Gumpara's latest awards.

Success at the 2010 Barossa Wine Show.

There are many wine competitions in Australia, and the world, and it's impossible to enter them all so I pick out a few each year and tend to stick with those. One of these is the Barossa Wine Show, and Gumpara tends to do well at our local event.

2010 brought us success again and here are the results from the BWS which was held in September 2010:

GUMPARA NV LIQUEUR FRONTIGNAC - SILVER MEDAL @ 2010 Barossa Wine Show

GUMPARA 2010 Old Vine Semillon - SILVER MEDAL @ 2010 Barossa Wine Show

GUMPARA 2004 Vintage Shiraz - SILVER MEDAL @ 2010 Barossa Wine Show

GUMPARA 2008 Reserve Shiraz - BRONZE MEDAL @ 2010 Barossa Wine Show

Needless to say, I am very happy with these results and have had excellent feedback regarding the wines over the past months. I look forward to continuing to produce wines of a superb quality in the future. Vintage 2011 is not far away!

Cheers for now,
Mark

Latest news and reviews!

The year has gone very fast and it's hard to believe that I haven't updated this blog for so long, again. Family committments, the vineyard and wine work keeps me very busy and again, it is pruning season. It seems that as soon as the vintage work is over, it's already May, and then the four months of pruning starts. I thoroughly enjoy hand pruning the Gumpara vineyards as it gives me a good chance to get a really close look at all the vines and the soils. It is this attention that helps our vineyards stay in top condition.

I have also been continuing to work a few days a month in the Collective Barossa shop, presenting our wines to the public and also some media visitors. The customers have enjoyed being able to speak to me about the Gumpara wines and already there are repeat customers; one regular buyer drops in on his trips to Adelaide from Sydney, which is just fantastic and I got to meet him on his last trip over (see photo at right). It is wonderful to get direct feedback from my customers and get to know them on a personal level.

Finally, I submitted wines for the James Halliday Wine Companion for the first time, this year. The results are in the recently released 2011 edition. I am pleased to announce that Gumpara received a four star winery rating which is a terrific entry point! Whilst one cannot purchase wines simply on the basis of one person's opinion, it certainly helps to establish regular good reviews and ratings to show consistency of a high level, of our products. And Gumpara is certainly committed to that. We look forward to our new releases which will be coming out soon.

Cheers for now,
Mark

A new sales outlet for Gumpara Wines in the Barossa.

I am proud to annouce that Gumpara Wines are now available for tasting seven days a week at the new cellar door in Tanunda, Collective Barossa. Along with the other Collective winemakers, I have been stepping in to assist the licensee on various days and have enjoyed showcasing our wines to many customers in the short three weeks that the shop has been open. The Gumpara wines have been well received in the range of almost thirty Collective wines and it has been a good way to release my new label along with the release of the Reserve Shiraz and the Barossa Vermentino.

If you are passing through the Barossa, drop in and you may even see me there. Vintage is here at the moment but will be over in the next month, so I hope to be a more regular face in the shop. Located in the front room of the old Barossa Museum, at the southern end of Tanunda, it is a great new way to have our wines accessible to the public, and in a very pleasant environment.

Off to Tasmania for a Field Blend Dinner!

I didn't realise that it had been so long since my last blog update but aside from a short fishing trip to the Northern Territory with Steve (from Kurtz Family Vineyards), the past months have been tied up with vineyard work and wine sales.

As I do all of the pruning myself at Gumpara, the winter months tend to pass by very fast. I am pleased to say that due to the fabulous winter rains we have received, the vineyard is looking spectacular and should be fit to produce a sensational crop for Vintage 2010.

In June, Gumpara participated in the Barossa At Home function with two of our Collective counterparts, Kurtz Family Vineyards and Karra Yerta Wines, in the stable at Karra Yerta in Flaxman's Valley. Our planned dinner was cancelled but we did have wine tastings (of products of the three wineries) for the weekend. It was a terrific opportunity to meet more new customers and expand our market presence. All in all it was quite a successful weekend considering it was the very first ever Barossa at Home event. The photo at right is of myself and Matthew Moate in the old Karra Yerta stable.

Tomorrow, Steve and I are flying to Tasmania to participate in our first Field Blend event. Held in Hobart on Monday 19th October, our wines will complement a superb dinner organised by Field Blend's Will Frost. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 35 guests so it will provide an informal opportunity for us to showcase our fine wines to our newest market, Tasmania. All going well, there will also be a spare day to do a spot of fishing before returning to start on the summer pruning.

Barossa At Home - a new wine event on the weekend of June 27 and 28, 2009

Gumpara is combining with Kurtz Family Vineyards and Karra Yerta Wines (three of the four Collective wineries) for a weekend of wine events in Barossa At Home on Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28, 2009.

The three wineries will be hosting private tastings and a dinner in the old Karra Yerta red-gum stable at Flaxman's Valley. This is a great opportunity for you to get to speak with us all on a more informal level. We will also be dining with guests on the Saturday night.

