We are looking forward to taking part in the annual Taste of Tasmania food and wine festival in Hobart. Located on Hobart’s waterfront between 28 December 2019 and 3 January 2020, this event is a celebration of the very best Tasmanian food and beverages. We are in the same place as last year – in the Shed, on the water side, towards the river end. With a huge fleet for the Sydney-Hobart this year, Hobart’s waterfront will really come alive – so we hope to see you there!
Cheers, Fred
It feels as though we are still catching our breath after an incredibly compressed and very busy vintage – the result of every single variety deciding to ripen at once! We expanded our picking team considerably to enable us to hand pick up to 4 blocks a day – which was a first! Yields were down a bit, even though the bunch and berry numbers were much the same as usual. Most vignerons reported a similar experience, which was mainly the result of the very long dry period this season. Hence, berries were smaller, less weight per bunch, but more concentration of not only colour but also flavour. At this early stage the wines look excellent, nicely balanced, still lovely structural acidity despite the very warm and dry season, and fabulous flavour development. And no it hasn’t rained yet – in fact we’ve been recently irrigating “baby” vines to keep their roots moist!! I think this “dry” now exceeds the prolonged dry we experienced from ’07 to ’09, and looks like nudging some meteorological records! Every vintage has it challenges!
Cheers, Fred
We are looking forward to being part of Festivale in Launceston again this year! From Friday 1 February to Sunday 3 February in City Park, this event always features great music, and this year is no exception, with the Hoodoo Gurus performing on Friday night and Jon Stevens on Saturday night! This year you can find us in Stall 93 –similar to our location last year, facing the Pergola. Take the opportunity to drop in, taste our wines, as well as check out our new label.
We are pleased to confirm that we will be at the 30th birthday of the Taste of Tasmania this year – and Bream Creek is proud to have been one of the original, and a continuous, stallholders! Starting on 28 December 2018 and going through to 3 January 2019, this will be a fantastic celebration of one of Australia’s longest running and most prestigious festivals! We will be inside the main Princes Wharf Shed – Stall 16, on the wharf side towards the river or eastern end of the Shed, on a corner facing the city. Take the opportunity to come and see us , taste our wines, and check out our new label!
Get your calendar ready, as the Bream Creek team is going to be out and about in June and August.
In June we are taking part in the annual Dark Mofo event! Yes, you will find us at Winter Feast inside PW1, on the Salamanca side (Stall 38). We’ll have a selection of our wines available for purchase by the glass or bottle – including our multi gold medal winning 2014 Estate Pinot Noir. Winter Feast will be on 15-17 June and also 21-24 June, from 4pm each of those days. Don’t forget to pre-order your “Season pass” tickets here – otherwise tickets can be purchased on the door each night and entry is free after 8pm each night.
In August we are once again appearing in Sydney and Melbourne for the annual VIN Diemen festival. The dates are Sydney on Saturday 11 August and Melbourne on Sunday 12 August. While the Sydney event is scheduled once again to occur at the Cell Block Theatre in Darlinghurst, the Melbourne event is a little different this year – it will be a more intimate event, presented at Pure South Restaurant, which will mean the onsite Tasmanian food offering will be first class. The event will be officially launched in mid-June – but “Early bird” and “VIP” tickets are already available at this website.
Cheers, Fred
Vintage 2018 is remarkable not just for the “compactness” of ripening across different varieties and sites, but also the amazing quality of the grapes and the stunning performance of the vines.
Picking started quite early at the beginning of February, and except for one day on which we couldn’t pick because of showery weather, we hand – picked continually until late April, when we concluded vintage with our Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Yes, there is a tendency for vignerons to talk up just about every vintage! But quite seriously, this vintage reminds me of the fabulous 2005 vintage – which, until this vintage, I regard as the best I have ever experienced in Tasmania.
