NEWS DESK
Peninsula wine makers show their class THE public “turned out in droves” for open tastings at last week’s 16th International Cool Climate Wine Show at Mornington Racecourse. More than 400 wines over many classes – with 20 per cent coming from the Mornington Peninsula – had earlier been appraised by a team of judges. Cool climate wines are produced on the peninsula by 170 wineries and sold through 50 cellar doors. Wine lovers at the show had the chance to compare and contrast these varieties with cool climate wines from around the world. The public tasting added a touch of mystery, with wine lovers bravely wending their way through a field of up to 600 masked wines, testing their tastebuds and then checking their catalogues to help identify class and entry number with type of wine, vintage and estate of origin. Winemakers say the peninsula’s maritime climate has a special effect on its wines, helping them produce some of the world’s finest cool climate varieties with outstanding flavours, balanced acidity and fine tannins. The Cool Wines Public Tasting and
Class of their own: Head steward Phyllis Scales and International Cool Climate Wine Show chairman Kevin Wyatt taste their way through the classes of wine entered in this year’s show Mornington Racecourse last week. Picture: Gary Sissons
Cool Wines Awards explored wines from 2012-2015 (and older vintages in some classes), compared wines of the same grape variety from different regions, and focused on wines from specific regions or vintages. “Cool climate wines are rapidly capturing the hearts and minds of wine enthusiasts,” International Cool Climate Wine Show project manager James Baldwin said. “The latest trends and winning wines
from leading cool climate wine regions in Australia and overseas were revealed.” About 20 competition classes, included sparkling wines, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, riesling, pinot noir, and shiraz, were assessed by an experienced 12-member team led by master of wine Meg Brodtmann. She presented the gold medal and announced trophy winners, along with her personal selection of unusual, in-
teresting and trend-setting wines, on Friday night. The wine show is internationally recognised as Australia’s foremost show for inspirational cool climate wines, Mr Baldwin said. “Many are from smaller vineyards where grapes are handpicked and wines handcrafted by winemakers with a passion for exploring terroir and the true expression of the grape. “For winemakers, this was an opportunity to benchmark in a show where like is judged against like, where elegant wines with restrained fruit are seen at their best, and where diversity is encouraged and rewarded. “For fine wine retailers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine educators and wine enthusiasts, this was an opportunity to taste the extraordinary breadth and depth of cool climate wines.” Stephen Taylor
Seniors’ watch GIVING senior members of the community a chance to live happy and confident lives inside their homes and out is the aim of the Rosebud Police Senior Citizens Register. The register, begun in 1995, is staffed by volunteers who maintain contact with members through phone calls and home visits. Not every one of the 3000 members requests a monthly telephone call, as many are fit and active and far from socially isolated. But many do … and, in the event of a member having an accident or being taken ill, a phone call to the office will provide the caller with a contact number of the GP and the member’s next of kin and details of any relevant medication. “The benefit to all, regardless of their level of fitness, is the ID card issued to members. The card should be placed in a purse or wallet and carried at all times,” joint co-ordinator Marie Parkinson said. “We issue a newsletter three times a year to keep in touch with everyone registered and organise enjoyable bus trips.” To join the register pick up an application form at a doctor’s surgery, pharmacy, Rosebud police station in Boneo Rd, or call 5986 0400 any weekday morning. The program is free.
FoI delay to track details Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au A MEMBER of the Southern Peninsula Victorian Masters Athletic Club has been told by a senior shire officer he will have to apply through freedomof-information for information about contentious upgrades at the Trueman’s Rd track. Bryan Baldwin, of Fingal, said the Mornington Peninsula shire had spent $37,000 on “improvement” works at the Trueman’s Rd Recreation Reserve but, considering the “current state” of the surface, doubts the was money well spent. He wants to know where the money went and who authorised its expenditure. He says the track is now “unusable”. Trueman’s Rd Recreation Reserve is home to the Southern Peninsula Victorian Masters Athletic Club and Southern Peninsula Little Athletics Centre, as well as soccer and cricket clubs. Council executives, the shire’s contractor and little athletics’ club members met in March to discuss the state of the track after ground works had
been completed, and to plan future works. Masters club member Mr Baldwin said he told them that the state of the track is “totally unacceptable” and would conduct an audit of the recent work. He said club delegates had “virtually given up on all prospects of resolving the issue and were frustrated by the lack of action”. “The end result [of spending the $37,000 on the ground] was that no one could use the facility,” Mr Baldwin said he told the meeting. The shire’s infrastructure services executive manager Niall McDonagh said the shire had “worked closely with the Trueman’s Rd Reserve Community Committee in planning for and implementing recent works”. “This included ground compaction, surface levelling with turf sand and application of fertilisers to promote grass growth,” Mr McDonagh said. “Truemans Rd Reserve presents some challenges with uneven surface settlement, which the shire actively monitors and actions appropriate maintenance works as part of our an-
nual maintenance programs.” Southern Peninsula Little Athletics Centre committee member and former president Jason Hodson said the prospect of having to use a substandard running track had led to a sharp drop in membership, reducing the club’s income and cutting canteen profits. “We’ve lost five trained committee members and key athletes have gone to other centres, making us a laughing stock in athletics, schools and the general community,” Mr Hodson said. “I believe someone must be responsible and accountable for this as, in two years, they [the shire] have spent supposedly $12,000 to $37,000 on failed works and there has been no attempt to improve the ground after the works failed. “Officers are [being evasive] and councillors are avoiding the topic and hiding behind landfill [issues] every time the most basic maintenance to the surface is requested.” Arguments about the type of work needed, and complaints about delays in doing the work, have gone on for years. Mr Hodson: “At some point between
our request for works over the past three years, the funding proposal in December and the approval in January, someone at the shire has decided to change the works and lay fairway sand across the entire venue inappropriately. “[The sand] is not soil and has no nutrient value. It heats in summer and kills the grass. The sand was laid across the entire venue for the existing grass to suffocate and die.” The club was told no watering had been done for the past 18 months because of faulty sprinklers, but “we have found the sprinklers have always worked to a certain degree … and that simple maintenance would allow them to clear and turn as they have not been used for so long”. Told that the shire was talking about starting the works again, Mr Hodson said: “This goes against all suggestions by our consultants who advise the surface is beginning to recover …” He said mains water pipes on Trueman’s Rd “could have been accessed for above-ground watering to assist in speeding the recovery after the failed works.” Mr McDonagh said: “More recently,
the shire has engaged environmental specialists to complete an independent review and provide the shire with recommendations in respect to future maintenance and upgrade options [at the reserve]. “The shire is committed to continuing the good work with the reserve committee and will actively be engaging with them, and the broader community, through the process.” Mr Hodson agreed the shire had advised that works had been done “but we say those works were not done correctly, or that someone really doesn’t know what they are doing”. “They say the completed works were not successful but, really, the work was not done correctly in the first place,” Mr Hodson said. “I believe that someone needs to be held responsible, or at least give us the sequence of events [of the works]. “We are not trying to cause World War III but this (Trueman’s Rd reserve) is the second biggest sports venue on the peninsula and yet no one seems to care about it. “And I can tell you it has nothing to do with landfill issues.”
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