Our Semillon Verdelho wins the Peoples Choice Award for Wine of the Show and Best White Wine during the 2000 Margaret River Wine Region Festival. In 1999 the same style of wine won the best white wine award.

Busselton-Margaret Times, Thursday November 16, 2000
"According to the person in the street, Dunsborough vigneron Erl Happ is on to a good thing.
For the second year in a row, Happ's semillon verdelho has won the Barry Blaikie trophy for the people's choice at the Margaret River Show.
Happ won the gold award, provided by the Margaret River Wine Industry Association, for the best white, while the Margaret River School of Wine's award for the best red went to Amberley Estate's 1999 shiraz. Punters chose Happ's wine to win the overall award.
Mr Happ said the results confirmed his view that consumer judging should play a bigger part than the opinion of so-called wine experts.
Patron Barry Blaikie said the people's choice awards were an important part of the of the Margaret River wine region, being the only local award available in the area."

Happs 1998 Cabernet Merlot

Bill Thompson, Sunday Times, October 29 2000
"This is a big bloke and a really interesting example of the 65-35 blend. Rich & ripe berry fruit aromas mirror the palate and this involves a lusty combination of ripe berry fruit, old oak and expansive tannins.
In an almost good-cop, bad-cop scenario, the merlot vies with the cabernet sauvignon for dominance and the result is an enjoyable drink-now wine that will be quite different and equally enjoyable a year or four down the track.
Enjoy it now with mildly spiced, marinated beef."

Happs 2000 Viognier

Rod Properjohn, All About Town, Dec-Jan 2001
"Erl Happ of Happs, Margaret River, has 29 grape varieties nurturing in trial plots in his quest to find new and promising cultivars for different wines down the track.
His planting of the white grape viognier is now slightly larger than a trial plot, but as he has been more than happy with the sometimes fickle variety, he has extended the plot to 1 ha (25 acres).
He has already released a 1999 vintage from 3 year old viognier vines. This promising young wine with characteristic viognier flavours and structure is in small quantities and available only at the cellar door for $20.
Viognier (vee-ohn-yea) has been at home in the Rhone Valley, France, for about 2000 years where it makes straight varietal wines- the best is Chateau Grillet of the Condrieu appellation. It is also blended with syrah to make the reds of Cote Rotie and with other white varieties to make Cote du Rhone white wines.
It has been grown in California for the past 20 years where it has just taken off as a new craze wine. It is generally in its infancy here in Australia with about 50ha planted yet Yalumba, the market leader, has vines more than 20 year old in the Eden Valley.
This Barossa winery makes the stunning Virgilius at $50 but follows up with a very good Eden Valley Viognier at $22 and a harder to find Heggies, about $30. Also look out for wines from Petaluma, Tahbilk, Trentham Estate, Kingston Estate, Haselgrove and a local Chittering Valley wine, Francois Jacquard.
The straight varietal has a strongly perfumed aroma of wildflowers and fruit blossom, coupled with ripe pear, apricot and some spice and honeysuckle. The palate is medium-bodied with fullish flavour - being high in alcohol - and is soft in acid.
Most wines are dry (although perceptively sweet because of the alcohol), either unoaked or lightly oaked and are best consumed in their youth with flavourful foods such as white meats or rich seafoods.
Although Chardonnay accounts for more than one half of the total of premium white wine Down Under when men wore shoulder-length hair (or close to it) in the early 80's. Buzz cuts are now the go and the variety is still hanging in there as number one. That's nearly two decades of enormous popularity in a very fickle market.
Wine drinkers are now more adventurous. They are on the move, looking for different flavours, different structures, simply different wines. Haircuts and fashion aside, Yalumba, Happs and others maybe on a winner with viognier.
They need to get consumers to try the wine and enjoy the difference, then get them to pronouce the variety correctly, otherwise there will be lots of "I'll have a Vi... Vvieg...Vee..er... a bottle of chardonnay thanks."

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Last pick 2000 Myles tips one on his dad.	Grandson James sees the funny side

Happs 1999 Viognier

Ray Jordan, The West Australian U! 27th December 2000
"Something a little different with this Rhone variety in an Aussie guise. And it comes up a treat. Spicy aroma of musk and peach gives an attractive start. The flavour really explodes in the mouth with a refreshing zingy lift to the quite delicious fruit flavours. This is a lovely drink. It's available only at the cellar door and Happs is always worth visiting when touring the south. Have a look at their whole range, including the sweet, spritzy rose style Fuchsia. Drink now to 2002. "

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Happs 1999 PF Red

Gourmet Vegetarian, Winter 2000

"Allergy suffers will be thrilled with the new releases of Happs Preservative-free wines. Sulphur dioxide is the usual culprit, and its job is to preserve the wine, so in its absence, preservative-free wines are best consumed young. Get stuck into these Margaret River gems - Happs PF Red 1999 and White 1999 (unwooded chardonnay)."

Women's Health, Best Buys, May 2000

"A glass of red is high in antioxidants which keep your body healthy - but a growing number of people suffer from allergic reactions to red wine. That's why Happs vineyard in the Margaret River region, WA has produced Happs PF Red. Free of preservatives, it is perfect for asthma sufferers and people with allergies, and still carries the full antioxidant benefit of red wine."

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 a good lift, soft fruit flavours then a gentle fade. Rating: 88 (86-90 - Worth drinking)."

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."

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.

