Australian Gourmet Traveller - (07)July 2020 (1)

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GOURMET TRAVELLER 21

Afterthecatastrophicbushfireseasonsawmajor

damagetowinemakingregionsacrossAustralia,

Sydney-baseddistillersandbrewerieshavestepped

intotakeonsmoke-taintedwinegrapesforusein

experimental,collaborativeprojects.

“Itwasclearrightfromthestarttherewasa unique

opportunityanddesiretohelpgrowerswhohadsuffered

a massiveloss,”saysChristinaTulloch,chiefexecutive

ofTullochWinesandpresidentoftheHunterValley

Wine& TourismAssociation.Compoundedbyclimate

changefollowingmonthsofrecord-breakingdrought

andtemperatures,thesummer’sbushfiresdevastated

1500 hectaresofvineyards,withmorecropstaintedby

smokebeyondfire-affectedareas.IntheHunterValley,

upto 90 percentofcropswerewipedoutandthe

remaininggrapesweresosmoke-damagedthat

winemakersabandonedentirevintages.

Smoketaintmakesgrapesvirtuallyunusablefor

winemaking,butotherprocessingmethodsusedfor

spiritsandbeercancurbthosedefects.Collaborating

withSydney-basedArchieRoseDistillingCo.,Tulloch

helpedsource48,000litresofsmoke-taintedcabernet

and shiraz grapes from the Hunter Valley.

SMOKE AND TERROIRS

“Thisprojectabsolutelythrewthegrowersa lifeline,”saysTulloch.The

distillerytransformedthegrapesintoa shiraz-basedeaudevie;a brandy

(nowageingin oldbourbonbarrelsforthreeyears);anda forthcomingspirit.

“Smokecancarryalldifferentkindsofflavours– burnt,ashyorthenice,

peatyflavoursyoumightseeina whisky,”saysArchieRoseseniordistiller

TryntXavier.HeworkedcloselywithFirstCreekWines’LizSilkmantocraft

thefruit-drivenendproducts– theeaudevie,forexample,hasa palate

oftropicalfruitanda lightsmokiness.“Ittooka lotofresearch,butwe’re

happywewereabletoseparatethegoodfromthebad.”

Yulli’sBrewsturned 700 kilosofsmoke-taintedgrapesfromGilbertFamily

Wines’Mudgeevineyardintoa beer-winehybrid.“It’stastingbrilliant,with

a lotoftheeasierdrinkingflavoursyougetfroma beer,andsomereallynice

red-winetannin,”saysheadbrewerTomDaviesoftheco-ferment,whichis

setforreleasethissummer.Combiningthecrushedgrapes– skinsandall–

witha beerbaseforthefirstfermentation,themixturewaslatertransferred

tooakbarrelsforninemonthsofageing,muchlikematuringa wine.

Fireeventshavedamaged$400millionworthofwinegrapesheresince

2003.“Wewanttomakea pointofhowterriblethisyear’sbeenforallthe

winemakersaffected,”saysDavies.“Inthetimeswelivein,everyone’s

going to have to learn to pivot a little bit more.”ALECIA WOOD

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Clockwise
fromtopleft:
ArchieRose
seniordistiller
TryntXavier;
ArchieRose’s
HunterValley
PHOTOGRAPHY GEORGIA GOLD (BRUNCH IN MELBOURNE). NIKKI TO (ARCHIE ROSE). Shiraz Spirit.