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Marrenon

These pleasant and approachable mono-varietal wines are the first steps into Marrenon world. They have been produced in the full respect of nature. They will be a great companion to feet up, to meet with friends or simply to relax over wine.

Production Area

These wines come from both Southern and Northern parts of the Luberon mountain, from vineyards located between 300 and 400m above sea level, and bathed in more than 320 days of sunshine throughout the year.

Spec Sheets

Click here to view and print the tasting notes for Marrenon wines

Cape Jaffa

Country: Mount Benson, South Australia

Website: www.capejaffawines.com.au

Special Notes: DISCOVER THE TRUE AUSTRALIAN TASTE!

Spec Sheets: click here to view the Siberia Shiraz Spec Sheet

About

Winemaker: Derek Hooper & Anna Hooper; Assistant Winemaker: Nigel Westblade

Derek Hooper studied at Roseworthy in 1991. Before establishing Cape Jaffa Wines, he gained extensive experience at world renowned wineries, including Domain de Chevelier in Bordeaux, Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley and Leconfield in Coonawarra, South Australia.

Graduating from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology), Anna Hooper joined the Cape Jaffa team in 2003.  Anna’s winemaking experience before Cape Jaffa was extensive having worked at a number of world-renowned wineries including Domain Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy, Rustenberg in Stellenbosch and Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley.  Now in charge of winery’s daily operation, Anna takes a hands on approach to her winemaking, striving to create wines with both elegance and complexity.

Nigel Westblade has been with Cape Jaffa since the 2003 vintage. He studied winemaking at Adelaide University and has since worked at various wineries around Australia and overseas including Delatite Winery in Victoria’s highlands, Tahbilk in Nagambie and Chateau Ste Michelle in Washington State.

Our Vineyard

The vineyards at Cape Jaffa were first planted in 1993. The site was selected not only for its cool climate, but also for the famous terra rosa soil over limestone, ideal for premium grape production. The majority of the vineyard is bilaterally trained, spur pruned and vertically shoot positioned to increase sunlight exposure. Vines are drip irrigated during the growing season. The constant sea breeze during the growing season reduces disease pressure, making the area well suited for sustainable and/or organic viticulture. Since establishment, we have been conscious of our environment and have endeavoured to keep all vineyard inputs ‘clean and green’ as much as possible. Our plans for the near future are to convert the vineyard to biodynamic management.

Cape Jaffa plans to green Australia, one wine bottle at a time
Cape Jaffa Wines establishes Greening Australia environmental fund and makes its first steps toward carbon neutrality

MOUNT BENSON – 5 March 2009: Mount Benson’s founding winery and first fully-certified biodynamic winery on the Limestone Coast Cape Jaffa Wines has today pledged $2000 to an environmental fund to be administered jointly by the winery and Greening Australia.

The environmental fund was established in November 2008 from which date Cape Jaffa Wines has donated a portion of sales from each bottle sold of its La Lune, Cape Jaffa and Brocks Reef wines throughout Australia. Today’s pledge is the result of funds raised from 1 November 2008 through to 31 January 2009, and each quarter monies raised will be added to the fund with the aim being to finance local revegetation projects across the Limestone Coast region. The first milestone for the partnership will be to fund a conservation action plan (CAP) for the region between Ngarkat and the

Coorong, Australia’s world-famous lagoon ecosystem in South Australia’s South East. It is hoped that on-ground revegetation projects undertaken as part of the CAP will also deliver a carbon biosequestration outcome long term for the medium-sized winery. Already Cape Jaffa Wines has planted two hectares of land at its Mount Benson vineyards to a developing native woodlot and seed orchard for use by Greening Australia in the local area. Plans to partially fund a Greening Australia local native vegetation guide for the South East region is also a goal that Cape Jaffa hopes to achieve with the establishment of this fund.

“We decided to partner up with Greening Australia because they offer a number of ways that we can contribute to improving our local community while also offsetting our greenhouse gas emissions,” says Derek Hooper, general manager of Cape Jaffa Wines. “We were always hoping we might be able to achieve the long-term goal of carbon neutrality by giving back to our immediate environment.”

