The winner of the inaugural Department of Primary Industries’ NSW Organic PioneersAward, Rosnay’s Sam Statham, appeared on the Alan Jones Show today detailing how
supermarkets are squeezing food producers and farmers.
Sam Statham, 37, and parents Richard and Florence—growers of organic winegrapes,
olives and figs—began planting in the NSW Cowra wine region in 1997. As small
growers in Australia's highly competitive wine industry, they have been fortunate to
have a special point of difference, certified organic, which appeals to a growing number of buyers at independent wine shops. However, as explained by Sam, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain sales in the face of the expansion of supermarket liquor retailing.
Small- and medium-sized producers have fewer independent outlets to sell wine through, says Sam, citing the recent purchase of Balmain Village Cellars by Woolworths.
"BVC was a classic locally owned and managed wine outlet that supported small producers. As one of our best outlets in Sydney, we are sad to see it go, as its now harder than ever to get shelf space in the remaining small pub bottle shops in the area.”
On his last tour to the Northern Rivers of NSW, where most Rosnay wine is sold,
Sam found widespread concern among his customers at the rate of expansion of the
supermarket liquor outlets. He was told supermarkets have offered beer at a loss in order to gain market share, or at least below what the independent outlets pay wholesale for the same products.
"If the independent outlets all get bought by the chains, small producers—the bulk of
Australia's producers—will not be retailed, unless they can get into the supermarkets. However, most farmers know that even if you are big, you will eventually be squeezed to breaking point. I remember one of my neighbours selling their vegetable farm after struggling to survive as supermarket growers, and it was then that I vowed to never go down that path, if we had the choice.
"Even large organic wineries are acting as early product developers, finding themselves bypassed without notice as the supermarket decided to buy grapes direct and make the wine themselves for their own brand labels.
Sam has started a blog called www.unchainmywine.com as a listing of wineries that are not in the chains, and as a forum for the independent retailers to share their views.
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Monday, 23 July 2012
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Our new Sydney sales guys are tops
 |
| Craig Smalley, Oli Statham and Gary Crawford |
Click on our Distributors page to see the full list of reps!
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Happy New Year from Rosnay, and reflections on 2010
We would like to wish all our friends and customers a happy, fruitful, and organic 2011.
Thanks for your support and appreciation of good food and wine, grown naturally and without chemicals.
As we say goodbye to 2010 we'd like to mention a few of the highlights of the year that passed so quickly for us here at Rosnay:
Dancing in the rain: Whilst there has been too much rain across the eastern states, including at Rosnay, we still feel like dancing in it. In fact the rain also brought with it some of the mildest spring and summer weather we have known here in 13 years, with nothing that we would call "hot" until New Years Day, which has now already cooled off with another rainstorm. The vines are performing very well and we are expecting a good "cool climate" harvest despite the rempaging mildew across the region. Whilst we are beginning to see some vines showing signs of tiredness in the canopy due to the constant disease pressure, we remain optimistic that the mild conditions will result in good acid retention and balanced, light to medium bodied wines in 2011. We expect harvest to begin in the first half of February for the sparkling white, continuing until April for the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Improving the vineyard: The drought years showed up which grape vines were the most drought resistant, and the Mourverdre, from the South of France, has been the star performer. About 5000 cuttings from the Mourverdre vineyard are now growing in nursery rows among the figs, and we expect to plant them in 2012 as part of our ongoing vineyard improvement program.
Winning wine awards: We dont often go on about our wines and their reviews, but a highlight of recognition came from WineState, one of Australia's oldest and most respected ratings magazines, placing the Rosnay 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon in the list of the best Cabernet Sauvignons in NSW in their most recent issue. The ability of our wines to age well was also shown by the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show where the 06 reds took out all of the medals in the museum class. Our range of wines has been picking up various medals, including silver medals for the 2008 Triple Blend in the Cowra Wine Show and in the NSW Wine Awards (just missing out on the best organic wine award). Meanwhile, the sparkling wines have gone from strength to strength, with the white selling our completely for the 2nd year running and the Rose now taking off in Australia and in Japan.
Not a huge olive harvest: In 2010 we got a very small harvest of olive oil, as many of our customers would know, mainly due to the drought. The good news is that 2011 is looking fantastic for Rosnay olive oil. In the table olive department, the 2009-2010 drought affected them too, but mainly because the February rains caused the fruit to swell, with the subsequent dry spell causing them to shrink again, but with wrinkles. Whilst the 2010 harvest was up on past years, we have had to hand grade out a higher percentage of second grade fruit which we have begun making into some fantastic olive paste. We would welcome any feedback from our customers as to new uses for olive paste. The 2011 crop is looking good too, but it still has a long way to go until harvest in June-July.
A year of great partnerships: Thanks to all of our partners in 2010, and we hope to do more with you in 2011. In terms of great events, it will be hard to top the night we had in March watching the very best of Flickerfest, Australia's only Academy Accredited short film festival. As the wine sponsors agin this year, we are looking forward to Flickerfest coming back to Rosnay on 26 March 2011. Some of the other sponsored events and causes of 2010 included the Sydney Underground Film Festival, Tipping Point environmental conference, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Australian Student Environment Network, Australian National Botanical Gardens, Corinbank Festival, Greenpeace, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Shane Rozario, Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, Short and Sweet, MINDD foundation, Sydney Greenway Festival, and Vision Australia. As an organic wine company we are finding it very satisfying to be invited to partner with such fantastic organisations, and if you are an arts, health or environmental charity we would welcome your sponsorship proposal for 2011 and we will do our best to consider it and give our support.
Opening Rosnay up to guests: A highlight has also been the launch of our cottage, which sleeps up to 6 people and has opened Rosnay up to many more visitors and tours of the vineyards. Again, we love doing this as its much better to explain the ins and outs of organic and biodynamic agriculture and organic wine when you are in the vineyard itself. We look forward to this tourism activity growing in 2011. In 2010 it was amazing to see young Molly (Sam and Simone's 4 year old daughter) helping with the farm tours with great enthusiasm. Sam and Simone are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of their third child.
We would especially like to thank the wwoofers who graced Rosnay in 2010, adding so much to the cultural life here, as well as helping out a lot.
Welcoming new team members: We would like to thank all of our customers for their business in 2010, and also our sales team which now includes some enthusiastic new people: Jaxon Valentine and Christian Gibson in Sydney, Jeff Clements in the Blue Mountains, Z4 wines in the ACT and the NSW south coast, and Robert Beullens and Owen Smythe in Melbourne. Our existing team members Lorraine Thomas, Steve Brown and Andrew Watts have also grown their trade customer base through provision of great service, for which we are very grateful. We are currently on the lookout for a rep on the NSW central coast and the many areas on our store locator where there are gaps. In the Rosnay farm office we also now have the privilege of having our neighbour, MYOB guru, and organic olive grower Sue Brown helping Sam and Richard to get on top of the books, which was never our forte.
Thanks again, have a great year, and we hope to see you out here soon!
Cheers, the Stathams at Rosnay
Thanks for your support and appreciation of good food and wine, grown naturally and without chemicals.
As we say goodbye to 2010 we'd like to mention a few of the highlights of the year that passed so quickly for us here at Rosnay:
Dancing in the rain: Whilst there has been too much rain across the eastern states, including at Rosnay, we still feel like dancing in it. In fact the rain also brought with it some of the mildest spring and summer weather we have known here in 13 years, with nothing that we would call "hot" until New Years Day, which has now already cooled off with another rainstorm. The vines are performing very well and we are expecting a good "cool climate" harvest despite the rempaging mildew across the region. Whilst we are beginning to see some vines showing signs of tiredness in the canopy due to the constant disease pressure, we remain optimistic that the mild conditions will result in good acid retention and balanced, light to medium bodied wines in 2011. We expect harvest to begin in the first half of February for the sparkling white, continuing until April for the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Improving the vineyard: The drought years showed up which grape vines were the most drought resistant, and the Mourverdre, from the South of France, has been the star performer. About 5000 cuttings from the Mourverdre vineyard are now growing in nursery rows among the figs, and we expect to plant them in 2012 as part of our ongoing vineyard improvement program.
Winning wine awards: We dont often go on about our wines and their reviews, but a highlight of recognition came from WineState, one of Australia's oldest and most respected ratings magazines, placing the Rosnay 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon in the list of the best Cabernet Sauvignons in NSW in their most recent issue. The ability of our wines to age well was also shown by the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show where the 06 reds took out all of the medals in the museum class. Our range of wines has been picking up various medals, including silver medals for the 2008 Triple Blend in the Cowra Wine Show and in the NSW Wine Awards (just missing out on the best organic wine award). Meanwhile, the sparkling wines have gone from strength to strength, with the white selling our completely for the 2nd year running and the Rose now taking off in Australia and in Japan. Not a huge olive harvest: In 2010 we got a very small harvest of olive oil, as many of our customers would know, mainly due to the drought. The good news is that 2011 is looking fantastic for Rosnay olive oil. In the table olive department, the 2009-2010 drought affected them too, but mainly because the February rains caused the fruit to swell, with the subsequent dry spell causing them to shrink again, but with wrinkles. Whilst the 2010 harvest was up on past years, we have had to hand grade out a higher percentage of second grade fruit which we have begun making into some fantastic olive paste. We would welcome any feedback from our customers as to new uses for olive paste. The 2011 crop is looking good too, but it still has a long way to go until harvest in June-July.
A year of great partnerships: Thanks to all of our partners in 2010, and we hope to do more with you in 2011. In terms of great events, it will be hard to top the night we had in March watching the very best of Flickerfest, Australia's only Academy Accredited short film festival. As the wine sponsors agin this year, we are looking forward to Flickerfest coming back to Rosnay on 26 March 2011. Some of the other sponsored events and causes of 2010 included the Sydney Underground Film Festival, Tipping Point environmental conference, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Australian Student Environment Network, Australian National Botanical Gardens, Corinbank Festival, Greenpeace, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Shane Rozario, Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, Short and Sweet, MINDD foundation, Sydney Greenway Festival, and Vision Australia. As an organic wine company we are finding it very satisfying to be invited to partner with such fantastic organisations, and if you are an arts, health or environmental charity we would welcome your sponsorship proposal for 2011 and we will do our best to consider it and give our support.
Opening Rosnay up to guests: A highlight has also been the launch of our cottage, which sleeps up to 6 people and has opened Rosnay up to many more visitors and tours of the vineyards. Again, we love doing this as its much better to explain the ins and outs of organic and biodynamic agriculture and organic wine when you are in the vineyard itself. We look forward to this tourism activity growing in 2011. In 2010 it was amazing to see young Molly (Sam and Simone's 4 year old daughter) helping with the farm tours with great enthusiasm. Sam and Simone are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of their third child.
We would especially like to thank the wwoofers who graced Rosnay in 2010, adding so much to the cultural life here, as well as helping out a lot.
Welcoming new team members: We would like to thank all of our customers for their business in 2010, and also our sales team which now includes some enthusiastic new people: Jaxon Valentine and Christian Gibson in Sydney, Jeff Clements in the Blue Mountains, Z4 wines in the ACT and the NSW south coast, and Robert Beullens and Owen Smythe in Melbourne. Our existing team members Lorraine Thomas, Steve Brown and Andrew Watts have also grown their trade customer base through provision of great service, for which we are very grateful. We are currently on the lookout for a rep on the NSW central coast and the many areas on our store locator where there are gaps. In the Rosnay farm office we also now have the privilege of having our neighbour, MYOB guru, and organic olive grower Sue Brown helping Sam and Richard to get on top of the books, which was never our forte.
Thanks again, have a great year, and we hope to see you out here soon!
Cheers, the Stathams at Rosnay
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Spring 2010 Weather Report from Rosnay
"Water is the essence of life" D Mann, 1990
This was the in joke in our geography class 20 years ago. Well now after the worst drought in living memory, there is no more humour in this statement - just stark reality. Here at Rosnay we have seen the vines go through some difficult teenage years. Now entering their fourteenth year they have been in severe drought half their lives, and some of the vines are already battle scarred with patches of dead wood, and the odd borer in weaker varieties like Semillon. This year however, they are bursting with vitality following the fanstastic rains we have had this winter and spring. Here are a few recent videos we have uploaded to Youtube, to give you an idea of how things are looking right now.
The above video shows the Belubula River out of its banks, which it did three times this year, the most flooding we have seen since 1998 when Richard had to blow a hole in the levy bank to let the water back into the river.According to Weatherzone the rain in August was 10% above the 100 year average and July was DOUBLE the 100 year average. The grass is growing almost out of control, and it was a good year to purchase our new swing arm mower to keep the grass and thistles down under the vines.
This next video shows how the vineyard is looking like now, at the end of October 2010. This is the Shiraz block just behind Sam and Simone's house. The clover is growing like it hasn't for years, which will surely supply the vines with the natural nitrogen that they need for a big, healthy canopy. We have also reached a landmark in making it past the 24th of October without suffering much in the way of frost damage. The grass is now starting to drop seeds, which just love getting into your socks and giving people hay fever.
