Catering Melbourne Blog

The party’s over Mixed drinks up $1 a bottle in binge war

The cost of pre-mixed drinks will jump by about $1 a bottle from today after a dramatic move by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Rudd Government doubled the tax on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages from midnight last night. Drinks targeted included Bacardi Breezers, rum and coke, Vodka Cruisers and UDLs. Some are equivalent to three standard drinks. Drinkers will pay more for the products, whether sold in supermarkets, bottle shops or pubs. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show young people are more likely to drink RTDs and teenage girls in particular are introduced to alcohol through RTDs. The Rudd Government swooped last night to avoid a rush on bottle shops. But shoppers may still be able to pick up a bargain. Some prices will stay at current levels until stocks are sold. Sunday Herald Sun, April 27.

Rosemount gets back in vogue;

They have changed the shape of the bottle, added a sophisticated sauvignon to their mainstay cheeky chardie and are even marketing the idea that wine should be served on the rocks. But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Fosters’s marketers is convincing a younger generation that Rosemount is the tipple of the trendies. New television advertising trumpeting its sponsorship of Australian Fashion Week appears on screens tonight. Rosemount is into the second of a five-year, multi-million-dollar naming rights deal, and its $8 million marketing campaign aims to go beyond the fashionistas to a wider market. The ads are the latest but perhaps most high-profile element of a campaign aimed at putting the once-mighty brand back on the map. Since Foster’s acquired it from Southcorp for $3.7bn three years ago, along with a swag of other brands including Lindemans and Penfolds, Rosemount has underperformed, leaving investors impatient for a return. Sales are increasing in Australia and Britain but are flat in America as cash-strapped drinkers turn to cheaper brands and old stock stubbornly hangs around shelves. Foster’s insists, though, that when Americans see and taste the relaunched lines, they like them. It is the gains that it has made in Australia that Foster’s is talking up as evidence that it is working. Sales of Rosemount have grown 55 per cent in value and 37 per cent in volume in the three months to the end of March on a like-for-like basis, according to Nielsen ScanTrack Liquor data. The overall wine market grew 4.6 per cent in value and shrank 1.8 per cent in volumes in the same period. Sydney Morning Herald, April 28.

Water cuts to affect flow of premium wines

Drought will force a shortage of some of Australia’s premium wines next year following a deep cut in irrigation water into the McLaren Vale region on the outskirts of Adelaide. Despite improving rains in the Murray-Darling catchment, the South Australian Government has cut irrigation of vines using water from Adelaide’s mains network by 38 per cent for the 2009 vintage as part of tough new restrictions to cut consumption. Mains water costs growers $1160 a megalitre, increasing to $1650 later this year—20 times more expensive than conventional irrigation. As a result, it has been reserved for the top 10 per cent of premium grapes from the McLaren Vale region. These grapes can fetch between $2000 and $10,000 a tonne —more than 10 times the price of bulk grapes—and are used by winemakers as part of the complex tapestry of flavours used in blending top wines. The Australian, February 18.

V for victory all round for Yalumba;

When it comes to viognier, no one in Australia does it better or more comprehensively than Yalumba. Bold statement but true. Consider this: in its line-up there’s the premium viognier known as The Virgilius, aged in oak and made from select parcels of fruit, followed by the excellent Eden Valley viognier that’s much more than a crowd-pleaser, it’s a wine that grabs attention and awards galore. Then there’s the more commercial Y series (at $12 who cares?) made from fruit sourced mainly from South Australian vineyards. Not content with those table wines, so why not add dessert styles of this Rhone white, too, such as a late-harvest or botrytised-style viognier depending on vintage? You’d think that’s all the viognier dallying that can be done. But no. What else can Yalumba do? Well, an eau de vie, of course. Literally meaning water of life, Yalumba’s distilled spirit called V de Vie is incredibly smooth, floral and spicy, a perfect digestive. Only 300 bottles were made and mainly for high-end restaurants (ex-cellar door $60). Chief winemaker and viognier-obsessive Louisa Rose says one of the niceties associated with many European wineries is having a digestive. The Age, February 16.

