Au Uncorked

Aussie Vineyards Participates in Wine Festival and Auction

Au was one of 100 wineries from around the world to participate at the 18th Annual Vintage Nevada Wine Festival & Auction, produced by the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) Alumni Association. The event featured over 600 wines, and was sponsored by Southern Wine and Spirits, Eldorado Hotel  Casino, Scolari's Supermarkets and Trader Joe's. 

The wine festival was held at the downtown Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. It included a private wine tasting for wine industry participants and was then opened to the public later in the evening.

The event was highlighted by a live and silent auction that raised over $30,000 to benefit UNR’s scholarship programs. Eldorado Hotel Casino, Scolari's Markets and Trader Joe's provided culinary specialties for the estimated 2,500 wine lovers who attended the event.

Items featured at the auction included an Au race hat and bottle of Au wine signed by NASCAR drivers Marcos Ambrose and Boris Said, which fetched $100.

Aussie Vineyards Supports City of Hope

 Au served as the official wine for the 35th annual City of Hope Black & White Ball, held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco earlier this month. The event, sponsored by the California Grocers Association (CGA), raised over 1.3 million for City of Hope, one of the nation’s premier cancer centers. 

Au was served at all 110 tables and mentioned as the official wine for the event. In addition to helping an extraordinary cause, the event provided excellent exposure for Au wines among grocery executives on the west coast. Cecile Russell, senior vice president of Save Mart Stores, was honored at the event as “Grocer of the Year.”

Approximately 1,000 people attended the event, including Michael Croghan, representing Aussie Vineyards. Kevin Pollack entertained the packed house with his impersonations of famous celebrities.  

City of Hope, one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationwide, is an independent biomedical research, treatment and education center dedicated to preventing and curing cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Aussie Vineyards Part of Smart & Final Opening

The partnership between Aussie Vineyards and retailer Smart & Final continues to strengthen. Aussie Vineyards participated in a store opening of the grocery chain's newest store concept recently in Fremont, California.

The store opening event follows Smart & Final'€™s sponsorship of the #8 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia car at last weekend's IndyCar race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Au was one of an exclusive group of wines served at the VIP reception and ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate Smart & Final's fourth new concept store. The "Extra" store concept is a smaller club-type store that requires membership (but no fees).

Aussie Vineyards Director of Market Development Michael Croghan attended the event and mingled with city officials, local dignitaries and Smart & Final local store owners.

Originally founded in 1871 in downtown Los Angeles, Smart & Final Stores LLC operates 282 retail stores. Under the Smart & Final and Smart Foodservice banners, the company operates 247 non-membership warehouse stores for food and foodservice supplies in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and northern Mexico.

Aussie Vineyards Sponsors Queensland Trade Office Reception

Some of Australia’s most notable business leaders were on hand for a reception at the residence of Queensland’s U.S. Trade Commissioner, Peter Beattie, hosted by the Queensland Trade Office for the Americas, American Australian Association. Aussie Vineyards was an official sponsor of the event along with Greg Norman Australian Prime™, Coopers Brewery, Ramada Group and Qantas Airways. 

Some guests of note included Wally Mariani, senior vice president of the Americas for Qantas Airways; Susie Dobson, president of Australians in Film; Gavin Wood, Australian radio personality; and Sally-Ann Watts, senior trade commissioner for Austrade, formally the Australian Trade Commission, an agency of the Australian Government that aims to assist Australian businesses in entering overseas export markets.

Also attending the event were Greg Creed, president and chief concept officer for Taco Bell and Greg Dillon, Vice-Chairman and Director Emeritus of Hilton Hotels Corporation.

The reception was held at the former Queensland premier’s home in Los Angeles to introduce Mr. Beattie to well-connected Australians in Los Angeles. He outlined his plan to extend trade with Central and South America. His appointment to the Americas will extend thru 2010. Au wines and Coopers Beer were served with cuisine prepared by Wolfgang Puck that included Greg Norman Prime Beef.

Photo:  Peter Beattie, Queensland's U.S. Trade Commissioner

Au Wines Welcomes Queensland Premier

Au Wine was served as the official wine for a reception last week at Bondi Bar in San Diego, California in honor of Anna Bligh, the Premier of Queensland, Australia. Bligh, Queensland’s first female premier, was in the United States promoting trade with her home state.

Over 150 distinguished guests attended the event, including Terri Irwin, widow of Australian naturalist Steve Irwin and owner of Australia Zoo in Queensland, Australia.

The event was the kick-off reception for the 2008 Biotechnology International Organization (BIO) Convention, held in San Diego. BIO is the world's largest biotechnology organization, providing advocacy, business development and communications services for more than 1,150 members worldwide. In addition to producing great wine, Queensland is considered a world leader in the bio-sciences industry.

Photo above:  Terri Irwin joins Aussie Vineyards representative Michael Croghan at the reception.

Cricket With the Stars and Au Wine

Aussie Vineyards was recently on hand to help celebrate a spirited cricket match between the Lashings World XI team, made up of international cricketers, and the Sparrows School Foundation team. The match at Dulwich College in South East London was held to raise money for the Sparrow School Foundation, which was established to provide education for children in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Lashings World XI team includes players of the calibre of Phil DeFreitas (England), Richie Richardson (West Indies) and Chris Cairns (New Zealand).

