REALLY WILD
FIRST, Barossa-based winemaker, Rebekah Richardson, worked on a collaborative winemaking project – Hear Me Roar – to raise funds to assist in the career advancement of women in the Australian wine industry.
Now, she has embarked on even more challenging work to help with rewilding, the reintroduction of lost animal species into natural environments.
All profits from the sale of her newly launched Lucid Distilling “new world spirit,” based around a twice distilled wine base steeped in natural ingredients, will assist with this important work in environmental conservation.
“The reason we were drawn to rewilding as a focus rather than just conservation was that it seemed to encompass a longer term, more sustainable approach to the rebalance of nature,” she writes in her Lucid Dreaming blog on www.lucidistilling.com
Her Lucid Lime and Lucid Chilli Spirits are versatile in many cocktails and retail for $80 each.
DRIVEN TO SUCCEED
AUSSIE celebrity wines are taking off. Kylie Minogue has her very own Signature Rosé, Greg Norman has a range of wines from Australia, New Zealand and California.
Now, Australian Formula 1 star, Daniel Ricciardo has a collaborative wine project on the go with St. Hugo to produce DR3 x St Hugo. The first wines released are a Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 ($65) and a Barossa Shiraz 2014 ($65). St. Hugo, based in the Barossa Valley, is part of the Pernod Ricard Winemakers group.
It appears that Ricciardo is serious about the new venture and plans to work with St Hugo chief winemaker, Peter Munro, to learn more about the winemaking process from the vine up.
“I’m approaching the partnership in the same way I approach aspects of my racing. I may not be the engineer who physically finesses the car, but I am the one who is driving it, and I have an instinct for what feels right. I share that with the team so the car can be optimised. With winemaking, I’ll take a similar approach, and in this instance, Peter is the engineer. Pete and I work well together, and we want to challenge ourselves to go out of our comfort zones to produce something particularly special.” commented Ricciardo.
“I grew up around wine, it’s in my blood. Along with my Italian heritage and my family’s love of sharing wine, my Dad is a bit of a hobby winemaker and I have been surrounded by the passion for wine since I was young. I’m quite a curious kid, I always love learning things, and wine is a true craft, and I want to get in and get my hands dirty and make really spectacular wine that provides a unique perspective on what fine wine is,” said Ricciardo. “And to be able to do this with St Hugo’s Winemaker, Peter Munro, one of Australia’s best winemakers, is a real privilege. It also guarantees the wines will taste great!”
The March 10 St. Hugo press release which announced the move states that “Ricciardo’s involvement in the process will increase each year as his knowledge and experience in the wine industry builds.”
Each bottle of the limited edition first release DR3 x St Hugo will be individually numbered and presented in a premium gift box and is available to buy online through www.sthugo.com/dr3.
NO BAROSSA BLUES
THE annual Barossa Wine Auction shook off the COVID blues and smashed all former records with sales reaching nearly $334,000.
The decision to hold two live auctions, one in the Barossa and one in Sydney, conducted by the Langton’s brokerage team attracted a record-breaking number of lots – 160 – from more than 50 Barossa wineries.
