When I was asked to shoot a “wine re-corking” clinic, I had no idea just how fascinating it would be. If I had any expectations of the event at all, I thought it might just be matter of taking bottles of wine and opening them up and replacing the corks in some sort of production line type of work. It wasn’t.
Penfolds brings in their top wine makers to asses the health of bottles of wines at least 15 years old, and whether they need to be opened. If the decision to open them is made, there’s a bit of risk that the bottle could be spoiled. The wine is tested by the wine makers themselves and either given an official certification so they can be kept longer or sold at auction, or… well… worse news. The owner also gets the chance to taste the wine before they actually drink it. Then they’re re-corked and packaged up as good as new, with a certification sticker pasted on the back.
There were some very rare and expensive bottles that came in, and a few moments of suspense waiting for the final verdict on the wine and a few “un-certified” bottles that were drank on the spot. All that, combined with the amazing light in the St Regis hotel’s ball room, made this an awesome day for shooting.
Magalie - What an interesting event, I had no idea they did that! Loving this set, it’s so different than your usual stuff!
Andrea Holloway - Penfolds runs the wine re-corking clinics for customers with bottles aged 15 years or older. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bottle of Grange, of which the current vintage retails for around $600, or a $13 bottle of Koonunga Hill. It’s a chance for wine collectors and connoisseurs to have expert winemakers perform a health check on their prized bottles and learn a bit about how wine ages in the process.
Genevieve Winters - Mr Gago may have access to thousands of bottles of the finest and most cherished wines, but he believes in moderation and work-life balance. Most days, he has one to three glasses of wine and works off his excess calories with exercise, especially running.
Etta Oneill - Comedy comes in all forms, in all languages, and for all ages. Comedy has become a force in the wine label industry for many years and there is no sign in stopping any time soon. Each wine maker wants to create their own design that will be associated with their wine. Taking pride in the wine label making process is necessary – especially for those relatively new wine makers trying to make a name for themselves. Old wineries may need a make over with their wine label design – what better way to create a renaissance then creating funny wine labels to attract new wine drinkers?
Juan Finley - Hi, nice article. I really like it!