In their first test, the show circuit judges have awarded 11 medals to Truffle Hill Wines at the Qantas Wine Show 2008 in Mt Barker and at the WA Boutique Wine Awards 2008.

The star performer was the entry level Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2007 picking up a Gold at the WA Boutique Wine Awards and a Bronze at the Qantas Wine Show.

Every wine in the Truffle Hill portfolio has now picked up an award, so early in their release, so all indications are good to add to this tally. For more details and on line ordering click onto our WINE section.

The new range of wines known as TRUFFLE HILL WINES will be released for sale in late September and will include the following;                             

2008 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon;   2008 Rose;   2007 Shiraz Cabernet Merlot; 2008 Sauvignon Blanc;    2007 Chardonnay;    2007 Shiraz;   2007 Merlot;     2007 Reserve Series Chardonnay;    2007 Reserve Series Riesling;   2007 Reserve Series Shiraz;    2004 Reserve Series Shiraz Cabernet. 

We hope that you will enjoy our latest creations!!

The French take their truffles as seriously as they take their champagne, so convincing them our truffles are as good as theirs is no mean feat.

How would they react to our Manjimup black truffle compared with their world-famous truffles? We're happy to report that world-famous French chef Didier Elena was so impressed at Chateau les Crayeres that he hastily called together France's top chefs including the legendary Alain Ducasse.

Other famous French chefs there included Eric Frechon, Jean-Francois Piege and Alain Senderens, some of whom drove all the way from Paris to taste our truffle in a "magnifique" meal of Volaille de Brest (poultry from Brest).

The verdict? In the words of master chef Didier Elena:

"Everybody was impressed to know how we can offer black truffle in the middle of summer. Many thanks!"

Because black truffles are only available in winter, this is potentially a great market for our truffles in the European summer when they have none.

We've now shown that our fresh winter truffles can be delivered in 24 hours to the European summer tables of restaurants that until now, could only offer fresh truffles for a few of their winter months.

We hope the top chefs of Europe now realise they can satisfy their truffle-loving customers all year round.

We can now start the work of getting our irresistibly delicious truffle products out to the general consumers all over Australia. This is the first stage in our plans to present our truffle value added products to customers all over Australia. We are fortunate to have teamed up with four quality food distributors who are willing to focus their attention to our upcoming Fresh Black Truffle harvest.

Our distributors are as follows:

Sydney
Kirkfood
Tel. +61 (02) 9667 3811
Fax.  +61 (02) 9667 3353
e. arkirk@kirkfood.com.au
w. www.kirkfood.com.au

Melbourne
Kirkfood
Tel. +61 (03) 9553 2477
e. srkirk@kirkfood.com.au
w. www.kirkfood.com.au

Adelaide 
Say Cheese
25 Wright St
Adelaide, SA 5000
Tel. +61 (08) 8231 5867
e. gina@saycheese.net.au
w. www.smellycheese.com.au

Brisbane
Jimele
1/22 Allgas Stree
Slacks Creek QLD 4127
Tel. +61 (07) 3808 2037
e. michale.sales@jimele.com.au

PACKAGE 1 -   $55.00 per person - Truffle hunt in the oak forest of the trufferie. Wine & truffle product tasting at cellar door.

PACKAGE 2  -  $99.00 per person - Truffle hunt in the oak forest of the trufferie. Wine & truffle product tasting at cellar door. Gourmet lunch with complimentary glass of wine.

TRUFFLE HUNT DETAILS
Season Dates: June 7 to August 31, 2008
Days: Saturdays & Sundays 
Commencement Time: 11.00am (Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior).

BOOKING INFORMATION
Advanced bookings are recommended as vacancies may not be available on the day. Bookings are open now for the 2008 season and can be made by emailing cafe@wineandtruffle.com.au or phone (08) 9777 2474.

PAYMENT DETAILS
Please note we require full payment at the time of booking.  Cancellations must be advised at least 2 weeks prior, to secure a refund of payment.

SUGGESTED DRESS STANDARD
Warm casual winter clothes, with wet weather protection and suitable footwear for walking through gravely loam soil.

We look forward to providing you with an enjoyable gourmet experience.

His Beef & Truffle Pie and Mushroom & Truffle Pie were awarded first prize in their category and the Marron & Truffle Pie picked up a prize for second best in that category.

