G.D. Vajra: A sense of the famiglia
Art, wine and family have always been intertwined at the Piedmont estate G.D. Vajra. Giuseppe Vaira shares with Ed Merrison a story of profound, unprejudiced and unhurried learning.
Strange Case Of Dr Tim & Mr Shand
Tim Shand has an alter ego. There’s Tim: Offspring of two teachers, incisive, earnest looking – even a touch of the nerds about him. Logistics whizz; lob a few moving parts at him and he won’t flinch – just knock up something tidy in no time. And then there’s Shandy: Impish grin, sense of mischief, sub-surface surge of quiet confidence. Bit of a smart-arse; probably rubs a few people up the wrong way. Intuitive, impulsive and with more flair than perhaps he realises.
Talk to him you and you sense the tension between Tim and Shandy, something akin to the counterbalance ‘twixt smooth fruit and acid cut, has always been there. This profile, written in July 2017, looks at this multifaceted talent that was always destined to go far.
Dream Weaver: An Adelaide Hills pioneer
“It’s just so grand to be there,” says Geoff Weaver of his slice of Adelaide Hills heaven. “It’s beautiful to be engaged in what’s essentially an agricultural, horticultural and artistic pursuit in this glorious countryside,” he says
Viva AWIWA!
The inaugural Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) are with us. And don’t waste time wondering whether these awards are “necessary”. Instead think of women who make wine, tend vineyards, write restaurant lists, run businesses, put on events, welcome you at the cellar door and in any way make your wine experience better. As it stands female participation in the wine industry is estimated to be around 10%. That's both a huge imbalance and drastic waste of potential. These awards ultimately aim to redress the balance and chase that potential.
Theresa Breuer, the rebel’s daughter
Theresa Breuer was just 20 when her father Bernhard - perhaps Germany’s doughtiest campaigner for its dry Riesling - died suddenly in 2004. But she barely blinked before continuing the Rheingau estate’s trajectory as one of the finest in the world.
To be dexeterous & deft
“The ups and downs were extraordinary,” says Tod Dexter of the Mornington Peninsula’s learning curve. In fact, his journey is full of twists and turns of all sorts, beginning with a US ski season that turned into a life in wine. Ed Merrison of Vininspo! has the story.
TWR’s Anna Flowerday plays it cool
Anna Flowerday of TWR says “cool” a lot. This passionate organic wine-grower and champion of regenerative viticulture shows that working hard is dead cool when you do what you love and love what you grow.
Don Quijote de la Yarra
“I’ve always enjoyed a sense of adventure, and as you get older you realise that pretty much everyone is on a journey in some respect,” says Andrew Marks. The self-styled Wanderer’s peregrinations between the Yarra Valley and Spain’s Costa Brava make him obvious fodder for Vininspo!
Imagination and wine
In Imagination & Time, British philosopher Mary Warnock says imagination’s the key if we’re to go beyond witnessing beauty to actually feel it. “The difference is this: in feeling the beauty of objects, we enjoy not only the common, shared pleasures of the senses, but also the private pleasures of the imagination, peculiar to ourselves, and such that we have to struggle to articulate them.” Vininspo! ponders what this means for wine.