Winery News

Here's your last chance for the season to take in the cruisy music and laid-back afternoons at the winery featuring emerging local talent. Our fantastic award-winning wines and tasty food are available for sale or bring your own picnic food, a rug or chairs and settle in for a great time!

* No BYO alcohol * FREE entry * Art Exhibition * Family friendly *

Sunday 31 March from 2 - 6pm

West Cape Howe winery

14923 Muir Highway, Mount Barker

The casual vintage crew have started over the last couple of weeks and they've hit the ground running, getting straight into the hard work and long hours that vintage brings.

With most of our premium whites in at least two weeks ahead of schedule, the fermentations have begun.  From the viewing window in cellar door you can spot our small batches of Chardonnay in barrel bubbling away; the starting point of our 'Styx Gully' and 'Old School' blends.  Our Riesling from the award-winning Langton Vineyard is in as well as a few choice parcels from in and around Mount Barker.  Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc is nearly done and Chardonnay will be soon to follow.  With juices displaying lovely varietal character and well balanced natural acidity, keep an eye out for some smart wines out of the 2013 vintage!

Watch out for details on Emerge 3 coming soon on 31 March 2013.

From 2 - 6pm

Featuring emerging Music acts, Art exhibition.

Drinks and food available, or bring your own picnic.  No BYO alcohol.

Family friendly atmosphere.

This refreshing chardonnay is ideal for drinking now. Make life easy and stock up for delicious drinking over the next few months!

Buy Now   Freight is Free!

More than 2000 people are expected to enjoy fine wine, fashion and racing at the Mount Barker Grapes and Gallops Festival 2013.

You will be able to sample wines from nine Mt Barker producers including West Cape Howe, and we'd love to see you there!

Come along dressed in your best with a gorgeous hat, and enjoy our award-winning wine, gourmet food and an action-packed race day!

GRAPES AND GALLOPS FESTIVAL

January 20th, 2013

FROST PARK, MOUNT BARKER

12 noon - 8.00pm

$20 Adults $10 Concession

A Family Event

Jeni Port

Jeni Port, esteemed writer for Epicure, 'The Age' newspaper recently named the 2011 West Cape Howe Cape to Cape Cabernet Merlot as her 'BEST CABERNET BLEND' for 2012!

Jeni said "...my top blend was the utterly delicious West Cape Howe 2011 cabernet merlot, with heaps of black and red fruits, a pinch of pepper and a touch of vanilla, all in a dashing medium-bodied style."

We totally agree and urge you to try this delicious and flavoursome wine for yourself!  At $17.00 a bottle it's outstanding value for money.

Click here to purchase

If you're down south for the holidays or coming to the Mount Barker Grapes and Gallops Festival on 20/1/13, put Saturday 19th January at West Cape Howe in your diary!

This is the first of our EMERGE summer series of music, wine and art afternoons for your entertainment and delight.

We'll have live music featuring local emerging artists, Peaceful Romantics, Isabelle Carson & Carla Geneve, the Outback Gypsies, Terry Mackintosh & Tuaari Kuiti.

Time: 2.00 - 6.00pm. Bring a picnic rug & food and settle in for an afternoon of sublime sounds, GREAT wine and family-friendly atmosphere. Drinks and food available for purchase. No BYO alcohol.

There'll be a display of local artists' sculptures in the grounds with a 'horsey theme'.

Coming Soon...

EMERGE 2 on 16th February

EMERGE 3 on 31 March

To start your festivities why not kick off with our NV Chardonnay Pinot Noir Sparkling, an elegant wine with a delicate creamy texture and a crisp, dry finish, partnering so well with our Aussie style seafood festive meals.

And to round off your dinner, who would go past the West Cape Howe Muscat, with rich and round flavours of brandy snaps and fruitcake; it has a creamy smooth texture and a lovely warm finish.

If you're in Margaret River this weekend, don't miss the 'Gourmet Escape'.

Look for West Cape Howe and taste our award-winning, elegant and crisp cool-climate whites and our rich and fruity reds. They are delicious!

Enter our competition to win yourself a Magnum of Trophy-winning West Cape Howe Riesling! 

Bada Bing present a Spanish Paella Night featuring award-winning premium West Cape Howe wines. Take this opportunity to listen to widely respected West Cape Howe Winemaker, Gavin Berry who will be Guest Speaker.

Gavin has been making world-class wine for over 18 years in the Great Southern region of WA and is passionate in his contribution to the quality reputation of the cool-climate region.

DON'T MISS OUT, there are a few seats left for this fun and informative occasion!

WHEN:    Tuesday 27 November at 7.00pm

WHERE:    Bada Bing Cafe, 84 Rosewood Avenue, Woodlands

COST:    $80 pp

RSVP:    By 22 November, on Ph 9446 8880 or Email: badabingcafe@optusnet.com.au

Join us for a great afternoon of Riesling celebrations, partnered with delicious Albany rock oysters!

The Great Southern Wine Producers Association is sponsoring this fantastic event where West Cape Howe Wines and other Great Southern producers will be showing their premium Rieslings for tasting.

Don't miss this great opportunity to experience Riesling at its best!

Details are:

• Sunday 2 December, 4pm - 7pm
• Royal Perth Yacht Club, Crawley WA
• $40 per person: Tastings, canapes and a Plumm white wine glass (value $30) to take home
• Andy Warner, Oyster Shucker Extraordinaire & Albany rock oysters
• Tickets: online from www.greatsouthernwine.asn.au or www.trybooking.com/CCTR
• Info: info@greatsouthernwine.asn.au Mobile 0407 987 889

Gavin took to the road last week to launch our two new-release Regional wines - 2012 'Two Peeps' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and '2011 Hannah's Hill' Cabernet Merlot.

