2014 Wine Bottling Weekend
AEA staff have enjoyed an exciting weekend in the Hunter Valley! Staff from all across the country flew into the wine region late Friday afternoon to assist our resident winemaker, Phil Hitchcock, with the latest batch of his delicious cabernet sauvignon.
After a wonderful dinner in Maitland on Friday evening, AEA staff were up bright and early on Saturday for a busy morning of bottling and labelling.
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- Adding the finishing touches
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- Linda trimming the corks to fit
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- Corking is hard work!
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- Mohanan overseeing the bottling process
Things we learnt throughout this process:
- Corking is actually quite difficult and conducive to shirt-ripping
- Boiling hot wax really does hurt when it comes into contact with bare skin
- It is of utmost importance to taste-test the product 😉
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- Catriona enjoying a glass with Noel
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- Richard is pretty chuffed with this bottle
Naturally after all of our hard work, we couldn’t resist visiting a couple of vineyards!
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- The AEA crew at a lovely champagne brunch!
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- Jean-Paul embracing a barrel
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- The view from Tyrrell’s Wines
Special thanks to Phil, Julie and Scarlett for organising a fun and comfortable stay. A great weekend was had by all!
This cheeky bugger, Reggie, is slacking off from bottling