Have a look at this last video to see the general landscape around us from the local vantage point of Mount Lewis. This rocky hill just across the road from Rosnay and Rivers Road Organic Farms is a lovely little afternoon climb. The canola has finished flowering but you can see how green the country is generally. We think its going to be a beautiful season, and though the long range forecasters expect a very hot Christmas, the next month should still be great for visiting beautiful Canowindra.
This was the in joke in our geography class 20 years ago. Well now after the worst drought in living memory, there is no more humour in this statement - just stark reality. Here at Rosnay we have seen the vines go through some difficult teenage years. Now entering their fourteenth year they have been in severe drought half their lives, and some of the vines are already battle scarred with patches of dead wood, and the odd borer in weaker varieties like Semillon. This year however, they are bursting with vitality following the fanstastic rains we have had this winter and spring. Here are a few recent videos we have uploaded to Youtube, to give you an idea of how things are looking right now.
The above video shows the Belubula River out of its banks, which it did three times this year, the most flooding we have seen since 1998 when Richard had to blow a hole in the levy bank to let the water back into the river.According to Weatherzone the rain in August was 10% above the 100 year average and July was DOUBLE the 100 year average. The grass is growing almost out of control, and it was a good year to purchase our new swing arm mower to keep the grass and thistles down under the vines.
This next video shows how the vineyard is looking like now, at the end of October 2010. This is the Shiraz block just behind Sam and Simone's house. The clover is growing like it hasn't for years, which will surely supply the vines with the natural nitrogen that they need for a big, healthy canopy. We have also reached a landmark in making it past the 24th of October without suffering much in the way of frost damage. The grass is now starting to drop seeds, which just love getting into your socks and giving people hay fever.
Have a look at this last video to see the general landscape around us from the local vantage point of Mount Lewis. This rocky hill just across the road from Rosnay and Rivers Road Organic Farms is a lovely little afternoon climb. The canola has finished flowering but you can see how green the country is generally. We think its going to be a beautiful season, and though the long range forecasters expect a very hot Christmas, the next month should still be great for visiting beautiful Canowindra.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Great video of Richard back in 1999 talking about Rosnay
Time has flown by since this was made by Mark Shea from www.overlander.tv on his organic farming video making tour with Don MacFarlane. It was back in 1999, and the grass is longer than it has been for a long time now. I hope we have a good spring like that this year. I will get out and take some videos of the farm now as its looking now, as soon as I get my own little vid cam!
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Newsletter Winter 2009
2009 VINTAGE REPORT
The season began quite normally, or seemed normal, as we start to call the drought “normal”! The 2008 winter was once again dry, but we ended up with pretty decent spring rain giving shallow soil moisture to help the vines and olives shoot away in the spring.
The 21st of October 2008 was a great day for Molly Jade Statham, the first of the 4th generation at Rosnay, who had her second birthday. But for the rest of the family, it was a scary moment, as a cool change swept across and brought a late frost which wiped out the bottom of the Cabernet Sauvignon. There was not much we could have done about it, except maybe mow the grass more diligently, but we were quite lucky compared to others in the district.
The season rolled on quite well from there, and we treated the vines with the biodynamic preparations to enliven the soil and toughen the leaves against mildew. In fact we had no need to spray the vines with sulphur at all, as our most susceptible variety, chardonnay, we had lopped off at the cordon to rework to a higher cordon (ie we cut the vines off to retrain them, thus losing all fruiting buds). The reason for this is so that we can graze sheep in the chardonnay throughout the year for better weed control, canopy management and airflow to reduce disease. We hope it works!
We now look forward to the block coming back into production because, Murphy’s Law, the one year when we skip a crop to rework the cordon, we had a very successful vintage of Chardonnay, and we have almost run out of stock. Our first batch of sparkling chardonnay became our most successful wine ever, with some great reviews, and holding the bottle shop speed record, selling at a rate of a bottle per minute!
February was of course a heatwave, and whilst Victoria was ablaze, and our own skies were hazy with smoke, we were fortunate not to suffer as they did down there. By the time we began to harvest the weather did become milder, and we ended up picking a good crop all round, especially the Semillon and the Shiraz.
In the olive department, we have now harvested and pressed the Corregiola olives and the oil has almost finished settling. Some customers have already got in early and ordered oil straight from the press, but we do prefer to let the oil settle for 2-3 months before bottling. The kalamata olives have been picked, and are pickling now in 800litre vats of brine. The kalamatas looked good this year, with perhaps 10% shrivelled or second grade fruit, for olive paste, and perhaps 10% green and nutty fruit, which just adds the the unique flavours of every jar. The pickling process will take about 6 months and for the first time we will probably have enough fruit for some bulk sales (20litre buckets) for the really avid consumer!
WALLINGTON ADDS TO COWRA'S GREEN REVOLUTION
Have you heard on the Biodynamic grapevine that Wallington Wines have become the latest addition to Cowra’s “green viticulture” revolution? Margaret Wallington is now converting all of her farm, including the vines, to Biodynamic methods, certified by Australian Certified Organic. This is great news, as it brings the number of organic or biodynamic producers in the region to four, as Cowra seeks to catch up with the pioneering region of Mudgee, as the “most organic” in our Central Ranges Wine Zone, and even Australia (4 out of 14 producers organic/biodynamic).
Its just one of a lot of things going on in the Cowra-Canowindra wine region, as part of our regional Environmental Plan. Our President, Tom Ward of Swinging Bridge Estate , is presenting Cowra's environmental progress to the 5th Australian Wine Industry Environment Conference in Adelaide this year.
NEW WINE LAUNCHES - PLENTY TO CELEBRATE HERE
All of the current release Rosnay wines have been picking up medals in shows over the last year. The latest release is the long awaited 2009 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, which promises to be one of the best wines we have made. It got a medal at the organic wine show just a week after bottling, and a medal at the Cowra Wine show two seeks later! It was made with 30% Biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Orange to follow the successful blend released for the first time last year. The 2009 Rose will be released on 1 August, followed in late August by the 2009 Sparkling Chardonnay and, for the first time, a sparkling Rose (Shiraz-Mourverdre).
As a member of the Rosnay news list you can take advantage of an exclusive pre-release special offer on these new wines, with the 2009 New Release Tasting 6-Pack including a bottle each of the new 2009 SSB, 2009 Rose, 2009 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay, 2009 Sparkling Rose, 2009 Olive Oil and of course a jar of olives and olive paste, all delivered in a beautiful pine box. We are now taking orders for delivery on 1 September. To find out more go to www.rosnay.com.au/virtuemart/475.html or call us direct on 1300 ROSNAY (1300 767629).
Not to be outdone by the new wines, the Rosnay Triple Blend continues to be our Signature red wine and we are celebrating all of our winter warming reds with a special web only pine box six pack offer. Order at www.rosnay.com.au/virtuemart/473.html or also by calling us.
RIVERS ROAD ORGANIC FARMS - A MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE SUBDIVISION
Sam recently spoke at the Blue Mountains meeting of the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, sharing an organic farmers perspective on the issues of urban growth in Australia's coastal food bowls. He pointed out how Rivers Road Organic Farms is an example of a working balance of residential and agricultural values. Now over a decade since inception, RROF has reached a state of balance, with almost no motions on the agenda at the last AGM!
We want to show other people what is possible, both here and at other similar developments in Cowra Shire, so we hope to organise a tour to the region from Sydney soon. Watch this space, and let us know if you could be interested. (By the way - there is a block up for sale which could be ideal for you - call Mary on 0428 442735 for info).
NO MORE BURNING EYEBALLS
To digress briefy, when looking back at past vintages, they all seem milder than back in 2001 when we had many days at 50 degrees C in January. Though we are certainly still in a drought, I can't look you in the eye and say "its been getting hotter every year". I'll never forget the feeling, in 2001, of burning eyeballs riding the motorbike to the pump shed through air so hot and still it was like hot soup, frantically hoping the river had water in it. It was scorching.
If we weren't skeptical of mainstream "science", whether it be agricultural chemicals, genetic engineering or nuclear power, we would not be organic and biodynamic farmers. We are always open to both sides of a debate, and recently I was challenged to read www.climatesceptics.com.au . To a long time beleiver, I am now very challenged! This is not to say I beleive either argument right now - we need to be in a healthy state of open mindedness, and we are all still huge renewable energy supporters. In fact we recently installed 3KW of solar power (total of 48 grid-connected solar panels) on Rosnay, as part of the Cowra Community Grid!
ANOTHER GREAT ORGANIC WINE SHOW - AND CONGRATS TO THISTLE HILL
As founding committee member of the Australia New Zealand Organic Wine Show, Sam decided to help out this year as a show steward. The view from the venue, Level 43 of the MLC Centre (DSRD headquarters), was nearly as stunning as the record lineup of organic and biodynamic wines. The slurping of the juding panel, headed by Max Allen and including Vanya Cullen, Jon Osbeiston, Gill Gordon Smith and Renee Foster, could be heard and smelt down the departmental hallways, hopefully leading to more exports of Australian wine. In the back room our enthusiastic team of stewards poured the record 146 wines to the dedicated panel, following strict protocols and ensuring good coffee and cake was provided to relieve their jaded wine palates.
At the end of the day some interesting results were released and it was great to see the Gil Wahlquist Trophy go to Thistle Hill (Mudgee, Central Ranges) as a well deserved "last hurrah" for Lesley Robertson as a pioneer in the industry who recently passed the reins of Thistle Hill to new owners.
Results for Rosnay were, again, "consistent" medal winning wines, with medals awarded to four out of the 7 wines entered. This average result is consistent with all past shows, since 2005. It reflects the simple, natural winemaking style that expresses the Canowindra terroir without new-age varieties, fining agents, expensive oak or selected fruit from growers in distant regions. You can see the full results online at www.organicwineshow.com.au .
ART AND ABOUT - SPONSORSHIP OF THE ARTS AND CHARITIES
For the tenth year in a row, Richard organised a concert by the students of the Sydney Conservatorium , in May, and sponsored the NSW concert series of the Flinders Quartet , from Melbourne. For the second year, Sam organised the Avant Garden Bar at Peats Ridge Festival . Art galleries directly sponsored include Renew Newcastle , and Zakay Glass Creations in Byron Bay, as well as The Poets Union monthly recitals in Sydney and the premieres of Whaledreamers in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Rosnay is also the ongoing wine sponsor of the MINDD Forum in Sydney as well as various other charities, schools and environmental causes. We enjoy finding creative ways to support the arts, charity and the environment, and are open to your feedback or suggestions.
BIODYNAMICS SEMINAR AT ASVO CONFERENCE - TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE
Sam will be speaking about biodynamic viticulture at the conference of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology , in Mildura, this week. Sam and Richard have been applying the Steiner principles at Rosnay since 1997. The transcript of the talk is available on the Rosnay website Articles page . Sam also recently posted a video on biodynamics on YouTube .
The season began quite normally, or seemed normal, as we start to call the drought “normal”! The 2008 winter was once again dry, but we ended up with pretty decent spring rain giving shallow soil moisture to help the vines and olives shoot away in the spring.
The 21st of October 2008 was a great day for Molly Jade Statham, the first of the 4th generation at Rosnay, who had her second birthday. But for the rest of the family, it was a scary moment, as a cool change swept across and brought a late frost which wiped out the bottom of the Cabernet Sauvignon. There was not much we could have done about it, except maybe mow the grass more diligently, but we were quite lucky compared to others in the district.
The season rolled on quite well from there, and we treated the vines with the biodynamic preparations to enliven the soil and toughen the leaves against mildew. In fact we had no need to spray the vines with sulphur at all, as our most susceptible variety, chardonnay, we had lopped off at the cordon to rework to a higher cordon (ie we cut the vines off to retrain them, thus losing all fruiting buds). The reason for this is so that we can graze sheep in the chardonnay throughout the year for better weed control, canopy management and airflow to reduce disease. We hope it works!
We now look forward to the block coming back into production because, Murphy’s Law, the one year when we skip a crop to rework the cordon, we had a very successful vintage of Chardonnay, and we have almost run out of stock. Our first batch of sparkling chardonnay became our most successful wine ever, with some great reviews, and holding the bottle shop speed record, selling at a rate of a bottle per minute!
February was of course a heatwave, and whilst Victoria was ablaze, and our own skies were hazy with smoke, we were fortunate not to suffer as they did down there. By the time we began to harvest the weather did become milder, and we ended up picking a good crop all round, especially the Semillon and the Shiraz.
In the olive department, we have now harvested and pressed the Corregiola olives and the oil has almost finished settling. Some customers have already got in early and ordered oil straight from the press, but we do prefer to let the oil settle for 2-3 months before bottling. The kalamata olives have been picked, and are pickling now in 800litre vats of brine. The kalamatas looked good this year, with perhaps 10% shrivelled or second grade fruit, for olive paste, and perhaps 10% green and nutty fruit, which just adds the the unique flavours of every jar. The pickling process will take about 6 months and for the first time we will probably have enough fruit for some bulk sales (20litre buckets) for the really avid consumer!
