MEDIA RELEASE DECEMBER 5, 2011
New Summer Menu at Rochford - Yarra Valley
Rochford Yarra Valley – renowned for its award winning cold climate wines – has released its new 2011-2012 Summer Menu, using the freshest and finest Yarra Valley produce – providing the perfect excuse to escape to Victoria’s Yarra Valley and enjoy the views overlooking the vineyards.
Rochford Head Chef Ciaran Butler has produced an amazing array of dishes for the new Summer Menu - of course complemented by Rochford’s recent 2010 wine releases:
OCEAN TROUT - Pan fried trout served with truffled cauliflower florets, local asparagus and pommes parmentière
2010 Yarra Valley Chardonnay
200g GRADE 9 WAGYU RUMP STEAK - Marble score 9 Wagu rump steak with potato cake and stilton rarebit and Rochford Pinot Noir jus
2010 Yarra Valley Syrah
ROAST POUSSIN - Free-range Bendigo chicken served with baby root vegetables and Rochford late pick consommé
2010 Yarra Valley Fumé Blanc
LAMB BACK STRAP - Local lamb back strap pan seared, served with aged cheddar, bacon croquettes and Rochford Pinot Noir jus
2010 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
Ciaran worked in several Michelin star restaurants throughout Europe and Asia before settling in Australia with his family. Now as Rochford Winery’s Head Chef he produces an amazing array of dishes favouring fresh local produce from the Yarra Valley.
“It is so important to me as a lover of fresh local produce that I put that into my work here at Rochford because we are about a total Rochford experience for our customers and that is why we use Yarra Ranges produce,” Ciaran said.
The Rochford Restaurant can host up to 240 people for a gala dinner but diners can also enjoy an intimate atmosphere in an extremely well-laid out restaurant with floor to window ceilings, timber boards and outdoor dining area.
Rochford Winery in the heart of Victoria’s stunning Yarra Valley is the perfect place to spend a warm summer’s day – and enjoy the new Rochford Summer Menu.
| INFORMATION RELEASED BY: |
FOR FURTHER COMMENT: |
| Leanne Tyrrell |
Ciaran Butler |
| PR Consultant |
Head Chef |
| Tyrrell Publicity & Promotions |
Rochford Wines |
| PH: 03 9629 7000 |
PH: 03 5962 2119 |
MEDIA RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2011
Rochford Yarra Valley Releases New Award-Winning Wines!
Yarra Valley winery -- Rochford -- has been awarded a ‘Gold Medal’ at the 2011 Yarra Valley Wine Show with one of its newest wine releases.
2010 Rochford “Isabella’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon won Gold for owner Helmut Konecsny, winemaker Marc Lunt and their dedicated team at their Yarra Valley vineyard.
“The Yarra Valley ranks as one of Australia’s best wine regions and to win Gold amongst our peers is a great honour. We aim to make great wine and are thrilled to win this Gold Medal,” said Konecsny.
Rochford Winery in the Yarra Valley has also just released its 2011 vintage wines - the first to be released under the stewardship from picking to bottling of new winemaker Marc Lunt.
Marc claims that the 2011 harvest certainly had its challenges for Rochford, as it did for most Victorian wine producers.
“2011 was a stressful, complicated harvest due to rain and cold weather, and those with experience in the Northern Hemisphere, must have thanked their lucky stars. It will be remembered as a late, cool and wet harvest,” said Marc.
“Our 2011 Chardonnays in particular have great purity, citrus flavours and will be far racier than 2010. However, with disease pressure high in the region, our work in the vineyard was of the utmost importance – so selective picking, sorting and care in the cellar was paramount,” he said.
The new releases include:-
•
2011 YV Sauvignon – a barrel fermented “Reserve” style of Sauvignon Blanc
•
2011 YV Cerberus – a Gewurztraminer/Riesling/Pinot Gris blend with fruit weight and texture being incorporated due to fermentation taking place in old oak barrels (Silver Medal Winner in this month’s Yarra Valley 2011 Wine Show)
•
2011 YV Saignée - a dry Pinot Noir based rosé made from wine that was bled off during fermentation.
Rochford Wines has also released a series of 2010 vintages this month which include:-
•
2010 YV “La Gauche” – 78%Cabernet Sauvignon 15%Merlot 7%Cabernet Franc blend named with reference to the Bordeaux “Left Bank”. Shows good varietal character and structure and is a great example of our “Hill Road” site.