He caught up with Marcus, owner of The Wine Store in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.  You can tell by their smiling faces that these wines are winners!

At West Cape Howe we are very excited to announce our first release of 2012 'Two Peeps' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon from Albany and 2011 'Hannah's Hill' Cabernet Merlot from Frankland. Gavin Berry says, "We have seen these fruit parcels for many years and admired them for their individual statements."

'Two Peeps' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Is named after the beautiful Two People's Bay in Albany and is sourced from the cool climate fruit of our coastal vineyards.  Click here for detailed tasting notes.

'Hannah's Hill' Cabernet Merlot

Named after a tireless worker instrumental in developing this vineyard many years ago.  Frankland is a unique region, a little warmer than Mount Barker and perfect for growing reds, and what better than the Western Australian hero blend Cabernet Merlot! Click here for detailed tasting notes.

Be one of the first to try these much anticipated releases.

Click here to order today!

If you're travelling around the Mount Barker area in the school holidays, join us at our 'West Cape Howe Family Day'.  There'll be lots of fun to be had by all!

Date:    Sunday 7th October

Time:    10am - 5pm

Place:    Winery Front lawn

• Wood-fired pizzas    11.00am - 3.00pm
• Bouncy Castle for the kids
• Try our newly released regional wines - 2012 'Two Peeps' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and 2012 'Hannah's Hill' Cabernet Merlot

Sound delicious? Bring the kids along and enjoy this day with us. 

Winemaker, Gavin Berry said, 'I'm really proud of the recognition the West Cape Riesling has achieved especially in recent years.  The fruit has all come from a tiny little site on a very good vineyard that has given us quite special results over the last three vintages; testament not only to the commitment of the winermakers to craft outstanding wine but the expertise of the viticulture team as well."

The 'Block 6' Riesling on the Langton Vineyard, Mount Barker has now produced three trophies for West Cape Howe - this year's 2012 Trophy, 2011 West Cape Howe Riesling won the Trophy for Best Current Riesling in Australia at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge and the 2010 Kerrigan + Berry Riesling won Best Riesling Trophy at the Qantas Wine Show in 2010.

A fantastic pedigree!'

We are very pleased and proud to share James Halliday's latest reviews with you.

Please click on the pdf to read the full details of each of our wine's reviews.

2010 West Cape Howe Tempranillo  Ray Jordan highlighted this wine in his Top 100 Australian Reds in The West Australian on 5th July 2012. Ray said, "...clearly one of the best temps released in this State.  Shows the supple fleshiness of the variety when in Australian hands while losing none of those varietal dry savoury earthy tones...Excellent."

Also included was the 2010 Mount Trio Cabernet Merlot, made by West Cape Howe.  Ray wrote, "Balanced and precise on the palate with a generosity of flavour.  All-round well-made wine for this price."

The third wine chosen in Ray's Top 100 is the 2010 West Cape Howe 'Two Steps' Shiraz. He wrote, "This is as good as any wine these guys have released.  Such elegance and poise coupled with so much intensity and fruit concentration all presented with a smooth, seamless and almost velvety palate feel.  Fine tannins and fine-grained oak pull the whole thing together.  A beauty."

We're very proud of these great accolades for our wines. You'll find them listed under 'Our Wines' section and available for purchase now. Be guided by the experts!

Mount Trio wine enquiries Phone (08) 98531136 www.mounttriowines.com.au 

Vinexpo was held in Hong Kong at the end of May and attracted more than 15,000 trade from across Asia, with over 1000 exhibitors from around the world.  West Cape Howe was amongst five Great Southern participating wineries.

Gavin took groups of wine trade buyers through Great Southern wines Masterclasses and was excited with the networking and trade contact opportunities.

With huge market potential in China and Asia, Gavin took this opportunity to educate participants and elevate the Great Southern as a world-class region for the production of premium wine.

Following the trade show, Gavin joined the delegation in Seoul, South Korea for a tasting event with other Great Southern wineries.  This proved to be another great marketing opportunity to strengthen the West Cape Howe and Great Southern brands into this new, emerging market. 

Tony Sassi grew up with the wonderful flavours of the Italian seaside in Abruzzo on the Adriatic coast of Italy. He now translates these into a modern cucina and is renowned for the exquisitely balanced flavours in all his dishes.  Food critics have noted that Tony achieves great results by not overworking the fresh ingredient - it's simple and it's 'sassi'.

Tony recently discovered WEST CAPE HOWE wines and immediately saw a fresh, very enjoyable, well-balanced style to compliment his fine dishes.

Very soon Sassi will list our wines and you will be able to taste this delectable partnership for yourself!

Why not indulge your senses when next visiting Port Douglas!

Sassi Cucina

9 Grant Street, Port Douglas QLD 4877

Ph: (07) 4099 6744 www.sassi.com.au

West Cape Howe Wines is extremely pleased to have its wines included at Enrich Brisbane - an event showcasing the very best of Australian wine, food and lifestyle pleasures!

Our wines will be available for tasting and sale at the 'Great Southern Wine' area display within the Wine Selectors Regional Journey.  The Regional Journey is the central focal point for the event.

While you are there, check out the Wine Selectors Wine Theatre for various sessions over three days for you to participate in, taste and experience with the fun and guidance of expert panelists including Max Allen and Tyson Stelzer.

Interesting session topics include Aged wines compared to their younger counterparts; What do medals mean? - learn how the experts look at wine in a wine-show environment; and New varieties - what is the future of Australian wine, including varieties, regions, organics and climate change.

Take this fantastic opportunity to taste our wines, enjoy the experience and learn from some of Australia's most respected wine authorities.  

We hope to see you there!