Christmas Gift Giving Ideas

by koonara | Nov 15, 2022 | Blog, News and Events

There’s no getting around it; Christmas is on the horizon. But don’t stress because we have got your gift-giving sorted this year. So beat the rush and get your gifts sorted before the Christmas Post cut-off on Monday, December 12th

Check out our top 3 gift ideas below.

Savor Glassware Gift Packs

Shop our Savor wine glasses, designed by our owner Dru Reschke. Choose from red, white, stemless and unbreakable wine glasses all available in beautiful gift sets, It’s the perfect Christmas Gift

Personalised Wines

Once again, we are firing up the printers and personalising a select range of our wines for the ultimate gift.

With four different styles of wine available for personalisation, there is something to suit every taste and budget.

Flowers for [Insert name] Moscato

Make our most popular wine your very own. For a limited time only, we are offering to personalise your Flowers for Lucy wine with your choice of name, making it a truly unique gift for the festive season.

[Insert name] & [Insert name] Pinot Gris

One for friends or lovers. Our summer staple, Lucy and Alice Pinot Gris, is now available for personalisation. Choose two names to be featured on the label, and you instantly have a gift like no other.

[Insert name] says No Pinot Noir

Now while we can’t all be winemakers like Pete and pick and choose the grapes that go into the wine, we can pretend for a moment with our very own [insert name] said no Pinot Noir – It’s our personalised option on 2021 Cape Bank Razortooth Pinot and it’s a gift like no other.

[Insert name] Wings Cabernet Sauvignon

Have you always wanted your very own bottle of wine? Here is your chance with our 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Featuring the design on our Angels Wings wine, but personalised with a name of your choice. It’s the perfect end-of-year gift or Christmas present.

How to Order

Pick the Personalised wines you want from our special offers page and add them to your cart.

You’ll need to add a note during the checkout process when you get to the Delivery section. Use the Gift Message box to tell us whose names we need to use.

If you are purchasing multiple bottles, please ensure you clearly state which name goes with which bottle.

Checkout Process:

See the example below on where to place the names for the wines.

Like in the above example, use the abbreviations below to represent the wine eg. For the Moscato, use FFLM: Then, the names

Moscato: FFLM –Mel, Karly

Pinot Noir: PSNP – James, Pete

Wings Cabernet: WCS – Todd, Mick

Pinot Gris: LAPG – Mum & Dad, Kim & Tracey

If you have any questions about ordering, please drop us a line at wine@koonara.com or call us during office hours on 08 8737 3222

Personalised wines only available until Thursday 22nd December 2022

Give the gift that keeps on giving

A subscription to our Pink Drink society is the perfect gift. Six bottles of our Pink Drinks are sent to that special someone upon ordering and then sent again in six months’ time*.

You’ll be the favourite all year long with this gift.

Simply sign them up for the Pink Drink society on our website.

*The minimum cost for a 12-month subscription is $215.43. The cost may increase depending on the wines selected.

This goes with that!

by koonara | Nov 15, 2022 | Blog

We know it’s hard to pair food and wine. That’s why we constantly work with our resident foodie to find and create recipes that perfectly match our wines. We know our Lucy & Alice Pinot Gris is a Spring / Summer time staple and this recipe is a match made in heaven. It’s a vegan friendly recipe this time too, but can also be tweaked to add prawns or chicken if tofu’s not your jam. It’s a super quick dish and we know you will love it! Now all you need to do is hit up the shops for your supplies, cook and enjoy.

We’d love to get your feedback, so please hit us on socials or email us if you have tried it and let us know your thoughts.

You can find the recipe here ➡ Mango Tofu Salad

All about Lucy & Alice – The wine

by koonara | Nov 3, 2022 | Blog, News and Events

Join us this November as we celebrate our featured wine of the month, ‘Lucy & Alice Pinot Gris and tell you everything you need to know about it.

How did it get its name?

We named our Pinot Gris after our two beautiful girls, Lucy and Alice. It’s as simple as that, but here’s the back story… ⁠

⁠Nicole was in the last stages of her pregnancy with Alice and knew we would soon be bottling a Pinot Gris. I fussed about with names etc., and sent her on her way, knowing she had more pressing matters to worry about (like birthing our daughter and looking after Lucy). After Alice was born (about four weeks later), when we were bottling it, I decided it was the perfect tribute to name this new wine after both Lucy & Alice. The best bit – I didn’t tell Nicole. It wasn’t until she popped into the cellar door with baby Alice and saw it that I could reveal my secret tribute. There may have been a few watery eyes that day.