WALLINGTON ADDS TO COWRA'S GREEN REVOLUTION
Have you heard on the Biodynamic grapevine that Wallington Wines have become the latest addition to Cowra’s “green viticulture” revolution? Margaret Wallington is now converting all of her farm, including the vines, to Biodynamic methods, certified by Australian Certified Organic. This is great news, as it brings the number of organic or biodynamic producers in the region to four, as Cowra seeks to catch up with the pioneering region of Mudgee, as the “most organic” in our Central Ranges Wine Zone, and even Australia (4 out of 14 producers organic/biodynamic).
Its just one of a lot of things going on in the Cowra-Canowindra wine region, as part of our regional Environmental Plan. Our President, Tom Ward of Swinging Bridge Estate , is presenting Cowra's environmental progress to the 5th Australian Wine Industry Environment Conference in Adelaide this year.
NEW WINE LAUNCHES - PLENTY TO CELEBRATE HERE
All of the current release Rosnay wines have been picking up medals in shows over the last year. The latest release is the long awaited 2009 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, which promises to be one of the best wines we have made. It got a medal at the organic wine show just a week after bottling, and a medal at the Cowra Wine show two seeks later! It was made with 30% Biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Orange to follow the successful blend released for the first time last year. The 2009 Rose will be released on 1 August, followed in late August by the 2009 Sparkling Chardonnay and, for the first time, a sparkling Rose (Shiraz-Mourverdre).
As a member of the Rosnay news list you can take advantage of an exclusive pre-release special offer on these new wines, with the 2009 New Release Tasting 6-Pack including a bottle each of the new 2009 SSB, 2009 Rose, 2009 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay, 2009 Sparkling Rose, 2009 Olive Oil and of course a jar of olives and olive paste, all delivered in a beautiful pine box. We are now taking orders for delivery on 1 September. To find out more go to www.rosnay.com.au/virtuemart/475.html or call us direct on 1300 ROSNAY (1300 767629).
Not to be outdone by the new wines, the Rosnay Triple Blend continues to be our Signature red wine and we are celebrating all of our winter warming reds with a special web only pine box six pack offer. Order at www.rosnay.com.au/virtuemart/473.html or also by calling us.
RIVERS ROAD ORGANIC FARMS - A MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE SUBDIVISION
Sam recently spoke at the Blue Mountains meeting of the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, sharing an organic farmers perspective on the issues of urban growth in Australia's coastal food bowls. He pointed out how Rivers Road Organic Farms is an example of a working balance of residential and agricultural values. Now over a decade since inception, RROF has reached a state of balance, with almost no motions on the agenda at the last AGM!
We want to show other people what is possible, both here and at other similar developments in Cowra Shire, so we hope to organise a tour to the region from Sydney soon. Watch this space, and let us know if you could be interested. (By the way - there is a block up for sale which could be ideal for you - call Mary on 0428 442735 for info).
NO MORE BURNING EYEBALLS
To digress briefy, when looking back at past vintages, they all seem milder than back in 2001 when we had many days at 50 degrees C in January. Though we are certainly still in a drought, I can't look you in the eye and say "its been getting hotter every year". I'll never forget the feeling, in 2001, of burning eyeballs riding the motorbike to the pump shed through air so hot and still it was like hot soup, frantically hoping the river had water in it. It was scorching.
If we weren't skeptical of mainstream "science", whether it be agricultural chemicals, genetic engineering or nuclear power, we would not be organic and biodynamic farmers. We are always open to both sides of a debate, and recently I was challenged to read www.climatesceptics.com.au . To a long time beleiver, I am now very challenged! This is not to say I beleive either argument right now - we need to be in a healthy state of open mindedness, and we are all still huge renewable energy supporters. In fact we recently installed 3KW of solar power (total of 48 grid-connected solar panels) on Rosnay, as part of the Cowra Community Grid!
ANOTHER GREAT ORGANIC WINE SHOW - AND CONGRATS TO THISTLE HILL
As founding committee member of the Australia New Zealand Organic Wine Show, Sam decided to help out this year as a show steward. The view from the venue, Level 43 of the MLC Centre (DSRD headquarters), was nearly as stunning as the record lineup of organic and biodynamic wines. The slurping of the juding panel, headed by Max Allen and including Vanya Cullen, Jon Osbeiston, Gill Gordon Smith and Renee Foster, could be heard and smelt down the departmental hallways, hopefully leading to more exports of Australian wine. In the back room our enthusiastic team of stewards poured the record 146 wines to the dedicated panel, following strict protocols and ensuring good coffee and cake was provided to relieve their jaded wine palates.
At the end of the day some interesting results were released and it was great to see the Gil Wahlquist Trophy go to Thistle Hill (Mudgee, Central Ranges) as a well deserved "last hurrah" for Lesley Robertson as a pioneer in the industry who recently passed the reins of Thistle Hill to new owners.
Results for Rosnay were, again, "consistent" medal winning wines, with medals awarded to four out of the 7 wines entered. This average result is consistent with all past shows, since 2005. It reflects the simple, natural winemaking style that expresses the Canowindra terroir without new-age varieties, fining agents, expensive oak or selected fruit from growers in distant regions. You can see the full results online at www.organicwineshow.com.au .
ART AND ABOUT - SPONSORSHIP OF THE ARTS AND CHARITIES
For the tenth year in a row, Richard organised a concert by the students of the Sydney Conservatorium , in May, and sponsored the NSW concert series of the Flinders Quartet , from Melbourne. For the second year, Sam organised the Avant Garden Bar at Peats Ridge Festival . Art galleries directly sponsored include Renew Newcastle , and Zakay Glass Creations in Byron Bay, as well as The Poets Union monthly recitals in Sydney and the premieres of Whaledreamers in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Rosnay is also the ongoing wine sponsor of the MINDD Forum in Sydney as well as various other charities, schools and environmental causes. We enjoy finding creative ways to support the arts, charity and the environment, and are open to your feedback or suggestions.
BIODYNAMICS SEMINAR AT ASVO CONFERENCE - TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE
Sam will be speaking about biodynamic viticulture at the conference of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology , in Mildura, this week. Sam and Richard have been applying the Steiner principles at Rosnay since 1997. The transcript of the talk is available on the Rosnay website Articles page . Sam also recently posted a video on biodynamics on YouTube .
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Newsletter Vintage 2009
IT IS MORE SUSTAINABLE!
Finally the intelligentzia is seeing the light. In October 2008, the United Nations (UNCTAD) published a report on "Organic agriculture and food security in Africa" and concluded that "organic agriculture can be more conducive to food security in Africa than most conventional production systems, and it is more likely to be sustainable in the long term". It also found that organic farming "can build up natural resources, strengthen communities, and improve human capacity, thus improving food security by addressing many causal factors simultaneously."
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
What a season it has been! As the harvest draws to an end, we can reflect on what was a difficult year many vignerons have had . We can't complain, as we didn't have the Victorian fires or Hunter Valley floods. We actually had a nice spring ith good November rain, then not much rain at all until now. The weather was mild until the heatwave hit in February, disrupting veraison of the red grapes. Luckily the Cabernet is actually ripening better than expected, and the Shiraz is looking great. In 2008 we had a worse combination of rain and heatwaves just before harvest.
SPARKLING SUCCESS
In September we released our very first sparkling wine and it has been our most successful wine ever. The 2008 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay holds the bottle shop speed record: A bottle shop owner called us to say that from the time he restocked the wine rack it took only 10 minutes for a whole dozen to be sold! We are looking forward to building on this success with the 2009 Sparkling Rose, this September.
WWOOFer HALL OF FAME
The last six months brought us some fantastic WWOOFers (volunteers): Cecilia and Celine from France, Nina from Spain, Pawell from Poland, Lara from Holland, Tess from England and Link from Korea. Tess stayed the longest with 3 months in two parts. Our next WWOOFer is a french agriculture student who is booked to stay with us for 5 months.
REFINING THE RANGE
The Rosnay table wines are getting better every year, especially the 2009 Rose and the new Semillon-Sauvignon
Blanc. It was however a trialling vintage with our attempts to make wine with as little additives as possible leading to some heat instability (slight cloudiness) in these two wines. Even so, they are some of the best tasting wines we have made yet. The reds continue to improve with wine age.
LIFE ON R.R.O.F. IS GOOD
Over ten years have passed since the Stathams lodged their plan for an organic farming community on their farm at Canowindra, now known as Rivers Road Organic Farms. Now there are four finished strawbale houses with Margie and Wooly's state of the art mudbrick , cob and strawbale house the latest edition. All of the houses are of course different, reflecting the individuality of all RROF members. If you just missed Woolstock, Wooly's grassroots music festival held annually at RROF, dont miss it next year, around mid March.
DONT GIVE UP AGAINST GM!
As a founding member of the Network of Concerned Farmers, Sam chaired two local meetings of visiting farmers from the US and Canada in March. Moe Parr from Illinois was sued by Monsanto in 2007 for servicing farmers who keep their own seed. Ross Murray grew GM Canola in Canada. He decided to stop due to its poor performance, but then the commercial non-GM seed he bought was also GM contaminated, causing more problems in his other crops. Will we ever learn? Its not too late to keep the consumer pressure on through the True Food Network.
Finally the intelligentzia is seeing the light. In October 2008, the United Nations (UNCTAD) published a report on "Organic agriculture and food security in Africa" and concluded that "organic agriculture can be more conducive to food security in Africa than most conventional production systems, and it is more likely to be sustainable in the long term". It also found that organic farming "can build up natural resources, strengthen communities, and improve human capacity, thus improving food security by addressing many causal factors simultaneously."
THE DROUGHT CONTINUES
What a season it has been! As the harvest draws to an end, we can reflect on what was a difficult year many vignerons have had . We can't complain, as we didn't have the Victorian fires or Hunter Valley floods. We actually had a nice spring ith good November rain, then not much rain at all until now. The weather was mild until the heatwave hit in February, disrupting veraison of the red grapes. Luckily the Cabernet is actually ripening better than expected, and the Shiraz is looking great. In 2008 we had a worse combination of rain and heatwaves just before harvest.
SPARKLING SUCCESS
In September we released our very first sparkling wine and it has been our most successful wine ever. The 2008 Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay holds the bottle shop speed record: A bottle shop owner called us to say that from the time he restocked the wine rack it took only 10 minutes for a whole dozen to be sold! We are looking forward to building on this success with the 2009 Sparkling Rose, this September.
WWOOFer HALL OF FAME
The last six months brought us some fantastic WWOOFers (volunteers): Cecilia and Celine from France, Nina from Spain, Pawell from Poland, Lara from Holland, Tess from England and Link from Korea. Tess stayed the longest with 3 months in two parts. Our next WWOOFer is a french agriculture student who is booked to stay with us for 5 months.
REFINING THE RANGE
The Rosnay table wines are getting better every year, especially the 2009 Rose and the new Semillon-Sauvignon
Blanc. It was however a trialling vintage with our attempts to make wine with as little additives as possible leading to some heat instability (slight cloudiness) in these two wines. Even so, they are some of the best tasting wines we have made yet. The reds continue to improve with wine age.
LIFE ON R.R.O.F. IS GOOD
Over ten years have passed since the Stathams lodged their plan for an organic farming community on their farm at Canowindra, now known as Rivers Road Organic Farms. Now there are four finished strawbale houses with Margie and Wooly's state of the art mudbrick , cob and strawbale house the latest edition. All of the houses are of course different, reflecting the individuality of all RROF members. If you just missed Woolstock, Wooly's grassroots music festival held annually at RROF, dont miss it next year, around mid March.
DONT GIVE UP AGAINST GM!
As a founding member of the Network of Concerned Farmers, Sam chaired two local meetings of visiting farmers from the US and Canada in March. Moe Parr from Illinois was sued by Monsanto in 2007 for servicing farmers who keep their own seed. Ross Murray grew GM Canola in Canada. He decided to stop due to its poor performance, but then the commercial non-GM seed he bought was also GM contaminated, causing more problems in his other crops. Will we ever learn? Its not too late to keep the consumer pressure on through the True Food Network.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Newsletter Vintage 2008
2008 VINTAGE REPORT
This years vintage was tough, coming after a very pleasant summer, with good November rains helping the vines to put on healthy canopies. In January things got tough with rain followed by heatwave, followed by more rain and extended cloudy weather. The vine canopies suffered and fungal pressure wa s high. By March the Hunter region had lost 80% of their fruit by some accounts, whilst at Rosnay we were able to nurture almost all of the grapes to a full flavoured and mildew-free harvest using the biodynamic preparation 501. The wines in tank taste excellent.
Re the olives, our customers will be pleased to know that we have had a better year, with plenty of sound fruit now pickling for bottling in November, and oil settling for bottling in October. Its great to see them bubbling away as they pickle, as we hate to run out on you!
CURRENT SEASON NOTES
On a running comparison with this time last year, we are ahead in July, but only just. The weather pattern this winter is again unusual, and while we dream of the old patterns of a decade ago we are making do with what we've got. Irrigation has been a fact of life for the last 8 years and we have installed a large magnet on our mainline to "soften" the water , to reduce salinity and calcification of the drippers. We are currently spreading about 750 m3 of mulch under the vines as well, to conserve water.
