Hello there fellow wine drinkers,

It wasn’t all that long ago that we were singing Jingle Bells, but summer has already come and gone, and we’ve certainly started noticing the leaves on the trees turning golden and covering the footpaths.

The end of summer/early autumn is always an exciting time of year working for a wine company. While our winemakers are out amongst the vines harvesting the grapes and starting to work their magic on the fruit, we in the office are eagerly awaiting the first samples of the new vintage.

So please, go pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and let us fill you in with what’s been happening since we spoke last.

In this issue:

Wine Styles
From the winery
Hardys at large
You said it!

And much more!

New Age Chardonnays

What is deep straw in colour, complex, persistent and full bodied...?

The perfect Chardonnay of course.

Chardonnay became a popular wine many years ago, and all those who love a good glass of Chardonnay know that this varietal is as delicious as ever.

So in honour of all fabulous Chardonnays, this issue will be focussing on our multi-award winning Eileen Hardy Chardonnay.

Wine of the month: Hardys Eileen Hardy 2009 Chardonnay

Family matriarch, indominable character, and beloved pioneer of the Australian wine industry, Eileen Hardy's spirit and dedication to excellence continue to weave through the wines we make today. Upon the tragic death of her husband, Tom Mayfield Hardy, Eileen became the driving force behind Hardys' progression through some of the companies most challenging times, providing encouragement, guidance, and a continued resolve to honour the Thomas Hardy legacy.

Admired by all who knew her and feted by high society for her wit and good humour , Vogue Australia commissioned Lord Snowdon to photograph her in 1977.

Her true spirit and personality is captured in this beautiful image (right), and her essense and dedication for excellence is captured for your enjoyment, Eileen Hardy Chardonnay.

The 2009 release is crafted from grapes sourced from the cool climate vineyards of Tasmania. The 2009 Eileen Hardy is a Chardonnay that sets the style trend, exemplifying cool climate Chardonnay at its very best.

Wine Style: Dry and full bodied

Colour: Medium to deep straw with green hues.

Bouquet: Fresh toasty oak and struck match aromas sit in harmonious balance with light lemon pith and grapefruit characters.

Palate: Ultra-fine, long and racy with sweet, juicy citrus flavours and complex nuances of vanillin malt. The exceptional structure is enhanced by tight, bright mineral acidity and a fine, long and persistent finish.

Food Match: Perfect with cool water oysters and fish.

Medals: 3 x Gold medals

exclusive offer

Ed Carr - Winemaker of the year 2011!

Our very own Ed Carr has been named Gourmet Traveller WINE’s Winemaker of the Year, announced at a prestigious dinner held at Melbourne’s Park Hyatt Hotel on the 26^th of September.

Ed, who has been nominated for the award twice before, was selected by a panel of six respected wine industry experts including Peter Bourne, Nick Bulleid MW, Andrew Caillard MW, Sophie Otton, Huon Hooke and Peter Forrestal.

Australia’s most awarded sparkling winemaker, Ed Carr is the man responsible for our popular sparkling label Hardys Sir James as well as the other fine sparkling wines under the Hardys brand, such as Nottage Hill.

“To be selected by industry experts for your contribution to winemaking is both an honour, and humbling experience”.

Ed’s commitment, hard work and experience in the industry has resulted in Ed and his team creating exceptional, world-class sparkling wines, all made in our very own Australian backyard - evidence that we certainly have the ability to put Australia on the map for prestige sparkling wine.

You only have to have a glass of any of the Hardys sparkling wines to understand why Ed has been named Winemaker of the Year. Congratulations Ed!

From The Vineyard to the Himalayas –

Out and About with Bill Hardy

It’s not often that a new visa and a new entry stamp appear in my rather worn Australian ‘frequent traveller’ passport, but, in September, I added India and, in October, I added Nepal.

I found myself in Mumbai at the end of a two week promotional trip around South-East Asia, which saw me dodge the cyclone in Manila, survive the two-wheel traffic onslaught in Ho Chi Minh and flee Bangkok before the floods. Mumbai was certainly challenging and confronting with its huge population and unimaginable sociological and technological polarity. Reconciling the poverty with the stuttering progress and undeniable potential was a tough ask. Fortunately, our agents, Sula Vineyards, who are India’s premier wine producer and sales team, were there to help me understand the city, the alcoholic beverage business and the place of domestic and imported wines in the mix. The volume of wine consumed in India is still small, however I did my bit to change this with some great press following our major event – a wine dinner at Pali Village Café – in the company of the Australian Consul General, the Australian Trade Commissioner and a bevy of journalists from most of the well-known wine and food publications based in Mumbai.

From Mumbai, I headed up to Nepal, flying in to Kathmandu on the first Sunday in October. This visit was to be strictly recreational and my major undertaking was a 25 day trek around the world’s 8^th highest mountain, Mount Manaslu. Hiking in the Himalayas had been on my agenda for 20 years and the coincidence of finishing a business trip in Mumbai made the opportunity too good to miss. The idea of spending over three weeks away from wine was rather novel for me, so the last thing I did before leaving on the trek was to have a serious red meat meal in the fine dining restaurant at the Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu with a lovely glass of wine!

