With a philosophy to produce wines of distinct regional character with an uncompromising commitment to quality Howard Park has forged an international reputation for their wines and an expanded range including single vineyard and multi regional wines from Margaret River and the Great Southern.

Our Picks from the Howard Park Range:

Howard Park Riesling 

The wine is a very pale straw in colour with pronounced green hues on the rim. The nose shows lime juice, granite and floral notes hinting of apple blossom and jasmine. The palate has great focus and purity of fruit with a pithy lime and mineral texture balanced by clean acidity. The intense lime fruit characters drive through the finish which is tightly wound yet lingering with floral and wet stone hints. Great with natural oysters or for a cooked choice try salted and peppered panfried calamari.

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Howard Park Leston Cabernet Sauvignon 

The Leston Cabernet Sauvignon has a dense dark red colour with great limpidity. Its bouquet is intense and led by blackcurrant and berry fruits with some cool year undertones of tomato leaf and dried sage. Behind the primary fruits are distinctive vineyard characteristics of dark chocolate. Supporting oak is background cedar which will recede further as the fruits emerge with some bottle age.

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Under winemaker Steve Flamsteed the wines are vinified at the specialised gravity-flow, small-batch winery in the Yarra Valley’s historic town of Healesville. The winemaking process involves minimal intervention to faithfully express each wine’s vineyard site, vintage and culture.

“The Winery includes a cafe-restaurant, bakery, cheese room and coffee roaster... it all underlines the close food-wine nexus of this winery and the ‘food friendliness of its wines... Giant Steps makes two stand-out Chardonnays; from the leased Tarraford Vineyard on the northern edge of the valley and from Sexton’s own vineyard at Coldstream.

Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay

The Giant Steps, Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay is an outstanding young Chardonnay from a difficult vintage. Fresh, clean and nutty with understated complexities, no single element dominating. The palate is tight, with lovely texture and combines great depth of character with finesse”. Huon Hooke, Decanter Magazine September 2009.

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Giant Steps Millers Vineyard Shiraz

94/100 PENGUIN GOOD AUSTRALIAN WINE GUIDE 2009

Miller Vineyard Shiraz is an intense, aromatic and finely structured wine. “Phil Sexton’s Giant Steps are quickly making his Yarra vineyards into full biodynamic management, and if this wine’s any indicator of how well he’ll do, we should all start saving up and ensuring our place on the mailing list”. Wine critic Philip White, October 2008.

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Innocent Bystander Shiraz Viognier

91/100 HARVEY STEIMAN, WINE SPECTATOR

Australia is famous for its big, sweet and jammy shiraz. This is not one of those.
This is a style made famous in France’s Northern Rhone; it is aromatic, elegantly structured and relaxed, showing white pepper, violets, blueberries and cherries with fine tannins. Just a dash of Viognier provides ethereal, almost ungraspable aromas; teasing notes of honeysuckle and Turkish Delight.

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We have put together a range of Corporate Christmas Hampers containing premium wines and gourmet delights and a selection of affordable wine packs which make the ideal Corporate Gift this Christmas.

Christmas Wine Gift Packs  

Hubble Bubble Wine Gift Box only $13.99 

George and Hubble Wine Gift Box only $23.99

Plantaganet Hazard Hill Wine Gift Box only $25.99

Christmas Food and Wine Hampers

Affordable Sparkling Wine Hampers for Christmas from $29.00

Red Wine and Gourmet Food Hampers for Christmas for $49.00

Premium Beer Hampers for Christmas for only $99.00

Fine Wine Hampers for Christmas for only $99.00

You can order our Christmas Hampers and Wine Gift Boxes online for Delivery Australia wide.

In 1678, when Johann Christoph Riedel was born in the Bohemian town of NeuschloB, no one could have guessed that this was also the birth of one of the greatest glass enterprises in the world. This Bohemian glass merchant was the starting point for a direct line through the generations down to today’s corporate head Georg J. Riedel and his son Maximillian. Each Riedel generation in this long chain has been able to contribute his personal skills and views to expand the company’s success and make it what it is today.

