Sherbrooke Sips with R&R: Australia
Winery: Wayne Thomas
Vintage: 2002
Location: McLaren Vale, Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Blend: Shiraz
Tasting: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Now I know you are looking at this and thinking ‘what the heck?’ I thought she said she was going to Germany. Well as luck would have it, when I got to the airport and passed through security didn’t I go to the wrong gate and end up on a flight to Australia!! You don’t believe me? Well, I don’t blame you. It sounds a little far fetched even for me! We had planned to sample a German wine, as you know, but something came up at the last minute and we had to make a change. Hence this blog is being posted so late. We will visit Germany soon. 
To make up for it, we have a special treat for you…Wayne Thomas American Oak Shiraz 2002. I was speaking with the wine agency this morning and they told me that the Wayne Thomas wines are only available in Alberta, so this truly is a treat.
Richard and I had the opportunity to try this wine just after we were engaged in October 2007. We were given a bottle as a congratulations present by Jim at Sherbrooke Liquor. When Jim first told us about this wine, we were completely intrigued. Of course, I immediately went to Google Wayne Thomas. There was not a lot of information to be found at the time
Wayne Thomas was a veteran in South Eastern Australia. He started his winemaking career in 1961. He studied at the Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia. (In 1991, Roseworthy became a part of the University of Adelaide).
In years to come, Wayne worked for Stonyfell Winery just outside Adelaide, Ryecroft Winery in McLaren Vale and Saltram Winery in Barossa Valley before establishing Fern Hill Winery in 1975 with his wife Pat. Wayne and Pat sold Fern Hill in April 1994. They were not leaving the wine industry, however. They started a new label called, you guessed it, Wayne Thomas Wines. The winery itself was located in the old Maxwell Winery in McLaren Vale. Their approach this time was to use contract-grown grapes sourced from vineyards throughout the McLaren Vale region. They had amazing success with their wines. Sherbrooke carries both the Shiraz and the Petit Verdot in the store. You shouldn’t miss the Petit Verdot, either.
Wayne’s wife passed away in 2001 and she did not get to see him win the “Bushing King” title in 2004 and 2006. This is a time honoured title that goes back to days of old in Great Britain. Vines/bushes were hung on doorways to announce the arrival of the new vintages of wine. The McLaren Vale Bushing Festival started in 1973. The winemaker who wins the best wine of the year is bestowed the title of “Bushing King/Queen”. In April 2007, Cancer took Wayne’s life. He had just finished supervising the harvest and crushing of the 2007 vintage. Wayne’s talented son Andrew agreed to finish the 2007 vintage in honour of his dad. Like so many… Wayne was gone too soon.
The wine is a bright ruby colour. There are the wonderful notes of the blackberry, black raspberry and that wonderful Shiraz peppery spice is on the nose too. If you dig a little deeper, there is even a wee touch of vanilla from the 432 days that this wine spent in the oak barrels.
There is a very special offer for our customers today. If you buy a single bottle of the Wayne Thomas Shiraz you will for sure get your ‘Winesday 10% discount’. If, however, you buy 6 bottles of the Wayne Thomas Shiraz today, you will get a whopping 20% off the price. This is the first time that this has been offered, so it is a great time to take advantage.
Come by and enjoy this wine with us.
Food Pairing:
BBQ beef, BBQ chicken, BBQ Salmon, Duck, Osso Bucco
CSPC: 711825
Price:
$34.99 (Minus Winesday discount. See the extra special noted above.)
*Price correct at time of printing. Price subject to change without notice.
We are going to be back on Canadian soil next week. In particular… Ontario. See you there!