Open That Bottle Night 2023

Saturday 25th February 2023 is ‘Open That Bottle Night’

What is all this about you ask?

Back in the year 2000, ‘Tastings‘ columnists, Dorothy J Gaiter and John Brecher created Open That Bottle Night to encourage their readers to open a significant bottle and share their stories about the wine. They decreed it would be the last Saturday in February each year. It has become a day to celebrate your cherished bottle of wine, that you may have been given or are saving for a special occasion.

Don’t wait for that rainy day, ‘Open That Bottle Night’ is here

I think we’d all agree great wine is made to be shared. It doesn’t have to necessarily be the oldest bottle of wine you have in your cellar. It could be a bottle that takes you back to a special moment in time, or the latest release wine you’ve been meaning to open. One of the great things about wines are the stories attached to them, whether it be about how you first discovered it, where you tried it or maybe the company you were keeping at the time.

Get involved!

Unearth that wine you’ve been saving, gather friends and family and make an occasion of it. If it’s an Italian variety from us here at Vineyard 28, why not have an Italian theme dinner.
Share with your guests all you know about the wine and why it is special. Did you meet the winemaker ? Purchase it on a special weekend away? or just pop down to your local for something new and different?
If it is an older red wine we suggest you consider decanting it.
Tag us on social media (@vineyard28) and use the hashtag #OTBN or send us an email of how it all went. We’d love to hear your review if its an older Vineyard 28 wine, but equally we are interested to hear about all wine.
There’s even a FaceBook page you can connect to – https://www.facebook.com/Openthatbottlenight

Start planning now for ‘Open That Bottle Night’.

Wildwater Vineyard Picnic

On Saturday 15th October we hosted a picnic adventure up at our Wildwater Vineyard. Starting at Vineyard 28, our guests took a bus up into the Harvey Hills to our Wildwater Vineyard. Our winemaker, Mark took everyone on a tour of the vineyard and they got to see the tree featured on our Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto and meet owners Cath & Kim to learn more about the history of the land.

We had a long table picnic lunch set up on the top of the hill overlooking the vineyard. The picnic was set up by our friends at Picnic Cheer with individual picnic boxes for each guest supplied by Thyme and Place.

Our guests also got to taste our new release wines like our 2021 Sparkling Pignoletto, 2022 Fiano and our special release, the Jasper Rose and talk all things wine with Mark and Pippa. It was a beautiful day and thank you to everyone who came on this little adventure with us! We can’t wait to do it again next year!

New Wine Releases

All the details on the new release wines are right here including our new Immigrants – Montepulciano and Barbera.

2022 Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto

The first of our new release wines is the 2022 Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto which was harvested on 16th February 2022 at our Wildwater Vineyard. At the winery, the grapes were whole bunch pressed and fermented to dryness in stainless steel. The wine was then bottled and began secondary ferment in May 2022. It then spent 14 months on lees, before being disgorged in August 2023.

With this wine, we use the ‘methode traditionelle’ to make the wine with minimal intervention to allow the Pignoletto grape to be the star. It reflects the Wildwater vineyard terroir, its landmark towering gum tree and the guinea fowl who live amongst the vines.

2023 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Our 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon began its journey in late February with the Sauvignon Blanc from Kinglake harvested on the 2nd March and the Semillon from Wildwater harvested slightly earlier on the 23rd of February.

The winemaking process for the 2023 SBS involved a separate cold ferment using stainless steel. The two wines were blended to achieve optimum balance and flavours whilst maintaining a predominantly Sauvignon Blanc character.

This 2023 SBS is pale straw in colour, with fresh apple to lime notes and herbaceous overtones. A clean crisp wine best enjoyed with grilled fish or chicken, or a simple Caesar salad.

2023 Arneis

Harvested on 17th February again this year. The fruit was crushed and pressed within 2 hours of harvest. The juice was cooled to 10 degrees C, settled and racked after 36 hours. Fermentation was performed at 13-15 degrees C, using a wild yeast from the vineyard. It was fermented to dryness within 21 days. After this the wine was left on lees for 3 months before the wine was racked. Further fining and cold stabilisation took place prior to bottling in June.

A lovely fruity textured style this year, with lots of depth to the palate. Highly recommended to be enjoyed with seafood.

2023 Moscato Rosa

Always our first harvest these grapes were handpicked on the 8th February this year. It is an absolutely delicious wine this year, our sweet but dry Italian.

A touch of ‘rosa’ (pink hue) with all the richness of peach and apricot on the palate.

Best enjoyed with a plate of traditional Turkish Delight.

Awarded Best Sweet Table Wine at the 2023 WA Alternative Varieties Wine Show.

