NEWSLETTERS | Classic Clippings
CLASSIC CLIPPINGS FROM THE PAST
Commencing with newsletter 41, editions are now "electronic" and will accumulate on our website. Numbers 1 to 40 span the years 1985 to 2000. In that time there were some "classic" stories and pictures, and we have reproduced them here.
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Page Contents : |
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Budburst |
Veraison |
Pruning |
Flowering |
Vintage |
Misc |
| 1989 | 1990 | 1990 | 1990 | 1991 | Sep 1985 |
| 1991 | 1992 | 1992 | 1992 | 1993 | Dec 1985 |
| 1993 | 2000 | 1996 | 1996 | 1995 | Mar 1986 |
| 1994 | 1997 | 1997 | 1998 | Dec 1986 | |
| 1995 | 1999 | 1998 | Mar 1987 | ||
| 2000 | Sep 1987 | ||||
| Mar 1988 | |||||
JOHN RUCIOCH. John was the "last of the Poles" living in Polish Hill River, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Polish families who lived in the area.
THE SOIL AND GEOLOGY OF THE POLISH VALLEY A description of soil, and the bluestone-slate.
THE COPPER ROADS. Between 1849 and 1857, the copper ore from the Burra mine, was transported to Port Henry (now Port Wakefield), first on bullock drays, and then mule trains. The official route was via Mintaro, but a route also existed through the country now known as Polish Hill River. In the "South Australian Register" of 13th January, 1851, W. A. Cawthorne describes a journey to Burra on the weekly cart, and travelled through Penwortham and the HIll River.
THE CHURCH OF ST. STANISLAUS. The church at Polish Hill River was built 1870-1. The land was donated by John Nykiel, and was a community project of the Polish settlers who were then able to bring a Polish priest, Father Leon Rogalski. A school operated at the church, and for some time was known as the Sevenhill East school.
THE FIVE VALLEYS OF CLARE. The "Clare Valley" is not a single valley, but a system of valleys that radiate from Mount Horrocks (602m). To the north the Hill River and Hutt River ultimately join to form the Broughton. To the south there are the Skillogalee Creek, Eyre Creek, and the Wakefield River. Includes a map. Within this article is one inaccuracy. It quotes the Broughton River flowing to the sea at Port Broughton. In fact the Broughton flows to the sea at Port Davis, which is north of Port Broughton.
THE GOOD EARTH. A delightful tale of how we happened upon out little plot of soil that was to become The Wilson Vineyard.
1986 ZINFANDEL. The first wine of the variety that we released commercially. The story of its production, and some comment on Californian zinfandels.
MALBEC. Our limited experience with this Bordeaux grape variety, also grown in Cahors (South of France), and Chile.
SOKOLOWSKY M.D. Anton Sokolowsky was one of Clare’s early doctors, and is believed to have grown grapes and made wine. He was born in 1818, studied medicine in Vienna, and graduated in 1847. He arrived in Australia in 1848 in company with the two Jesuit priests who were to establish Sevenhill.
GRANNY NYKIEL’S WINE. Mary Anne Nykiel was one of the early Polish identities, and legend is that in the 1880s she used to make a little wine. The local constable was evidently keen to make an arrest on the matter, but Granny Nykiel was too slippery.
MOUNT RUFUS. Mount Rufus is between Polish Hill River and Mintaro. In 1867 a great heap of wood was built on the mount, to be a bonfire to announce the arrival of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh,: Australia’s first royal visit. Some scoundrel lit the pyre, and many patriots headed for Adelaide too early.
NED’S HUT. Legend is that the bushranger, Ned Kelly, on the run from the Victorian police, hid out on Kadlunga Station in the Clare Valley
MURRAY EDWARDS’ pastels impression of Polish Hill River, and the first what was to become our "Gallery Series" labels.
FLAVOUR IN RIESLING. The flavour profiles of riesling wine changes with bottle maturation. A graph shows these changes.
NED 2. More on the legend of Ned Kelly and his hideout in the Clare Valley.
SPITTING
We encourage spitting at the winery, but it is surprising how many are uncomfortable with the practice.
GLOOPS The word is of our own making. These are the mysterious travellers, mostly in red cars, who drive up to the winery and then drive out again, and we never get to find out why!
LEAD IS DEAD. Rejoicing the end of the lead capsule.
ZINFANDEL. The story of our 1990 wine.
