REVIEWS
This month we are featuring recent reviews on Marrimee, our popular and very reasonably priced Margaret River White blend, and PF Red, our preservative free red.
Marrimee Margaret River White Bill Thompson, Sunday Times, March 5th 2000
Top Drops - Drink now - White "It is an unusual and most appealing dry table wine. The nose offers gentle aromas of ripe granny smith apples with a touch of citrus blossom and the palate shows well developed age and complexity that is slightly French in character. There is a good mouth feel, soft and rich varietal fruit flavour and a soft acid tannic finish. It is definitely a food wine and one that could be enjoyed with a broad spectrum of culinary partners. It would be wonderful with roast pork or with natural oysters."
Cellar Door Special: 1 case of Marrimee $130 (plus freight) Normally $156 - discount equivalent to 2 bottles free.
Happs 1999 PF Red Max Allen, Weekend Australian (Australian Magazine), January 22-23 2000
"Not to be sneezed at Saints preserve it, a fine, preservative-free red! "I had to pinch myself at least seven times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Here, finally, in the glass in front of me, in all its vibrant, youthful purpleness, was a preservative-free wine that I actually wanted to drink. Not only that, but it was affordable and widely available. It was almost too good to be true."
Martin Field, Melbourne Times, January 2000
"From Margaret River comes this unwooded seven grape blend processed without the use of sulphur dioxide. The grapes. have come together in a fruity melange of some vigour. On the nose it reminds me of grenache and on the palate of warmer climate Spanish or Portuguese styles. It finishes firm and slightly tannic. Rating: silver. Cellar: to 2007. Price $18"
Winestate Magazine, March/April 2000
"Excellent bright red/purple colour. Ripe dark plum and blueberry aromas with an oaky background. Mouthfilling palate with good assertive tannins and soft sweet fruit flavours. Pleasing depth, structure and persistence of flavours. Put away for a year or two. Four Stars.
Ken Gargett, The Courier Mail, Queensland, March 2000 Picks of the Week
"One of the best of its kind in a long time. No wood and there is good lift, soft fruit flavours then a gentle fade." Rating: 88 (86-90 - Worth drinking)
NEWS by Roslyn Happ.
This has been a time of great change. We have seen many of our old friends sell up their family wineries as the wine industry becomes more and more competitive. As a family, we have decided to meet the challenges of the times. Two things have helped us to make this decision. One is the untiring support and interest of the next generation. Our eldest son, Myles and his wife, Jacquie, are vitally interested in the business and can see a great future ahead. Myles wears two hats. He has taken over the management of the pottery and loves making pots. However, after selling Happs wines for three years in Sydney, he is always willing to lend support to the marketing and sales team. He recently went to Europe to represent the company in the development of an export market and regularly works with Jacquie showing the wines at wine festivals. The other reason is the exciting fruit being produced from our Karridale Vineyard. We used to depend on sourcing some of our fruit from other vineyards. Now we grow all our own fruit. Erl's research on climate, terroir and grape variety has really paid off. This southern Margaret River Vineyard, which we call 'Three Hills', has enabled us to produce wines with abundant flavours. All our wines have improved with the 'Three Hills' additions. In the near future, we will be releasing a few of the exceptional wines under a new 'Three Hills' label. This is what keeps Erl so excited by his work. Some of the vines are six years old now and producing great flavours. (On Wednesday, November 15, we will be serving two of these exceptional wines at the Goose Restaurant in Busselton, as part of the Margaret River Regional Wine Festival.)
PERSON IN FOCUS.
Liz Jennings, Erl's sister, turned fifty this week! She has been a fantastic member of the Happs team since day one. A nurse by profession, she now nurses the Dunsborough vineyard and all those who work in it! Liz decided to give you a small insight into just one aspect of her work.
"An insight into vintage by an aging foreman of the picking team." By Liz Jennings.
Being a Leo probably helps in mustering a group of 18 strangers into a prospective gun picking team. Always an unknown and exciting project. It's my favourite time of the year. Usually for the rest of the year I am working closely with only one other employee, so vintage time gives me the chance to fully exploit all of my Leo traits - like giving orders to the pickers and expecting them to be carried out to the letter! And sooner rather than later. On the first day of picking, I recite 10 do's and don'ts eg. "Don't sit on the buckets!" The younger lads like to try this one on when I'm not looking. But if caught they are very quickly made to see the error of their ways, and go off with dented egos in hand! For the first half of the picking season I'm usually flat out keeping the team working as quickly as possible, trying to pick myself, keeping morale up and keeping an eye open for any misdemeanors! I was amused to hear second hand of some comments from previous pickers - 'getting the pickers to work together was like trying to drive a team of draught horses,' and, 'picking at Happs was like being at boot camp.' However, by the middle of the season, I'm starting to enjoy myself. I'm getting to know the pickers personally and they are starting to work like a well oiled machine. Alas, it's over all too quickly and last day is here. Erl and Ros always put on a lavish lunch and are very generous with the wine. I instruct all my soon to be released charges to make sure they bring a change of clothes -nothing good mind, just something comfortable for lunch. There is always an ulterior motive behind this - just as we are having our group photo taken in front of the winery, I grab the big hose which I have strategically placed by my feet and drench the lot of them! (And there's no lunch for those who warn the newcomers!)
Cheers Liz
Where you'll find Happs DURING THE MARGARET RIVER REGIONAL WINE FESTIVAL November 10-19
Friday 10th Busselton Tourist Centre, Busselton - Early Arrivals Winetasting
Saturday 11th - Catch the Bus to visit us at the cellar door in Dunsborough.
Alexandra Bridge Estate, Karridale- Down South with the Karridale Wineries Wednesday 15th - The Goose Restaurant Busselton-. Taste the new varieties from Three Hills in Karridale, Nebiollo & Viognier, introduced by Erl Happ and accompanied by a sumptuous dinner.
Sunday 19th Ellensbrook Family Concert - The theme is world music. Bring a picnic and taste some of our wines. Distractions for the children include a bouncy castle, kite demonstrations and clowns. And of course, you can visit us at the vineyard everyday. We look forward to seeing you.
