Function Report - Swan Hill

Australian Inland Wine Show

20th & 21st October 2001

On Saturday 27 October 2001 the most severe earthquake in Australia struck the city of Swan Hill for a decade. This fascinating fact has nothing to do with this function report, apart from the fact that Swan Hill was the site of both the 21st Australian Wine Show, and the earthquake.

As usual, the bus departed from Narre Warren on time (at 5.30 am), and picked up members and guests at Murrumbeena and Doncaster. President Bob Bailey provided fruit juice, and Barbara Cecchi handed out a survival pack to each participant. The pack consisted of a sample of soy chocolate, tasty cheese, fruity Bix bar, some dry biscuits, and some jelly bellys. Some of the ladies’ packs contained some rather unusual unmentionables – so they won’t be mentioned here. Again we must pay tribute to Barbara Cecchi’s enthusiasm and energy in preparing 30 plus survival packs.

Question: What is more difficult than planning the campaign against the terrorists in Afghanistan?
Answer: Working out how to prepare a Caulfield Cup Sweep with 31 participants and only 18 horses.
At about 8.30 am we arrived at Harcourt, where we partook of paté, bread rolls, smoked salmon and cottage cheese and coffee. It is nice to refresh oneself with nibbles and coffee after such an early start to the day. Bob Bailey twisted the arms of the baker at Hallam to have the rolls ready for pick-up at 5.00 a.m. Bob obtained the paté, and Barbara Cecchi provided the salmon. Ah. It is nice to indulge in decadence from time to time.

The weather north of the Divide was superb. Even this early the sky did not have a cloud in it, and the breeze was but a zephyr. It augured well for a great weekend.

We arrived at Best’s Winery at Lake Boga at about 11.00 a.m. to be greeted by Winemaker Bob Deighton and Cellar Door Manager Karen,who provided a tasting of their range of and tried some of their local (Lake Boga) and Great Western wines. Many guests enjoyed the Liqueur Muscat, as well as 1999 Victoria Colombard from Best’s Lake Boga Winery, and the 2000 Great Western Pinot Meunier.

After a pleasant hour of tasting the fine wines from Best’s, we travelled by coach through Swan Hill, across the River Murray and boarded the M.V. Kookaburra.

We went below to the lounge. It was a reasonably steep descent, especially for Alan Kitt, but as we had only a light tasting at Best’s, negotiating the steps did not present any great problem.
 
We enjoyed some Yellowglen Pinot Chardonnay, which was a marvellous prelude to our luncheon. We were then served a nice meal of Crumbed Chicken and selection from a salad bar. The Guild also provided some Rosemount Shiraz, Rosemount Cabernet Sauvignon, and Yalumba Unwooded Chardonnay as an alternative to the Pinot Chardonnay. A selection of fruit was a nice way to complete the meal prior to disembarking at Murray Downs Homestead.

Earliest records indicate that Murray Downs Homestead was established as a squatter’s lease in 1839. In 1862 a Mr. Suentonious Henry Officer obtained the lease, and his brother Charles Myles took over the lease on Mellool Station next door. The two leases covered some 178,000 acres. Suentonious paid one pound an acre to retain 80,000 acres of the properties as freehold. A sketch of the homestead in 1868 shows the garden to be very similar to what it appears like today.

The property was extensively developed. The first Ostrich farm in Australia was established at Murray Downs in the 1870’s. A school was established on the property, and the building also served as a Presbyterian Church on Sundays. A report such as this can not do justice to the property. The gardens are beautiful, particularly the roses, and the arbor, which is covered by grapevines entwined over the supports and rafters.
 
The original furnishings and artworks are magnificent. The property now consists of the homestead and 150 acres.

If you are fortunate to be guided through the property, as the Guild was, you will certainly come away with a heightened awareness of how the landed gentry lived in the late 19th century, as well as an appreciation of what it may have been like to be employed as a house servant. We were fortunate to be guided through the property by Glennice, who gave a most engaging talk about the history of the property.
After travelling by coach back to Swan Hill we went to a trade show outside the Pioneer Settlement. A number of exhibitors were providing wines for tasting. An interesting wine was Stevens Brook Pink and Pretty Frontignac.

We booked into the Sundowner Motel – a resort style motel that has great facilities such as pool, spa, sauna etc. Some members partook of the facilities while the more sedate of the party showered and rested in their spacious rooms until it was time for the Guild’s Cocktail Hour beside the pool. Once more, Barbara Cecchi provided some tasty titbits to accompany the wine, beer and spirits provided by the Guild.
At 7.00 p.m. we went to Swan Hill Town Hall for the Wine Show. From approximately 660 entries exhibited there were 28 Gold, 52 Silver and 152 Bronze Medals awarded. All exhibits were from the inland grape-growing region of the Murray Darling River system.