NEW WINE LAUNCHES
All of the current release Rosnay wines have been picking up medals in shows over the last year. Most recently, for the fourth year running, Rosnay was among the most consistent entrants in the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show, picking up medals for the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Semillon, 2005 Shiraz and 2005 Triple Blend.
This month, we are bottling three new wines, the 2008 Vintage (sparkling) Chardonnay, the 2008 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2008 Mourverdre Rose. The trade launch of these wines will be held at Restaurant 08, Royal Hall of Industries, Monday 11th August at 11.30am, when Sam Statham is talking on Biodynamic wine. The public launch will be on Sunday 17th August, at the "Live Green" festival in Victoria Park, Chippendal e. Join us there for a free glass of bubbly at around 4.30pm!
"AS BD AS EVER"
Our program of biodynamics, started in 1997, continues to improve. We have finally developed our biodynamic spraying system to the point where it does not need to be modified any more! Its never been easier to get the biodynamic preparations out, from 500 and 501 to the rest of the preparations as a biodynamic fish emulsion. We are sure that both our soil and our wines have improved as a result of over ten years of biodynamics.
ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILY
Sam and Simone Statham celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Georgia, in June. Richard and Florence are enjoying being grandparents of two beautiful little girls, as is Dolly, who now has four great-granddaughters. The new generation at Rosnay has added a new dimension to all of our lives.
COWRA WINE REGION EMERGES
Cowra is increasingly being recognised as a region producing great value for money, with Cowra Chardonnay continuing to lead the way. At last weeks Cowra Wine Show, f the thsouands of wines entered, it was a Cowra Chardonnay that took the best Chardonnay trophy (Spring Ridge 207 Chardonnay). Cowra also has some of the best environmental management in Australia, with four certified orgnaic growers and a new environmental plan for the region with support of the Cowra Shire Council and the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority.
If you want to get to know this new region better, the Carrington Hotel in Katoomba is putting on a six course degustation dinner on Saturday 6 September... with a food and wine fair over the weekend. Later, on Saturday September 27, Bob and Marg Craven are hosting a nine course dinner showcasing Cowra/Canowindra wines at "Taste Canowindra". See our website calendar for info.
OPPORTUNITIES TO JOIN US
Fo r those of you unfamiliar with our setup here, Rosnay is a founder and member of Rivers Road Organic Farms, a community title with seven owners and twelve certified organic farm blocks. There are now two 10 hectare bare blocks on the market, with secure water and good soil, within a group of like minded people.
This years vintage was tough, coming after a very pleasant summer, with good November rains helping the vines to put on healthy canopies. In January things got tough with rain followed by heatwave, followed by more rain and extended cloudy weather. The vine canopies suffered and fungal pressure wa s high. By March the Hunter region had lost 80% of their fruit by some accounts, whilst at Rosnay we were able to nurture almost all of the grapes to a full flavoured and mildew-free harvest using the biodynamic preparation 501. The wines in tank taste excellent.
Re the olives, our customers will be pleased to know that we have had a better year, with plenty of sound fruit now pickling for bottling in November, and oil settling for bottling in October. Its great to see them bubbling away as they pickle, as we hate to run out on you!
CURRENT SEASON NOTES
On a running comparison with this time last year, we are ahead in July, but only just. The weather pattern this winter is again unusual, and while we dream of the old patterns of a decade ago we are making do with what we've got. Irrigation has been a fact of life for the last 8 years and we have installed a large magnet on our mainline to "soften" the water , to reduce salinity and calcification of the drippers. We are currently spreading about 750 m3 of mulch under the vines as well, to conserve water.
NEW WINE LAUNCHES
All of the current release Rosnay wines have been picking up medals in shows over the last year. Most recently, for the fourth year running, Rosnay was among the most consistent entrants in the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show, picking up medals for the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Semillon, 2005 Shiraz and 2005 Triple Blend.
This month, we are bottling three new wines, the 2008 Vintage (sparkling) Chardonnay, the 2008 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2008 Mourverdre Rose. The trade launch of these wines will be held at Restaurant 08, Royal Hall of Industries, Monday 11th August at 11.30am, when Sam Statham is talking on Biodynamic wine. The public launch will be on Sunday 17th August, at the "Live Green" festival in Victoria Park, Chippendal e. Join us there for a free glass of bubbly at around 4.30pm!
"AS BD AS EVER"
Our program of biodynamics, started in 1997, continues to improve. We have finally developed our biodynamic spraying system to the point where it does not need to be modified any more! Its never been easier to get the biodynamic preparations out, from 500 and 501 to the rest of the preparations as a biodynamic fish emulsion. We are sure that both our soil and our wines have improved as a result of over ten years of biodynamics.
ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILY
Sam and Simone Statham celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Georgia, in June. Richard and Florence are enjoying being grandparents of two beautiful little girls, as is Dolly, who now has four great-granddaughters. The new generation at Rosnay has added a new dimension to all of our lives.
COWRA WINE REGION EMERGES
Cowra is increasingly being recognised as a region producing great value for money, with Cowra Chardonnay continuing to lead the way. At last weeks Cowra Wine Show, f the thsouands of wines entered, it was a Cowra Chardonnay that took the best Chardonnay trophy (Spring Ridge 207 Chardonnay). Cowra also has some of the best environmental management in Australia, with four certified orgnaic growers and a new environmental plan for the region with support of the Cowra Shire Council and the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority.
If you want to get to know this new region better, the Carrington Hotel in Katoomba is putting on a six course degustation dinner on Saturday 6 September... with a food and wine fair over the weekend. Later, on Saturday September 27, Bob and Marg Craven are hosting a nine course dinner showcasing Cowra/Canowindra wines at "Taste Canowindra". See our website calendar for info.
OPPORTUNITIES TO JOIN US
Fo r those of you unfamiliar with our setup here, Rosnay is a founder and member of Rivers Road Organic Farms, a community title with seven owners and twelve certified organic farm blocks. There are now two 10 hectare bare blocks on the market, with secure water and good soil, within a group of like minded people.
Saturday, 20 January 2007
Newsletter Winter 2007
For another year, our eyes have searched the horizon for rain, and we talk of millimetres like we used to talk about inches. Whilst the 2005 spring brought lucky November rains, 2006 was not so generous. Vignerons now watch their vines stunted from over three years on virtually irrigation alone, a life support system which can only continue with rain as well, to replenish the soil reserves and rivers with fresh water, as the bores get saltier.
However, the drought can make us look on the bright side… Small canopies and little bunches will lead to better wine, as they said in the old days… Small yields will reduce the wine surplus, so that wine will be worth the cost of production, also as it was in the old days… A major part of farming work is to simply stay positive, and we are lucky, as for other farmers, this drought was too hard.
As vignerons we have an advantage, as we are producers of wine in a land of wine lovers. Our business is the art of living well with fine wine – not commodity production. Of course, fortunes will never be made, but we soon realise that friends are worth far more. Friends are the ones we need to thank for making 2006 a good year.
Starting at home, our family and friends on the farm, who we see daily or weekly, as we battle on together with our “irritation” system (irrigation), our animals, our machinery, and our paperwork… We all find it hard, trying to make a living from the land, and to do it sustainably and organically. We don’t always agree on things, but we always end up moving forward.
Then we should thank our neighbourly friends who make our wine, and our local vigneron friends, who share the struggles of growing and the work of promoting Cowra region wine – the best kept secret in the Central Ranges!
We thank our local friends– the people of Canowindra who look after our health, who keep our systems going, who prune our vines and bottle our olives. They provide food and entertainment, they inspire us with their art and their festivities, their yarns and their good faith. They drink our wine because its local – and therefore must be good.
Beyond Canowindra, we thank our friends on the front line in the “war of wine”. Whilst the multinationals take over production, distribution and retail, we thank the independent bottle shop managers and restauranteurs who support the little guys like us. Like us, the independent shops are endangered, constantly being squeezed by the cheap commodity grog of the “liquor ands”, big brands and cheap binge drinks such as alcoholised soft drinks. Its now a luxury to be able to call a shop and speak to an owner or an executive manager – people who know their local customers, know their small brands and have the power to bring them together. Yes, you can stop “the Walmart”, just buy organic wine from your friends at the “local bottle~o”.
Which leads us to our friends from afar, who share our battle from other angles. We thank the environmentalists who now drink organic wine from the Nature Conservation Council… The charity workers from Amnesty to the Suicide Prevention Centre who raise money with family grown organic wine, not mass produced wine… The writers and artists, event managers and publishers, “foodies” and “winos” who want to change the way we appreciate the world, eachother, and our food and wine… Thanks to the young musicians who sound so good they actually make our food and wine taste better, and to all in the diverse and spirited organic movement, whichever faction of it you are in. We thank all of you for rejecting apathy and giving hope and meaning to a corporate world focused on production and consumption.
Why say thanks so much in a simple newsletter? Because when the rain doesn’t come, you realise that there are few things you can rely on in life, but friends are one of them. So when the vintage arrives (early again), we hope to have lots of friends to share it with. We hope that you will feel free to look us up if you ever are in the area.
We hope this newsletter isn’t too melancholic… We do of course see ourselves lucky to have been spared from the frost and bushfires. We are certainly luckier than many poor vignerons in the Coonawarra, Ritherglen, King Valley and southern Victoria, who have suffered greatly this year.
Lastly, as a family we have also been blessed, with the birth of Molly Statham, to Sam and Simone, in October 2006. There are now four generations on the farm, with Dolly and Jurg setting an example to us of positive attitude in the trying times of old age.
However, the drought can make us look on the bright side… Small canopies and little bunches will lead to better wine, as they said in the old days… Small yields will reduce the wine surplus, so that wine will be worth the cost of production, also as it was in the old days… A major part of farming work is to simply stay positive, and we are lucky, as for other farmers, this drought was too hard.
As vignerons we have an advantage, as we are producers of wine in a land of wine lovers. Our business is the art of living well with fine wine – not commodity production. Of course, fortunes will never be made, but we soon realise that friends are worth far more. Friends are the ones we need to thank for making 2006 a good year.
Starting at home, our family and friends on the farm, who we see daily or weekly, as we battle on together with our “irritation” system (irrigation), our animals, our machinery, and our paperwork… We all find it hard, trying to make a living from the land, and to do it sustainably and organically. We don’t always agree on things, but we always end up moving forward.
Then we should thank our neighbourly friends who make our wine, and our local vigneron friends, who share the struggles of growing and the work of promoting Cowra region wine – the best kept secret in the Central Ranges!
We thank our local friends– the people of Canowindra who look after our health, who keep our systems going, who prune our vines and bottle our olives. They provide food and entertainment, they inspire us with their art and their festivities, their yarns and their good faith. They drink our wine because its local – and therefore must be good.
Beyond Canowindra, we thank our friends on the front line in the “war of wine”. Whilst the multinationals take over production, distribution and retail, we thank the independent bottle shop managers and restauranteurs who support the little guys like us. Like us, the independent shops are endangered, constantly being squeezed by the cheap commodity grog of the “liquor ands”, big brands and cheap binge drinks such as alcoholised soft drinks. Its now a luxury to be able to call a shop and speak to an owner or an executive manager – people who know their local customers, know their small brands and have the power to bring them together. Yes, you can stop “the Walmart”, just buy organic wine from your friends at the “local bottle~o”.
Which leads us to our friends from afar, who share our battle from other angles. We thank the environmentalists who now drink organic wine from the Nature Conservation Council… The charity workers from Amnesty to the Suicide Prevention Centre who raise money with family grown organic wine, not mass produced wine… The writers and artists, event managers and publishers, “foodies” and “winos” who want to change the way we appreciate the world, eachother, and our food and wine… Thanks to the young musicians who sound so good they actually make our food and wine taste better, and to all in the diverse and spirited organic movement, whichever faction of it you are in. We thank all of you for rejecting apathy and giving hope and meaning to a corporate world focused on production and consumption.
Why say thanks so much in a simple newsletter? Because when the rain doesn’t come, you realise that there are few things you can rely on in life, but friends are one of them. So when the vintage arrives (early again), we hope to have lots of friends to share it with. We hope that you will feel free to look us up if you ever are in the area.
We hope this newsletter isn’t too melancholic… We do of course see ourselves lucky to have been spared from the frost and bushfires. We are certainly luckier than many poor vignerons in the Coonawarra, Ritherglen, King Valley and southern Victoria, who have suffered greatly this year.
Lastly, as a family we have also been blessed, with the birth of Molly Statham, to Sam and Simone, in October 2006. There are now four generations on the farm, with Dolly and Jurg setting an example to us of positive attitude in the trying times of old age.
Wednesday, 20 September 2006
Newsletter Spring 2006
A very quick newsletter, for all of valued customers and supporters, as this is our last chance to write to you before Spring, when not only are the vines growing, but the social calendar is hotting up. We invite you to join us at some of the venues where you can experience the unique taste of Rosnay, with art, music, on its own or with great food. Its all on the calendar, on the back of this newsletter.
