Dear Criss,

The beginning of December, and consequently the Christmas festivities, are very much at our doorstep. To celebrate, we have released some magnificent Bannockburn back vintage stock, sourced directly from the winery's extensive cellar. We are also giving plenty of notice for our Christmas Cut-off Dates for orders to be delivered in time for the big day, so be sure to take note of them. Next Friday, we have a fun A.B.C+1 Tasting in the store from 4.30-6.30pm. Check the tasting calendar for details! Gill wrapped up the last Wine Appreciation Course last night, however new dates have been announced for February. Finally, no one was game enough to attempt the Wine House trivia last week, so the voucher has been upped to $50. Come on, give it a go!

We hope you enjoy,

From the Team at Wine House

Stunning Back Vintages and Brand New Releases!
 

Established in 1974 with a mere 3 hectare plot of Shiraz vines, Bannockburn has well and truly worked diligently away at creating some of the region's most respected wines. Situated north of Geelong near the township of Lethbridge, the maritime climate they enjoy is both cool and stable. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay may be considered their icons (with the Stuart, Serre and SRH being exquisite examples), however their Shiraz (amongst others) also packs a real punch.

Winehouse have been very lucky to acquire some brilliant back vintages, sourced directly from the 6,000 case underground cellar at Bannockburn. Having already snuck a peak at a few of the Pinots, all I can say is WOW! It is rare for such well preserved, well made wines to be made available from a winery, without paying exorbitant 'museum release" prices. Below are some of the new Chardonnay and Pinot arrivals!!

Bannockburn SRH available:

- Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2000

- Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2001

Bannockburn Pinot Noir available:

- Bannockburn Pinot Noir 1993

Back vintage Bannockburn Shiraz is also available from 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999.

We also have the brand new 2006 vintage of the Bannockburn Pinot Noir.
 

For more information on Bannockburn wines, new or old, e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8000!!

Last Friday, Winehouse held our first Friday Night Tasting, which was a HUGE success. We have decided to book in another one with a "summery" theme, titled "A.B.C+1". Now, A.B.C stands for Anything But Chardonnay, so consequently we will be showing a variety of Riesling, Sparkling and Semillon (including the spectacular Vat 1 1999). The +1 is a sneaky little addition, as we are in fact showing a new wave Chardonnay. This is a Chardonnay, but not as you know it. This is a beautiful, restrained, linear, Yarra Valley Chardonnay that we absolutely adore, and think you will too.

Available on tasting will be:

As always, the tasting, and the learning, is free! There is no need to book, just rock up on the evening and enjoy!!
 

Please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8000 for more information!!

Don't miss out on your Christmas deliveries!!
 

The silly season is well and truly on our doorstep. We couldn't bear the thought of customers missing out on wine, or friends missing out on gifts, so we have set some cut-off dates for deliveries. Please make sure you order before 1pm on or before the following dates, depending on your area.

Tuesday, 9th December

- NT, QLD Country, WA Country

Friday, 12th December

- Brisbane Metro, Gold Coast, NSW Country, Perth Metro, SA Country, Sunshine Coast, Tasmania, VIC Country

Thursday, 18th December

- Adelaide Metro, Canberra Metro, Melbourne Metro, Sydney Metro.

EXPRESS POST:

Due to the extreme level of postal service congestion over Christmas, Australia Post has advised that the overnight guarantee with Express Post cannot be honored after Friday 12th December. Please give at least 2-3 business days for the Express Post service after this date.

Please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8000 if you have any further queries!!

SC Pannell Nebbiolo 2006, Adelaide Hills, SA.

We were lucky enough to try the new release of Pannell's highly reputed Nebbiolo last week, and we were mightily impressed with what we tasted. Sourced from Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, this boasts a plethora of earthy notes that are really beautiful. I left my glass for about 5 hours, and it just kept getting better as time passed. Fruit is showing in the blackcurrant and cherry spectrums with beautiful floral notes of violets. The tannins are incredibly fine and textural and, as some top Sommeliers experienced recently, it would be hard to pick it as Aussie if put up against some examples from Piedmont. This will disappear quickly!

$50.36 in a dozen | $55.95 per bottle

Wine Spectator 90 Points!
This wine sits comfortably in the "love it or hate it" category! Having said this, there is no doubt that Mollydooker are creating some of the world's most incredibly concentrated wines with pure fruit intensity matched by no one else. This is no 1989 Hill of Grace. However, this wine has a place, and a well deserved one at that. The Boxer is almost completely black in the glass, with ripe blackcurrant, liquorice, and confectionary on the nose. It literally EXPLODES into your mouth, filling every inch with blackberry, liquorice and dark chocolate. Not for the faint hearted, but definitely one to try, especially at under $25 a bottle!  