DIETER ENGLER. His artwork for the 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon.
FACING EAST How the east-facing aspect of vineyards of Polish Hill River are saved from the last of the harsh summer sun.
TEN YEARS OF CABERNET. Tasting notes of our first ten cabernets.
THE OLD NYORA WINERY. The history of this early 1900s winery at Polish Hill
River. The ruins are adjacent to the MIntaro Road. The vineyard was established by Dr. John Bain about 1891. The Nyora vineyard was purchased by brothers George and Hugh Main in 1903.
HENRY PAWELSKI. One of the pioneers of Polish Hill River. Henry describes his service at the Sevenhill church, including the laying out of deceased Jesuits for interment in the Church's crypt.
RHINE RIESLING 1985 - 1992. Tasting notes of these wines.
VIVIAN ZIERSCH. Artwork for the 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon
CUSTOMER PROFILE. Tourist survey at cellar-door
THE HISTORY OF SPARKLING BURGUNDY IN AUSTRALIA. This newsletter is reproduced in its entirety. Debunks the theory that Australian winemakers tried to copy Bouzy Rouge. Australia's first sparkling burgundy was made by Smith and D'Argent of the Victorian Champagne Company in 1881, although this was a rose style.
Hans Irvine's Great Western, and South Australia's Auldana were fierce competitors in the sparkling wine business. Reports on their operations were written by Leo Buring in "Garden and Field" and Ernest Whittington of the Adelaide "Observer:. Minchinbury was also an early producer of sparkling burgundy. At Auldana, the winemaker was Leon Edmond Mazure, and to him we give credit for the creation of the famous style of Australian sparkling burgundy. Mazure was also responsible for the St. Henri label. This treatise would not be complete without reference to John Keats - "Ode to a Nightingale" which provided the tasting notes well in advance of the style being created.
"GALLERY SERIES" RIESLING. Carina Turner's batik artwork for the first of the rieslings in the "Gallery Series".
PLANTING DECISIONS. Our thoughts on whether the Clare Valley can stay phylloxera-free for the next fifty years, and the use of phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.
THE MISSING VERSE. Caroline Charlton's words for 'The Song of Australia' contained five verses when first composed, however it now comes in only a three-verse version. One of the missing verses was largely about the vine and wine.
RUSSELL PICK’S ARTWORK used for the 1995 'Gallery Series' Riesling.
AGED RIESLINGS. Tasting notes on past vintages of bottle-aged rieslings.
THANKYOU! Of visitors to cellar-door who do not buy, one third cannot even manage a 'thankyou'.
LEUCOTHEA. Our dessert gewurztraminer, and to the best of our knowledge, the only fortified gewurztraminer in the world. It takes its name from Greek mythology.
THE RETURN OF THE LERNAEAN HYDRA. This was the mythical monster with multiple heads, the slaying of which was one of the tasks given to Heracles. To cut of one of the seething heads was to see it replaced by two more. The Hydra still survives as the bureaucracy which poisons business with its ever-growing demands of forms, licences, and returns.
ROTARY FERMENTATION. We installed our first rotary fermenter for red wine for the 1997 vintage. This was a small Velo 5000 litre rotary fermenter.
REMOVING LABELS. Some people like to decorate the walls of their cellar with the labels from the wine they have enjoyed. Removing self-adhesive labels is near impossible, but there is a trick and it can b e done.
SABINE DIESEN’S artwork for the 1996 "Gallery Series" Cabernet Sauvignon.
DANIEL’S VINEYARD. Wilson the Younger has planted his own little patch of riesling in a corner of our property.
RIESLING AND SOIL. Our thoughts on how soil is important to the quality of our riesling wines.
WOOD VOLATILES IN RIESLING. Riesling contains hydroxycinnamates, that give cedary and cinnamon aromas to the wine, depending on its age.
THE LAST MCM STONE. We have traditionally inscribed the year of construction, in Roman numerals, in our constructions.
MY TIP IS.. A little crystal-balling that within five years all white wines in Australia will have a closure other than natural cork.
THE CIRCLINIUM. The word is of our own making, and describes the lookout construction adjacent to the cellar.
DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF POLISH HILL RIVER. The Acacia wattsiana is an uncommon species, with a limited geographical distribution that corresponds closely to the boundaries of Polish Hill River as a wine sub-region of the Clare Valley.