Right now the buds are swelling on the vines and the wattles are in full flower. The winter has been mild and mostly dry, so we hope to receive good spring rains for the advent of the 2007 Vintage. Pruning is on schedule, with the chardonnay last to go in order to delay its budburst and the risk of frost damage. The wines are developing well at the winery and in the bottle, and Rosnay was judged as one of the three most consistent entrants in this year's Australia-NZ Organic Wine Show. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, already a double medal winner, is the latest addition to our range of reds. It will be publicly released at "Organic Visions", an art exhibition of Florence Statham and her nephew Patrick Leclerc, in Sydney this month. We have enclosed extra copies of "Organic Visions" invitations, in the hope that you an make it, or tell your Sydney friends about it. We also enclose a copy of a special booklet we have produced for the exhibition, and is a complete information source for our customers. Florence and Patrick's artworks will be exhibited from 1 October to 4 December.
Lastly, if you enjoy the occasional summer music festival, we suggest you consider camping a few days at the Peats Ridge Festival for New Years Eve with a glass of Rosnay, official wine supplier for this fantastic event. All the best for a great tasting summer.
Right now the buds are swelling on the vines and the wattles are in full flower. The winter has been mild and mostly dry, so we hope to receive good spring rains for the advent of the 2007 Vintage. Pruning is on schedule, with the chardonnay last to go in order to delay its budburst and the risk of frost damage. The wines are developing well at the winery and in the bottle, and Rosnay was judged as one of the three most consistent entrants in this year's Australia-NZ Organic Wine Show. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, already a double medal winner, is the latest addition to our range of reds. It will be publicly released at "Organic Visions", an art exhibition of Florence Statham and her nephew Patrick Leclerc, in Sydney this month. We have enclosed extra copies of "Organic Visions" invitations, in the hope that you an make it, or tell your Sydney friends about it. We also enclose a copy of a special booklet we have produced for the exhibition, and is a complete information source for our customers. Florence and Patrick's artworks will be exhibited from 1 October to 4 December.
Lastly, if you enjoy the occasional summer music festival, we suggest you consider camping a few days at the Peats Ridge Festival for New Years Eve with a glass of Rosnay, official wine supplier for this fantastic event. All the best for a great tasting summer.
Saturday, 20 May 2006
Newsletter Winter 2006
2006 Vintage Notes
What a strange year it has been! Light winter rains, hardly enough to grow a bulky crop of oats, were followed by a very wet Spring, with the soil fully recharged and house tanks filled by the end of November. We had no frost this year, but hail caused considerable damage in the region. Rosnay was fortunate to just miss the trail of destruction that included stones the size of tennis balls stripping gum trees and settling 30cm deep in some places.
It didn’t take long for the November moisture to dry up though, with a couple of heatwaves in late November and climaxing with over 50 degrees recorded at ground level on New Years Day. Strangely enough, this was the day when the Belubula River began to flow again after being dry all spring – as the November rains must have replenished the aquifers and creeks. For the next 10 weeks we were able to pump from the River, but it is now dry again.
After the new year, the extreme heat conditions began to ease, leading to some ideal cool night harvest conditions for the Semillon (12 February @ 11.1 beaume), Chardonnay (1 March @ 13.2 beaume), Shiraz (6 March @ 14 beaume), and Merlot (21 March @ 13 beaume). At the time of writing, the Cabernet is still only 12.2 beaume and not tasting ripe yet. Yield has been good, except the Semillon which was only 40% of the 2005 harvest, and is proving difficult.
Rosnay Continues to Grow its Wine Production
For the first time in 2006 almost all of the Rosnay fruit is being made into wine under the Rosnay label. Though yield was down slightly on 2005, this makes 2006 the biggest Rosnay wine vintage to date, with over 7,500 cases estimated. Of course, Rosnay is still a tiny player in the overall wine industry.
The Rosnay wines are all being made by Windowrie Wines, who have provided an excellent service since making the first Rosnay Chardonnay Semillon in 2002, and are located just 5km by tractor from the Rosnay. After less than 6 months on the job, the new winemaker, Folkert Jensen, is producing wines with classic fruit character, few additives (eg animal products), and low sulfur.
This growth in production has been fueled by the support of the independent liquor trade, enthusiastic cellar door customers, and export. It is encouraged by continued good feedback on the wines, with the wines improving considerably over recent years, according to our most objective critics. And it proves what we may have doubted in the early days – that it is possible to produce good quality and value for money wines, without toxic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers.
Now, through expanded production, increased economies of scale and the pursuit of export markets, Rosnay wines are among the best priced in the organic category. Rosnay wines are amongst the lower priced wines, but in the best restaurants in Sydney (Café Sydney and Quay Restaurant, Sydney).
Ongoing Development of Organic Farming Methods
Since starting in 1997, the organic methods used at Rosnay have changed, with the 2005-2006 season seeing considerably reduced off-farm inputs, with no reduction in quality or yield, except in the Semillon yield. Using less foliar fertilisers, but still using Sulfur: To see if the use of foliar fertilisers may be linked with fungal disease, we didn’t use any this year, moving to a very simple program of spraying sulfur only at 2kg per hectare on the fresh spring shoots (October-November) to prevent Powdery Mildew. It worked – we found almost no Powdery Mildew this season. We didn’t spray copper though, and for the first time in 5 years we suffered from Downy Mildew due to the wet November. As soon as the first infection was noted, we did then apply copper as well as sulfur, and soon enough the heat of December and January fried the disease away. However, the lack of infection by Powdery Mildew was a great step forward, and showed that it is not necessary, and perhaps beneficial, not to apply foliar nutrients (eg fish fertiliser) to soft growing shoots.
We believe sulfur should remain a restricted organic input, mainly because there is no biological alternative. The rates at which we apply this naturally occurring element to the vines is only a few percent of the amount of sulfur applied when spreading gypsum (calcium sulfate) at moderate rates of 1000kg/ha, or the amount of sulfur needed as plant nutrients. Compared with systemic fungicides, sulfur poses little risk to humans and the environment, though predatory mites do not appreciate it.
Similarly in winemaking, we still use sulfur, as little as possible, with this years wines looking like the lowest in sulfur ever. However, we continue to reseach the problem of human sulfur intolerance, and try to help our customers who have this problem. Most recently, we have discovered that sulfur intolerance could be linked with a deficiency in Molydenum!
Rosnay Organic Grazing and Compost: For the second season, Wooly and Margie ran their controlled grazing system through the vineyards, with some good effect. We encouraged the growth of the grasses by spreading compost later in the spring, when there was plenty of grass to utilise it. This, at one tonne per acre, seems like almost nothing, but it seems to work. The grass greens up, especially where there are “dollops” of compost. Because the compost is made properly, with straw added, turning and biodynamic preparations, it also acts as a soil inoculant. The only other forms of fertiliser are fish emulsion applied through the irrigation system on poorer blocks, and the trace element boron applied in small doses during the season, since it is low in the soil and tissue tests.
Meanwhile, Darren Fahey and Yin Chen from NSW Department of Primary Industries have been conducting a trial of the use of NASAA certified composted urban waste mulch under the merlot vines, in order to see if there is a benefit in water use, yield and/or quality. We cant say much at this stage, but look forward to seeing their results.
Whilst grazing and mulching are certainly the best ways to manage groundcover, in Spring after budburst there is no alternative but to mow. This year we finally made the decision to buy a tool for the job – a zero turn diesel powered mower, which does each row of vines in two passes, leaving only a very narrow strip of grass directly under the vines. It also deposits the clippings under the vines. This investment should pay off in reduction of frost damage and improved vine health.
Biodynamics: New Blood: In the last 12 months Margie Crowther has studed the latest in Biodynamics and applied the preparations to most of Rivers Road Organic Farms, using the Stathams equipment. Getting up at 3am to spray “501”, the silica preparation, takes some dedication, but Margie has plenty of that! For her, the main motivation to balance the soil is to improve the feed and health of her sheep.
Rivers Road Organic Farms
We would like to point out that the organic farming development formerly known as “Rosnay Organic Farms”, is now renamed “Rivers Road Organic Farms”, of which the Statham family and “Rosnay” are minority members. It is a great pleasure to be a part of the Rivers Road Organic Farms community, whose 6 family membership share the common goal of becoming successful intensive organic farmers. From organic vegetables, to wines, olives and lamb, the produce of RROF is all certified organic and produced with great care. Each year the members are concurrently certified by Australian Certified Organic, and cooperation occurs between members through informal partnerships, sharefarming and contracting. The members association is professionally managed by Sue Dowling of Orange, who is a specialist in Community and Strata Title management.
The structure and management of RROF is of interest to planners in areas of high rural development pressure, such as the South Coast, as it combines community, sustainability and productivity, whilst insulating Council from legal action over chemical use, due to the organic covenant.
The management of common land is through a system of “Block One Neighbourhood Credits” (BONCs), or pledged annual work hours by each member for the maintenance of the commonly owned “Block One”, comprising 20 hectares of native tree habitat and laneways. This allows all members to be actively involved through “BONCing” around the farm.
Coming up soon is the planting of 1000 kalamata olive trees by Sue and Steve Brown, the building of a shed by Rob and Marjorie Lamrock, and the lodging of a building application for a strawbale house by Margie Crowther and Andrew Wooldridge. Wolly and Margie have also launched their “Chop Club” which we highly recommend, and you can join and receive their delicious organic lamb.
Local and National Events
Canowindra, as part of the Cowra Wine Region, is set for a boost with the agreement of local vignerons to support the building of “Taste Canowindra”, a local art and wine display and tasting centre, next to the Trading Post in Canowindra. The owners of the business are Bob and Marg Craven, and we look forward to having our wines on taste there 7 days a week, from September this year.
2005 was also a big year for the publicity of organic wine and farming generally, kicking off with the inaugural Organic Expo in Darling Harbour. Sam Statham helped initiate the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show, as part of the Organic Expo, and sponsored by Ultimo Wine Centre and Palm Beach Wine Company. It received almost 100 entries, and was a great showcase of the diversity of the styles of organic wine we produce in ANZ. Pioneer organic vigneron Gil Wahlquist (founder of Botobolar) made a side splitting speech whilst announcing the trophy winning wine, the Hochkirch 2003 Reisling. This year’s expo is 22-23 July, at Darling Harbour.
What a strange year it has been! Light winter rains, hardly enough to grow a bulky crop of oats, were followed by a very wet Spring, with the soil fully recharged and house tanks filled by the end of November. We had no frost this year, but hail caused considerable damage in the region. Rosnay was fortunate to just miss the trail of destruction that included stones the size of tennis balls stripping gum trees and settling 30cm deep in some places.
It didn’t take long for the November moisture to dry up though, with a couple of heatwaves in late November and climaxing with over 50 degrees recorded at ground level on New Years Day. Strangely enough, this was the day when the Belubula River began to flow again after being dry all spring – as the November rains must have replenished the aquifers and creeks. For the next 10 weeks we were able to pump from the River, but it is now dry again.
After the new year, the extreme heat conditions began to ease, leading to some ideal cool night harvest conditions for the Semillon (12 February @ 11.1 beaume), Chardonnay (1 March @ 13.2 beaume), Shiraz (6 March @ 14 beaume), and Merlot (21 March @ 13 beaume). At the time of writing, the Cabernet is still only 12.2 beaume and not tasting ripe yet. Yield has been good, except the Semillon which was only 40% of the 2005 harvest, and is proving difficult.
Rosnay Continues to Grow its Wine Production
For the first time in 2006 almost all of the Rosnay fruit is being made into wine under the Rosnay label. Though yield was down slightly on 2005, this makes 2006 the biggest Rosnay wine vintage to date, with over 7,500 cases estimated. Of course, Rosnay is still a tiny player in the overall wine industry.
The Rosnay wines are all being made by Windowrie Wines, who have provided an excellent service since making the first Rosnay Chardonnay Semillon in 2002, and are located just 5km by tractor from the Rosnay. After less than 6 months on the job, the new winemaker, Folkert Jensen, is producing wines with classic fruit character, few additives (eg animal products), and low sulfur.
This growth in production has been fueled by the support of the independent liquor trade, enthusiastic cellar door customers, and export. It is encouraged by continued good feedback on the wines, with the wines improving considerably over recent years, according to our most objective critics. And it proves what we may have doubted in the early days – that it is possible to produce good quality and value for money wines, without toxic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers.
Now, through expanded production, increased economies of scale and the pursuit of export markets, Rosnay wines are among the best priced in the organic category. Rosnay wines are amongst the lower priced wines, but in the best restaurants in Sydney (Café Sydney and Quay Restaurant, Sydney).
Ongoing Development of Organic Farming Methods
Since starting in 1997, the organic methods used at Rosnay have changed, with the 2005-2006 season seeing considerably reduced off-farm inputs, with no reduction in quality or yield, except in the Semillon yield. Using less foliar fertilisers, but still using Sulfur: To see if the use of foliar fertilisers may be linked with fungal disease, we didn’t use any this year, moving to a very simple program of spraying sulfur only at 2kg per hectare on the fresh spring shoots (October-November) to prevent Powdery Mildew. It worked – we found almost no Powdery Mildew this season. We didn’t spray copper though, and for the first time in 5 years we suffered from Downy Mildew due to the wet November. As soon as the first infection was noted, we did then apply copper as well as sulfur, and soon enough the heat of December and January fried the disease away. However, the lack of infection by Powdery Mildew was a great step forward, and showed that it is not necessary, and perhaps beneficial, not to apply foliar nutrients (eg fish fertiliser) to soft growing shoots.