•
2010 YV “La Droite” – 50%Merlot 50%Cabernet Franc blend named with reference to the Bordeaux “Right Bank”. Aromatics from the Cabernet Franc complement the cassis and darker fruits of merlot. Round and full with fine tannin.
•
2010 YV Isabella’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – A single vineyard wine. The first made from fruit off the recently acquired “Briarty Hill” vineyard. Powerful, yet elegant, structured cabernet that will reward with cellaring.
Rochford announced in March that winemaker Marc Lunt – was appointed Chief Winemaker for the 2011 harvest and beyond.
Marc has moved to Rochford after working at several other Yarra Valley wineries and has lived and worked in Burgundy and Bordeaux.
“I am absolutely delighted to join a small yet dynamic team at Rochford Wines” Marc said.
“This is a very exciting time for both Rochford and I – with the construction of a new cellar, a re-planting program in place and the purchase of a new vineyard” Marc said.
“But we never forget our roots, history and beginnings in the Macedon region – and I could not have completed this first vintage without the great support of Viticulturalist Andrew Turnbull and vineyard Consultant Peter Payton who are an essential part of the team here at Rochford,” said Marc.
“We have a new, extended vineyard, more than 36 acres of land and a new focus, with the release of several new wine styles coming on board” he said.
www.rochfordwines.com.au
| INFORMATION RELEASED BY: |
FOR FURTHER COMMENT: |
| Leanne Tyrrell |
Marc Lunt |
| PR Consultant |
Winemaker |
| Tyrrell Publicity & Promotions |
Rochford Wines |
| PH: 03 9629 7000 |
PH: 03 5962 2119 |
MEDIA RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2011
Rochford Yarra Valley : New Winemaker
Rochford Yarra Valley has announced the appointment of Marc Lunt as senior winemaker. “I am absolutely delighted to join a small yet dynamic team at Rochford Wines.” Marc said of taking up his new role.
Marc has moved to Rochford after a period spent living and working in Gevrey-Chambertin and brings with him more than a decade of wine industry experience. Born in New Zealand and raised in South Australia, Marc’s philosophy that great wine results from an intimate knowledge of your vines was further developed over the time he spent living and working in France.
Beginning his career in the Barossa Valley, Marc moved to Victoria in 2004 to take a harvest cellar role at Coldstream Hills and in 2008 was appointed Assistant Winemaker at Yering Station.
However the biggest impact on Marc’s winemaking has been the time he spent in France where he experienced his first vintage in 2005. Having worked several harvests at Chateau Angelus in St Emilion, Marc was offered the opportunity to train under Charles & Eric Rousseau at Domaine Armand Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin. This was followed by several vintages at two more of the region’s top domains.
These are all traditional Domaines where technique, attention to detail, and a “hands off” approach were the main values. The Burgundian's have a strong belief that “you don’t make wine; you merely accompany it from vine to bottle”.
Motivated by the winemaking potential of mature Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in both the Yarra Valley and the Macedon Ranges and an opportunity to be involved in the construction of a new cellar were instrumental in luring Marc back to Victoria.
Despite a challenging first harvest, which reminded him more of Burgundy than Australia, the early signs are promising. According to Marc, “Now that the 2011 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are secure in the cellar and with work from Viticulturalist Andrew Turnbull and vineyard consultant Peter Payton the future looks bright at Rochford.”
In his spare time Marc spends as much time as he can with his three-year-old son Daniel.
www.rochfordwines.com.au
| INFORMATION RELEASED BY: |
FOR FURTHER COMMENT: |
| Leanne Tyrrell |
Marc Lunt |
| PR Consultant |
Winemaker |
| Tyrrell Publicity & Promotions |
Rochford Wines |
| PH: 03 9629 7000 |
PH: 03 5962 2119 |