This partnership follows the compilation of a greenhouse gas inventory for Cape Jaffa Wines with the assistance of the Netbalance Foundation in 2008 to ascertain the emissions incurred through the daily running of its biodynamic vineyard, organic winery, cellar door sales and administration building, as well as the full biodynamic certification of its vineyard in vintage 2008.

Biodynamic fruit and certified to boot!

Cape Jaffa Wines’ vineyard achieves full biodynamic certification

MOUNT BENSON  9 April 2008: Mount Benson’s founding winery and pioneer in biodynamic winegrowing on the Limestone Coast Cape Jaffa Wines (www.capejaffawines.com.au) has completed requirements to become one of South Australia’s largest fully-certified biodynamic winegrowers, a process some four years in the making.

The certification granted by Australian Certified Organic (ACO) sees Cape Jaffa Wines’ entire vineyard become a fully-certified biodynamic operation. This consists of a biodynamic producer certification for the vineyard as well as an organic processor certification for its winery.

The Mount Benson operation is only one of a select few wineries in the state that have decided to go through the certification process.

“Cape Jaffa’s decision to become certified was one largely based on our commitment to consumers. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding biodynamic farming and we’re hoping to change that,” says general manager Derek Hooper.

“A lot of overseas markets don’t allow products to be labelled or marketed as organic or biodynamic unless they are certified, and it’s likely that Australia will follow suit and tighten their own regulations sooner rather than later.”

The ACO accreditation validates Cape Jaffa’s commitment to biodynamic vineyard management which has been developing over the last 12 years, and this year a certified product line will be released.

Biodynamic vineyard management is an advanced form of organic farming based on the idea of the farm as a self-sustaining organism. Growing using biodynamic practices from a winemaker’s point of view means the wine created bears a close relationship to the soil and climate that it is grown in, and therefore expresses the true regionality of where it is grown.

CAPE JAFFA WINES established in 1993 pioneered organic and biodynamic winegrowing in Mount Benson, South Australia. It is committed to growing regionally distinctive fruit and producing wines that are a true reflection of its unique site. The Cape Jaffa philosophy is to tread lightly through its environment, use biodynamic techniques to manage the vineyard and employ sustainable practices in the winery that minimise environmental impact.

Yamhill Valley

Yamhill Valley Vineyards is located on a 150 acre estate in the rolling foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range Mountains, one hour southwest of Portland in the Willamette Valley. The heart of our wine making is dedicated to Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. We believe that the distinctive, rich character of our wines is created in the vineyard and reaches full potential through the timely application of attentive wine making practices. While keenly aware of traditional methods, we are committed to exploring new technologies and innovative techniques. Since our first vintage in 1983 our wines have consistently won top honors in tastings and judgings across the nation. Our 1983 Pinot Noir was the first place preference in the famous Wine Center in New York City. From our beginning we have been stubbornly dedicated to the pursuit of a character that is distinctively Oregon and distinctively Yamhill Valley. Our goal is to bring forth from this unusual and exciting property the finest possible expression of its intensity, charm and uniqueness.

Rhone Valley (Laurus) podcast

An interview with Jacqueline Cole

Our Beginnings

Some background to the Doug Reichel Wine Marketing Inc.

Growing up in a typical prairie village was a privilege.  At the closing ceremonies of Saskatchewan Centennial Homecoming in that village I had the privilege of highlighting some of those privileges as I reflected on growing up in that setting- if you’re interested the text of my address on that ocassion is found here.

Wine and social change

My early experience growing up in small town Saskatchewan was one of complete abstinence from alcohol because it offered no apparent benefits that I could see. One of the features of growing up in the Prairies was (and still is in many areas) a drink-up weekend activity for a number of people - usually the beer, hard liquor and the “Kool-Aid-with-buzz” variety of drinks.  Headaches, smashed cars and endless stories of drink related escapades were common.  On the extreme side, news of three students my age from a neighbouring town dieing in a messy drink-related car accident, two teenagers from a different near-by town dieing in another drink-related accident helped clinch my determination not to drink.  Probably a good thing in that context.

