Newsletter July 2011
Annual Pruning Day - July 30th, Saturday
It's on again, the annual Pruning Day. Come along and learn the fine art of pruning. These skills are very transferrable to almost all of your shrubs, plants and rose bushes around the house. Bob will teach you the theory, then you put that theory into practice in the vineyard. Simple. And Useful. If you are a member of our adopt-a-vine program, you can then prune your own vine (with help from our team if you need it).
The cost is $20.00 for our MyVine Adoptive Parents and one other person and $30.00 for all others. Another good reason to adopt-a-vine. The day starts at 9:30 a.m. and ends with a pizza and wine lunch.
Call or email us to make a booking. T. (03) 5428 2228. info@gisbornepeakwines.com.au
Rabbit Stew - Game on!
Two weekends only this month: Sat & Sun July 16 & 17, and again on Sat & Sun July 30 & 31.
Ana's Rabbit Stew is yearned for by those who have had it before, so don't miss out. A perfect match for GPW Pinot Noir. Call to save a table. But listen to this: Rabbit Stew was almost Duck Soup. Who would have thought! Rabbits rabbits everywhere and not a leg to eat! There is actually a shortage of rabbits available. You see the ferrets don't like wind and rain and cold (or something like that). Lucky for the rabbits. But not so lucky for us. Ana finally sourced some from one of her connections at Footscray market. Whew! Best to book a table.
Five Sober Weekends in a Row. Must be what death feels like.
We and others in the industry are concerned about the wowser attitude towards alcohol and enjoying a glass or two of your favourite whatever. This article by Kendall Hill which appeared in Tuesday's Age Newspaper says it all with a certain amount of irony, humour and truth. Have a read of it. Follow this link
In case it doesn’t work for you, here it is: http://tinyurl.com/3zz3rok
Some recent comments
We thrive on comments here. I just loved these latest ones:
"Seriously, how good is this?!!"
"Wow! Excellent wine tasting! Both the taste and informative conversation"
"A great find"
"Absolutely fabulous. Good food & wine. Service impeccable. Lovely Staff".
Is there a Doctor in the House? Dr. Vine, right this way, Sir!
I love this story from the Woodend Information Centre.
A volunteer answered the phone and the person asked if they knew "A Dr. Vine". The woman couldn't place a Dr. Vine in any of the local medical centres and apologised to the person calling and said she would give them the contact number for a couple of local medical centres. The person then added that they thought it was located in Gisborne South and was possibly a vineyard, not a doctor.
Upon further questioning the volunteer realized that they were asking about 'Adopt-a-Vine' and she eventually gave them our number! Cute story.
Cottage Openings & Open House Day
We are pleased and honoured to announce that Senator the Hon Nick Sherry, Minister Assisting on Tourism, will be officially launching the Eco-Cottages at Gisborne Peak Winery. This auspicious event is planned for Friday, 12th August. A marquee will be erected on the cottages site and people assisting us throughout the planning and building of these cottages will be invited to the official launch.
Don't despair if your invitation doesn't arrive in the mail, because we are holding an Open Day on Saturday, 13th of August (11:00 – 3:00) for all of you, our loyal customers who have been so supportive throughout the arduous process of planning, rejection, VCAT and finally, building! So we would love to see you on the Saturday. The gardens are going to be beautiful once the sun shines and the earth warms up a bit. Our landscape gardener, Amanda Gauci, has done a marvelous job in planting out with Australian and even indigenous plants. And Bob has invested in some rare and special species too. Amanda will be giving garden tours on the Saturday.
A few housekeeping rules for that day:
Park in the cellar door car park and if you intend to stay for lunch and a glass of wine it's best to book a table. This will be the ONLY opportunity for you to see the cottages inside and out as once we start taking bookings the area will be 'off-limits' to visitors to the cellar door.
About the Cottages:
A Synergy of Wind, Sun, Rain and the Earth
The idea behind Gisborne Peak Winery Eco-Cottages was to create a facility where sustainability, relaxation and fine wine could all come together in one location.
The new eco-cottages at Gisborne Peak Winery are a revolutionary development utilizing environmentally sustainable modular buildings. To complement the building design, the cottages use renewable energy resources as their main power supply. A creative system of solar panels, a small wind turbine and a back-up diesel generator complete the trio of innovative, sustainable energy. Combine these with the time honoured art of grape growing, producing quality grapes to make excellent wine and the result is a synergy of the sun, the earth, the rain and the wind to make a most pure, one-with-nature experience.
The cottages have been built with the assistance of The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, TQUAL grant. An official press release will be issued closer to the date.
Open House Day: Sat 13th August 11:00 – 3:00
See the article following for YOUR CHANCE TO BE THE FIRST TO STAY IN THE COTTAGES.
Parkinson's Victoria (PV) & Gisborne Peak Winery: Ready, Set, Go!