What does it taste like?

This one is an absolute delight. The perfect all-rounder that goes down a treat. Passes ‘would I have a second glass’ test with flying colours. Hell, I’d drink the whole bottle.

Like most Pinot Gris, ours is fruit-forward, with intense fresh pear on the nose and peach and gala apples on the palate. It’s got big tropical fruit flavours but with refreshing acidity. Also, it’s low in sugar and sulphur, as well as being vegan friendly too.

What foods go with Pinot Gris?

Crispy pork roll with honeyed Granny Smith apple stuffing. It also pairs well with salmon and a range of Thai foods. But let’s be honest, Pinot Gris is a food lover and goes well with many things.

Very informative, good to throw into conversations fact:

Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio refer to the same grape variety, which is grey in colour.

However, that’s where the differences end.⁠ Pinot Grigio is the Italian style is picked earlier for a crisper, more acidic finish⁠. On the other hand, Pinot Gris is the French style, in which the grapes are picked later for a slightly sweeter and more floral wine. Hence the tribute to our two sweet girls, Lucy & Alice.

All the latest news and updates: September Edition

by koonara | Sep 21, 2022 | Blog

September update from Dru and Nicole

Spring has finally sprung. With it comes the lovely warm, sunshiny weather followed by a downpour, wind, and sunshine again.

We have just commenced pruning here in our Coonawarra vineyards. It’s a bit different down in Mt Gambier. Pruning was completed a little while ago, as Chardonnay bursts much earlier than Cabernet, so it is well and truly bursting out now, ready to flourish after its big winter sleep.

Now, we are constantly monitoring the weather forecast keeping an eye out for the threat of frost. But by pruning late, that should safeguard us quite well.

Not sure if you saw back at the start of the Month, we were awarded 94 points for our latest release, 2019 Ambriels Gift Cabernet Sauvignon in the James Halliday Wine Companion.

They said, and I quote –

“Firm, concentrated and engagingly lush… this has a veritable forest of dark berries, shaped by firm structuring tannins and laden with exotic spice. It’s classic Coonawarra – the mint, dark choc, and blackberry bramble on the nose are a dead giveaway, confirmed in the mouth. A lovely lingering aftertaste offers even more opportunity to taste. Smart.” – Erin Larkin.

To say we were pleased was an understatement!

Nicole’s been driving kids around a lot, so she hasn’t been reading us much but using the time to listen to some great audiobooks. She loved Daisy Jones and the Six, (even though she was surprised when she couldn’t find their music on spotify coz it’s a made-up story, haha). Of course, I’ve been reading more books about Mental Health and also some about regenerative farming. Books are a great way to inspire change and boost your mood.

We were lucky to dust off our passports a couple of weeks ago and head over to Bali for a great family holiday. We enjoyed lots of bike riding, Qi Gong, walking, and of course, lots of cocktails, fantastic food, massages and relaxation by the pool. It was so great to hear some different languages, meet people from all over the world, and see the world return to normal.

We have also been busy planning our Cabernet Celebration dinner in the cellar door as a part of the Month long Cabernet Celebrations in October here in the Coonawarra. There is an excellent program of events and so much to see and do. It’s a wonderful time to visit the region.

Till next month,

Dru & Nicole Reschke

All the other bits

Album of the Month

Andy Penkow – Love Lies and Dirty Dishes

Andy Penkow – have a listen, as he’s just released a new album. and I’m confident you’ll love it. You can even catch him playing live in the South East as a part of the “Should Have Hired a Car” tour. There are gigs in Mt Gambier, Coonawarra, and Robe.

Wine of the Month

Zema Estate – Family Selection

Demetrio Zema made our first ever wine in 1992. This is their flagship wine from aged vines in Coonawarra. I opened a bottle from 2005 recently, and it was off the charts amazing. The world’s truly great wines are amazing at any age, and these show that quality.