As I’ve discussed in these pages before, some people suffer negative reactions to wine – headaches, asthmatic complaints, that kind of thing – and rightly or wrongly, most of the blame is attributed to the preservative sulphur dioxide used in almost all winemaking. The number of sufferers is small but significant enough to prompt many winemakers to have a crack at leaving out the preservatives (any marketing angle is worth exploring, after all).

Trouble is, the sulphur dioxide is there for a reason: completely preservative-free wines are dangerously susceptible to oxidation, premature development and bacteriological spoilage; as a result, they are seldom worth drinking.

But there are exceptions. Virgin Hills wines spring to mind,, although they are often pricey or hard to get. All of which explains why my latest find, the 1999 Happs PF Red from Margaret River, looks like a shining beacon of hope for allergy sufferers-especially at $18 a bottle.

Erl Happ likes to nudge the wine envelope. He was one of the first Margaret River winemakers to produce a varietal merlot (and very good it is, too), and he is enthusiastically planting and promoting new and unusual grapes in the region. To give you an indication of what he’s got, the PF Red is a blend of –deep breath – merlot, tempranillo, malbec, sangiovese, grenache, graciano and mataro.

As I said, it’s a brilliant, young, dark purple colour, with good, bold berry fruit and a spicy, direct whack of juicy currant flavour in the mouth. If you like your red wine mellow and oak-matured, then this all may be a bit brash for you. If you like knocking back the purple stuff with good pizza straight from the oven, then you’ll probably like the brashness (I do). It’s no shrinking violet at 13.7 per cent alcohol, but it has the immediacy and brightness you’d find in a good Beaujolais or dolcetto.

Happ reckons it should develop in the bottle for five to ten years. Personally, while I’d be overjoyed to be proved wrong, I’d err on the side of caution and drink it soon rather than later, frolicking in its naked youth rather than risking the possibility of paddling in its limp senescence.

The PF Red is available (see distributor lists). The Happs cellar door number is 08 9755 3300.

In 1999 Erl Happ, for the first time and after much cajoling, partnered the PF Red with a PF White, an unwooded chardonnay. He acknowledges that this is skating on very thin ice – without the natural protection afforded by the red wine’s tannin, preservative-free whites are more fragile. Judging from the one bottle I tried, I don’t think he quite got away with it. But it’s his first vintage-we can expect improvements over the next few years."

As Happ says himself, “I recognise that I do not know everything. We will simply have to wait and see.”

Martin Field, Melbourne Times, January 2000

"From Margaret River comes this unwooded seven grape blend processed without the use of sulphur dioxide. The grapes, merlot, tempranillo, malbec, sangiovese, grenache, graciano and mataro (aka mourvedre) 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 Portugueese styles. It finishes firm and slightly tannic. Rating: silver. Cellar: to 20007. Price $18."

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Happs 1997 Merlot

Ray Jordon, The West Magazine, 'Wine Guide Part Two- Best mid range and premium' June 3 2000

"Erl Happ has been having a serious crack at merlot for many years. This wine shows the benefits, and of someone knowing what merlot should taste like. Lovely smoky, briary aroma with a sprinkle of earthiness. The palate is soft and supple, with silky fine tannins. Delicious through to a long finish."

Bill Thompson, Sunday Times, April 1999
Drink Now

"Merlot is the boom wine of the US and a much beloved wine of France. A great merlot can be the pinnacle of winemaking but an ordinary merlot can never rise to greatness.

"I’m not suggesting for one moment that this Margaret River wine comes close to the famed Petrus of Pomerol, but it stands proud among the merlots in this part of the world.

"It is a proudly complete wine with definitive characteristics and no fleshiness. There are gentle hints of dark plums and violets on the nose. The palate is voluptuous and elegant, and has good length and a delicious aftertaste.

"This is a very good wine that I commend to you."

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Happs Cabernet Merlot 1997

James Halliday, Weekend Australian 14/15 Aug 1999
Halliday’s choice

"With his championing of Merlot Erl Happ is on sure ground, with wines such as the 1997 Cabernet Merlot ($23). It is sourced from two vineyards at the extreme ends of the Margaret River region at Dunsborough in the north and Karridale in the south, producing a wine with with attractive cedary, cigar and savoury aromas, followed by a palate with good cassis-flavoured fruit, an echo of the savoury characters on the bouquet and finishing with soft tannins. Try it with game pie."

Mike Frost, July 1999
Today’s Bargains

"Erland Happ believes his wines should show generous fruit and this one doesn’t depart from the script. Sourced from vineyards at Dunsborough and Karridale, virtually the northern and southern extremities of the Margaret River district, it shows rich blackcurrant and plum fruit on the nose and palate with fine tannins and subdued (almost overwhelmed) oak. It’s a generous 14 percent alcohol so a little goes a long way. Try the better bottle shops or ring cellar door."

Paddy Kendler, Herald Sun, June 1999

"A most impressive Margaret River blend showing typical blackcurrant cabernet fruit aroma and flavour, plus strong hints of ripe plum and chocolate.

"The merlot contributes to the smooth, even texture making it more approachable in its youth than if it were a straight cabernet sauvignon.

“Taste **** _ Value $$$$ _"

John Fordham, The Sunday Telegraph, June 1999
Fordhams’s Fancy

"Another worthy blended red from Margaret River which offers layer upon layer of rich, concentrated flavours and delivers a long smooth finish."