Welcome to the August 2009 issue of the Gladstone Vineyard Newsletter.

In this Issue

	Gladstone Vineyard "Undercovered"
	A month of music - come and enjoy our all weather café!
	Something Fishy - six course degustation dinner
	Sophie's Choice - the ever popular Gladstone Vineyard Fumé Blanc is back
	Doing our bit for the environment
	They're drinking our wine - where?
	12,000 Miles wines around the world
	Follow us on Twitter

In Other News

Gladstone Pinot Noir 2007 takes the Wairarapa Trophy at the London International Wine Challenge.

See us at Pinot 2010 in February next year

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Gladstone Vineyard "Undercovered"

There's been lots going on in the past few months, from trophies, gold medals and five star accolades, new wine releases, building work at the café, developing new markets, keeping up with the social networking trends, and lots more.. 

So have a quick glance through this newsletter to find out more about these things...

• If you live locally we have lots going on at the café to celebrate our new "undercovered" café
• We have a special limited release Gladstone Vineyard barrel fermented sauvignon blanc, Sophie's Choice named in honour of our gracefully ageing golden retreiver Sophie. Only 40 cases made, and not many left, so be in quick
• Doing our bit for the environment
• If you live in the UK, we're selling our wine in some top spots these days.  Check them out!
• We're also working hard with our 12,000 Miles range in Australia, look for these wines there 
• You can now follow us on Twitter

A month of music - come and enjoy our all weather café!

To celebrate our new all weather café area, with blazing log fire for the cold days and french doors opening out to the garden for the warming spring weather, we have a superb month of music throughout August.... So come and join us.

• Sunday 9 August: Dean Parkinson - New to Gladstone Vineyard, Dean can play anything from quiet instrumentals and blues on his sax, to sounds that really get you moving .  Not to be missed!  Playing 12.30 – 3.30.
• Sunday 16 August: Tess O’Hara – A favourite of Gladstone Vineyard, back by popular demand. Jazz and blues and whatever else takes her fancy. Playing 12.30 – 3.30.
• Sunday 23 August: A ‘Walk down Memory Lane’ with McKenna and Brown. Playing all your old favourites to sing along to. Don’t miss two of the Wairarapa’s finest musicians having a jam together, and don’t forget to bring your singing voice! Playing 12.30 – 3.30.
• Sunday 30 August: The Kingsford Brown Trio! – Stefan, Vaughan and Eddie playing together with their wonderful style. A regular act at Gladstone Vineyard. Jazz, swing, blues and originals – we can’t wait to have them back! Playing 1.00 – 2.30.

As always, bookings are recommended, so call us on 06 379 8563 or send us an email.

Something Fishy - six course degustation dinner

Come and join us on Saturday 22 August for a seafood extravaganza as part of our August celebrations.  Zane has concocted a stunning six-course degustation dinner of sensational seafood matched with award winning Gladstone Vineyard wines.

Starting from 6pm, bubbly and nibbles will be served on arrival.  Get a group together and come and enjoy a fantastic evening.

$110 per person, tickets are limited so book now.

Sophie's Choice - the ever popular Gladstone Vineyard Fumé Blanc is back

We haven't made a "fumé blanc" (a  barrel fermented and aged sauvingon blanc) for over ten years.  But it was always a very special wine for us.  So we are delighted to welcome back to our portfolio (by popular demand) a 2008 limited release Fumé Blanc.  It is called Sophie's Choice , after Sophie, our gracefully aging golden retriever (now 13 years old!).  The wine is 100% barrel fermented and aged.  The fruit was handpicked from our home block, and fermented and aged in French oak for 11 months. Only 40 cases of this wine have been made.

We think this is a very special wine, and we're not the only ones.  Check out the review in Wellington's Capital Times a few weeks ago  - www.captimes.co.nz/column/25/n/2455/Sophieschoice.boss.

Doing our bit for the environment

There's been quite a lot in the news in the recent weeks about Carbon Zero / Emissions Trading and so on.  At Gladstone we're committed to the Sustainable Winegrowing programme as an accredited vineyard and winery, and will continue to look at what we can/want to progress in regards to our carbon status over the next few years.

Meantime, though we progress in other ways.  Over the past 3-4 years, we have been working (as time and money allow) to turn what was a soggy back paddock into a wetlands area. We have had our battles with flooding.  Occasionally due to willows further down stream and beyond our land, our wetlands become totally flooded. The grasses and flaxes (and more) we have planted are now holding their own and we aim to work with nature not against it.

In the past few weeks we have planted about 300 grasses and flaxes in these wetlands and down the stream that feeds into our main pond. These photos show how the wetlands are shaping up. (This is the best time to look at it, without the long summer grasses.) It's a pleasing and satisfying work in progress, especially when you watch and hear the ducks, tuis, wood pigeons, bellbirds, pukekoes, moreporks, paradise ducks and more at various times of the day and night!  And there will be more in the coming weeks. 

They're drinking our wine - where?

Visiting the Globe to watch some Shakespeare? Gladstone Vineyard Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc then?

Maybe you're 'into the horses' and went to the Derby at Epsom? A glass of Gladstone Vineyard Pinot Noir to celebrate your horse's win?

Were you at the Ashes at Lords?... Did you have a glass of Gladstone Vineyard Pinot Noir?

Maybe you'll be at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? Visit Margaret Smith's "Homecoming Scotland" at the Edinburgh Wine School to find out about our Gladstone Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc or Auld Alliance!

Let us know where you find our Gladstone Vineyard wines or 12,000 Miles wines! We'd love to know...

12,000 Miles wines around the world

Our 12,000 Miles wines continue to make good progress around the world.  They are on sale in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and we are about to ship them to Canada and the US.  The 12,000 Miles brand tells "my" story.  I have lived half my life in Scotland and half my life in NZ - approximately 12,000 miles apart.  And I've made the journey lots of times.  So the 12,000 Miles brand is a very special part of me.  And they are very fine elegant, yet very approachable wines. 

I have just spent several days working with our importers in Australia promoting the wines.  And they are being very well received.  So watch out for the wines in fine wine shops and restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne.  If you want to know where to get our 12,000 Miles Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir in Australia, please contact our importer / distributor James Johnston of World Wine Estates (jameswwe@optusnet.com.au or ring him on +61 419 274 332). 

We have also put together a special prize for retailers and restaurants who are working with the wines in the next few months to bring them to Gladstone Vineyard and the Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival next March.  So if you want to find out more about that, again please contact James. 

Follow us on Twitter

We're a beautiful vineyard making wonderful wines of elegance and style, and we're keen to spread the word...!   You can now follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with our wines, get special deals and be the first to hear about events at the café and more.  Go to twitter.com/GladstoneVy.