We believe sulfur should remain a restricted organic input, mainly because there is no biological alternative. The rates at which we apply this naturally occurring element to the vines is only a few percent of the amount of sulfur applied when spreading gypsum (calcium sulfate) at moderate rates of 1000kg/ha, or the amount of sulfur needed as plant nutrients. Compared with systemic fungicides, sulfur poses little risk to humans and the environment, though predatory mites do not appreciate it.
Similarly in winemaking, we still use sulfur, as little as possible, with this years wines looking like the lowest in sulfur ever. However, we continue to reseach the problem of human sulfur intolerance, and try to help our customers who have this problem. Most recently, we have discovered that sulfur intolerance could be linked with a deficiency in Molydenum!
Rosnay Organic Grazing and Compost: For the second season, Wooly and Margie ran their controlled grazing system through the vineyards, with some good effect. We encouraged the growth of the grasses by spreading compost later in the spring, when there was plenty of grass to utilise it. This, at one tonne per acre, seems like almost nothing, but it seems to work. The grass greens up, especially where there are “dollops” of compost. Because the compost is made properly, with straw added, turning and biodynamic preparations, it also acts as a soil inoculant. The only other forms of fertiliser are fish emulsion applied through the irrigation system on poorer blocks, and the trace element boron applied in small doses during the season, since it is low in the soil and tissue tests.
Meanwhile, Darren Fahey and Yin Chen from NSW Department of Primary Industries have been conducting a trial of the use of NASAA certified composted urban waste mulch under the merlot vines, in order to see if there is a benefit in water use, yield and/or quality. We cant say much at this stage, but look forward to seeing their results.
Whilst grazing and mulching are certainly the best ways to manage groundcover, in Spring after budburst there is no alternative but to mow. This year we finally made the decision to buy a tool for the job – a zero turn diesel powered mower, which does each row of vines in two passes, leaving only a very narrow strip of grass directly under the vines. It also deposits the clippings under the vines. This investment should pay off in reduction of frost damage and improved vine health.
Biodynamics: New Blood: In the last 12 months Margie Crowther has studed the latest in Biodynamics and applied the preparations to most of Rivers Road Organic Farms, using the Stathams equipment. Getting up at 3am to spray “501”, the silica preparation, takes some dedication, but Margie has plenty of that! For her, the main motivation to balance the soil is to improve the feed and health of her sheep.
Rivers Road Organic Farms
We would like to point out that the organic farming development formerly known as “Rosnay Organic Farms”, is now renamed “Rivers Road Organic Farms”, of which the Statham family and “Rosnay” are minority members. It is a great pleasure to be a part of the Rivers Road Organic Farms community, whose 6 family membership share the common goal of becoming successful intensive organic farmers. From organic vegetables, to wines, olives and lamb, the produce of RROF is all certified organic and produced with great care. Each year the members are concurrently certified by Australian Certified Organic, and cooperation occurs between members through informal partnerships, sharefarming and contracting. The members association is professionally managed by Sue Dowling of Orange, who is a specialist in Community and Strata Title management.
The structure and management of RROF is of interest to planners in areas of high rural development pressure, such as the South Coast, as it combines community, sustainability and productivity, whilst insulating Council from legal action over chemical use, due to the organic covenant.
The management of common land is through a system of “Block One Neighbourhood Credits” (BONCs), or pledged annual work hours by each member for the maintenance of the commonly owned “Block One”, comprising 20 hectares of native tree habitat and laneways. This allows all members to be actively involved through “BONCing” around the farm.
Coming up soon is the planting of 1000 kalamata olive trees by Sue and Steve Brown, the building of a shed by Rob and Marjorie Lamrock, and the lodging of a building application for a strawbale house by Margie Crowther and Andrew Wooldridge. Wolly and Margie have also launched their “Chop Club” which we highly recommend, and you can join and receive their delicious organic lamb.
Local and National Events
Canowindra, as part of the Cowra Wine Region, is set for a boost with the agreement of local vignerons to support the building of “Taste Canowindra”, a local art and wine display and tasting centre, next to the Trading Post in Canowindra. The owners of the business are Bob and Marg Craven, and we look forward to having our wines on taste there 7 days a week, from September this year.
2005 was also a big year for the publicity of organic wine and farming generally, kicking off with the inaugural Organic Expo in Darling Harbour. Sam Statham helped initiate the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show, as part of the Organic Expo, and sponsored by Ultimo Wine Centre and Palm Beach Wine Company. It received almost 100 entries, and was a great showcase of the diversity of the styles of organic wine we produce in ANZ. Pioneer organic vigneron Gil Wahlquist (founder of Botobolar) made a side splitting speech whilst announcing the trophy winning wine, the Hochkirch 2003 Reisling. This year’s expo is 22-23 July, at Darling Harbour.
Saturday, 16 April 2005
Newsletter Vintage 2005
Another vintage is almost over, bringing to a close a great but dry season at Canowindra, Australia. Life at Rosnay is as exciting as ever, with everybody in good health, Sam and Simone were married in November, a steady flow of great WOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) from around the world, and the enjoyment of hard work, good food, wine, and music at Woolstock 2005.
Vintage news
Of course, the drought continues, but we had a few beneficial falls of rain that have kept the vines growing well - supplemented with a little bore water. Some hail, too, but no serious damage. It is always amazing how much better the vines grow with a good 50mm of rain. There were no scorching heat waves, like the 2001 and 2003 vintage, and the fruit ripened gradually and fully, with no disease. Only Cabernet is yet to be picked by mid April. The 2005 Vintage is looking great, with full bodied Merlot, Shiraz and Semillon now fermenting at Windowrie Estate. We will be releasing the 2004 Triple Blend in the next few months, as well as the 2004 Semillon, followed by a Rose - our newest wine style – in July. As more people recognise the benefits of organic wine, more outlets are stocking Rosnay, and our first export shipment is close. Our cellar door wine list is at www.rosnaywines.com.au/orderform.doc and now includes a special Autumn hamper offer.
Food News
The 2004 olives turned out as good as ever, with Florence and Richard continuing to develop their natural pickling method with less salt. We all love the taste of the kalamatas and look forward to picking the next harvest in May – please join us! The 2005 olives will not be ready for bottling untill November. But we will have freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil from the 1500 corregiola trees bottled for release by mid year.
Meanwhile, Greg Kocanda has been very busy planting and now harvesting a range of organic vegetables which are being sold through the Sydney, Orange and Bathurst markets. Andrew Wooldridge (“Wooly”) and Margie Crowther are running 300 certified organic lambs, and taking orders for organic lamb cuts. Other crops are beginning to bear now, including figs and peaches, of which many different varieties were planted 4 years ago, and some of the first fruits have been made by Florence into jams and conserves.
Herb and Jenny Gardner have also had a successful grape harvest, and are planning the building of Stage 2 of their beautiful strawbale house, with Huff’n’Puff planning a 5 day strawbale building workshop in October (participants welcome).
Martis, New Art Gallery and Wine Tasting
Martis Balloon Fiesta is on again, and we hope that you can make it on the Anzac Day Long Weekend. From the mass ascent of balloons, to balloon rides and workshops, bush poetry, kite building workshops, winery tours, antique furiture show and auction, camel rides, helicopter rides, chainsaw carving, regional art show, blacksmithing, markets and amusement rides, plus all the cafes, galleries, historic pubs and museums in town - this is a weekend not to miss. For more info see www.martisfiesta.com.au
Our French cousins, Patrick and Tiffanie Leclerc, have migrated to Australia and are now leasing the former Westpac Bank building in Canowindra. They will be opening the new Riverbank Gallery at 7pm on 22 April, with a show of Patricks unique paintings. Having lived in Australia as a teenager, Patrick paints the Australian landscape with the passion of separation, using Australian sand, clay, rock, fossil and crystal fragments in his paintings, many of which were painted in Germany and France. The evening will be catered with delicious French cuisine by Restaurant Legall, bookings essential via riverbankgallery@yahoo.com.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Local wines will also be on show the same night. Canowindra vignerons will be presenting their best wines to the public at the Martis Wine Tasting, at the Royal Hotel, main street, from 6pm. All welcome.
Classical Music
If classical music is your thing, Richard has again organised a great performance by the Sydney Conservatorium student quintet, for the 4th year in a row, at All Saints’ Church, Canowindra, at 2pm on Saturday 23rd April (during Martis) Tickets for this Church fund raiser are $25 (concession $12.50) at the door with a 20% discount for advance bookings on 6344 3215 or statham@westserv.net.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The next day the same group will be performing a twilight concert under The Dish Telescope at Parkes. This should be an unforgettable experience. Tickets $15 or $35 family, and strictly limited, available from the Dish on 02 6861 1700. Both events are supported by Rosnay Organic Wines and include wine tasting and light refreshments.
Vintage news
Of course, the drought continues, but we had a few beneficial falls of rain that have kept the vines growing well - supplemented with a little bore water. Some hail, too, but no serious damage. It is always amazing how much better the vines grow with a good 50mm of rain. There were no scorching heat waves, like the 2001 and 2003 vintage, and the fruit ripened gradually and fully, with no disease. Only Cabernet is yet to be picked by mid April. The 2005 Vintage is looking great, with full bodied Merlot, Shiraz and Semillon now fermenting at Windowrie Estate. We will be releasing the 2004 Triple Blend in the next few months, as well as the 2004 Semillon, followed by a Rose - our newest wine style – in July. As more people recognise the benefits of organic wine, more outlets are stocking Rosnay, and our first export shipment is close. Our cellar door wine list is at www.rosnaywines.com.au/orderform.doc and now includes a special Autumn hamper offer.
Food News
The 2004 olives turned out as good as ever, with Florence and Richard continuing to develop their natural pickling method with less salt. We all love the taste of the kalamatas and look forward to picking the next harvest in May – please join us! The 2005 olives will not be ready for bottling untill November. But we will have freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil from the 1500 corregiola trees bottled for release by mid year.
Meanwhile, Greg Kocanda has been very busy planting and now harvesting a range of organic vegetables which are being sold through the Sydney, Orange and Bathurst markets. Andrew Wooldridge (“Wooly”) and Margie Crowther are running 300 certified organic lambs, and taking orders for organic lamb cuts. Other crops are beginning to bear now, including figs and peaches, of which many different varieties were planted 4 years ago, and some of the first fruits have been made by Florence into jams and conserves.
Herb and Jenny Gardner have also had a successful grape harvest, and are planning the building of Stage 2 of their beautiful strawbale house, with Huff’n’Puff planning a 5 day strawbale building workshop in October (participants welcome).
Martis, New Art Gallery and Wine Tasting
Martis Balloon Fiesta is on again, and we hope that you can make it on the Anzac Day Long Weekend. From the mass ascent of balloons, to balloon rides and workshops, bush poetry, kite building workshops, winery tours, antique furiture show and auction, camel rides, helicopter rides, chainsaw carving, regional art show, blacksmithing, markets and amusement rides, plus all the cafes, galleries, historic pubs and museums in town - this is a weekend not to miss. For more info see www.martisfiesta.com.au
Our French cousins, Patrick and Tiffanie Leclerc, have migrated to Australia and are now leasing the former Westpac Bank building in Canowindra. They will be opening the new Riverbank Gallery at 7pm on 22 April, with a show of Patricks unique paintings. Having lived in Australia as a teenager, Patrick paints the Australian landscape with the passion of separation, using Australian sand, clay, rock, fossil and crystal fragments in his paintings, many of which were painted in Germany and France. The evening will be catered with delicious French cuisine by Restaurant Legall, bookings essential via riverbankgallery@yahoo.com.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Local wines will also be on show the same night. Canowindra vignerons will be presenting their best wines to the public at the Martis Wine Tasting, at the Royal Hotel, main street, from 6pm. All welcome.
Classical Music
If classical music is your thing, Richard has again organised a great performance by the Sydney Conservatorium student quintet, for the 4th year in a row, at All Saints’ Church, Canowindra, at 2pm on Saturday 23rd April (during Martis) Tickets for this Church fund raiser are $25 (concession $12.50) at the door with a 20% discount for advance bookings on 6344 3215 or statham@westserv.net.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The next day the same group will be performing a twilight concert under The Dish Telescope at Parkes. This should be an unforgettable experience. Tickets $15 or $35 family, and strictly limited, available from the Dish on 02 6861 1700. Both events are supported by Rosnay Organic Wines and include wine tasting and light refreshments.
Monday, 20 September 2004
Newsletter Spring 2004
This years grape harvest was good, despite grueling heat wave conditions prior to harvest. The heat wave caught the Chardonnay just before harvest but the acidity of the Semillon held up remarkably well. The Merlot suffered from early moisture stress and late season berry shrivel, but weighed in at harvest with over 14.5 baume sugar and the wine is looking good now. Overall the fruit quality was very good, in particular the Shiraz, which appears most suited to the harsh drought conditions.
