The 2018 vintage of the McAuley Park Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was successfully launched on Friday 6 September in Centennial Hall. The evening showcased and celebrated the wonderful work of our students in the areas of viticulture, hospitality, art and music.
Our winemaking students hosted the evening, along with the Principal Mr Philip Morison and Agriculture teacher and coordinator of the winemaking program, Mr Tim Thompson. Our Music students entertained the guests with terrific performances, our Hospitality students did a wonderful job of providing delicious canapes and many eye-catching artworks from our students were on display.
The patron of the College’s winemaking program, Mrs Suzanne Halliday, was again one of our special guests and she spoke highly of this latest vintage and in particular noted the students' excellent bottling technique which is all done by hand.
Acclaimed opera singer Mr Adrian Li Donni, a member of The Ten Tenors, officially launched the wine and performed two works —a traditional operatic piece along with a more contemporary work.
The launch is the culmination of a great deal of work. The students are involved in every stage of the winemaking process — they manage the vine canopy and check for pests, take yield estimates, monitor sugar, flavour and acid levels, harvest the grapes, bottle the wine and design the wine labels.The 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon will now be entered in a number of wine tasting competitions and we wish them well in this exciting next stage.
