girl with a wine-track mind…

G’day Folks,
this Thursday 23rd April I shall be at Burnside Cellars from 4pm til closing pouring some vino.. so those that have a spare moment or two should come along to catch up.. I’ll also be there with my mates Anton Van Klopper from Lucy Margeaux Vineyards in the Adelaide HIlls and Tom Shobbrook from Shoobrook Wines from the Barossa. If I get my act together I’ll also have a few cheeky 09 samples to have a look at in all their raw glory!
Ring Geoff or Di at Burnside Cellars for more info on 83386333.
Look forward to seeing you there.
KT x

G’day Folks.. firstly so sorry to have been missing in action lately.. rest assured I’ve been swamped and if there’s been any free time away from grapes I’ve been sleeping, eating, drinking or dancing on bars.. but I’m back.. and I think delerium has well and truly set in.. I’ve just pressed the Tempranillo off skins yesterday and so good to get into to the fermenter bin and bucket it out.. I’m sure it worked off at least one hot cross bun.. the Cabernet and Grenache are happily ticking away on skins and going through their wild ferments.. and I have just had quite the moment.. and this is potentially where the sanity level is borderline.. my life runs on gut reaction and listening to the little voice in my head that points me in the right direction.. sometimes it’s about reading the signs.. my sweeter style Melva Riesling was close to the sugar level that I needed to stop the ferment this morning.. I’ve been tasting it all day at 3 hour intervals .. just to make sure I didn’t miss the perfect balance..since I don’t have a laboratory I tend to make my decisions on the flavour balance and so was freaking out that I would miss the right time or make the wrong decision. Melva was my beloved Grandma.. she was my great friend and I know she still looks out for me and sends me signs when I need them. When I went to taste the ferment at 4pm I sampled, stepped back and tasted.. I started thinking about focussing on the moment, the flavour, the texture and the overall balance of the wine.. I also started to look around and become totally conscious of my surrounds.. at that moment I realised that playing on the radio was Drapht Jimmy Recard… my Grandfather’s name was Jim.. Melva and Jim.. I did a little happy dance and decided to stop it there…it tastes delicious. 
Thankyou Grandma and Grandpa.. I miss you lots and am so pleased that even in another world you are still helping me make the right choices in life… just as you always did. I love you. KT xx   

G’day Folks.. I’ve been meaning to tell you about a new business worthy of support.. check out;
http://www.secretvines.com.au

You’ll find KT and The Falcon supporting it and there’s plenty of specialty wine advice on hand for those that need a little help in making a decision!
me x

G’day Folks.. I’ve been a little star struck of late after spending the day on Saturday with one of the greatest Riesling producers of the world.. Egon Muller from the Mosel.. pinch me.. I’m so excited that he would come and visit me in Clare to taste through my wines and new juices in tank. So we visited the vineyards and spoke about viticulture and the terroir.. the importance of great vine resources, balance, natural acidity and texture.. he had some very positive things to say about my wines which makes me so incredibly proud.. I can’t tell you how inspiring it was.. he was particularly taken it seems with my Melva style which is the slightly sweeter Riesling.. I suppose the natural ferment and sugar/acid balance was the wine that had us talking quite a bit.. I made sure that he came and tasted my juices out of tank so that he could impart some of the very special Mosel energy onto them.. I’m really chuffed I have to say.
me x

G’day Folks.. yes I’m here.. sorry life has been more than a little hectic.. I’ve been willing myself to find time to type and tell you all what’s been happening but when you only just find yourself cooking dinner at 10:45 pm.. shocking.. the whole blog thing can get blogged frankly.. so here goes.. cos I still have to get out to Skilly and plunge my Shiraz tonight..
1. The last couple of days have seen some new fruit for KT… Churinga Shiraz harvested today and some new hot off the press Churinga Riesling.. keep an eye out in future for my new project – another single vineyard Riesling in celebration of the wonderful Churinga vineyard and a new partner to the Churinga SHiraz.. yay..
2. The SHiraz is so fragrent this year.. not big blockbuster styles but very fine and focussed with lovely licorice and cherry spice.. I’m really excited because they seem to have maintained a dignity about them despite the hot weather.. bonus points to Clare..
3. all Rizza will be innoculated next week once I find time to get my act together..

