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2010
12 September 2010
Toast of the town
A new era for one of Mudgee’s family-owned and operated wineries came to the fore on Friday night as the 2010 Mudgee Wine Show trophy winners were announced.
Collecting a total of six trophies and three gold medals, Robert Stein Winery and Vineyard “cleaned up” and were easily voted the most successful exhibitor for 2010.
Mudgee’s youngest winemaker Jacob Stein was lauded for his rare feat of winning both the most outstanding red and most outstanding white wine trophies,
“It is huge,” Mr Stein said.
“Ian MacRae pointed out to me he can’t remember that ever being done and he said especially not by the youngest winemaker.
“Coming from one of the older winemakers, to me that was pretty special.”
A third generation winemaker, Mr Stein said he was proud to keep a family tradition strong.
“I think it’s really the basis of what I’m trying to do and that is to build on that tradition whilst bringing in some newer techniques that I’ve learnt from all my travels,” he said.
More than 300 entries were judged for the 2010 Mudgee Wine Show with Robert Stein’s 2009 Shiraz/Viognier named the champion wine.
The judges’ tasting notes confirmed the 2009 Shiraz as the standout class of the show.
Chief judge and general manager and senior winemaker at Blue Pyrenees (Victoria), Andrew Koerner, said handing out four golds in the one class was a great achievement for the Mudgee region.
“We started out magnificently handing out four gold medals on Wednesday judging the one year old Shiraz,” he said.
“That magnificent quality was kept during most of the show.
“The ’09 vintage reds had great concentration and real fruit power and had all the things judges are looking for.”
Judge Deb Pierce said the 2009 Shiraz would stand up in any competition in Australia, describing one entry as the “Audrey Hepburn” of wines for its elegance and class.
Mr Koerner and judge Stephen Doyle from Bloodwood in Orange said it was a privilege to judge Mudgee wines.
“Mudgee has a great diversity and it’s not just reds, it’s doing well with whites too,” Mr Koerner said.
“Mudgee Rieslings are doing well and that surprises many people.
“We had to nut out which wines were best, just look at the strike rate of medals.”
Mr Doyle said Mudgee should be proud that almost 50 per cent of wines entered were awarded a medal.
“Just because you are given a bronze medal doesn’t mean you have a bad wine, it means it’s still a good wine.
“Back in 1978 I won my first ever medal here in Mudgee, a bronze medal, and in later years when I told the judge who awarded me the bronze that story he said to me, ‘It must have been worth every bit for me to give it a bronze’ and that’s what started my winemaking.”
Mudgee Grape Growers Association president Andrew Stein said although only Mudgee grown wines could enter, each wine was judged on a national tasting standard.
Mr Stein said he was very proud of his son’s efforts to carry on the tradition of his grandfather the late Robert Stein.
2010 Mudgee Wine Show winners:
Best Semillon - 2010 Clearview Estate Semillon
Best Chardonnay - 2005 Louee Tongbong Chardonnay
Best white wine, not Chardonnay or Semillon 2008 - Robert Stein Riesling
Robert Stein Trophy for best Shiraz - 2009 Robert Stein Shiraz/Viognier
Dave Robertson Memorial Trophy for best Cabernet Sauvginon - 2006 Burrundulla Cabernet Sauvignon
Carlo Corino Trophy for best red wine, not shiraz or cabernet sauvignon - 2009 Thistle Hill/Erudgere Shiraz Cabernet
Best Museum white wine - 1994 Miramar Semillon
Most outstanding red wine - 2009 Robert Stein Shiraz/Viognier
Most outstanding white wine - 2008 Robert Stein Riesling
Champion wine - 2009 Robert Stein Shiraz/Viognier
Most successful exhibitor - Robert Stein Winery and Vineyard
The Gil Wahlquist Perpetual Trophy for best Organic/Biodynamic/Preservative free wine - 2009 Thistle Hill Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon1
2019
23 November 2019
2019 a vintage to remember for Jacob Stein, the family winery, local Riesling
2019 draws to a close as one of the biggest years in the history of Mudgee's Robert Stein Winery and winemaker Jacob Stein, who has completed his tenth vintage back at his family's winery.
Earlier this year the winery's 2016 Dry Riesling was awarded the Trophy for the Best Riesling at the Sydney Royal Wine Show. At the time Jacob said he had high hopes for the now-released 2019 Dry Riesling and Half-Dry Riesling, which bear some similarities to their predecessors.
