WINELIST No. 57 Dear Mailing List Member, There has been a flurry of building activity around the winery lately. While Stephen took his annual sojourn to Europe, we took the liberty of bringing the tradies in. The first evidence of their work is a pristine new toilet block at Cellar Door – which will bring a smile and welcome relief (pun absolutely intended) to those who have enjoyed the more rudimentary facility over the years. Of greater interest is the work being done at the back of the winery – concreting, drain work and a removable shade that will allow greater comfort and ease of use for Stephen and his fruit crushing colleague during harvest. It will also serve to bring the existing winery building to life. We expect the result of this work will eventually be seen in the bottle. Speaking of which – we have a few new releases for our WineList friends to discover. As promised last time we wrote, two new sparkling wines are now at Cellar Door. The 2012 Clare Valley Sparkling Shiraz, continues the tradition of a benchmark release for this style, produced from fruit sourced from the famed vineyards at Wendouree. Secondly, we have the first new release of sparkling pinot noir since vintage 2011! The Salmon Brut fizz has been given a makeover in look and name, but not style. It will now be known as the Ashton Hills Vintage Rosé, in response to trade and customers who found the old name a little confusing. The 2016 release is available now for tasting at Cellar Door and is a delightful expression of Adelaide Hills traditional method sparkling.
Finally, as a pre-release for WineList readers, we have included the 2017 Estate Pinot Noir in our special Christmas offers. We are down to the last of the 2016 vintage, so the 2017 should be on general release early next year. If the quality of the 2017 Piccadilly Valley is any gauge, the Estate will prove as popular as always. Jo has also asked me to let everyone know that Cellar Door is open for an extra couple of days over the Christmas and New Year period. She will be there to welcome you on December 26 and 27, before reverting back to our regular Friday to Monday timetable. Thank you for your support over the past year and a safe and happy festive season to you and yours. Be sure to make yourself known to Jo and drop by for a glass on the deck over the holiday period. Cheers, Andrew Kay Managing Director To keep up with life at Ashton Hills, follow us: Facebook at www.facebook.com/AshtonHillsVineyard, Instagram at www.instagram.com/ashtonhillsvineyard or the Ashton Hills website at www.ashtonhills.com.au