The wines are going well in the fiercely competitive market, with Oliver Statham now the sales manager in Sydney most of the time and Sam doing more marketing and promotion domestically and overseas. The interest in organic farming and wine is growing with people’s awareness of food safety, pollution, sustainability and regionality. Schools, tertiary student groups and farmers visit Rosnay on a regular basis to learn about organic farming.
New outlets being found all the time (including David Jones stores nationwide) are listed on our website www.rosnaywines.com.au . Sponsorship of “organic” events is also important – such as supporting organic workshops, dinners and like minded organizations including “Reverse Garbage” in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the evolution of the wines has been fascinating to watch, and we hope that you will join us to investigate this at the vertical tastings on Saturday October 2, Springfest weekend.
The Reds: In June Rosnay won a Silver Medal for the 2003 Triple Blend in the Asia International Wine Challenge. After skipping a year due to poor ripening and frost, it follows the footsteps of the 2001. After hours of blending trials with Graham Kerr, we came up with a medium bodied wine which has a briary nose, solid dark colour, and supple fruitiness. The wine also won a bronze at the NSW Small Winemakers Show in Forbes in August, in a show of 700 participants.
At the same show, Rosnay also won a Gold Medal for the unreleased 2003 Shiraz. To be launched at the Vertical Tasting to be held on Saturday 2nd October, this wine is a big Aussie red and a classic full bodied Shiraz. Made by John Holmes at Windowrie Estate, a large proportion of this vintage was distributed to households across Australia through the Wine Selectors wine club. We look forward to releasing the 2003 Shiraz made by John Cassegrain, which should be just as good with a softer palate from ageing in oak barrels for over 12 months. The 2001 Shiraz remains, of course, the master of the reds, and having mellowed a lot since winning Best Red of the Cowra Region in November 2002, it has great character and always a favourite. It is available only from the Cellar door and good restaurants, including Selkirk’s at Orange.
The Whites: The 2003 Chardonnay Semillon was crisp and fresh when bottled, and in the last 12 months the 40% Semillon has developed in the bottle to fill out and balance the palate. Meanwhile the freshness of this wine has not been lost, due to the Stelvin cap.
The new 2004 Whites are looking very good, with the Chardonnay and Semillon being made separately at Windowrie, and a smaller volume of Chardonnay-Semillon blend being made by Chris Derez and Lucy Maddox at Burke and Hills Winery, near Cargo. All well balanced wines in Rosnay’s typical fresh and fruity unwooded style, we look forward to bottling these in November for release early in 2005.
FOOD NEWS
Despite the drought, production is continuing to grow.
• The vegetables were a great success over the 2003-2004 summer, and Greg has harvested cauliflower and planted more lettuce over the last few weeks.
• Oats has been “advance sown” (direct drilled before rain) over blocks 7, 12 and 2 (in the olives) producing good organic matter for soil improvement and grazing by the 850 sheep (seen primarily as a land management tool).
• Spelt wheat has been sown on blocks 7, 8, 10 and 11 and should crop reasonably well. It will be sold to millers and bakers from December.
• The olive harvest was good, up 400% on last years yield with the new facilities for pickling working well. The kalamatas will be launched on November 7 (Cowra Food and Wine Weekend). A small volume of 2004 Olive Oil was also produced to be sold through the Cellar Door (or a future “Farm Shop”) and through fine food outlets. The oil won a bronze medal at the Cowra Show.
THE WEATHER
We estimate that without good rains as we enter the coming Summer, we will have lower subsoil moisture levels than this time last year. Add to that the zero allocation of surface water for irrigation (Carcoar Dam at 8%) we will need to carefully manage our crops this year according to our limited water resources. The Spring weather has been beautiful so far and we hope you can enjoy it with us before the summer heat.
THE “ROSNAY ORGANIC FARMS“ PROJECT
After six years the Rosnay concept of a Community Title organic farm has been realized – with 6 “partners” now working together for sustainable, high quality organic production. The team is a diverse group of people with a range of skills and interests, which is seen as the core strength of the project – and the completion of the first phase of the development. It now includes Richard and Florence Statham who bought the original farm in1995; “Herb” and Jenny Gardner, who were the first to join in 2001; Margie Crowther and Andrew Wooldridge, 2003; Greg and Katie Kocanda, 2004; Sue and Steve Brown, 2004, Sam Statham and Simone Le Mesurier, 2004, and Rob and Marjorie Lamrock. Australian Certified Organic continues to certify all growers. Together, the group of new owners is developing
• Landscape and architecture standards: These are being developed at present as the basis for the continuation of innovative ecological design and recycled or low environmental impact materials such as straw bale;
• Animal management standards: These aim to protect native wildlife by keeping cats indoors, keeping us sane by keeping roosters away from bedrooms, and facilitating a joint venture rotational grazing enterprise managed by Andrew and Margie;
• Road and equipment OHS plans; and
Irrigation management plans to use our limited water resources as efficiently as possible.
CULTURAL EVENTS
SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER - CANOWINDRA SPRINGFEST - This October Long Weekend (2-4 October) is Canowindra Springfest again, with a full program of art workshops and entertainment now in print (call Bob on 63441000) or online at www.springfest.com.au. The Official Opening of Springfest is at7pm on Thursday 23 September, with the Canowindra Art Network’s Art exhibition, ‘Equinox’. The Left Bank, Old Vic and Melissa Barber Galleries will also mount new exhibitions from the Network. As part of Springfest, the Rosnay farms will be offering:
• PERMACULTURE WORKSHOPS: At 10am and 3.30pm Margie Crowther is running introductory permaculture workshops, for people to learn about permaculture and meet others with the same interest, to see a permaculture keyhole garden and chook tractors, and see a working organic farm which uses elements of permaculture. By Donation. Ph 6344 3286
• ORGANIC FARMERS LUNCH: Lunch will be prepared by Florence Statham and others from Rosnay for $10 a plate at the old house at 12.30pm. Bookings are appreciated for catering purposes, and tickets are at the gate. Rosnay Wines will be available from the cellar door. Walk lunch off around the vineyard.
• VERTICAL TASTING: Wine enthusiasts are invited to join us for a first ever vertical tasting of all old and new vintages at 12pmand 3pm, but numbers are limited, so please book early.
SUNDAY 17 OCTOBER - A BUSH PICNIC "A Bush Picnic" is being held to raise funds for Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) Sudan Emergency Appeal. On Sunday 17th October the Churches of Canowindra, Woodstock, Cranbury and Cudal are holding an Ecumenical Worship Service at 11.30am followed by a Bush Picnic by the Belubula River, at "Rosnay", Rivers Road. Join us after lunch for a 7km “wilderness” walk along the river back to Canowindra, where a bus will take you back to your car at Rosnay. Donated prizes will be raffled, there will be entertainment and games for children. Proceeds will go to the MSF Sudan Appeal. Contact: Rev'd Margaret Finlay on (02) 6344 1643
SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER - THE CORK ‘N’ FORK Wine tasting, gourmet food, comic performers, live music, and children’s activities feature at Cowra’s annual good taste celebration. Held at the Cowra Pavilion, Mid Western Highway 11am - 4pm on Saturday 6th November, this is the place to enjoy all of the food and wine of the Cowra region in one place on one big day. Childflight will benefit from funds raised at the 2004 Cowra Cork and Fork. Entry Fee: $10. Bookings: not required. Contact: Cowra Visitor’s Centre 6342 4333.
SUNDAY 7 NOVEMBER – WINE TOUR
On Sunday the 7th of November, Des from the Riverview Motel will run a bus tour of the Canowindra Cellar Doors leaving at 9.30 am, including Bindaree Estate, Wallingtons, Tom’s Waterhole and The Falls, followed by Rosnay. Join us at 3.30pm to taste the 2004 Kalamata Olives, which will be publicly launched and tasted with Rosnay Wines. Contact Des on 6344 1633.
The wines are going well in the fiercely competitive market, with Oliver Statham now the sales manager in Sydney most of the time and Sam doing more marketing and promotion domestically and overseas. The interest in organic farming and wine is growing with people’s awareness of food safety, pollution, sustainability and regionality. Schools, tertiary student groups and farmers visit Rosnay on a regular basis to learn about organic farming.
New outlets being found all the time (including David Jones stores nationwide) are listed on our website www.rosnaywines.com.au . Sponsorship of “organic” events is also important – such as supporting organic workshops, dinners and like minded organizations including “Reverse Garbage” in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the evolution of the wines has been fascinating to watch, and we hope that you will join us to investigate this at the vertical tastings on Saturday October 2, Springfest weekend.
The Reds: In June Rosnay won a Silver Medal for the 2003 Triple Blend in the Asia International Wine Challenge. After skipping a year due to poor ripening and frost, it follows the footsteps of the 2001. After hours of blending trials with Graham Kerr, we came up with a medium bodied wine which has a briary nose, solid dark colour, and supple fruitiness. The wine also won a bronze at the NSW Small Winemakers Show in Forbes in August, in a show of 700 participants.
At the same show, Rosnay also won a Gold Medal for the unreleased 2003 Shiraz. To be launched at the Vertical Tasting to be held on Saturday 2nd October, this wine is a big Aussie red and a classic full bodied Shiraz. Made by John Holmes at Windowrie Estate, a large proportion of this vintage was distributed to households across Australia through the Wine Selectors wine club. We look forward to releasing the 2003 Shiraz made by John Cassegrain, which should be just as good with a softer palate from ageing in oak barrels for over 12 months. The 2001 Shiraz remains, of course, the master of the reds, and having mellowed a lot since winning Best Red of the Cowra Region in November 2002, it has great character and always a favourite. It is available only from the Cellar door and good restaurants, including Selkirk’s at Orange.
The Whites: The 2003 Chardonnay Semillon was crisp and fresh when bottled, and in the last 12 months the 40% Semillon has developed in the bottle to fill out and balance the palate. Meanwhile the freshness of this wine has not been lost, due to the Stelvin cap.
The new 2004 Whites are looking very good, with the Chardonnay and Semillon being made separately at Windowrie, and a smaller volume of Chardonnay-Semillon blend being made by Chris Derez and Lucy Maddox at Burke and Hills Winery, near Cargo. All well balanced wines in Rosnay’s typical fresh and fruity unwooded style, we look forward to bottling these in November for release early in 2005.
FOOD NEWS
Despite the drought, production is continuing to grow.
• The vegetables were a great success over the 2003-2004 summer, and Greg has harvested cauliflower and planted more lettuce over the last few weeks.
• Oats has been “advance sown” (direct drilled before rain) over blocks 7, 12 and 2 (in the olives) producing good organic matter for soil improvement and grazing by the 850 sheep (seen primarily as a land management tool).
• Spelt wheat has been sown on blocks 7, 8, 10 and 11 and should crop reasonably well. It will be sold to millers and bakers from December.
• The olive harvest was good, up 400% on last years yield with the new facilities for pickling working well. The kalamatas will be launched on November 7 (Cowra Food and Wine Weekend). A small volume of 2004 Olive Oil was also produced to be sold through the Cellar Door (or a future “Farm Shop”) and through fine food outlets. The oil won a bronze medal at the Cowra Show.
THE WEATHER
We estimate that without good rains as we enter the coming Summer, we will have lower subsoil moisture levels than this time last year. Add to that the zero allocation of surface water for irrigation (Carcoar Dam at 8%) we will need to carefully manage our crops this year according to our limited water resources. The Spring weather has been beautiful so far and we hope you can enjoy it with us before the summer heat.
THE “ROSNAY ORGANIC FARMS“ PROJECT
After six years the Rosnay concept of a Community Title organic farm has been realized – with 6 “partners” now working together for sustainable, high quality organic production. The team is a diverse group of people with a range of skills and interests, which is seen as the core strength of the project – and the completion of the first phase of the development. It now includes Richard and Florence Statham who bought the original farm in1995; “Herb” and Jenny Gardner, who were the first to join in 2001; Margie Crowther and Andrew Wooldridge, 2003; Greg and Katie Kocanda, 2004; Sue and Steve Brown, 2004, Sam Statham and Simone Le Mesurier, 2004, and Rob and Marjorie Lamrock. Australian Certified Organic continues to certify all growers. Together, the group of new owners is developing
• Landscape and architecture standards: These are being developed at present as the basis for the continuation of innovative ecological design and recycled or low environmental impact materials such as straw bale;
• Animal management standards: These aim to protect native wildlife by keeping cats indoors, keeping us sane by keeping roosters away from bedrooms, and facilitating a joint venture rotational grazing enterprise managed by Andrew and Margie;
• Road and equipment OHS plans; and
Irrigation management plans to use our limited water resources as efficiently as possible.