And it already seems as though the 2019 Rieslings are already fulfilling some of that promise, with a combined nine gold medals and three trophies - including one of the latter being at the Mudgee Wine Show for the Half Dry, which was also named Champion Wine of the local show.
"We have had a fantastic run with our Rieslings," Jacob said.
"The 2019 vintage has been the most awarded in the year of its release which is encouraging for the future. We have seen the wines continue to improve with a few years in the bottle.
"Mudgee is still one of Australia's unsung Riesling regions. However, with a growing collection of awards, such as the trophy in Sydney, I'm hopeful we are starting to change perceptions."
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For one of the local region's busiest winemakers it's a fitting celebration for a personal milestone of a decade back at the family winery.
"I've been back in Mudgee for the last ten years and it's been an extremely rewarding time," he said.
"I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to implement my winemaking philosophy and to manage the family vineyard with this view. It's certainly been a lot of hard work but it's evident in the level of wines we are producing.
"Our vineyard management has also had a major shift with a renewed focus on soil health and vine nutrition.
"The winery has undergone two extensions and many upgrades, all with a view to increase the quality of the wines we are making for ourselves and for others."
Jacob and the Robert Stein Winery experienced a successful 2019 Mudgee Wine Show - winning eight trophies, plus an additional four trophies awarded to wines they produce for the Mudgee region2 .
2023
23 February 2023
Mudgee vineyard a celebration of vintage bikes and riesling
VINTAGE wines and vintage motorbikes - it's an unusual mix, but it is the case at Mudgee's Robert Stein Wines.
With the 30-hectare Stein vineyard, winery, cellar door and Pipeclay Pumphouse Restaurant is the free-entry Motorcycle Museum with a treasury of memorabilia and working-order motorbikes, ranging from 1927 Douglas and AJS models to a 1973 Husqvarna and a 1976 BMW.
It came about because, while living in Sydney, Stein Wines' founder Robert Stein developed a love of bikes while riding them daily to work, becoming a Fairfield amateur speedway racing fan and starting to collect vintage machines.
In conjunction with the museum, Stein chief winemaker Jacob Stein and his team produce $20 motorbike range wines with labels featuring pictures of historic bikes.
The Stein Australian saga began in 1838 when Johann Stein and his wife and other German Rheingau families landed in Sydney after being recruited by Edward Macarthur to tend his trail-blazing Camden vines. Johann carried with him German riesling cuttings and is credited with being the first person to successfully grow riesling in Australia.
After joining Johann as a Macarthurs' wine dresser, his brother Jacob in 1843 planted a vineyard at Carramar. In his Vineyards of Sydney book Dr Philip Norrie related the tale that, as they dangled their feet in the cooling waters of Prospect Creek, Jacob shared his riesling tastings with notable visitors - explorer Ludwig Leichardt and Premier Sir Henry Parkes.
Sadly phylloxera wiped out the vines in the 1880s and the land was consumed by Sydney's urban sprawl, leaving the Stein family to turn to other pursuits.
Robert Stein, Jacob's great grandson, lived and worked in Sydney from 1928 to 1974, first as a builder and then heading the Smithfield Plant Hire business.
In 1975, however, Robert and his wife Lorna restored the broken family wine links by buying 70 hectares in Pipeclay Lane, Mudgee, planting a 30-hectare vineyard in 1976 and producing the first Robert Stein wines in 1981.
On Robert's death in 2006, his son Andrew took over the show and in 2009 grandson Jacob took charge of winemaking and viticulture. A 2005 University of Western Sydney, Richmond, viticulture and wine science graduate, Jacob worked on vintages in Italy and Germany, honing his riesling skills in Rheingau and Rheinhessen.
In 2012 he was Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine's Young Winemaker of the Year and in 2019 his 2016 riesling won the 2019 Sydney Wine Show best riesling trophy.