Extra bits.. check out my very first (it’s all work in progress) you tube video.. so I’ve now blogged, facebooked, twittered, you tubed and freakin wirelessed when the wind is going in the right direction.. one of these days someone might just ring me.. get on the end of a can.. or send a carrier pidgeon..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxN203adODc

EAST END CELLARS TASTING – in a fit of delirium .. or maybe that’s delerium.. not sure.. I decided I needed more to do.. so if you’re keen to come along and taste some KT and The Falcon bottles with me tomorrow at East End Cellars in the city I shall be there between 4 and 6 pm tomorrow (Fri 20th Mar).. I can’t guarrantee that I will be making any sense since I’ve only really been talking to grapes over the last few weeks.. but the change of scenery will no doubt do me well..
look forward to seeing you there..
me x

G’day Folks.. it’s right about now in vintage that you start to realise that you really should have organised a few extra things before life got crazy.. clean clothes, frozen dinners, extra hand cream.. the appropriate SOS signal.. we’ve had a long couple of days with grape harvest and I racked all of my Riesling’s this morning off their gross lees so I can go home with a smile.. all set up and ready to head to ferment next week. I just left Bunny and Yvonne’s (my gorgeous grape growers) after tasting through all of the clean juices with them. It’s amazing the difference between the 3 different parcels.. I love that we can sit there and celebrate their hard work and the promise of what’s to come. I also love visiting them because like all good grapegrowers they have a wonderful veggie patch and it’s so much more fun than going to the supermarket.. I have left with fresh, homegrown peaches,cucumbers, pumpkins, passionfruit and basil.. the kangaroos ate the lettuces and so there were none left. Given that in my fridge at the moment is a packet of smoked salmon and bottles of Riesling, Champagne and Gin.. I think that sounds so much more exciting that a frozen dinner anyway.. Bon Appetite..
See you soon. KT x

G’day Folks… I can’t tell you how happy I am to have this week over.. sometimes I wonder why I keep doing this.. why I keep dragging hoses and standing in ankle deep water in the cellar.. why I continue the sleepless nights at the faint hint of a rain drop on the roof..last night for dinner I had a glass of red wine and a handful of pistachio nuts because I was too exhausted to cope with anything else.. am I still rising to the challenges? Have I made the right decisions regarding harvest? There is such a sense of relief when the grapes are picked and safely in tank but it’s always a double edged sword.. have I given the absolute best to them and become the custodian that they deserve.. I really hope so.. despite the challenges it’s the creativity that I love.. the opportunity to put your energy into a living breathing thing.. it’s the anticipation of something special that keeps me coming back for more year in and year out.. I figure if I look after my grapes then my grapes will look after me..
keep sending fine weather vibes..
see you soon. KT x

G’day Folks.. I tell you this year we’ve had everything.. fire to floods.. I can happily say that the majority of the KT and The Falcon harvest was completed yesterday morning before the rain set in.. and my babies are happily sitting on gross lees in tank now.. THIS IS VERY STRESSFUL…
of course those that know me will be aware that I love to sink my teeth into a challenge and so thanks to Mother Nature I can safely say that I’ve been kept on my toes this year.. the heat meant there was a reasonable amount of sunburn that had to be hand selected out and with the rain yesterday afternooon it means that the remaining fruit will need to be reviewed for any damage over the next couple of days..
with strong vineyards come strong fruit and so this morning when I was out and about it seems the remaining few tonnes are holding up really well.. I’m so excited.
this vintage it’s critical to keep an eye on the acidity since after the heat many vines seemed to start to metabolise their acidity to keep themselves happy. Great Riesling has a fine natural backbone of acidity and so rather than chasing sweetness I jumped on the block when it was showing a great balance of flavour and still plenty of fresh fine acid.. I can’t wait to show you the results in the coming months..
so clearly I’m having to work for it this year.. when the weather is fine the wines make themselves.. a little inconveniently I’m having to get my skates on this year!.. the equilibrium of gin to work load is a very important one this vintage…
see you soon. KT x