Fiery pinot makes history

Fiery pinot makes history

A pinot noir has topped the Sydney Royal Wine Show for the first time. The 2011 Bay of Fires Pinot Noir, from Tasmania, won the Macquarie Bank Trophy for best wine of the show, as well as the Geoffrey Crundall Trophy for best pinot noir and Gilbert Phillips Trophy for best red wine. Hunter Valley winemaker Andrew Thomas also excelled, taking home five gold, three silver and five bronze medals from his 15 entries. His 2007 Thomas Braemore Semillon won two trophies: the Len Evans Trophy for best wine from a named vineyard and the Restaurant and Catering Association Trophy for best small maker wine (from a winery crushing less than 500 tonnes) in the named vineyard classes.

More gold in Champagne

It's one of those fairytale stories: a workman renovating an old building in the country dislodges a cache of ancient coins, which tumble from the rafters like manna from heaven. The 497 gold $US20 coins were minted between 1851 and 1928, and are valued about $US1 million ($966,000). The coins have been untouched for nearly a century and their condition has been assessed from ''very fine'' to ''choice mint state''. They were discovered in 2012 by a workman renovating a building for Champagne Lanson in the eastern Champagne village of Les Riceys. It's not known how they got there but the building was owned by a champagne producer who traded with the US and England in the 1930s. The coins will be auctioned by Bonhams of London in June. The Lanson employee alerted his employer, not knowing that under French law he would be entitled to half the proceeds. The company says the anonymous man will be able to use his windfall to buy a house for his family.

Winery changes hands

McLaren Vale winery Gemtree has bought the winery and some of the vineyard of Kangarilla Road. This follows a significant investment by Chinese interests in Gemtree, which is controlled by the winery's founders, the Buttery family. Kangarilla Road, which was founded by Kevin and Helen O'Brien in 1997, has long had a close relationship with Gemtree, as Gemtree's wines have been made at Kangarilla Road by Mike Brown, who is married to Melissa Buttery. However, the O'Briens have kept the Kangarilla Road brand as well as their neighbouring JOBS vineyard. Kevin will continue to make the Kangarilla Road wines in the same winery and Kangarilla Road cellar door sales will remain at the winery until mid-year, when the O'Briens plan to open a new facility on their own vineyard.