Tag Archives: brisbane

Sophie’s Wrap Up

Posted on by Durvillea
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So I forgot to do my blog last week, the reason being that since I was in Brisbane for work I decided to take a couple of days holiday and visit one of my friends down on the Gold Coast. Where I had a fabulous and blissful few days relaxing and catching up with an old school friend.

But enough about that, I will fill you in on whats been going on in the last 10 days or so. So after the Barossa Jason and I flew to Brisbane where we met with the Smashing Bottles boys; Kris, Paul, Phil and Jak.

Jak, Phil, Paul and Kris

Smashing Bottles boys, Jak, Phil, Paul and Kris

The first day we were there Jak picked us up and took us round the Brisbane trade. As the whole trip has highlighted, it is just so great to be able to meet the people who are distributing our wine, and to get the chance to see who is selling our products, and who have it on their lists.

These boys are extremely passionate about our wines and it was fantastic to see what restaurants and retail outlets they have managed to get our wines into.

Simon also met us in Brisbane, as he was over doing a new release tasting with NZ Wine with Astrolabe. Simon and I then met up with Libby for breakfast the next morning, before Jason and I went off for the morning with Kris and the afternoon with Phil, doing trade visits and tastings. It seems we have a good scope in Brisbane from the City area, the suburbs, all the way down to Kingsland and up to Noosa.

Durvillea Pinot Grigio at The Wine Emporium, Brisbane

Durvillea Pinot Grigio at The Wine Emporium, Brisbane

Brisbane was a great way to end a great trip round Australia meeting all of our distributors and getting a chance to see how each market worked. Especially as it was the warmest place we went to, and I was holidaying afterwards!

So after four days in the Gold Coast it was back to Blenheim, to again meet with the Smashing Bottles boys who were over in NZ for the Bledisloe Cup. After a day of looking round Marlborough and visiting our growers vineyards to see where all the wine comes from we took them out to diner to d’Urvilles (where they have Durvillea and Astrolabe on their list).

Being back in the office this week has been great, but busy. We have had the whole team back in the office, which has been great. Lots has been going on, especially as we start to plan more bottlings and the rest of the year.

Breakfast at Au Cirque, Brisbane

Breakfast with Simon and Libby at Au Cirque, Brisbane

We are even starting to think about events next year, such as the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival. Next week, my blog will be from Simon, as I am going to get him to write a bit of an update on what is going on out in the winery at the moment, to fill you in on that side of things.

Before I go, a couple of exciting things that happened this week; one was that a container of Durvillea touched down in China. We are excited to see how the wine will go there, and which variety will be more popular, they have taken Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The second is that we are getting ready to send a pallet of Durvillea into Denmark!

Who’s that girl? Introducing Libby!

Posted on by Durvillea
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libbydressfixedThe third ‘Who’s that girl?’ interview in an occasional series – questions and write up from Meg.

Born in Te Kauwhata/Huntly in 1987 Libby is the middle daughter in the Forrest-Waghorn family. Now living in Australia she represents the Queensland ‘branch’ of Durvillea. You’ll hear from Libby on our facebook page, this blog and she tweets the occasional update from Oz via our twitter account (@durvilleawines).

What is your role at Durvillea?: As the middle Waghorn daughter, I have so far been involved in the brand development and social marketing aspects of Durvillea. Also, living in Brisbane, I do a bit of pro bono work putting in a good word for the wine to anyone and everyone I meet over here. Inevitably, my role has included a bit of ‘product sampling’ as well. Tough job.

What’s the reason behind your move to Brisbane?: My boyfriend Pete lives here in Queensland; I moved over at the beginning of last year after spending two years to-ing and fro-ing between Brisbane and Wellington. I am now studying Law and International Relations at the University of Queensland. Luckily, my parents were pretty supportive of my move over here – in part, perhaps, because their own love story followed along similar lines: our mother Jane followed then-aspiring winemaker Simon to Australia when he moved to SA to study oenology at Roseworthy nearly 30 years ago. I certainly haven’t regretted the move; Brisbane is a great, easy going city, and I love that the climate means people spend a lot of time being active outdoors. Best of all, its only a three hour flight from home.
Perhaps why Libby lives in Queensland?

Perhaps why Libby lives in Queensland?

What are your other jobs?: Here in Brisbane, I work part time in a wine shop (Vintage Cellars in Indooroopilly for any Brisbanites who want to pop in and say hello), as well as working a few hours a week as a volunteer law clerk at the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service, which I love. At home in Blenheim during the summer holidays I can usually be found in the vineyard at Astrolabe Farm earning some pocket money wire-lifting and leaf plucking.

How has your family being in the wine industry impacted on you?: This is a hard question; Pa’s been a wine maker longer than I’ve been alive so the wine industry has always been a part of our family life. As a child, it meant we spent a lot of time at the winery (Corban’s in Gisborne was the first I can remember). When we moved to Blenheim in 1994 (I was 7) most of the people we knew were part of the wine industry in Marlborough, so a lot of our close family friends are wine people too. Moving to Astrolabe Farm a few years ago, with a vineyard in our back garden, meant getting involved in the practical side of wine production. And it is a direct result of growing up in the industry that I am now involved in wine retail and marketing.

Any childhood memories of being a winemaker’s daughter?: One of our favourite things as kids was this elaborate game we invented called ‘Winery Mice’. I can’t remember the specifics, but I remember it involved a lot of running around the winery and climbing over barrels. Riding on the mechanical harvesters at night during vintage was always pretty exciting. Oh, another of my favourite things was putting the magnetic beaker stirrer in the winery lab on the fast setting so the magnet flung off across the room at high speed. I don’t think we were terribly helpful…
Libby & Meg plunging some pinot c.1996

Libby & Meg plunging some pinot c.1996

What’s your favourite thing about coming home to Marlborough?: Marlborough is a really beautiful place – much prettier than I realised when I lived there! I love flying into Blenheim in the tiny single-engine planes from Wellington over the Marlborough sounds. At Astrolabe Farm itself, its great to come home in winter to a roaring fire and Ma’s cooking. A winter trip home isn’t complete without toasting some marshmallows with Pa as well. In summer, sitting out on the verandah on the long warm nights with a book is nice. And I love our Christmas dinners in the Astrolabe Farm garden, with family and friends.

Any Blenheim local knowledge or tips you’d like to share?: Bamboo Garden chinese restaurant has long been a family favourite. I love the Wither Hills for walking, and the Tip Top Store on Scott St to get an old-school scoop icecream on the way home!

How about some Brisbane highlights?: I really like the South Bank cultural precinct for a wander through the galleries, or the New Farm markets on a sunny Saturday morning.

Libby and Simon on a family trip to San Francisco
Libby and Simon on a family trip to San Francisco

What’s your favourite wine?: Being a student, wine I buy has to be affordable. Lately, I’ve been drinking a bit of German riesling; the Dr Loosen Villa Wolf Dry Riesling 2006 is one of my current favourites and is only about $15.

And a meal to go with it?: Dry rieslings go well with Asian foods – I like making a stirfry of chicken and Asian greens like Bok Choy, and onion, garlic and ginger.

Who would you recommend Durvillea wines to? I think Durvillea wines are great for younger people becoming more familiar with drinking wine and who want to branch out from the entry-level big name brands, or for any one who hasn’t got a huge budget but wants to drink a quality wine with a bit of class.

Can you sum up the Durvillea range for us?: Top quality, good value wines that are classically ‘Marlborough’ in style while still managing to stand out from the crowd.