2022 Dolcetto

Our 2022 Dolcetto was harvested on the 23rd March at our Wildwater site before being crushed, destemmed and transferred to an open fermenter, where the juice was inoculated with yeast. Once the ferment had begun, the skins were plunged every 6 hours and kept under 30°C until dryness was achieved. Then, before the ferment was complete, the wine was inoculated with an MLF bacteria. The wine was then left for 7 days on skins, once fermentation was complete.

Our 2022 Dolcetto is a deep raspberry hue, with a palate of black cherries and liquorice. It is a dry and scrumptious red wine with mouth-filling savoury tannins. Enjoy this wine with pasta with a meat sauce, roasted poultry or a simple pizza.

The New Immigrants – Only available at the cellar door.

The following are the first releases of our small batches of new Italian red varietals, Montepulciano and Barbera. These grapes are grown at our Wildwater Vineyard in the Harvey hills. There is a small quantity available at the cellar door for those who get their quickly.

2022 Montepulciano (Mon-tae-pul-chee-AH-noh)

This is the 2nd most planted variety in Italy after sangiovese, and we grow it up at our Wildwater Vineyard.

Red plum, blackberry and thyme are all characters of the palate. It is juicy and delicious. Pairs well with a wide variety of foods due to having a natural elevated acidity.

Enjoy with aged cheddar, parmesan and relishes or a simple pizza.

$35.00 per bottle

2022 Barbera (Bah-beuh-ruh)

Originating in the Piedmonte region of North West Italy, this is the 3rd most planted grape variety after Sangiovese and Montepulciano.

Think tart cherry, black pepper and licorice with low tannins and high acidity.

A prefect match to mediterranean style foods rich in high fat, a traditional Spaghetti Bolognese and Ragu.

$35.00 per bottle (limit of 3 bottles per order)

Head over here to get yourself a bottle of our new releases!

ABC – Anything but Chardonnay

Why do we grow mostly Italian Varieties ?

Mark’s Answer: ABC – Anything But Chardonnay

Whenever Mark is asked why we grow Italians? His answer is often literally ‘ABC, anything but Chardonnay’ and not because he dislikes Chardonnay, far from it. There are some great Chardonnays out there to enjoy. Instead Mark enjoys the challenge of growing something different, producing unique wines and sharing them with those amongst you curious about wine.

There is something like 10,000 grape varieties in the world, 3,000 or so in Italy alone, and most people would only be able to name 5-6 at best.

30 years ago, you would find Mark & myself roaming the Victorian countryside looking for elusive, unique wines. This was a time when Brown Brothers and a few other smaller wineries were starting to experiment and beginning to plant lesser known varieties. It was these ventures that encouraged our curiosity about wine, beyond the world of Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet.

How did we stumble upon the Italians?

We were on holiday back visiting family in Western Australia 25 years ago, when we stumbled upon the Three Hills label produced by Erl Happ, and in particular a grape variety we’d never heard of – Nebbiolo. It was so different, sort of like Pinot to look at, but a different shade of red, and tannic and dry, with a rich palate. This led us on a journey to find out more about this grape and where it came from.

Move on a few years and we had decided to move back to the West from Melbourne, leaving behind the corporate world, and look to raise our then 18 month old Bailey with family around him. We had discussing the dream of having our own vineyard and making wine, and the move to the West made this a reality when we purchased our 10 acres on Bagieau Road, establishing Vineyard 28.

In all honesty, we didn’t know much about growing grapes. We knew lots about drinking wine and all the styles, and what it was like to be on the other side of the cellar door counter. In 1997 we started planning; we’d plant a vineyard first, sell fruit to make some money and then build a cellar door and make wine. The grape glut of the latter 90’s – early 2000’s squashed that idea fairly quickly. Selling grapes wasn’t going to be viable, so we revised our plans and dived in to winemaking and building a cellar door.

A few conversations with Erl on how Nebbiolo grew resulted in us planting our first block in 1999. From there on, as they say, it’s history. The love affair with Piedmontese varieties began and we started investigating what other grapes we could grow from that region.

It was a lot of fun trying different wines, researching what could grow here and it still is today. Our vineyards doesn’t stand still. There are always new things to be learnt whether it is about the clone of a particular grape we are growing, the way we are making wine, or a shift to another variety that appeals more to the wine consumer. A great site we can recommend to learn more about lesser known grapes is Vinodiversity.

Present times

Today we grow Arneis, Fiano, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Muscat Petit a Grains Rouge, Brachetto and Cabernet Sauvignon on our coastal property at Vineyard 28. In the hills above Harvey at the Wildwater Vineyard we grow, Pignoletto, Barbera, Montepulciano, Dolcetto and Muscat Petit a Grains Rouge.