These pies will soon be available at our new cafe that is expected to be open in late March or by Easter.

You will then be able to enjoy these gourmet delights as takeaways or dine in lunch served with perhaps truffle mustard and a tossed salad sprinkled with truffle viniagrette, or whatever else Iain may create on the day.

We are hoping that if our trades people can maintain the momentum they have generated, we could see the opening of the cafe by late March or early April.

This facility will provide locals and visitors to the region with an opportunity to participate in unique dining experiences, enjoying a variety of truffle and hazelnut products, award winning wines, surrounded by beautiful scenery, friendly service all in a relaxed and peaceful environment.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

This amazing wine displays opulence, elegance & finesse and must be the ultimate expression of a wine style to be selected for our Icon Series collection. 

We have no doubt that you will find this wine to be exceptional value for money at $35.00 per bottle. The wine comes in a 6 pack carton giving wine enthusiasts the chance to savour a drop now and lay the others down to benefit from 5 to 8 years cellaring.

This wine has been sealed with a screw cap enclosure which will ensure that the quality and integrity of the wine will be protected over this period.

As this wine is in limited supply we have offered it first to our members up until March 31, 2006 and what remains will be released to the broader market place. As quantities are now very limited you are encouraged to place your order now through our online secure site or at our cellar door at Seven Day Road, Manjimup, phone (08)9777 2474, Thursday to Sunday and public holidays.

We have now taken delivery of our new batches of White & Black Truffle oils.

These oils provide the pungent smells and flavours of the gourmet truffle, a highly prized edible fungus, for you to enjoy with your favourite foods. These flavours can be sprinkled over food once it has been cooked.

Try it with mashed potatoes, pasta, rissoto, scrambled eggs, add to sauces or sprinkle over salads.

The oils can be purchased from our cellar door at Seven Day Road, Manjimup during trading hours 10.00am to 5.00pm Friday to Sunday including public holidays or by mail order, phone (08) 9777 2474 or email sales@wineandtruffle.com.au with your credit card and delivery details.

PRICE:  White & Black Truffle Oil (250ml) - $30.00 per bottle + $5.00 postage per bottle in WA & $8.00 for other States.

Each purchase comes with a list of suggestions on how to use the oils.

After a successful moderate harvest last year, the 2005 truffle season has delivered some very promising results so far, which began early in the season with the unearthing of a single 1.0kg premium quality truffle and many other smaller ones. Harvesting will continue throughout the winter months using our trained dogs to sniff them out.

The truffles are destined for the fine dining restaurants of Australia with the initial emphasis being in the Perth, Sydney and Melbourne markets. As production levels increase, we will begin to export to selected overseas markets.

French importers have already visited our property expressing their interest in sourcing these gourmet delicacies, to help satisfy the out of season demand for them in Europe.

The massive subterranean mushroom with its pungent odour was detected on Sunday by highly trained dogs at The Wine and Truffle Company's Manjimup Trufferie -- and is expected to claim a premium price.
 
"We are very excited about the find," said Wally Edwards, Managing Director of The Wine and Truffle Company. "Depending on the quality, the price of a French black truffle can fetch from $1,500 to $3,000 a kilogram."

Considered the finest of the edible fungus with its unique taste, and deemed by some connoisseurs as an aphrodisiac, the French black truffle's use is limited only by the imagination of the chef.

"Truffles are highly prized and the demand for them is worldwide," he said. He said inquiries for truffles have come from the UK, France, Germany and the Asian region with many customers from Australia registered and waiting for sufficient supply.

Mr Edwards said the size and quality of the truffles found at Manjimup in the last week has been extremely encouraging. "We have already harvested more truffles in the first week of the season than the entire 2004 harvest with tubers regularly exceeding 200 grams in size," he said. 

"Our aim this year is to make truffles available to all major cities in Australia as well as some of the major centres in Europe." "However, our regular restaurants in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne will have the first opportunity to purchase this year's harvest," said Mr Edwards.

Mr Edwards believes the success of the harvest this year has the potential to place Manjimup on the global map by making the gourmet's dream of year-round available truffles a reality.

The Wine & Truffle Co has invested more than $5 million over the last eight years with the aim of supplying the French truffle and super premium cool climate wines to the world gourmet market.

The 2005 truffle harvest lasts for three months from June until the end of August.