Chris Killeen, Chairman of Judges, reported that there were particularly good wines coming from the current vintage of Semillon, Shiraz and other varieties.

It was most enjoyable to stroll around, taste some wines, eat plentiful finger food (served well by students of Swan Hill Secondary College), compare notes with other Guild members, or even the winemaker or family of winemakers. It was different to most functions that the Guild sponsors, but it was certainly most enjoyable, and very informative.

At about 9.30 p.m. some members decided to return to the motel, while others stayed on and enjoyed the festivities.

The Guild would like to thank Sally Hardy (Swan Hill Visitor Information Service) and Tracey Lee and Tim
Duffey, the organisers of the 21st Inland Wine Show, for inviting us to this great weekend.

On Sunday morning we all had a hearty breakfast at the motel, and then loaded our selves and luggage on to the bus and headed off to Andrew Peace’s Winery at Piangil, approximately 40 or so kilometres from Swan Hill.

Andrew Peace Wines is a family owned and operated business, comprising a modern winery and a 180-hectare vineyard. Wine grape varieties include Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Semillon, Grenache, Mataro, Grouchen, Malbec, Merlot and Chardonnay. The company began as a vineyard in 1980, and the winery was developed in 1995. 3,000 tonnes were crushed in the first year, and in 2001 15,130 tonnes were processed.

Our host was George Dajczer who gave us a short history of the company, including some sensible introductory remarks about slip, slop, slap and wearing suitable headgear at this time of the year in sunny climes.

All product is sourced locally, either from the home vineyard, or from vineyards in the area between Lake Boga and Robinvale. Some 12.8 million litres of wine can be held in the holding tanks on the property. The view from the top of the tanks was great (see pic). 85% of the product is exported, mainly to U.K., and the remainder is sold locally: Safeway are significant distributors of Andrew Peace Wines. The winery exported approximately 220,000 litres of wine the U.K. in four weeks in September and October. The wine leaves the property in semi- trailer tankers to Melbourne, where it is bottled and packed into containers for forwarding to the U.K.

We were pleased to visit Andrew Peace Wines on the Sunday after the winery had been awarded Governor of Victoria Emerging Exporters Award. The Guild extends our congratulations on this well deserved award. Other significant awards include the 1999 Vineyard of the Year Award for the State of Victoria.

All members were most impressed with the manner in which new technologies have been incorporated into the winemaking process. Much of the process is automated.
 
We met the vigneron, Alan McTavish and the winemaker, Bill Small. It was very interesting to stroll through the processing area and discuss the vineyard management and wine making process with the people who are responsible for providing the finished product for our enjoyment.

Members who may happen to be visiting the Swan Hill area should be aware that tastings are not normally conducted at the winery, however purchases may be made there. The Guild is especially grateful to the staff at Andrew Peace Wines for making our visit so educational and enjoyable.

It is interesting to note variations in different styles in cultivation as we visit different areas. In the Swan Hill area and the Riverina (previous Guild trip) the vines seemed to be allowed to grow to about 3 feet high (my estimate) and the fruit then trails along the vine. I was recently in N.Z. and visited the Black Ridge Winery, which is the southernmost winery in the world. Here the vines seemed to be only about 18 inches or 2 feet high. At Black Ridge the soil is very rocky and the rocks reflect the heat from the sun, and assists the ripening process. As Black Ridge is in the South Island, and is situated further south than Hobart, the climate is considerably cooler than the Murray River/Riverina area.

After a pleasant time tasting and purchasing some of Andrew Peace’s Wines, we travelled to R.L. Buller’s Beverford Winery for the Budburst Festival, where we caught up with Richard Buller Winemaker and Denise White Cellar Manager.

We were able to enjoy tasting of wines and local produce - pheasant sausages, asparagus, tomato products etc. - and then a Gourmet BBQ lunch prior to boarding the coach and travelling back to Melbourne. As we were leaving there was a charity auction of bears (dolls) for a local charity. The first bear sold for $150.00 so all male members were glad that our partners did not get a chance to bid.
Coffee once more at Harcourt broke up the journey. Traffic jam at Woodend delayed our arrival at drop off points, however all agreed that President Bob and his wife Helen had arranged another great trip for the Guild. We also must thank Barbara Cecchi for her contributions of nibbles and light entertainment. We look forward to our next function, the Christmas Party in November, and Breakfast on the Yarra in February 2002.