It is customary in cricket to break for “drinks” during any lull in the action and Aussie Vineyards was on hand to make it a most enjoyable occasion. A wine tasting was held throughout the match at a tent located next to the cricket field for spectators to enjoy "drinks." Au Unwooded Chardonnay, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon were featured at the tasting that drew cricket fans, students from the college, Dulwich College alumni and invited guests.

In addition, a luncheon was held for approximately 275 guests that also included Au wines. Those who sampled the Au varietals had very positive feedback and were eager to know when and where the wines would be sold in the U.K. Au wines were also offered to guests in exchange for donations to the Foundation to assist in fund raising efforts.

For a complete photo album of the event, click here.

A Warm Welcome to the New Queensland Trade Commissioner

The Australian Consulate and the American Australian Association recently hosted a reception to welcome Peter Beattie, Queensland’s U.S. Trade Commissioner, to his new post. As a Queensland-based wine producer, Aussie Vineyards participated in the event that was appropriately held on June 6—Queensland Day.

The reception was held in Los Angeles at the Australian Consulate for approximately 40 people. Aussie Vineyards supplied their Au Granite Belt varietals for the occasion, which include an unwooded chardonnay, as well as limited vintages of shiraz.

Beattie is the former Queensland Premier and has most recently been lecturing at the University of South Carolina. His role as U.S. Trade Commissioner will be to promote Queensland businesses and products in North America. He will be based in Los Angeles.

Photo (l-r):   Aussie Vineyards representative Michael Croghan with Queensland's new U.S. Trade Commissioner Peter Beattie.

Power is on Top at the Long Beach Grand Prix

From the very first corner, the #8 Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia car seemed to be completely unstoppable with Will Power securing a dominating victory at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend.

Power led 81 of the 83 laps to take the prestigious victory at the 34th running of the famous event, which marked the final race sanctioned by Champ Car.

Will Power drove the green and yellow Team Australia Champ Car at the race that included a prominently displayed Smart & Final logo. The Smart & Final grocery retailer joined Aussie Vineyards to promote the race and Au wines in its stores throughout California.

Points from the Champ Car race will count towards the 2008 IndyCar Series, with Power’s win elevating the young Australian up to fifth in the series standings as well as giving him the lead in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings after three races.

Danica Patrick, who won yesterday’s Japan Indy 300 in Motegi, Japan and made history as the first female winner of an IndyCar race, was also credited with points for her victory.  Both events were considered points scoring events for the newly unified IndyCar Series.

Australian singing sensation Michael Johns was on hand for the victory as a guest of team owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Craig Gore. Johns commented after the race, “Will and the Team Australia boys obviously did an amazing job today and I was proud to be able stand and sing the Australian national anthem as Will collected his trophy.” 

Power will race next weekend in the #8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone for the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval. For highlights of the race and Power's victory, click below.

For more photos, click here. 

Warriors Fan Wins Australia Trip through Joint Promotion

The Golden State Warriors were not the only winners at last week’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Halftime brought victory to one lucky fan, who won a deluxe trip for two to Australia as part of a promotion sponsored by Aussie Vineyards, Save Mart stores and the Warriors.

California resident Jerry Villa won the trip in the Spirit of Australia competition. Contestants were challenged with catching the most beach balls dropped from the ceiling of the ORACLE Arena. Villa emerged victorious and will enjoy a trip down under valued at $5,000. All contestants were awarded a case of Au wines.

Aussie Vineyards is an official promotional partner of the Golden State Warriors and recently teamed up with Save Mart stores for a fan promotion that included a number of elements, including in-store promotions, Warriors game promotions and retail contests.

Fans had the chance to enter the Save Mart Sweepstakes at participating stores for a chance to win valuable prizes. Three first-prize winners received two tickets to see the Warriors play the Clippers at the ORACLE Arena and the chance to win the Australia trip at halftime.

The Warriors defeated the visiting Clippers 122-116. Golden State scored 42 first-quarter points and withstood a fiesty Clippers team to earn its 48th victory. The win moved the team back into a tie for the eighth spot in the West.

For more photos, click here.

Au Wine Tastings Featured at Food Lion Stores

Food Lion stores throughout Virginia will host several wine tastings featuring Au wines this spring. The chain currently carries Barossa Valley Shiraz, Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Limestone Coast Chardonnay and Granite Belt Merlot. Food Lion is currently the only place on the East Coast where wine drinkers can try and buy the Granite Belt Merlot due to a limited availability.

All tastings detailed below will be held from 4 to 7pm:

•    Thursday, April 3 at the Saluda store #1366 at Rt. Box 2195
•    Friday, April 4 at the Norfolk store #1629 at 3530 Tidewater Drive
•    Friday, April 18 at the King George store #403 at 15429 Dahlgren Road
•    Friday, April 25 at the Winchester store #733 at 249 Sunnyside Plaza Circle
•    Friday, April 25 at the Newport News store #447 at 11712-0 Jefferson Ave
•    Friday, May 9 at the Winchester store #366 at 2600 Valley Ave
•    Friday, May 23 at the Charlottesville store #1186 at 585 Branchlands Blvd.
•    Friday, June 13 at the Winchester store #1281 at 190 Delco Plaza

Food Lion LLC is a member of Belgium-based Delhaize Group and is one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, operating 1,300 supermarkets either directly or through affiliated entities.