has a lovely ruby red colour and the aroma is ripe cassis and blackcurrant combining well with the minty Merlot characters. Subtle oak balances the wine and the soft tannins make this wine very easy drinking. |
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Spring Growth
Every spring we are constantly amazed how quickly the new shoots grow on the vines. |
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This spring I decided to photo document this growth over several weeks and I am sure you will agree it is quite outstanding! |
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Sydney Good Food and Wine ShowIn June this year we took Two Rivers to Sydney for the Good Food and Wine Show which was held in the Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbor.
The show is a massive event with four halls of the exhibition centre filled to capacity with hundreds of exhibitors showcasing gourmet food, boutique beers and of course great wines. The draw card this year was internationally famous (or sometimes infamous!) chef Gordon Ramsay who pulled in record crowds with a staggering 51,105 people attending the show over three days. Although we managed to see Gordon at one of his cooking shows (which Brett even attended!), Unfortunately we didn't manage to lure him to the Two Rivers stand for a drink. If we had I'm sure he would have said that our wines were %*@?&^# brilliant!! |
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Recovery at the Rivers
With such a captive audience in town for the Wine & Food Affair we thought the weekend would not be complete without an official recovery, so this year we held the inaugural "Recovery at the Rivers" at the Two Rivers Cellar Door. The concept of the day was to create a totally relaxed atmosphere where people could wind down from the previous day with easy listening music and great food in a care free, laid back setting. We were blessed with a perfect day and to top it off we pulled in the services of one of Australia's most renowned Bush Poet's, Murray Hartin. Muz and Brett have been mates since their school days so he is no stranger to Two Rivers and he certainly didn't disappoint the audience on the day. With the success of the day this year, 'Recovery at the Rivers' is also set to become an annual event so we would love to see you here! Dates for next year's events are: Upper Hunter Wine & Food Affair Saturday 2nd May 2009 and Recovery at the Rivers Sunday 3rd May 2009. Please ring us for details. |
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Upper Hunter Wine and Food AffairLast May Denman held the 5th annual Upper Hunter Wine and Food Affair.
What started five years ago with a few dedicated wineries and foodies gathering in the main street to show their wares, has turned into one of the "must do" events of the Hunter Valley calendar. The main street of Denman, Ogilvie St, was transformed for the day with over 22 stalls featuring gourmet food from some of the top restaurants in the Hunter, delicious local cheese and olives, and of course award winning wines from all the wineries of the Upper Hunter. Denman's unique village setting creates the ideal carnival atmosphere, with jazz bands, street performers and loads of kid's entertainment making it a great day out for the whole family. |
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Fennell ExhibitionIn May 2008 we were very proud to host our first art exhibition which featured the stunning artwork of our good friend and long time Two Rivers supporter, Peter Fennell. The Cellar Door proved to be the perfect venue for the show which Peter titled "Back to the Bush".
In recent years, Peter's painting has taken him all over the world, including the romantic settings of Venice, the exotic Morocco and sell-out exhibitions in Paris. This show was a chance for Peter to get back to his roots, with many of his paintings inspired by local people and scenery, all painted in Peter's unique impressionistic style. Peter's son Joshua, an emerging young talent in the art world, also exhibited some of his works. These paintings were particular favourites with the crowd and every one was sold on the night. Josh was quite chuffed with this - a fact he made sure he pointed out several times to his old man! The night was a great success with an enthusiastic turnout from the Denman locals who relished the cultural experience. It was also a chance for us to show off our new release wines which went down a treat! A great night was had by all! |
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Stop PressIn the upcoming December issue of Winestate Magazine Two Rivers will feature with 4 stars for the 2007 Thunderbolt Shiraz and 2005 Reserve Shiraz. |