Attack on drinking

Light beer prices would be slashed, spirits made more expensive and shot glasses and cocktail shooters banned under planned solutions to curb the nation’s binge drinking. The Rev Tim Costello—chairman of the Prime Minister’s committee considering teen binge drinking—also wants venue numbers cut and hotel and club opening hours reduced. Mr Costello will select 100 participants for the strengthening communities part of the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2020 ideas summit. He has outlined a range of schemes that could reduce the nation’s yearly $15bn health cost of boozing. It comes as youths tell of their bottle-of-spirits-a-night drinking habits. Sunday Herald Sun, March 2.

New South Wales wine producer, Casella Wines, is enjoying solid growth, despite tough conditions. The group has had great success exporting its Yellow Tail wine brand to the US. Casella Wines has reported a 1.5 per cent rise in annual profit for 2006-07 to $A65.3m. Casella is owned by members of the Casella family and has 460 staff. On 31 January 2008, MD John Casella noted that the high Australian dollar is making life harder for Casella, but the group is cutting costs. He said that the grape glut has gone, to be replaced by a shortage of grapes. The Australian Financial Review, February 1.

The 2008 Australian wine crush began this week in dramatic fashion with flood rains threatening to wipe out millions of dollars worth of grapes and exasperated winemakers declaring war on birds and animals raiding their fruit. The bitter irony is that this year’s harvest in Queensland will be well down as vineyards recover from last year’s drought. As rain hammered the Granite Belt, fruit from far-flung Riversands Vineyard at St George was believed to be the first crushed in Australia this year. It took only two hours on Monday for talented young Ballandean Estate winemaker Dylan Rhymer to put 10.7 tonnes of Riversands white muscats through a shiny new crushing machine imported from Italy. Riversands later discovered it was not the first. It had to take second place to Blind Man’s Bluff from Kenilworth, which had crushed fruit the day before at Marburg’s Warrego Winery. There, three tonnes of chardonnay grapes were pressed. By Wednesday Luke Fitzpatrick from Clovely Estate had joined the race, crushing his first fruit of the season—Verdelho—at the company’s Murgon headquarters. The Courier Mail, January 12.

Beer-loving blokes keen to keep up appearances are dropping the macho act —and the beer gut—by turning to low-carbohydrate brews. Once sceptical about light beer and the image that came with it, men are forsaking traditional heavier brands associated with rugged, knockabout stereotypes. The thirst for the new booze has led to a 250 per cent rise in sales of low-carb brands such as Pure Blonde and Hahn Super Dry. And new low-carb sparkling wine Yellowglen Jewel, which is 30 per cent lower in calories and 40 per cent lower in alcohol, has proved a boon for Foster’s this summer. Foster’s Pure Blonde, which has 70 per cent fewer carbohydrates than regular beers, is the fastest-growing beer by volume in Australia—drunk by women and men. Foster’s group marketing premium beer manager Ben Summons said as long as beer tasted good, men would come flocking. “Today, blokes are more confident and laidback about their masculinity,” he said. Sunday Times,

January 13.

This time of year the question always comes up; what wine pairs well with Turkey? If you’ve been asked to bring the wine or have people coming to your house for Holiday dinner, no need to stress about what to serve. The good news is there is no correct answer. Turkey pairs well with red wine or white wine depending on what you and your guests like. Turkey is adaptable and the way it’s prepared as well as other dishes to the meal really dictate what wine to pair it with.

If you are a red wine drinker, try a Pinot Noir. It’s a nice flavored red wine that will pair well with turkey. Pinot Noir has very little tannins which means it won’t overwhelm the meal. Even though gathering around the table and sharing in a holiday meal seems like a great time to pull out a special Cabernet Sauvignon you’ve been saving, don’t. They over power the meal. You could try a Zinfindel but save the “in your face” Zins for after dinner.

There are many good brands of Pinot Noir from California, Burgundy (France) and from Oregon. Find a known name brand in your price range and enjoy the meal. Serve Pinot Noir very lightly chilled. Putting the Pinot Noir in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before serving it will bring out the fruit and will take away the ‘bite’ that alcohol can give when served at room temperature. A couple of good brands

If you like white wines, try a Chardonnay or even a Pinot Gris. This is where the turkey is really adapatable. Almost any good white will work, but stay away from the sweet dessert style whites. Light and crisp Chardonnay’s along with most Sauvignon Blanc’s will work.. If you want to be a little more adventurous, include a Viognier. It has a floral, peach, apricot, pear, fruity flavor and is m edium in body.