2021 is our 24^th year in the wine industry, from a very small beginning in 1997 – 11 years of making wine onsite, and 16 years for our Cellar Door operation. Each year is an adventure as we’re never quite sure what the climate and elements have in store for us. We are now preparing to embark on our 2021 vintage journey – from picking the grapes to crafting the wine- and look forward to seeing our wines enjoyed by our loyal customers.

Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto

2019 Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto

On Saturday 14th November we proudly launched our first Sparkling wine, the 2019 Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto, in the company of our lovely customers and family.

Winemaker Mark regaled our visitors with the tale of how he was first introduced to the world of Sparkling Wine or ‘Bubbly’ as he calls it. Way back in the 1970’s Mark worked his way through University as a kitchen hand at the old Parmelia. At the end of one evening’s work there was a bottle of Champagne not finished, and he was offered it to take home. It would have been either a Veuve Clicquot or possibly a Pol Roger he thinks, but whatever it was, he loved it, and from then on made sure he got the unfinished bottles after his shifts each weekend. And so, the love affair with ‘bubbles’ began.

It was a couple of years ago during a visit to the research block of vines at Wokalup that Mark discovered this grape called Pignoletto. After a bit more research, he found out that it originates from the Emilio Romagna area in Italy. It takes its name from ‘pigna’, the Italian for pine cone, on account of its small, tight grape clusters. When he learned the Italians used it to make a sparkling style wine, we were in. Another block at the Wildwater vineyard was prepared and grafted over to Pignoletto in 2018.

The 2019 Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto takes its name from the vineyard where the grapes are grown. Our lovely friend and local artist Yvonne Chapman was commissioned to create the artwork for our label. It showcases the terroir of the Wildwater vineyard – its landmark towering gum tree which is in the middle of our Pignoletto block and the guinea fowl who live amongst the vines.

How is the wine made?

Winemaker, Mark, used ‘methode traditionelle‘ for this wine. The grapes were harvested on the 16th February 2019, whole bunch pressed and fermented to dryness in stainless steel. The resultant base wine was bottled and underwent secondary ferment on lees for 14 months, before being disgorged and corked in July 2020.

The resultant wine is a crisp, bright sparkling – think granny smith apples and crunchy green pear slices – this is our Pignoletto.

How do you purchase the Wildwater Sparkling Pignoletto?

Head on over to our Buy Wine page or just click here and it will take you to the right page. But don’t wait too long. This vintage was our very first and there is only a limited supply with our Cellar Club members receiving preference.

Sparkling Pignoletto Release

2019 Sparkling Pignoletto Release

Saturday 14th November 2020

at the Cellar Door

3.00pm to 5.00pm

Bookings essential – Click here to Book

The afternoon will commence with a glass of the 2019 Sparkling Pignoletto.

This is our first production of a sparkling wine using our Pignoletto grapes which are grown in the Harvey Hills at our Wildwater Vineyard.

The label has been created specially for us from a commissioned painting by local artist Yvonne Chapman and friend of Vineyard 28. It showcases the Wildwater vineyard, its landmark towering gum tree and the guinea fowl who live amongst the vines.

Pignoletto originates from the Emilio Romagna area in Italy. It takes its name from Pigna’, the Italian for pine cone, on account of its small, tight grape clusters.

Think crisp green apples and crunchy green pear slices – this is our Pignoletto.

Winemaker Mark, will chat to you about the wine, tell you the story of the label and encourage you to sample it alongside some canapes.

You will also be able to sample the 2020 releases of our Sauvignon Blanc, Arneis, Dolcetto and Dolcetto Freddo.

A grazing table laden with canapes, cheeses, olives, and our awesome locally made artisan crackers will be on hand to enjoy with your wine.

On Saturday 14 November 2020 at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Bookings essential. BOOK HERE

Wildwater Block

Just been away up in the hills this morning to our Wildwater site to check on the muscat vines.
Don’s girls – the guinea fowl – keeping an eye on us whilst we worked.
All looking good – should be taking a first crop off this patch in 2016.

March 10, 2015

Beautiful early morning up at Wildwater vineyard training the new Moscato.
Check out the growth on the new graft.

Feb 10, 2015

A detailed photo of what the muscat grafts are looking like after docking the parent vine this morning,
and a general view of how the Wildwater Block is looking. Beautiful morning to be up in the Harvey Hills.

January 8, 2015

Well whilst some have been winding down from Christmas celebrations and getting ready for New Year,
here at Vineyard 28 we do it a little differently. Been away early the last two mornings to beat the heat,
up to the Wildwater Vineyard to spend some time looking after the Muscat grafts. Excellent growth overall.

December 31, 2014