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FORTIFIED WINES
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Whilst the Yarra Valley is not known for producing fortified wines, we enjoy drinking “stickies” with our dessert and have a keen interest in them. Occasionally, when a worthy opportunity presents itself to produce an exciting high quality or unique fortified wine, we don’t hesitate to jump at it. The two wines on offer at present are very different styles from very different regions and suit very different dishes but are both outstanding wines that we are extremely proud of. In addition to the two wines currently released, we are also working on two other wines for release next year. These are a liquor Shiraz and an Amarone (Italian style made from dried grapes – very fruity, full-bodied, soft and alcoholic!)” Due to the very limited volumes of these specialty wines, they are only available through cellar door. Enjoy! |
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2003 Double Picked Riesling This is a unique wine made from our own Yarra Valley vineyard fruit. It is unique because it does not fall into any traditional style of winemaking. It was conceived out of marrying my interest in fortified wines with a the need to solve a potential problem that had arisen in the vineyard – in very much the same way that originally led to the production of Champagne and the great Botrytis wines of Sauternes. Mid-season rain caused some berries in our Riesling block to swell and break away from the stalks. Subsequent dry weather shrivelled these berries - making them unsuited to producing fine, delicate Riesling wine. Assessment of the shrivelled grapes showed that they had fruit flavour. It also showed that it had sugar levels ideally sought for making Port style wines. The acid level however was much higher – similar to that of the great Ice wines of Germany. It was decided to use these grapes to make a fortified “White Port” style of wine with dessert levels of alcohol, but with the freshness and fruit intensity only offered by the Riesling grape variety. A mechanical harvester was set to pick the non-shrivelled berries first for our Silver medal winning dry Riesling. The machine was then reset to pick the remaining shrivelled berries for this wine. After a very short fermentation on the shrivelled skins overnight, the still very sweet juice was pressed and fortified with brandy spirit. It was then matured for one year in old oak barrels to allow the fruit and spirit flavours to integrate. The lusciousness, intense fruit flavours and perfect acid balance make this wine a perfect accompaniment to strongly flavoured cheese or any sweet dessert. $21.50
1994 Two Sons’ Tokay This wine was made to celebrate the birth of our two sons – our first 14 months prior to the wine being made, and the second 6 months after. As it happened, 1994 produced outstanding quality fruit in the Rutherglen region – especially the Muscadelle fruit used to produce fine Liqueur Tokay. This was the perfect opportunity to produce a high quality wine that would age beautifully for our sons to enjoy in their later life. The fruit comes from the Chambers’ vineyard in Rutherglen. It was pressed in a small wooden basket press and fortified using specially selected spirit. It was aged in an old oak barrel to allow the wine to mature without picking up any strong oak flavours. It was allowed to age for 10 years when it was bottled as a celebration of the 10th and 12th birthdays of our sons. Only 300 litres of this wine were made, half is being kept for the family to celebrate special occasions, and the other half has been made available for our cellar door customers only to celebrate your special nights. This is a very rich, luscious wine that is best enjoyed with very indulgent chocolate or sweet fruit based desserts. It will, of course, continue to age gracefully in bottle for many years if cellared under appropriate conditions. To preserve full flavours, this wine has not been fined or filtered and will therefore have a harmless deposit. $24.00 (limit 1 bottle per customer. Not available for tasting)
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Copyright 2005 Allinda Winery. All Rights Reserved. |
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