Recipe of the Month

Szechuan Spicy Chicken

Each month we trawl thru our recipe books to show you just how easy it is to match our wine of the month with regular everyday food. This month it’s all about our Flowers for Lucy Moscato and you had better believe it’s a great match for this Szechuan Spicy Chicken. Find the recipe here

If you want a more traditional pairing for the Moscato be sure to check out this Summer Berry trifle recipe.

2 mins to do good –

It’s time for clean air, a safer climate and healthier communities. It’s time for cheaper fuel and energy independence. It’s time to Electrify Everything. First stop: transport. To ensure clean transport for Australia our government must quickly legislate for strong fuel efficiency standards in line with other major markets.

To sign the petition click here

Upcoming Events

Cabernet Celebrations Dinner

Come along and celebrate Koonara’s tribute to Cabernet Sauvignon as part of this year’s Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations. Enjoy a three-course dinner by renowned chef Kirby Shearing with a selection of current vintage and museum wines. Dru and Nicole will walk you through our Koonara journey in the relaxed setting of our cellar door. For more information, click here

WHEN | Friday 21st October 6:30pm

WHERE | Koonara Wines Cellar Door, 44 Church Street, Penola

TICKETS | $120.00 per person, which includes a 3-course meal and matched current and museum wine selections

Cabernet Celebrations

Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations is one of our best wine-based events, with over 70 unique food and wine experiences designed to showcase and celebrate the Coonawarra wine region’s beautiful signature red wine: Cabernet Sauvignon.

Enjoy the spring-time celebrations across the month of October, with every week/weekend featuring themed events. With a huge range of wineries offering up events all month long, there is no shortage of activities to celebrate, activate and educate your senses.

As an added bonus, there will be shuttle buses running to help get you safely to the wineries and the events on the weekends. For more information and to book a spot on the bus, click here

Should Have Hired a Car Tour

Anne Fraser, Poppy Moyle-Read and Andy Penkow, come together to share their songs and stories as a part of their Should have hired a car tour. For more information, click here

WHEN | Friday 7th October September 7.30pm

WHERE |Coonawarra Memorial Hall

TICKETS | $25 per person

Dunkeld Races

Our Platinum Marquee is located in the premium trackside infield location, this marquee is suited for those guests looking for a superior day of racing, elegance and fun. Tickets are $205 which includes general admission to the racecourse, all-inclusive gourmet finger food as well as premium wine and beers and live entertainment. To book or to find out more click here

All the latest news and updates: August Edition

by koonara | Aug 16, 2022 | Blog

An update from Dru and Nicole

Nicole here, I thought it was my turn to give you all an update on what been going on here at Koonara. I guess I should start with the obvious that we are nearly at the end of winter. I have begun to feel a slight spring in my step with the days getting just that bit longer and the warmth of the winter sun on my skin.

At the moment, the vineyards are undertaking an extensive rejuvenation process, a little bit like checking into the Endota Day Spa for a full body scrub and peel. We are removing old wood to increase sap flow, eutypa control, and to prepare the vines for pruning.

The vines are indulging in well-deserved R & R in what can only be described as ideal conditions. Warm sunny days after frosty starts coupled with on and off again rain.

Dru tells me we will be applying some basalt to the soil. Basalt brings much-needed micro-nutrients to the soil and helps the vines uptake other nutrients. By Spring, they will be zingy with eagerness for bud burst.

I’m currently reading The Downstairs Girl. I’m always looking to Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club for my reading inspiration, and I’m very rarely let down. I’m halfway through this and really enjoying it. It’s about a Chinese American girl growing up in segregated Atlanta. I lived in South Carolina for a year when I was 20, so this part of the world is very dear to me. So far, it’s a really compelling story about a driven and resourceful young lady.

Alice and I left Dru and Lucy to it the other weekend. We headed off to Shepparton so Alice could compete with her Calisthenics team at a competition. Whilst it was a lot of driving, it was worth it as her team came away with the Aggregate, which means they were pretty gosh darn awesome!

Till next month,

Dru & Nicole Reschke

All the other bits

Ecologi Update

Because we really want to make a difference. For every $15.00 spent on wine between now and September 4th, the folks at Ecologi will plant a tree on your behalf.

You can check out your contribution when you log into your account. There’s a section called “My Forest” that shows just how many trees your wine purchase has contributed towards.