The potential of India is patent and I sense that I have a lot more work to do there!

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We in the office are all very envious of the Taste of Adventure winners who at the beginning of November jetted off for their 12 days of adventure. With lots of exciting items on the itinerary such as staying in boutique hotels, fine dining, hot air ballooning over the Flinders Ranges and sampling some of the finest wine in the country, Hardys – of course.

Charles Di Petta was the lucky winner and set off with his wife and two good friends on the wine trip of a lifetime.

His love of food and wine started early, with his Italian father making his own hobby wine. This lead Charles to begin collecting wines as soon as he began working, and since then has travelled to many wine regions, events and festivals around Australia in search of a good drop.

His travels have been fruitful, with his preference leaning towards an elegant Pinot Noir or a rich, luscious fortified. His cellar is also well-stocked with aged Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon which he aims to enjoy as they mature, including one of his favourites, the Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz.

Meeting the winemakers and discussing the intricacies of good wine and it’s pairing with food is definitely on his to-do list whilst on the Taste of Adventure trip, as is experiencing all South Australia has to offer!

See the Hardys website for more information on the Taste of Adventure prize.

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Better Homes & Gardens - DIY – Cellar improvement

Just as the name suggests, Better Home & Gardens LIVE took place in September this year, and Hardys was out and about providing free tastings and wine education classes on five of our finest Nottage Hill wines.

With large crowds, almost 30,000 in attendance, the Hardys seating area was the perfect oasis to come, sit down and relax with a glass of Hardys wine.

With Fast Ed cooking on stage with his favourite wine – Hardys Nottage Hill Sauvignon Blanc - it was celebrities galore at the Sydney Showground, with all your TV favourites making an appearance, including Dr. Harry, Tara Dennis and even surfing legend Layne Beachley. It was cold, wet and windy on the Sunday, but many of you took this opportunity to sample our wines indoors while the weather cleared.

It was a fun weekend had by all, and a big thanks to everyone who came and said hello to us on the stand.

See below for some photos from the day.

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Hardys aLIVE and kicking – at MasterChef.

Hardys certainly was aLIVE and kicking at the MasterChef LIVE event in Sydney in September 2011.

In our very own MasterClass Theatre, free wine education classes were the order of the day, with Charlie Seppelt, one of our very own Hardys winemakers giving classes on Regional Red wines, New Age Chardonnays and Sparkling wine, all presented in beautiful Riedel wine glasses.

The Food and Wine matching MasterClass was very popular, with our Hardys wines matched perfectly to the delicious canapés supplied by multi-award winning caterer David Stix from Stix Catering. See www.stixcatering.com.au for their delicious catering menu’s for your next function.

Hardys - Masterchef - Food & Wine Matching

Another highly sought after class was our Cheese and Wine matching MasterClass, with five scrumptious cheeses supplied by McIntosh & Bowman Cheesemongers www.mcintoshandbowman.com. Audience members were treated to some of Australia’s finest cheeses, matched to some of Australia’s finest wine – Hardys!

Hardys - Masterchef - Cheese & Wine Matching

Many of you asked some really interesting questions, and Charlie, our very knowledgeable winemaker, was more than happy to answer. Some of the questions were: Does red wine come from red grapes? (yes, the colour in wine comes from the skins), and what is the different between Non-Vintage and Vintage (Non-Vintage: The wine is blended from multiple years, Vintage: the wine is made from a single year only).

If you have any specific questions you’d like answered or want more information on any wine-related topic, we’re always happy to oblige - feel free to email us and we’d love to answer all your questions. theteam@hardys.com.au

With perfect weather and a glass of Hardys wine in hand, the Hardys bar outside was the perfect place to relax and take in a bit of celeb-spotting – with all MasterChef contestants, past and present, out and about meeting their fans and signing autographs.

We all had a fun weekend at MasterChef LIVE, and hope you enjoyed your Hardys MasterClasses and wine tasting!

See below for some Hardys Happy Snaps from the event.

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Heretonott logo even if it does have a lovely aroma...

Nottage Hill on the Silver Screen!

Hardys Nottage Hill is now starring on the silver screen in a brand new television campaign featured on Channel 7 - look out for it!

Click Here to see our new ad.

Have your Say

Here at Hardys we like to find out what you think and what is important to you – it helps keep us on our toes and continually inspires us!

We would especially like to thank all of you who came and visited us at the Better Homes & Gardens and MasterChef LIVE stands over the last few weeks. We enjoyed hearing your stories and having the opportunity to sample our much-loved wines with you.

Did you enjoy your time in the Hardys MasterClass Theatre? Did you have any feedback you’d like to share? We would love to hear any comments you may have - email us at theteam@hardys.com.au

Once again, from the Hardys Team, we wish you a safe and wonderful Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year!

See you in 2012!