$22.46 in a dozen | $24.95 per bottle

Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Coonawarra, SA.
James Halliday 93 Points!
Throughout its lifetime, Majella have been one of the largest (and most reputable) contract grape growers of the Coonawarra. We, as consumers, are lucky that some of the decade long business contracts with producers (Wynns supposedly puts their Cabernet into John Riddoch) are now expiring, thus leaving more fantastic fruit for Majella to play with. This Cabernet is everything it should be, and a wonderful expression of terroir and region. Beautiful linear fruit, a refined medium body and elegant, yet powerful fruit all play their part. I don't understand why it is so cheap, but am certainly not complaining! Expect this to stay around for a decade or so. Yum.
$33.26 in a dozen | $36.95 per bottle

Gill's 3 Picks!

This wine is made from grapes grown in one of Italy's most famous Pinot Grigio Regions; Collio. The vineyard is situated on the hillside bordering the Balkans, the cool, fresh air circulating in the area makes crisp, fruity wine. This Pinot Grigio is no exception; beautifully fragrant with green apple and honeysuckle, flavours of apple and pear drench the palate with a crisp minerally finish. Perfect Summer drinking.

$18.95 on SPECIAL | $22.95 per bottle RRP

2005 was a great vintage in Heathcote. And this wine is in great drinking condition now but has the structure to go some distance too. It's one of the best examples of Australian Sangiovese around. "Light- to medium-bodied, but quite intense black cherry/sour cherry/briar flavours, and good length; has clear varietal character but also stands on its own feet as a wine regardless of its variety."
$26.06 in a dozen | $28.95 per bottle

I'm sticking with my Italian theme for this week's picks. Arneis is a grape variety native to north East Italy but it is well suited to Australian cool climate regions and as a result plantings are on the increase in this country. Yarraloch source their fruit from some of the more mature vines in the Yarra Valley. "This unusual Italian white varietal is terrific: lean, tingling, full of minerality. Drink with pan-fried whiting. Max Allen Gourmet Traveller May 2008

$22.46 in a dozen | $24.95 per bottle

For more information on our wines, or if you have any wine matching questions, comments or suggestions, please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8000.
 

Last week's question was...

Give 4 (or more) examples of CONTRASTING and COMPLEMENTING food & wine matches! The most innovative and thought out answer will win!

Absolutely NO ONE even attempted this one.

Are you kidding me? Come on, surely some of you have some nice food and wine matches up your sleeves. I'm not letting this one slip by unattempted, so we are going to let this question sit for another week....

This week's question is (again)....

Give 4 (or more) examples of CONTRASTING and COMPLEMENTING food & wine matches! The most innovative and thought out answer will win!

For your chance to win a $50 voucher at Wine House, email your answer, with TRIVIA as the subject line, to sales@winehouse.com.au.  Extra consideration is given to detailed answers where many correct replies are received in a short time period.

WINE HOUSE . OLD & RARE WINES . BRASSERIE

133 Queensbridge Street, Southbank, Victoria 3006 Australia
tel: 61 3 9698 8000 | fax: 61 3 9698 8099
sales@winehouse.com.au   www.winehouse.com.au

Excludes E&O. All prices quoted in Australian Dollars and subject to freight charges where applicable. This newsletter has been sent to kallyorama@gmail.com. To change your details, please click here. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please reply to this email with '***' in the subject line.

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FUNCTION SPACE

Listed on our Brasserie website are various menu and beverage combinations that cover a majority of function needs. However every event is different so talk to us about your specific needs. Our function space has full audio/visual equipment for your use if a presentation or guest speaker is part of your event.

Download our Functions Pack

OLD & RARE WINES HOURS
 

Tuesday-Friday
11:00am - 7:00pm
 

Saturday
11:00am - 5:00pm

Sunday & Monday

Closed

CONTACT

03 9698 8001 or

KIOSK TRADING HOURS
Monday-Friday
7.30am - 3:00pm
 

CONTACT
03 9698 8006 or

WINE EVENT CALENDAR

A.B.C+1  Friday Tasting, Friday 5th December - FREE!

View Tasting Calendar

WINE YOU WANT!

If you have wine you need please let us know so we can try and find that old or rare wine for you.

RECYCLE PACKS

Wine House frequently sends in Styrofoam boxes which we obtain second hand to help reduce environmental impacts. If you have packs and would like help recycle please bring them into the store.

REVIEWS

Quoted reviews are taken from the following sources:

www.jeremyoliver.com

www.erobertparker.com

www.winecompanion.com.au

www.winefront.com.au

www.winespectator.com

Penfolds Rewards of Patience

WINE FRIDGES

Wine House is proud to sell and use Kitchener Wine Cabinets. For more in formation on these specialty wine fridges please call the store to receive a broacher or to obtain quotes on fridge sizes.