Working in the Hospitality Industry sure has its perks, we get to try foods and wine from all over the world – market research of course…. and sometimes we are lucky enough to meet ‘the owner’, ‘the grower’ and ‘the wine maker’ too. When the Pressie team started organising their annual Murrumbateman Wine Tour, everyone’s hands shot up to include Helm Winery on the places to visit.
You see folks, Ken Helm is one of the Canberra wine districts larger than life characters, he is an amazing advocate for the region #lovecanberra and is just as happy to talk about history, the stock market or politics as he is about wine.
Helm Wines was established in 1973 by Ken & Judith, and was one of the first commercial wineries, now also one of the leading wineries in the Canberra District Wine Region too. I love that, to this day, the winery is a family affair, with all of the family (including recent additions) playing an integral part in the business.
They use a combination of modern and traditional equipment and have adopted a minimalist approach to winemaking, what you get in the bottle is as close as possible to what comes out of the vines. The cool climate wine country near Canberra allows Helm Wines to produce unique styles of wines that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Pretty darn special right?!
Now my visit to Helm didn’t include sun or fun in the vines, twas more a snow and uggs by the fireplace kinda day, but I know the grounds at Helm are perfect for a picnic, with picturesque countryside.
We adventured behind the scenes on a guided tour of wine making and viticulture with Mr Helm himself, it was not only enjoyable but also educational, he kept us captivated with stories of wine drinking in foreign lands, to the history of cork and the bottles the wines are stored in.
The Helm philosophy is that visitors should be treated to not only good wine, but also experience the art of wine making. Mr Helm says that winemaking is an art, it’s not a science, and that the winemaker is the custodian of the grape and has the potential to create a masterpiece, and dang… the man ain’t lying when he says that. We were treated to a couple of stella drops at the tasting in the historic 100 year old Toual School House, which #funfact inspired the use of the school bell on the label.
This is a fantastic winery, well worth a visit if you are in the area, you can purchase the Helm Wines direct or from most booze stores Australia wide.
Speaking of wine…. I know how much ya’ll love a glass of vino. The Press Clubs famous Wine & Food Spectacular is on Friday 11 July, 2014! There will be 20 plus stalls of amazing wines, beers and fine foods to sample, and you can order direct!
I’ve got 2 x double passes up for the grabs. #winning
To be in the running, subscribe to shenANNAgans and in the comments below tell me about your favourite wine, winery or wine region.
CONGRATULATIONS to Fiona & Mel!
You gals are the lucky winners of the double passes to the Press Club Wine & Food Spectacular.