I am happy to report that all the whites and most of the reds ripened before the rains came and were harvested on time with optimum flavour ripeness and no losses or quality degradation from disease.

The highlights for this vintage are most definitely the Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and the Cabernet Franc performing the best ever.

I believe that the reds should prove to be a good follow on from the excellent 2004 vintage and as for the whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are showing intense varietal characters and displaying deliciously even balanced palates. As always, the Riesling is showing the good structure and balance which it has displayed consistently year after year.

I am looking forward to putting together some exciting wines from this promising vintage and believe that the exceptional quality will attract your attention and that of wine judges and writers around the country.

Recent accolades have been received from renowned wine writer James Halliday, rating our Winery 5 stars and giving our 2002 Riesling top rating, in his 2005 Wine Companion.

Winestate Magazine have also rated the following of our wines, which are to be written up in their July/Aug 2005 edition:

****  Black Gold Shiraz 2004    **** Angel White 2004

***1/2   Reserve Chardonnay 2004   *** Reserve Riesling 2004

***  Black Gold Cabernet Merlot 2004

We are also very proud of the recognition some of our wines have received at the prestigious international 2005 Decanter World Wine Awards, held in the UK. Results are embargoed until September 2005.

Our Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2004 was awarded a Silver Medal and judged to be the Best White Blend at the 2005 Timber Towns Regional Wine Show. Our Riesling 2003 also picked up a Bronze Medal at this Show.

We look forward to presenting you with more of our award winning wines for your enjoyment and pleasure.

They now accompany the earlier released Babe, a delightfully fruity pink wine that has enjoyed such great success it sold out within months of release in 2005. The new vintage is now available and also proving popular.

The Angel White 2005 is an impressive classic blend of Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. A lovely, crisp, fruity and refreshing style.

Devil's Blend is a perfect wine for those seeking a light to medium bodied blend of Merlot Cabernet, with lots of fruit flavour, subtle oak influences and a soft, easy finish.

It is recognised that wine is an expression of lifestyle, achievement and success. However, when you are seen drinking an "Angel", "Devil" or a "Babe" will this be seen as an expression of who you are??? - Enjoy!!!

We have four different levels within our range which can be easily identified by the distinctly different packaging and labeling.

For the casual dining experience, the Angel White, Devil's Blend and Babe are perfect accompaniments for that barbeque with friends, cafe or bistro outing or for those occasions when you just want to sit back, relax and enjoy a quiet drink.

Our "Gold" range carries our super premium graded wines. The quality of these wines is excellent making them ideal for that special or formal dining occasion. They are affordably priced so that you can spoil yourself at casual dining events as well!!

The Reserve range is an expression of the very best that we can produce, but unfortunately is only available in limited quantities from specialist outlets,  our cellar door and online facility. These wines are for the discerning and astute wine buyer who enjoys drinking ultra premium quality wines now and for those who have the patience to lay some down and re-visit them some time later.

The "Icon Series" Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 is the latest inclusion to our wine portfolio, and is the ultimate wine drinking experience within our range.

We hope you will enjoy them.

Spring has sprung, and with it a quality vintage that has our winemaker, Mark Aitkin, very impressed and enthusiastic. With our vines beginning to age and mature well, the quality of the fruit is evolving. Add to this a near perfect growing and ripening season in 2004, and the wonderful results can be seen and tasted in our grapes. It's now over to Mark to create the best wine possible for each variety, as well as some innovative blends.

Judging by his early reports, it seems that 2004 will go down as an excellent vintage. Once again we have produced an outstanding Riesling which will be released later this year. Read up on Riesling in this newsletter and get ready to enjoy a fine drop from our cellars.

On the reds, our Merlot 2003 will be released around December, and it has been described by Mark as a sensational wine. All the more reason to ensure you order your supplies of this ever popular wine. The superlatives continue to flow as well as our wines, and the 2004 reds are being called 'a stunning line-up', giving us something to look forward to in the next year or so.

We were visited by truffle industry leaders from Europe who were very interested in the development of truffle export from Western Australia, and we gained export markets for our wines.

The media too have given The Wine & Truffle Company considerable exposure, and it seems that we continue to be an interesting and unique story.  The curiosity over our truffle production remains high, and many interviews and articles and an ABC television programme have covered this subject as well as highlighting our company history and our award winning wines.