Fruit quality was sensational – clean, full flavoured and despite the long warm weather, it did retain its Tasmanian attribute of refreshing, balanced acids, avoiding the “dullness” that can occur through excessive heat. We had no problems with disease or insect damage, and strangely even the birds were fairly quiet. Silver (White) Eyes seemed to stay further south and clear of the vineyards and we hardly saw any flocks of starlings. The vines handled the higher fruit loads with ease, which I attribute to the generally dry winter and spring enabling the survival of the deeper roots ready for the summer.
So all in all, a most rewarding – even enjoyable (!) vintage 2018. We shall keep you posted on the progress of the wines.….
Cheers, Fred
This has to be one of the most consistently warm vintages I have ever seen! Our grapes have ripened about 2 to 3 weeks earlier than ever before, and an even greater surprise is that the later varieties such as Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are much closer behind Pinot then I can ever remember. Flavour development has come quite early this season and acids are still looking bright and fresh, so the general “quality balance” of the grapes across all varieties looks amazingly good. We have also been very fortunate in that mildew and Botrytis have been very subdued this year, so our grapes are remarkably clean and pristine. We are almost finished – just one block of Riesling to go (amazingly we picked our Cabernet Sauvignon last Friday 20 April, around 3.5 weeks earlier than last year!). With a very good run of dry vintage weather, we’ve had virtually no hold ups and it’s been a joy to see so much high quality fruit going into our bins. I reckon this vintage could rival the great vintage of 2005 – time will tell! Cheers, Fred
It was great to catch up with so many of you at the Taste of Tasmania. We can also confirm that we’ll be attending Festivale in Launceston from 2 February to 4 February 2018! This year, we’re located in Stall 91 – around the Rotunda. With a brand new layout this year for Festivale, it is looking like a great event – come along, say “hi” and take the opportunity to drop in and see us and taste our wines (including our new 2014 Estate Pinot Noir)!
Cheers, Fred
For the 28th straight year we will be at Taste of Tasmania (28 December 2017 to 3 January 2018)! This year you will find us inside the main Princes Wharf Shed – Stall 16. We’re towards the river (eastern or far) end of the Shed, on a corner on the water side – the same site as last year. Take the opportunity to drop in and see us and of course taste our wines.
Bream Creek will be in Sydney and Melbourne in the second weekend of August as part of the annual VIN Diemen event. This is a great event well worth attending – and we’ll have six of our wines available for tasting and purchase, including our 2015 Reserve Chardonnay (which is otherwise sold out). More details (tickets, dates, times and locations) available here. Cheers, Fred
Influenced by southern Australia’s coolest February in over 25 years, the start of Vintage 2017 in Tassie was generally delayed by about 3 weeks. Due to its maritime location overlooking Maria Island and Marion Bay, our vineyard at Bream Creek is cooler than the majority of Tassie vineyards and our grapes take longer to ripen – hence Vintage 2017 for us started only recently, when we picked Chardonnay from D Block (planted in the early 1990’s). Our picking is all done by hand so we have that final opportunity to hand select bunches to maintain our highest quality. I’ll be in touch later with a report on Vintage 2017 – but it seems clear so far that yields will be slightly down for some varieties and up for others. There are some amazing flavours out there and delightfully “soft” acidity as a result of the very long cool and quite dry summer and autumn. Cheers, Fred
That’s right! VIN Dieman (the successor to Tas Unbottled) returns to Melbourne and Sydney this August! Did you come last year? If so, you know what to expect. If you didn’t – then make sure you come along this year! Organised by the great team at Bottleshop Concepts (Pinot Palozza, Game of Rhones), it’s more than just a wine tasting – it’s a combination of the best of Tassie wine, with cider, food, music and a great vibe! Details below:
Melbourne
Where: Meat Market, 5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne
When: Sunday 21st August, 11am – 5pm
Price: $40 (early bird) / $50 (general sale), includes take-home premium wine glass and samples, food and beverages also available to purchase
Sydney
Where: Cell Black Theatre at the National Art School, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst
When: Saturday 27th August, 11am – 5pm
Price: $40 (early bird) / $50 (general sale), includes take-home premium wine glass and samples, food and beverages also available to purchase
Tickets can be purchased here (for both Melbourne and Sydney).
See you there!