Regional Wine Tasting "Best of the West" - Scoop magazine, Spring Edition 2005

“The best performing style came from the sparkling wine category and it is here that the Perth Hills, Bickley Valley to be precise, showed how industrious the region has been in crafting attractive methode champenoise sparklers from pinot noir.

Pick of the Region Hainault 2004 Sparkling Pinot Noir

Awarded Silver (17) Faint blush announces the presence of pinot noir. Lifted primary fruit aromas vie with a complex, savoury sub-note. The complex aromas are replicated in the medium weight, flavoursome palate. Vibrant fresh berry and subtle yeast characters spark interest and the fine, persistent bead gives it that touch of elegance. Enjoy by itself or tag team with fuller flavoured foods”.

Hainault Vineyard Stockists for:

Sal Davis Foods

Carmel Valley Chocolates

The Old Ice Works Jams and Conserves

Hainault Wines can be found at:

Gooseberry Hill Western Cellars
169 Railway Rd, Gooseberry Hil
Telephone 9293 1101

Kalamunda Hotel Drive Through Bottle Shop
43 Railway Rd, Kalamunda

Mundaring Weir Hotel
Mundaring Weir Rd, Mundaring

Stringybark Winery and Restaurant
2060 Chittering Rd, Chittering

Redcliffe Liquor Store
433 Great Eastern Hwy, Redcliffe

Belmont Fine Wines & Spirits
248 Epsom Ave, Belmont

Beaumonde Catering
Telephone 9377 2947
www.beaumondecatering.com.au

Hainault Vineyard Proudly Sponsor the Australian Opera Studio
276 Great Eastern Hwy, Midland
www.australianoperastudio.com.au

Gewurztraminer Exposed!

Hainault Vineyard was established in 1978 and currently has five hectares of six different varieties under vine. It is located in Bickley Valley at an altitude of 400m above sea level. Bickley is significantly cooler than the Swan Valley and has a colder winter than most other grape growing regions of Western Australia.

One of the varieties grown at Hainault is Gewurztraminer, an early ripening, low-yielding variety. There are only small plantings of Gewurztraminer in Australia and it is generally grown in cooler climates. Hainault has 0.4 hectare of Gewurztraminer with yields averaging between 2 and 3 tonne.

Gewurztraminer is a very delicate grape that is not generally blended with anything else except perhaps with Riesling. It is a pink skinned grape and requires quick but gentle pressing to keep the juice white and clear. Gewurztraminer is versatile and can be made into a wine with a bone-dry finish through to semi-sweet or sweet wine styles. While Hainault vineyard has made both dry and sweet vintages, the owners now focus on making a semi-sweet style they market as Forest Fruits, a wine that has proven very popular at cellar door.

The aim in making Forest Fruits is to fully express the Gewurztraminer aroma and flavour characters, resulting in a semi-sweet, light bodied, early drinking aromatic wine with a clean, fresh finish. The influence of the winemaker should not be a dominant feature of this wine style and is more easily recognized when it has not been as successful as desired. All winemaking techniques employed in making the Forest Fruits endeavour to protect the wine from oxidation and phenolic uptake, keeping the wine clean and fresh.

Being a fruit driven wine, the most important determinant of the wine quality is the quality of the fruit. This begins with harvesting the fruit when fully ripened for the maximizing of sugar levels and fruit characters, then the gentle pressing of fruit and low extraction levels to ensure the highest quality juice.