Sparkling Wine also works as well, and brings a festive note to the meal. There are some powerful, yet affordable brut Champagnes that have sufficient weight and structure to stand up to a rich meal. Again, stay away from the sweeter Champagnes.

If you want to enjoy something special, try a Beaujolais. Every year in November, Beaujolais Nouveau (”new Beaujolais”) is the first wine to be harvested in the Beaujolais region of France. Made from the Gamay grape, this wine is fresh, fruity, light-bodied and has hints of cherry and plums with peppery finish. It complements holiday fare well, and as it can be enjoyed slightly chilled, it can be enjoyed by those who favor a white wine.

Try one and tell me what you think! I suggest doing a trio of wines; red, white and sparkling. And let the fun and memories begin.

Normally, trips to wine suppliers are very hard work (no, honestly) and the preserve of our buying team, trying to find the best cuvées at the best prices. However, occasionally we are given the opportunity to take our other staff on fact-finding visits, which are great fun, if a little hectic.
In February, we took a group to visit the world-renowned Champagne house of Bollinger. Such a treasured visit demanded the most treasured staff, so we identified our ‘unsung heroes’ at the company’s front line, who regularly go out of their way to give extra special service to our customers. Hence, at a really unsociable early hour on a cold February morning, some of our sales, accounts, warehouse and shop staff flew out to Paris to meet the people who make Bollinger.

A two-hour drive from Charles de Gaul Airport brought us to the home of Bollinger in the stylish little town of Ay, which was covered with a light dusting of snow. Ay is the most famous Grand Cru village in Champagne, located some 30km from Reims. We had an exquisite lunch at the house of Madame Lilly Bollinger, where the history and ethos of the company was explained.

Madame Lilly Bollinger is one of the most famous figures in Champagne’s history. In 1918 Elizabeth Law de Lauriston Bourbers (known as Lilly) married Jacques Bollinger, head of a small but growing Champagne house. When Jacques died in 1941, Lilly took the reigns and famously traveled the world, spreading the word about Bollinger. In many respects she was a true pioneer in creating an internationally recognised brand. Lilly was also a great spokeswoman for the Champagne region as a whole, leaving several infamous quotes.

“I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it — unless I’m thirsty.” Madame Lilly Bollinger, Daily Mail 17th October 1961

Today the success of Lilly’s promotional endeavours is clear from the prestige and familiarity of Bollinger Champagne. However, it was a surprise to most to learn just how small their volumes are in the great scheme of things, producing just 2.1m of Champagne’s total annual output of 300m bottles. They remain, in essence a small, artisan producer. We visited the coopers’ workshop, the last one in Champagne where wooden barrels are still made, repaired and restored. Seeing a workshop with such ancient tools, and complete lack of machinery indicated the depth of craftsmanship and skill that was being preserved, not for the tourists, but out of necessity. A tour of the vast chalk cellars beneath the village showed how manual the whole process is, with teams of cellar men manually racking the reserve bottles. Seeing such quantities of precious Champagne, gently maturing in the perfect conditions, was humbling. We emerged from these labyrinthine cellars into the winery, several streets away, and into a very different world of immaculate white tiles and stainless steel - the absolute epitome of hygienic, up-to-date wine-making. This was where the ancient crafts met the modern world.

It’s only now that we realised that we had spent many hours, discovering the different delights, rapt with attention at the details of production and historic facts being offered. We had been transported to a different world for a day, completely removed from ours, yet the fruits of which we would enjoy by opening a bottle at home. An evening in Reims was followed by a morning flight back to reality and work. But the general impression from all was one of awe, at the passion and detail that goes into making a bottle of Champagne that we may have taken for granted before. Suddenly, the price of a bottle of Bollinger seems remarkably good value for money. So if you ever call the Averys office to ask about Champagne to be met with an effusive story about how it is made, you’re probably talking to one of the lucky staff who came on this trip.

You can buy Bollinger online Averys Dot Com where we are currently listing the UK’s best price for Bollinger Special Cuvee NV- just £25 per bottle.