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NEWSLETTERS | Classic Clippings
Vintage 1998
Contents :
Wilson the younger is not quite as old as the oldest vines that we have planted in the vineyard. He has an entrepreneurial spirit and is always on the alert for a way to make money. He thought that he could do this with a parcel of shares in some trendy WA gold mine. Now he's discovered that the real gold mine is in his own back yard. He's pegged out a comer of the property and is planting his own vines - riesling.
Whilst on the subject, and at a time when vineyards are changing hands for dizzy prices, I am reminded of a conversation that we had about five years ago, when the younger had dreams of owning a flash sports car..
Younger: Dad, if you were offered a million dollars for the winery, would you sell?
Older. It's worth more than that.
Younger. If you were offered five million dollars for the winery, would you sell?
Older. If they were offering that money, then I'd reckon it was worth more than we thought, and would hang on to it.
Younger. Fifty million dollars?
Older: Yeah, but if I sold, what would I do then?
end of conversation.
The new riesling vineyard is presently just a few pegs in the ground. Riesling is what our region does best, and is the one variety being ignored by the national vineyard mania.
1996 'Gallery Series' CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This year's artwork is from Sabine Deisen of Marananga. Our tradition with this theme is to select an artist, then invite the artist to produce an impression piece based on our vineyard. As well as a quick trip around the vineyard we supply a couple of bottles of last year's wine as encouragement.
We have learnt, however, that one cannot contain artists with rigid specifications.
Sabine's approach was to check out the wine first. After a few glasses, she was starting to draw mental images of what the vineyard was like, began by sketching a few thoughts, and in a very short time had produced a finished work without going anywhere near the place.
The inspiration for this artwork derives from the fantasy that if they had wine this good in the Garden of Eden, that there would have been no temptation of the forbidden fruit, and the subsequent course of human endeavour would have been plain sailing. With its Jungian archetypal images and the harmony of opposites, it is quite a symphony of oils.
Interesting to observe the association of red and white wine respectively with the masculine and feminine.
On our label the image has been split, with the right field appearing on the 1996 "Gallery Series" Cabernet Sauvignon, and the left field to appear on the 1998 "Gallery Series" Riesling.