Johann Carl Riedel, 2nd generation (1701 – 1781) was a gilder and glasscutter. He operated his own workshop refining glassware.

Johann Leopold Riedel, 3rd generation (1726-1800), made his fortune in the Seven Year War (1756-1763) fought between the Austrians and the Prussians over Bohemia and Schlesia.

The demand for window panes needed for rebuilding the surrounding cities and villages destroyed during the way, offered Johann the chance to found his first glass factory, which he opened in May 17, 1756.

The next generation, Anton Leopold Riedel (1761-1821) radically changed his father’s production from window panes to pure luxury goods, such as chandeliers and ornate glassware.

Franz Xaver Riedel, 5th generation (1789-1844) became a famous engraver in his youth. He signed his works of art, which are available at auctions even today.

His main success derived from his addition to unknown colours to glass, using Uranium to produce fluorescent colours, yellow and green, known in literature as "Annagelb and Annagrun", which he named after his daughter.

Josef Riedel The Elder, 6th generation (1816-1894) had great gifts, and the fact that he was born in the time of the industrial revolution proved to be very much in his favour.

Josef Riedel The Younger (1862-1924) was an outstanding chemist and mechanical engineer, creating a remarkable portfolio of 600 different glass colours.

Walter Riedel (1895-1974) suffered through two great wars, which had a great impact on his destiny. He was forced to change his citizenship four times due to the unfortunate political state of affairs. In 1918, Bohemia became part of the Czech Republic and Walter Riedel and the German speaking Sudetan became Czech citizens. Around 1930 the political and economical conflict between the Sudeten and the Czechs turned violent which led to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Nazi regime in 1938. In this time the Riedel’s emerged as a leading manufacturer of perfume flacons and colour overlaid gift items and chandeliers. Walter Riedel inherited the mechanical genius of his father, developing extremely advanced mould techniques. Those products were then refined by cutting, being mounted onto metal then wired for electricity.

The war and the Nazis commanded the industry to change from luxury goods to strategic war products. Walter Riedel and part of his team worked on picture tubes, part of the radar used to monitor airspace. This was a unique technological achievement for that time, with Walter increasing the available diameter of the tube from 38cm to 76cm.

This invention became his destiny. When the Russian army conquered Berlin in 1945, they found an intact tube and were very keen to find the scientist. In this era of Stalin, they forced Walter Riedel to sign a five year working contract and held him prisoner in Russia for 10 years.

By the end of the Great War in 1945, the Riedel’s property and companies were confiscated and nationalized by the Czechs. The Riedel’s lost their home and empire.

Walter Riedel returned to Austria in 1955. The Swarovski family, with whom the Riedel’s were very friendly, hosted Walter Riedel and offered him and his son, Claus Josef Riedel, a new start in Kufstein, Austria, by reopening a glass factory, specializing in mouth blown items, in 1956.

Claus Josef Riedel (1925-2004) had a vision. He changed stemware from traditional coloured and cut glass to plain, unadorned, thin blown, long stemmed wine glasses.

He gained immediate recognition from sophisticated customers and museums. Many design awards signaled that a new era had begun, museums bought pieces for their exhibitions. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, which today still has Riedel in their permanent collection.

Based on his unique designs, Claus Riedel was the first in history to recognize the effect of shapes on the perception of alcoholic beverages. His influence has changed the appearance of stemware forever. His master piece "Sommeliers" was introduced in Orvieto, 30 years ago, the first ever stemware line to be based on the character of wine.

Our 2009 Christmas Hampers are also on display in the cellar so be sure to call by and have a look at the extensive range available.

If you haven't started planning your Corporate Gifts for this year contact The Wine Store on 08 6424 9500 and have one of our Corporate Account Managers visit your office to discuss your requirements in details.

Some great 2009 White Wines include:

Sandalford Margaret River Classic White

West Cape Howe Semillon Sauvigon Blanc

Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc

Moss Brothers Moses Rock Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Enjoy.