WINE REVIEWS by JOHN LEWIS PLUMMY PITCH SHIRAZ
THE Robert Stein Collection Norton ES2 Shiraz and all motor cycle label wines are at robertstein.com.au and the Pipeclay Lane, Mudgee, winery. This shiraz is purple-hued and has 13.5% alcohol, gumleaf litter scents and ripe plum front-palate flavour. Middle palate shows mulberry, rhubarb, spice and savoury oak and a finish of minty tannins. PRICE: $20. DRINK WITH: pizza. AGEING: five years. RATING: 4 stars
MERLOT MAC TRIBUTE
FEATURING a label shot of a 1947 British-made bike, the Robert Stein Collection Velocette MAC Merlot shines deep garnet in the glass and displays 13.5% alcohol, berry pastille scents and spicy cherry front-palate flavour. The middle palate has blueberry, briar, black pepper and cedary oak and chalky tannins come in at the finish. PRICE: $20. DRINK WITH: veal saltimbocca. AGEING: four years. RATING: 4 stars
FRISKY THUNDERBIRD
MARLON Brando rode a Thunderbird in The Wild One movie, irking Triumph over bikie gang links. The Robert Stein Collection Triumph Thunderbird Cabernet Sauvignon has 13.5% alcohol, crimson hues, and herbal aromas. The front-palate has frisky blackberry flavour, the middle glacé cherry, capers, mint and mocha oak and an earthy tannin finish. PRICE: $20. DRINK WITH: lasagne. AGEING: six years. RATING: 4 stars
CREDIT: John Lewis3
Gil4
25 July 2023
Popular winery ablaze hours before event
A popular central west winery caught on fire and a man was injured just hours before a sold out Christmas in July event on Saturday, July 22.
Robert Stein Winery, located on Quarry Lane outside Mudgee, had to be shut down when a gas bottle caught fire.
Several firetrucks, ambulance crews and NSW Police officers attended the emergency event, at 4.45pm.
A man was treated by NSW Ambulance for burns at the scene.
The fire was reported to be contained an hour later.
Early examinations indicate the fire was started by an gas bottle accident.
Most of the damage appears to be on the outside of the building near the incident.
The damage is believed to be fairly minimal, according to a spokesperson for the Rural Fire Service.
"If it hadn't have been for the speed of the local RFS the damage would be inconceivable," a Facebook post from Robert Stein Winery read.
"Seven fire trucks, two ambulances and the police all arriving within 20 minutes is remarkable.
"We could never thank you enough for your bravery."
Ticket holders to the sold out event were notified and offered an alternate night of entertainment5 .
2024
16 November 2024
Winery's riesling success is 'no fluke'
It would be a stretch to say that Mudgee is well known for its rieslings.
Red wines and Mediterranean varieties, absolutely. But riesling? Not really, not like Canberra and Orange anyway.
And yet one Mudgee operation can lay claim to being the top riesling producer in NSW, full stop.
Just a couple of weeks back Robert Stein winery produced the top riesling at the prestigious Sydney Royal Wine Show for the fourth time in six years, this time with its 2024 Dry Riesling.
There's not a winery in the country that wouldn't be thrilled with that record.
But that's only part of the story. It was one of three riesling trophies they collected on the day, also picking up Best NSW Wine and Best Current Vintage White - both with different wines.
It's a remarkable strike rate.
Winemaker and owner Jacob Stein admits bulging trophy cabinet has probably exceeded expectations.
"But it probably shouldn't surprise people," he said.
"We've been winning national and international awards for 16 years now. We'd like to think it is becoming clear to people that it's no fluke."
The riesling variety is especially significant to the winemaking family.
Six generations back, Jacob's ancestor Johann Stein emigrated from Germany, bringing with him the first cuttings of Rhine Riesling to survive in Australia.
"Our history with growing riesling actually dates to 1838 when our forebears established vines at Macarthur's Camden Park Vineyard.
"If only they could see how far we've come."
Stein names climate and vineyard site as the keys to their success.
"People think Mudgee would be too hot for riesling but that's not right," he said.
"I think they're perfect conditions.
"We're at 600m altitude, and four degrees cooler than Clare, which makes it perfect for acid retention which is so important with riesling - we never have to play around with the acid.
"We have 16 hectares of vines now with the oldest planted in 1976 - so they're approaching 50 years old.
"We have also implemented a massive sustainable and regenerative approach across the whole vineyard. Things like cover crops and compost, really trying to look after soil.
"Over the last 10 years we've seen our vineyard flourish with superior fruit expression and that's showing through with our show results."
Generally Stein riesling is medium- to full-bodied, with flavours hovering around citrus peel, lemon rind and granny smith apple, with tangy astringency.
While they are clean and penetrating as youngsters, they have great ageing potential.
"Every year is different. Each vintage we're just trying to express what our vineyard gives us."
With Robert Stein embracing organic principles, they have recently started to export to China and production is now well over 20,000 cases annually - a figure that's only likely to grow6 .