CULTURAL EVENTS
SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER - CANOWINDRA SPRINGFEST - This October Long Weekend (2-4 October) is Canowindra Springfest again, with a full program of art workshops and entertainment now in print (call Bob on 63441000) or online at www.springfest.com.au. The Official Opening of Springfest is at7pm on Thursday 23 September, with the Canowindra Art Network’s Art exhibition, ‘Equinox’. The Left Bank, Old Vic and Melissa Barber Galleries will also mount new exhibitions from the Network. As part of Springfest, the Rosnay farms will be offering:
• PERMACULTURE WORKSHOPS: At 10am and 3.30pm Margie Crowther is running introductory permaculture workshops, for people to learn about permaculture and meet others with the same interest, to see a permaculture keyhole garden and chook tractors, and see a working organic farm which uses elements of permaculture. By Donation. Ph 6344 3286
• ORGANIC FARMERS LUNCH: Lunch will be prepared by Florence Statham and others from Rosnay for $10 a plate at the old house at 12.30pm. Bookings are appreciated for catering purposes, and tickets are at the gate. Rosnay Wines will be available from the cellar door. Walk lunch off around the vineyard.
• VERTICAL TASTING: Wine enthusiasts are invited to join us for a first ever vertical tasting of all old and new vintages at 12pmand 3pm, but numbers are limited, so please book early.
SUNDAY 17 OCTOBER - A BUSH PICNIC "A Bush Picnic" is being held to raise funds for Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) Sudan Emergency Appeal. On Sunday 17th October the Churches of Canowindra, Woodstock, Cranbury and Cudal are holding an Ecumenical Worship Service at 11.30am followed by a Bush Picnic by the Belubula River, at "Rosnay", Rivers Road. Join us after lunch for a 7km “wilderness” walk along the river back to Canowindra, where a bus will take you back to your car at Rosnay. Donated prizes will be raffled, there will be entertainment and games for children. Proceeds will go to the MSF Sudan Appeal. Contact: Rev'd Margaret Finlay on (02) 6344 1643
SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER - THE CORK ‘N’ FORK Wine tasting, gourmet food, comic performers, live music, and children’s activities feature at Cowra’s annual good taste celebration. Held at the Cowra Pavilion, Mid Western Highway 11am - 4pm on Saturday 6th November, this is the place to enjoy all of the food and wine of the Cowra region in one place on one big day. Childflight will benefit from funds raised at the 2004 Cowra Cork and Fork. Entry Fee: $10. Bookings: not required. Contact: Cowra Visitor’s Centre 6342 4333.
SUNDAY 7 NOVEMBER – WINE TOUR
On Sunday the 7th of November, Des from the Riverview Motel will run a bus tour of the Canowindra Cellar Doors leaving at 9.30 am, including Bindaree Estate, Wallingtons, Tom’s Waterhole and The Falls, followed by Rosnay. Join us at 3.30pm to taste the 2004 Kalamata Olives, which will be publicly launched and tasted with Rosnay Wines. Contact Des on 6344 1633.
Saturday, 20 September 2003
Newsletter Spring 2003
Canowindra Spring Fest
Spring Fest is a new concept in the celebration of community culture, created by the cooperation of the Canowindra Arts Network and the local food and wine producers. With some key organisers being veterans of the Aquarian festival, Spring Fest is loosely organised to allow many people to run their own events without too much centralised control, under one umbrella. It sports a great range of music events, art and performance workshops, art exhibitions, ballooning, and food and wine.
Rosnay Recitals
On Sunday the 5th of October, we are taking part in Spring Fest by organising the "Rosnay Recitals", supported by Sydney's fine music radio station 2MBS FM102.5. This will be the third concert organised by Rosnay in the last two years, following the "Get a Handel on Bach" and "Mostly Mozart" concerts with the Sydney Conservatorium's Greenway Quartet. This time, the Greenway is joined by two of the finest professional classical ensembles in NSW - the Tapas Duo and the Aark Sextet. We hope that you might join us for this day of music, one of the finer things in life! Click here to read the exciting progam.
Organic Farmers Lunch
To make your weekend complete, we also invite you to join us in the celebration of Spring, fine food and fine wine at Rosnay for an "Organic Farmers Lunch", on Saturday the 4th of October. The three course lunch will be prepared by local chef Kate Maurice, to be served on the lawns of Florence & Richard Statham’s home ‘Rosnay’. Ingredients for the meal will be sourced from some of the best local growers of organic meat and vegetables who will be joining us to celebrate Spring, and to tour Rosnay's vineyards, olive groves, market gardens and strawbale houses.The meal will be washed down by the new release Rosnay Wines, the 2003 Chardonnay-Semillon, and 2002 Shiraz, which will be tasted by the public for the first time. Click here to find out whats on the menu.
Spring news from Rosnay...
Pruning vines is a process of renewal. From June until October every year, our small and dedicated team of Rosnay pruners artfully shape and balance each vine. Meanwhile, the sheep diligently "prune" the grass, fertilise the soil and are moved in a quick rotation around the small vineyard paddocks. This year, we have noticed more birds than ever, as the tree belts and wild places have become their home. Other winter jobs, such as making and spreading compost, flushing the irrigation system and even putting a little fish emulsion through before budburst, are nearly completed.
Spring is now upon us, with warm sun and cool breezes, and the sleepless frosty nights may continue until late October, when the danger of crop loss by late frost is greatest. The rain has been much better than last year, and the soil is looking great for another season. After pruning, Russell Morris has begun planting his veges again, especially lettuce and brassicas, expanding beyond the wild remnants of last years patch. With a new partner on board, the Rosnay gardens will be bigger than ever this year. For more news from the farm, please visit us at www.organicfarms.com.au .
Nick Statham is back from almost two years away, working as a carpenter in Europe and on board Sea Cloud, one of the worlds largest square rigged commercial passenger yachts. He is now helping on the farm whilst setting up shop at Rosnay to start on a backlog of commissions. Oliver is marketing Rosnay wine and continuing his music in his spare time. He is now home more often, having packed up his recording studio in Newcastle and set up at Rosnay. The recording studio is used it for his personal and family use, as well commissioned recordings.
Richard and Florence Statham have been enjoying a nice escape from it all, staying with friends and family in the South of France for a month.
Thankyou for your support in enjoying our wines, olives or other produce. By doing so you are also supporting the future of organic farming and sustainable, cummunity based agriculture. Rosnay is a regular sponsor of sustainability conferences and events such as the launch of Greenpeace's True Food Guide – providing the information to allow consumers to support sustainable, biological agriculture free of the many hazards of Genetic Engineering. In the vineyards, we always focus on producing the best possible fruit, so that you can enjoy top quality, certified organic wine.
Spring Fest is a new concept in the celebration of community culture, created by the cooperation of the Canowindra Arts Network and the local food and wine producers. With some key organisers being veterans of the Aquarian festival, Spring Fest is loosely organised to allow many people to run their own events without too much centralised control, under one umbrella. It sports a great range of music events, art and performance workshops, art exhibitions, ballooning, and food and wine.
Rosnay Recitals
On Sunday the 5th of October, we are taking part in Spring Fest by organising the "Rosnay Recitals", supported by Sydney's fine music radio station 2MBS FM102.5. This will be the third concert organised by Rosnay in the last two years, following the "Get a Handel on Bach" and "Mostly Mozart" concerts with the Sydney Conservatorium's Greenway Quartet. This time, the Greenway is joined by two of the finest professional classical ensembles in NSW - the Tapas Duo and the Aark Sextet. We hope that you might join us for this day of music, one of the finer things in life! Click here to read the exciting progam.
Organic Farmers Lunch
To make your weekend complete, we also invite you to join us in the celebration of Spring, fine food and fine wine at Rosnay for an "Organic Farmers Lunch", on Saturday the 4th of October. The three course lunch will be prepared by local chef Kate Maurice, to be served on the lawns of Florence & Richard Statham’s home ‘Rosnay’. Ingredients for the meal will be sourced from some of the best local growers of organic meat and vegetables who will be joining us to celebrate Spring, and to tour Rosnay's vineyards, olive groves, market gardens and strawbale houses.The meal will be washed down by the new release Rosnay Wines, the 2003 Chardonnay-Semillon, and 2002 Shiraz, which will be tasted by the public for the first time. Click here to find out whats on the menu.
Spring news from Rosnay...
Pruning vines is a process of renewal. From June until October every year, our small and dedicated team of Rosnay pruners artfully shape and balance each vine. Meanwhile, the sheep diligently "prune" the grass, fertilise the soil and are moved in a quick rotation around the small vineyard paddocks. This year, we have noticed more birds than ever, as the tree belts and wild places have become their home. Other winter jobs, such as making and spreading compost, flushing the irrigation system and even putting a little fish emulsion through before budburst, are nearly completed.
Spring is now upon us, with warm sun and cool breezes, and the sleepless frosty nights may continue until late October, when the danger of crop loss by late frost is greatest. The rain has been much better than last year, and the soil is looking great for another season. After pruning, Russell Morris has begun planting his veges again, especially lettuce and brassicas, expanding beyond the wild remnants of last years patch. With a new partner on board, the Rosnay gardens will be bigger than ever this year. For more news from the farm, please visit us at www.organicfarms.com.au .
Nick Statham is back from almost two years away, working as a carpenter in Europe and on board Sea Cloud, one of the worlds largest square rigged commercial passenger yachts. He is now helping on the farm whilst setting up shop at Rosnay to start on a backlog of commissions. Oliver is marketing Rosnay wine and continuing his music in his spare time. He is now home more often, having packed up his recording studio in Newcastle and set up at Rosnay. The recording studio is used it for his personal and family use, as well commissioned recordings.
Richard and Florence Statham have been enjoying a nice escape from it all, staying with friends and family in the South of France for a month.
Thankyou for your support in enjoying our wines, olives or other produce. By doing so you are also supporting the future of organic farming and sustainable, cummunity based agriculture. Rosnay is a regular sponsor of sustainability conferences and events such as the launch of Greenpeace's True Food Guide – providing the information to allow consumers to support sustainable, biological agriculture free of the many hazards of Genetic Engineering. In the vineyards, we always focus on producing the best possible fruit, so that you can enjoy top quality, certified organic wine.
Wednesday, 2 April 2003
Newsletter 2003
VintageDear friends,
Uplifting music and inspiring wine
You and your friends or family are personally invited to experience 'Mostly Mozart in Concert', an Anglican parish fund raiser presented by Rosnay Wines in Canowindra on Saturday April 26 during Marti's Canowindra Balloon Fiesta. Phone or email Rosnay to book seats at $20 each. Tell me more
Top crop despite the drought
Fortunately drought didn't have too much negative impact on the vines. The dry season meant that we had less weeds, less disease, and more control over the development of the fruit. Only now, with the rains of the last month, have we had a big flush of weeds. The fruit was picked at optimum maturity.
We meet the demand for organic wines
Research shows that the organic market is growing at around 25% every year. So as more and more people discover the benefits of organically grown and produced wines the pressure is on to make Rosnay available in more outlets.
Rosnay Organic Olives on the Way
We have one thousand 4 year old Kalamata Olive Trees on Block 4 that, following a massive flowering in October, will be ready to yield several hundred kilograms shortly.
Organic wines have more of the wonder health compound 'Resverotrol'
Resverotrol, a compound in red grapes, has been shown to be beneficial to health by lowering cholesterol and preventing cell oxidation, an important process in the prevention of cancer. Organically grown grapes have much more resverertrol than conventionally grown grapes.
And without forgetting Mum!
Before finishing, I'd like to say how lucky we are to have Florence's great cooking which is always an adventure for all of us. Those who have stayed with Florence, Richard and their 3 boys will have experienced Flo's exotic but simple, tasty and seasonal dishes. I have now put "Flo's Kitchen" on the website - have a look!
Uplifting music and inspiring wine
You and your friends or family are personally invited to experience 'Mostly Mozart in Concert', an Anglican parish fund raiser presented by Rosnay Wines in Canowindra on Saturday April 26 during Marti's Canowindra Balloon Fiesta. Phone or email Rosnay to book seats at $20 each. Tell me more
Top crop despite the drought
Fortunately drought didn't have too much negative impact on the vines. The dry season meant that we had less weeds, less disease, and more control over the development of the fruit. Only now, with the rains of the last month, have we had a big flush of weeds. The fruit was picked at optimum maturity.
We meet the demand for organic wines
Research shows that the organic market is growing at around 25% every year. So as more and more people discover the benefits of organically grown and produced wines the pressure is on to make Rosnay available in more outlets.
Rosnay Organic Olives on the Way
We have one thousand 4 year old Kalamata Olive Trees on Block 4 that, following a massive flowering in October, will be ready to yield several hundred kilograms shortly.
Organic wines have more of the wonder health compound 'Resverotrol'
Resverotrol, a compound in red grapes, has been shown to be beneficial to health by lowering cholesterol and preventing cell oxidation, an important process in the prevention of cancer. Organically grown grapes have much more resverertrol than conventionally grown grapes.
And without forgetting Mum!
Before finishing, I'd like to say how lucky we are to have Florence's great cooking which is always an adventure for all of us. Those who have stayed with Florence, Richard and their 3 boys will have experienced Flo's exotic but simple, tasty and seasonal dishes. I have now put "Flo's Kitchen" on the website - have a look!
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