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Not Water Into Wine But Gold
Monday, 15th August, 2017 - David Farmer
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How many retailers looked at the café and restaurant scene in Europe in the 1960s - 1970s and wondered if the bottled water business had a future in Australia? In the mid 1970s the local water Hepburn Spa trickled out of the Farmer Bros. stores and I recall a need to stock exotic waters like Perrier and a few from Italy.
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Wine Searcher - Seeing What You Gain But Not What You Lose.
Monday, 10th July, 2017 - David Farmer
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Have you heard of Wine Searcher? It's a subscription, price searching site which tells you the retail price of any wine from anywhere. If you are enquiring say from New York it will provide a list of shops that have the wine, starting with the cheapest - at least I think this part is right as I am not a subscriber.
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The Making of the Perfect Press Grenache
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2014 - David Farmer
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Innovation- we are told a business must innovate or the world will pass by. In my line of work which is selling the product of the fermented grape I wonder what this means as what is left to innovate? Wine has been around for so long that every possible combination has been tried again and again. You can drink the product when it is youthful or you may try it aged. You can serve it sweet to dry.
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Spring Grenache Carnival 2014 is Underway
Sunday, 19th October, 2014 - David Farmer
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The second Glug Grenache Carnival is underway. One of Glug's many aims is to popularise grenache which has been a forgotten variety for far too long. While it is true you have been able to buy grenache in blends with shiraz and mataro for a few decades, commonly abbreviated as GSMs, it has seldom been offered as a singular varietal and only in the last decade have the adventurous begun to regularly master its charms.
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Glug 10th Anniversary Celebrations: Our Difference
Sunday, 14th September, 2014 - David Farmer
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We began this adventure in 2004 so this month we celebrate our 10th Anniversary, 2004 to 2014. It has been an interesting journey but the best is in front of us. I turned my back on the old ways of retail as many wine producers had got too big and lost interest in what they sold. All they talked about was volumes and deals and I saw the end game for wine was in sight as the 'fast moving consumable goods or FMCG' crowd took over.
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Advice for Buying Champagne and Sparkling Wines
Thursday, 1st May, 2014 - David Farmer
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For the moment we are unable to offer Glug customers a good, well priced sparkling wine but we are on the case. A few customers have asked what they should do so here are the thoughts I have been offering. Making sparkling wine is as much a manufacturing process as it is winemaking and this limits to a handful the number of companies that can do it efficiently in Australia.
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The Harem Barossa Wines from 2012 are Released
Wednesday, 19th March, 2014 - David Farmer
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To be entrenched like Glug is in the Barossa Valley you must show case the two remarkable varieties mataro and grenache. This was the idea from the beginning in 2004. I remember the start rather well as Ben and I did very little but discuss business plans over long lunches at the remarkable venue Bar Vinum (now closed) which was hosted by the affable Barossa identity Bob McLean.
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March Mataro Madness 2014 is Underway
Tuesday, 4th March, 2014 - David Farmer
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FREE Bottle of Mataro with Every Order
March Mataro Madness is a promotion for Glug customers to bring focus to this long forgotten variety. Mataro cuttings arrived in Australia as far back as 1832 and current plantings contain rare and unique clones which no longer exist in France and Spain.
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A Remarkable 41 Year Old Karrawirra Claret from 1973
Friday, 24th January, 2014 - David Farmer
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The Karrawirra brand was created by the Kies family in the late 1960s and is now a main stream brand of Glug. In 2013 a Glug customer Alan Ramsey was given a bottle of Karrawirra Claret 1973 by a neighbour and it seems likely that it had lain in a Canberra cellar since purchase well over 20 years ago.
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Great Buying Tip - Screwcap White Wines Age Slowly
Tuesday, 18th June, 2013 - David Farmer
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I flew to Melbourne a few weeks back and to keep busy purchased the current wine magazines. In the 'James Halliday Wine Companion' magazine, June/July 2013 the article 'Cork Versus Screwcap' by Ralph Kyte Powell continues an old debate which examines the difference of these closures. more...
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The Search for Everyday Value Wines
Tuesday, 14th May, 2013 - David Farmer
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"While most of those who receive this newsletter would not normally (or ever?) buy a wine with a price of less than $10, there are occasions when knowledge of some of the best can be useful. Gifts to relatives (if they don’t know better), beach barbecues, fishing trips and the like are obvious purchase circumstances". James Halliday, The Australian Wine Companion, 13th March, 2013. more...
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Great Rieslings from the 2012 Vintage
Wednesday, 24th April, 2013 - David Farmer
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The thought expressed a number of times in the regular 'what to buy' emails stating that the 2012 South Australian rieslings are exceptional is gaining support. No less an authority than the Sydney Morning Herald wine writer for the past 20 years, Huon Hooke says this; more...
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Do Great Wines Exist for Less Than $10?
Friday, 10th April, 2013 - David Farmer
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You can find great wines for less than $10 and it is the job of a wine merchant to scour the countryside looking for such bargains. If there is one thing I have done well over 35 years it is making discovery after discovery of great wines at prices under $10.00. Yet few wine writers even mention or review wines that sell for under $10. For them real wines start at well over $10 and more likely over $20. more...
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Glug Wine Tasting
Barossa Valley 16th and 17th OctoberWednesday, 30th September, 2015
Glug Wine Tasting
Barossa Valley 20th and 21st MarchSunday, 15th March, 2015
The Making of the Perfect Press GrenacheTuesday, 2nd December, 2014
Spring Grenache Carnival 2014 is UnderwaySunday, 19th October, 2014
Glug 10th Anniversary Celebrations: Our DifferenceSunday, 14th September, 2014
Are You Getting Good Value When You Buy Wine?Sunday, 6th July, 2014
What you need to Know about The Festival of Adelaidean Shiraz 2014Sunday, 1st June, 2014
Advice for Buying Champagne and Sparkling WinesThursday, 1st May, 2014
Follow Ben in a Day's Work at GlugThursday, 3rd April, 2014
The Harem Barossa Wines from 2012 are ReleasedWednesday, 19th March, 2014
March Mataro Madness 2014 is UnderwayTuesday, 4th March, 2014
The Making of Parawatta Riesling from Eden ValleyThursday, 20th February, 2014
2014 News - Exciting Wines Arriving in the Weeks Months AheadTuesday, 11th February, 2014
A Remarkable 41 Year Old Karrawirra Claret from 1973Friday, 24th January, 2014
Great Buying Tip - Screwcap White Wines Age SlowlyTuesday, 18th June, 2013
The Search for Everyday Value WinesTuesday, 14th May, 2013
Great Rieslings from the 2012 VintageWednesday, 24th April, 2013
Do Great Wines Exist for Less Than $10?Friday, 10th April, 2013
FREE Bottle of Mataro with All Orders During MarchFriday, 1st March, 2013
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