There have been a number of new additions and fresh faces at Forest Hill Vineyard in the past year, but the biggest yet won’t be revealed until spring this year when the new cellar door in Denmark will open to the public.
The winery has been busy of late, having secured the talents of former Houghton winemaker Larry Cherubino as chief executive and wine-maker in late 2003, adding viticulturist Luke Joliffe shortly after and recently releasing its 2003 Forest Hill Chardonnay and 2002 Forest Hill Shiraz.
The new cellar door has been constructed from Donneybrook stone and, according to Forest Hill national sales and marketing manager Roly Egerton-Warburton, it’s in the Great Southern’s best location.
“We think Denmark is a point of difference; in Margaret River we’d be another fish in a very big pond,” he says. “It is the best place for reaching the tourism trade in the Great Southern.”
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Official results in from the 2004 WA Wine and Food Festival show wine exhibitors enjoyed a marked increase on figures from the 2003 festival.
Tastings were up 29 per cent on 2003 numbers, while bottle sales increased 22 per cent. Total sales received by wineries were more than $150,000, with an unknown quantity of mail orders adding to this figure.