It wasn’t until I completed my undergraduate degree in theology and then lived in South Africa for 8 years that I began to hang out with people who used alcohol - some beer, but mostly wine - in very life and friendship affirming ways: with friends, food and often in the context of some minor and major celebrations.  Then when my wife and I returned with our young family to Vancouver, Canada for graduate studies, we were part of a study environment and church where this pattern alcohol-use was replicated: friends, food and good wine.  Ditto when, after my studies, we moved to New Zealand for two years: friends, food and wine.  Celebration, taste-sensory alertness and delight in the small and large blessings of life (do not read that as middle-upper class financial security) were our expanding experience around wine.

It was in conversation with a one-time lawyer and New Zealand friend we got chatting about the similarities between our countries and he made an interesting observation:  Like Canada, New Zealand and Australia were very much pioneering cultures for much of the past 150 years and all had hard drinking backgrounds - perhaps something instinctively done to escape or socialize in an environment of limited entertainment options.  He then went on to note that where wine had begun to become the drink of preference, social attitudes and norms began to change quite dramatically - as in New Zealand where grape growing and wine consumption has rapidly become part of the new cultural fabric in the last 20 years.  Gender inclusiveness, alcohol related violence, the tone and tenure of social gatherings and parties, restaurant culinary excellence were all positively affected by more pervasive wine consumption.  It is interesting to note that my home province of Saskatchewan has per capita the highest alcoholism and lowest wine consumption in Canada.

Wine and raising our children

In my studies I found it instructive that Jesus Christ’s public work was book-ended by wine: at the request of his mother he replenished wine at a wedding where the supplies were running low thus commencing his ministry among people, and then the serving of wine and bread to a small group of his followers as an important sign of the culminating of his work on the night he was betrayed and later killed.  Perhaps one of the most hope-filled parts of the Bible speaks of wine served in a feast prepared by God for the all the oppressed and poverty wracked.

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine

-the best of food and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

In a sense, Catherine and I came to appreciate wine in the finest, most wholesome way for neither of us had any alcoholic baggage.  As a couple, we wanted our three very alert children to observe the use of alcohol and the world of wine in our home in ways that would model life and celebration, not escape or paranoia.  We wanted them to observe a pattern of positive alcohol consumption that I think is implied throughout the Bible where wine is usually enjoyed with others in the context of shared life and celebration.  What could be a better deterrent to the binge, loneliness-numbing excessiveness of so much teenage drinking?  So we resolved early in our wine explorations that we would never open a bottle of wine or drink when there was tension in the home.  Given the crap that comes with being human, I promise you that this resolve was tested often.  But all these years later we’re continuing to enjoy wine and food and friends and we’re seeing our children pay attention to aromas and flavours in wine, food and wine matches, and generally witness good things happening around that bottle of wine at the evening meal table.

Farmers and Artists

I guess it was only natural that I should want to start a company around the idea of wine - good wine.  And it’s my prairie roots that have really helped me appreciate something of the agricultural rootedness of this business.  Growing up in rural areas means that you learn an attentiveness to the land, the soil and how the seasons affect that land.  You can do a lot with modern farming practises, but arrogance is necessarily kept at bay because you finally are at the mercy of the weather.  Good wine is about the juxtaposition of farming and art. Javier de Paredes of Torreon de Paredes Winery in Chile says it well,  Winemaking is about four things: the climate, the soil, the grapes and people.  We are only farmers.  We can only make good wine if we have good grapes and proper growing conditions.  See CJ Katzs interview with Javier, Values Reign in an Age of McWine, and my conversation with Kurt Ammann.

What are your thoughts on wine and food and friends and society and raising children and farming?  Please write us at info@finewinesmanitoba.com. These are some of mine.  Enjoy our wines.

Doug Reichel

Doug Reichel Wine Marketing Inc.

www.FineWinesManitoba.com