August is our major fundraising month for Parkinson's Victoria. We are planning a number of things, so keep an eye out for:
A Helen Cottle Original Painting
A Helen Cottle original painting to be raffled! This is truly a wonderful gift that Helen , a local artist, is giving to help the cause. Helen is a regular (I'm not saying how regular), and she has generously donated a painting. The painting is titled 'Winter Morning, Gisborne South'. The Winery is donating the cost of framing the painting. We will be selling raffle tickets at cellar door and by the mail. You can buy tickets and see the painting at our PV Action Day at the winery on Saturday 6th August (see below for details) Visit some of Helen's work on her WEBSITE . And here is a sneak preview of the painting.... it's beautiful!
Saturday, 6th August: Parkinson's Victoria 'Action-Day' at Gisborne Peak Winery.
It's an action packed day at the Winery all for a good cause! This is our major fundraising activity for Parkinson's Victoria and we have a full day of fun, prizes, games food, wine and more.
On the day:
• Silent Auction of lots and lots of good things
• Sneak preview of the eco-cottages, gold coin donation to view
• Helen Cottle's painting on show and raffle tickets will be on sale
• Wine options game
• Money donated by GPW for every pizza sold and on all take-home wine
• Bid to be FIRST to stay in one of our delightful the Eco-Cottages. Winners will be announced on the day. (see below for details)
• Interview with Bob Judge & Brendan Judge. Brendan, grandson of Bob, is Victoria's biggest fund-raiser for PV so far this year. Bob is 'Pop' to Brendan and has been diagnosed with Parkinson's.
Come along with friends, have some fun, win some prizes, play some games, support a very worthy charity and have a sneak preview of the Eco-Cottages. If you want to book a table call the winery on 5428 2228 or EMAIL US.
Be the First to stay in The Eco-Cottages (3 winners!)
We've had so many requests of "Can we be the first to book the cottages", that we decided to make a bit of a fundraiser for Parkinson's Victoria out of it.
The opening weekend to actually stay at the Cottages is going to be:
Friday & Saturday August 19 & 20
or if you prefer Saturday & Sunday Aug 20 & 21
(Subject to all permits issued)
Here's how to 'Be the First': (There will be 3 winning couples)
You bid for the amount that you are willing to pay for a 2-night stay in one of the cottages. It can be anything, but the HIGHEST bidder wins. There is a small registration fee of $10 to actually place a bid and this will be forwarded to Parkinson's Victoria. Parkinson's Victoria will be administering the auction for us. So you call Parkinson's Victoria, register your bid and give them your credit card for $10 (registration fee). Tell Parkinson's Victoria what your bid is and we will announce the WINNING BID on August 6th during the Action Day at the winery.
You must be able to stay on the following weekend, Aug 19 & 20 (or 20 & 21). No rain checks. Phone PV on (03) 9551 1122 and place your bid! Bidding opens NOW. (All bids and names will be kept confidential by PV). (note: the cottages are for two people only and are not suitable for children or pets)
Adopt-a-Vine Special
I don't believe we agreed to this - but we did! You are going to love this offer........ $50.00 to Parkinson's Victoria for every new Adopt-a-Vine in August!
With Father's Day's just around the corner (September) this is the perfect time to buy that present for the wine lover in your life, or perhaps just the lover in your life. And you'll be doing your bit for Parkinson's research and support.
To Adopt-a-Vine contact us at the winery by phone (03) 5428 2228 or Email. The cost is only $75.00 and the discounts, fun and education for the 3-year adoption are well worth it. Especially when $50.00 of that is going to Parkinson's Victoria! You can't go wrong. But you must mention that you are adopting a vine using the Parkinson's Victoria promo.
Shaker Tin on front counter.
Slip that change that we give you in the shaker tin. It all adds up.
Run for Melbourne - Team GPW
Support for Kay & Andrew Millington who are running in the Run Melbourne 'Team GPW'. We have had collection envelopes on the tables and have collected over $150.00 for Kay and Andrew's efforts. Thanks to everyone who gave.
If you are still reading this newsletter at this point - THANK YOU!
One final but very important message:-
In what appears to be the coldest of winters, grey skies and even gloomier world news, we have some good news.
Despite prices everywhere going up, despite the costs of everything we buy is going up, that we are choking on carbon tax news and indecision by those who govern us, we are staying positive!
Our commitment to give you value and fun and relaxation has compelled us to KEEP OUR PRICES THE VERY SAME FOR THE NEXT 3-MONTHS, AT LEAST!
When everyone else is raising prices to cover costs, we are not. We know we probably should, but there is no board of directors telling us what we can, or can't do. So that's our promise to you - keep our prices the same, you know what to expect, there's no surprises and no price increases. Let's all get through these rather tough times together. A glass of wine always makes things not seem quite so bad.
See you all soon,
Barbara & Bob Nixon
Ana Grdic & the GPW Team
Your 'To-Do' List:
1. Call to book in for the Annual Pruning Day
2. Rabbit Stew: July 16 & 17, and July 30 & 31
3. Come along on Saturday 6th August to the Action Day for Parkinson's Victoria
4. Open House at the Cottages on Saturday 13th August
5. Adopt-a-Vine in August and mention Parkinson's Victoria
6. Call Parkinson's Victoria and place a bid to Be the First to Stay in the Cottages
Contact Us:
Phone number: (03) 5428 2228
Email: info@gisbornepeakwines.com.au
Website: www.gisbornepeakwines.com.au