Joining me are fellow winemakers James Linke (Karra Yerta) and Steven Kurtz (Kurtz Family Vineyards) at the Exclusive Tastings on the Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm (cost $5 per person) and also at the Intimate Dinner which will be held from 6pm. This dinner is $100 per person and includes a home-cooked four course meal and tastings of museum stocks from the three wineries. A maximum of 25 people can attend our dinner so please book early.
For a map showing our location for these events please go to this link: Barossa At Home map.

Tasting Notes for 2006 Reserve Shiraz

PRODUCT: Shiraz
VINTAGE: 2006
APPELLATION: Barossa Valley
VARIETY: 100% Shiraz
HARVEST DATE: March 23rd, 2006
BOTTLING DATE: June 9th, 2008
ALCOHOL: 14.5%
TA: 5.93
PH: 3.53

VITICULTURAL:
From a special selected single vineyard, these Shiraz vines are on own roots, grown on rich red clay with shale rock base, and produce low yields. The fruit was hand picked, and only the best vines were selected prior to crushing.

VINIFICATION:
Crushed and de-stemmed into open fermenters, with fermentation temperature controlled at 25%. Must is pumped over each day. Free run is removed from skins and gently pressed via air bag batch press, with free run and pressings reblended prior to malolactic fermentation.

BARREL AGING:
26 months in American Oak hogsheads.

COMMENTS: The 2006 vintage is regarded as potentially one of the best for Barossa Valley Shiraz. With an abundance of high quality fruit available, a special single vineyard was selected to produce this Reserve Shiraz. Brick red in colour, the wine displays aromas and flavours of dark berries, and spicy earthy overtones, integrated with the sweetness of American Oak.

CELLARING:
This wine will benefit from careful cellaring, and has the potential to develop further with extended bottle age. Age to 15 years.

Fortifieds Tasting Notes and Food Recommendations

GUMPARA TAWNY GRENACHE

COLOUR:
Deep, reddish brown

AROMAS AND FLAVOURS:
Rich dried fruits, apricots with honey and toffee.
Developing rancio characters, integrated with vanillin oak influence.

MOUTH FEEL:
Rich, sweet, smooth and complex with a spicy,
spirit dry finish.

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS:
Aged cheddar cheese, Dark chocolate ginger, Toblerone mousse, Tim Tams

GUMPARA LIQUEUR SEMILLON

COLOUR:
Golden orange

AROMAS AND FLAVOURS:
Orange peel, marmalade and honey.

MOUTH FEEL:
Rich and fruity, leading to a dry acid finish.

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS:
Adel Blue Cheese, Chocolate dipped glace' orange slices, Rocket & King Island Blue Cheese and fried pear salad, Caramelized apple with ginger custard.

GUMPARA LIQUEUR FRONTIGNAC

COLOUR: Golden brown

AROMAS AND FLAVOURS: Rich lingering flavours of raisin, stewed prunes, honey and fruitcake. Developed rancio character.

MOUTH FEEL: Fresh, luscious and sweet with dry creamy finish.

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS:
Gorgonzola Cheese, Maggie Beer's Pate', Macadamia and coconut tart, Sugar filled figs with toffee icecream

A Field Blend lunch in the Barossa

Over the past year Gumpara has been one of a select group of small Barossa and Eden Valley wineries to be chosen by Michael and William Frost to supply wines for their new business based in Tasmania called Field Blend. Field Blend is a concept of Michael and William to gather the best of quality, low yield artisan wines and provide a premium service to deliver them to customers.

Field Blend stocks a selection of wines from Gumpara and our Collective counterparts (Karra Yerta, Kurtz Family Vineyards and SmallFry.) Today, the Frosts joined us for an early lunch at The Branch.

It was a terrific opportunity to discuss our plans for the coming months and also show them the new Gumpara label on our Special Release Shiraz. The photo at right is of me (Mark), James (Karra Yerta), William Frost, Matt (the Field Blend website maestro) and Michael Frost. It is a very exciting time for Gumpara and Field Blend. We are looking forward to working with the Frosts to showcase our fine wines to the world.

Tasting Notes for 2008 Old Vine Semillon

BEST 2008 SEMILLON @ 2008 BAROSSA WINE SHOW
(SILVER MEDAL WINNER)

PRODUCT: Semillon
VINTAGE: 2008
APPELLATION: Barossa Valley
VARIETY: 100% Semillon
HARVEST DATE: February 6, 2008
BOTTLING DATE: April 14, 2008
ALCOHOL: 12.5%
TA: 6.89
PH: 3.05

VITICULTURAL:
Made from 100% Barossa Valley Semillon from our oldest vines planted almost 90 years ago. These vines are the rare Madeira clone, renowned for developing a pink hue on the berry skin at ripening. The vines are situated on the north-eastern slopes of the Barossa Valley; hand-tended and are completely dry-grown.

VINIFICATION:
Crushed, de-stemmed and pressed with minimal skin contact. Fermentation temperature controlled at 12 degrees celcius. Free run and pressings blended together prior to cold stabilisation.

COMMENTS:
A wine of intense aroma and flavours, ranging from more subtle pea pod and apple, progressing hay bale, lime/citrus with more developed flavours of guava, tropical fruit and honey.

CELLARING:
Enjoy now but will benefit from careful cellaring for the next 10 years.