Silkman Wines, the business of Hunter Valley winemaking duo Liz and Shaun Silkman, has been named a finalist for Winery of the Year by Halliday Wine Companion for its soon to be released 2025 edition.
Liz Silkman herself was also shortlisted for Winemaker of the Year, an almost equally prestigious title. The winners are announced in Melbourne on the eve of the annual Companion's release on August 8.
Liz is one of nine winemakers in Australia to be shortlisted for the title, and the only winemaker in the Hunter Valley to make the shortlist.
Liz and Shaun, both born and bred in the Hunter Valley, started the Silkman Wines brand as a side hustle in 2013.
Both work full-time in the family wine business, First Creek Wines, Liz as chief winemaker and Shaun as chief operating officer, together producing some of the regions most awarded wines while overseeing the production and bottling of over a million cases of wine.
Their vision for Silkman Wines has been achieved in just a few short years, to make small batch contemporary versions of traditional Hunter varieties - semillon, chardonnay and shiraz, that are the absolute best examples of what the single vineyard fruit allows.
Shaun and Liz met in 2004 and Liz's passion for wine quickly rubbed off on Shaun, which led him to study a Bachelor of Wine Science Degree through Charles Sturt University.
Silkman is the reigning Wines of Provenance Trophy winner at the Hunter Valley Wine Show for their trio of semillon. Other trophies include NSW Wine of the Year, and the Halliday Chardonnay Challenge.
Silkman make two ranges of wine in their small stable, Reserve and Estate, and produce extremely limited volumes of each of the eight wines in their portfolio, comprising semillon, chardonnay, shiraz and shiraz pinot.
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant chief winemaker Adrian Sparks has noted the June 13 release of the winery's reds with this message: "We have removed a substantial amount of vineyard over the last 12 months, retaining only our most prized and aged vineyards to focus on crafting the premium wines we're renowned for. Our red wine production has greatly reduced, as have the production levels of our best wines. We now release only the greatest wines in the finest vintages.
"For the 2023 release, anticipate one significant site wine from each key vineyard: the 1880 Vines from the Estate and the 1946 Vines from Rosehill. These standout blocks epitomise the season's excellence. With this reduction, our Mountain and Single Vineyard wines now boast superior blending material. The Single Vineyard Rosehill exclusively features the 1946 and 1965 vines, while the OP&OH is 100 per cent sourced from the 1921 and 1880 vines. This marks a new direction for Mount Pleasant emphasising utmost quality." Seven of Mount Pleasant's 2023 reds received scores of 95 points or higher in reviews by The Wine Front. The 2023 Old Hill 1880 Vines shiraz and the 2023 Rosehill 1946 Vines shiraz both received 97 points.
Warners Bay
Morning Market Coffee has opened its third store in the region, this one at at 472 The Esplanade, Warners Bay. They offer a ham and cheddar toastie, Reuben toastie, roast veg toastie, chicken toastie, avocado toast, ricotta fruit toast and muesli plus milkshakes, pastries and, of course, coffee.
The Swordfish Co is has also recently opened at 436 The Esplanade in Warners Bay, trading from 10.30am to 8.30pm Monday through Saturday (til 8pm on Sundays). They offer six battered fish choices (hoki, barramundi, snapper, flathead, whiting and vegan phish), six grilled choices (hoki, barramundi, snapper, salmon, prawn cutlets, calamari), two salads (beetroot, walnut, feta, red wine dressing; red cabbage slaw), nine burgers (including fish, fried chicken, prawn roll, halloumi, egg & bacon as well beef), and classics (fish cocktails, calamari rings, spring rolls, fish cakes battered sav, chicko roll, vege dim sim, potato scallop and a Tasmanian scallop).
BIG BURRITO
Mexican franchise, Mad Mex has announced the return of its 1kg Big Burrito. The promotion runs until July 21. It's partnered with cult water brand, Liquid Death.
DUFF'S ARRIVES
Duff's Ice Cream opens on Saturday, June 15, from 11am to 4pm, at their new location, 9 Union Street, Wickham. It's a new building and a fresh start for this popular, custom-made ice cream that was a hit on the Central Coast.
