Dear ,

The team at Best’s are gearing up for the release of the new Great Western wines on 1 September and there’s much excitement about how the wines are tasting and looking with brand new packaging. A special pre-release offer for these wines is coming to our eNewsletter fans over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for the email including details of how you can be involved with our Twitter ‘tweet up’ for the launch.

A great event was held at Best’s recently as part of Slow Food Melbourne with Matt Wilkinson from Circa, the Prince cooking up a feast. Our Managing Director Ben Thomson features in the new Aplus wine website and Robert Parker’s Asian correspondent Lisa Perotti-Brown recently reviewed our wines and consistently rated the wines over 90 points! There’s lot’s to be excited about.

Welcome to everyone who’s recently joined our eNewsletter. We look forward to sharing our Best Kept Secrets with you. If you know of anyone who loves wine, encourage them to sign up for our eNewsletter to go in the draw to win one of six magnums of Thomson Family Shiraz 1996.

• A+ Australian Wine: Ben Thomson shares his story
• Adam explores the vineyards of France
• The last of the Bin 1 Shiraz 2008
• Best’s Slow Food Melbourne
• A new look for our Great Western Wines
• Join in the Buzz with our social media pages
• Buying Best’s When You’re Out and About

Not many Australian wine families have a track record spanning five generations, but it’s the case with the Thomson Family. In 1920 the Thomson family bought Best’s Great Western to add to their vast vineyard presence in the Great Western region. From 1892 – 1900, the acreage steadily increased and established the Thomson’s as one of Victoria’s great wine families.

Our Managing Director, Ben Thomson was recently featured on the new aplus wine website sharing his passion for the amazing vineyards that he is custodian of. Ben has a real passion for the viticultural aspect of the job, cultivating the remarkable vineyards and researching some of the more unique varietals that have been planted.

To read more of Ben Thomson’s story visit the aplus wine website - there’s some great stories about fine Australian wine.

Many of our facebook fans would have followed the adventures of our winemaker Adam Wadewitz with envy as he tasted his way through France last month. Adam won the Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial in 2009, one of Australia’s most coveted wine prizes and travelled through Champagne, Burgundy and the Rhone valley with Tetsuya Restaurant sommelier, Stuart Halliday.

Visits to iconic Champagne houses like Krug, Bollinger and lunch at Madam Bollinger’s house tasting the Bollinger 2000 RD Champagne were all on the itinerary as the pair learned more about the wines and regions. Domaine La Romanee Conti was clearly the most memorable day for Adam, tasting the 2009 vineyards wines from barrel! Yes that's right La Tache, Romanee Conti, Richebourg etc. They then tasted a 91 La Tache and a 2005 La Montrachet. All amazing wines with a real sense of place. A visit to the old winery in the Clos-de-Vougeot that was set up by Cistercian monks of Citeaux Abbey - from the 12th to the early 14th century was also a stand out moment.

The wines were all very interesting and Adam has learnt a lot about not only the top producer’s styles but the influence of their vineyard sites. We endeavour to tell you more about our own amazing vineyard sites over the coming months as there are some equally remarkable stories here at Best’s.

Bin 1 Shiraz 2008 has proved to have been one of our most popular vintages and has had a number of great reviews from the wine press and customers alike. If you want to stock up, this will be one of your last opportunities to secure 2008 Great Western Bin 1 Shiraz from the winery before it’s all gone - we’re making way for the new 2009 vintage that will be released on 1 September.

Made predominantly from Best’s own vineyards and meticulously crafted with the same attention to detail as our Flagship wines, Bin 1 Shiraz represents the essence of Best’s Great Western winemaking ideals and the uniqueness of the Great Western region. Bin 1 is a classic, cool climate, aromatic shiraz, made in a style that is floral, spicy and peppery, yet retains fruit characteristics and is elegant. Download tasting notes now

For a limited time there’s a special on six pack and dozen prices.

Price per six pack $140		Price per dozen - $275
SAVE $10		SAVE $25

There’s some other great specials on our online shop so be sure to stock up on your red wines for those cold winter nights.

Don’t want to order online? Download the order form now or call Cellar Door on (03) 5356 2250.

Last month we hosted a memorable event here in the Best’s barrel room, a night with Circa the Prince restaurant chef Matt Wilkinson and Slow Food Melbourne. We had 45 guests and everyone enjoyed a fantastic night of sumptuous food matched with some Best’s Great Western wines (of course). Have a look at our facebook page for some photos.

Slow Food is all about showcasing regional produce and highlighting traditional and authentic growing and cooking methods. The opposite of ‘fast food,’ slow food is a global movement followed and practised by groups around the world. All guests in attendance remarked on what an atmospheric setting it was - a special event that will be remembered by all in attendance.

The team at Best’s are working hard to maintain the momentum and absolute quality in everything we do. We’ve recently upgraded our Great Western label design and all of our Great Western varietals will now be in grey labels over the coming months.

You will notice that the next vintages of our Great Western Riesling and Chardonnay are now in line with Bin 1 Shiraz and Great Western Cabernet Sauvignon with grey labels across the range.

We’d love to hear what you think about our new look - it’s nothing too radical and still keeping with the tradition of these great wines

Whilst our eNewsletters give you special news and offers, Best’s also has a presence on Facebook and Twitter to talk to our loyal followers about our immediate news. Join the buzz and be kept up to date on a regular basis.

A special twitter event: Tastings on Twitter are growing rapidly and we’d love you to be involved. We will be having a tweetup around the release of our Great Western wines on 1 September. Mark the date in your diary and details will be available shortly around how you can spread the word and use the #bestswines hashtag to follow along. Not sure how to use twitter? No problems - we’ll be including some instructions to help you learn more about virtual tastings.

Looking to try our wines whilst you’re out and about? As well as other great restaurants and bottle shops Australia wide, you can now try us at:

• Sydney: Bondi Icebergs Restaurant & Dining Room, Eleven Kitchen & Cellar, Five Ways Cellars – Paddington.
• Melbourne: The Press Club, Flower Drum, Gateway on Monash Boutique Hotel
• Brisbane: Grasshopper Kitchen Restaurant - Teneriffe

If you’re at one of these venues be sure to taste our latest wines and please let the staff know how much you’re enjoying them.