Rimfire Winery Specialist Wine Makers of Rare, Historic and Wonderful Wines.
Image above: Margaret & Tony Connellan with children Michelle, Peter and Louise.
Handing over the Cellar Keys to a new generation at Rimfire - As of July 1st this year entrepreneur and owner of Rimfire Winery Tony Connellan officially retired, and has handed over the keys to a new generation. While this change has been in the wind for some time, much of what you have come to know and enjoy about Rimfire and our very special wines will remain the same.
Image: Winemaker louise and Tony's granddaughter Emily mid vintage.
The new generation: Eldest daughter Michelle Patterson, best known to most as the coordinator of the Rimfire Wine Club has in addition to the operation of the cellar door / marketing now taken over coordinating wine production at Rimfire. Son, Peter Connellan continues to oversee general farm and vineyard manangment. And Tony's daughter Louise Connellan (a professional winemaker, with international experience who has been making our Rimfire wines for the past couple of vintages), will continue as chief winemaker at Rimfire. Very importantly, the familiar face of Margaret, a long time Rimfire employee will remain with us here at the cellar door - continuing to entertain and share with visitors her passion for all things wine.
FOUR THINGS YOU WILL WANT TO KNOW: 1. The changing needs of the family life of our younger generation and the enormous demand for our wines via mail order and through the Rimfire Wine Club, we have changed our visitor hours at the Cellar Door.
The Rimfire Cellar Door will now be open to visitors on Friday and Saturday 10am - 4pm each week.
Office hours will vary through out the week and on those days we will operate on a "by chance" policy. So, if you are visiting our neck of the woods, please take the time to stop by - our front gate sign will advise you if sales are available on any given day outside of our regular Friday and Saturday open hours.
2. While it is business as usual otherwise - this change has brought some positive advantages to our Rimfire Wine Club members..
$$$$ Savings for Wine Club Members - Rimfire now provides our Rimfire Wine Club Members with great price advantages on all current release wines. As a member you are now able to purchase your Rimfire wines cheaper than the regular cellar door price. This is in addition to the normal FREE packaging and freight offer (see web for details) to club members, and the bonus 13th bottle with every dozen purchase.
3. NEW Rimfire Website – Rimfire now offers excellent new & improved 24/7 virtual cellar door shopping. Fast, convenient and all wines delivered direct from our door to yours. Update your Wine Club membership details, wine selections, send wines as a gift, enjoy special offers and more...Click Here to go to Rimfire's Home page
4. SPECIAL OFFER - Rimfire is offering a special reduced packaging and freight charge of only $8.00 on a single bottle purchase - any bottle in our current release range. Use this opportunity to try a Rimfire wine for the very first time - or to sample something new!
Click Here to view the lucky winner of our monthly Club wine draw...
For some time now we have been working toward further developing our much loved range of red wines - and our commitment to this has been paying off in recent months with some fantastic reviews and wine awards. You only have to take note of our most recent releases of Graciano, Touriga Nacional and Aleatico, to get a taste of the success of these rare varieties at Rimfire.
Wine Writer David Bray says: "Rimfire is the place to go if you're interested in checking out a wide range of grape varieties.." in his article "Quite Achievers in the Sunshine State " The Independant" April 16th 2008
Rimfire Wine Releases
Just released: 2005 vintage Rimfire Touriga Nacional - 1x Silver & 4x Bronze Medals This new release is a really lovely wine, well worthy of the recognition it is fast gaining as one of Rimfire's more notable reds. I am enjoying a glass right now and can easily describe to you the rich ripe berries - quite striking on the nose, warm toasty characters on the palate boasting ripe tannins - loads of concentrated berry fruit flavours and a rich, earthy background. The flavour definitely lingers, with soft tobacco and mocha flavours following right throughout. Rimfire's Touriga Nacional has a real aura of exclusivity around it - it's virtually impossible to find this grape variety crafted as a table wine elsewhere in Australia. Touriga Nacional is native to the Douro Valley in Portugal, where it is the most revered vine variety for making the finest of ports. The vine is vigorous and robust, but extremely low-yielding, with small dark berries resulting in deep-coloured, tannic, concentrated wines. Delicious!
Rimfire Graciano - Originating from Northern Spain- Put simply, Rimfire's Graciano is filled with blackcurrant, cherry and spice characters. Fine tannins firmly grip the palate and spicy fruit flavour fills the mouth with an explosion of colour. This wine is for the serious red wine lover! Rimfire's current release Graciano was chosen as one of Ken Gargett's TOP 20 WINES (reviewed February 9th 2008 in Courier Mail's Qweekend magazine).
Rimfire Shiraz - Always a favourite with its spicy, peppery nose,
a full-flavoured red berry palate with subtle hints of licorice and tobacco leaf.
The firm tannin structure adds great length to the finish. Pair this wine with antipasto, olive pastas and wood-fired pizzas, yum!
Pour yourself a glass of Rimfire Cabernet Franc
2005 vintage just released! Cabernet Franc is a revered French black grape variety which offers all the lovely Cabernet flavour you enjoy but without the powerful tannins often found in Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an outstanding wine, with an aroma full of bright berry fruit, hints of black pepper, and spice with a deep, herbaceous undertone. Cabernet Franc also offers a blend of earthy, generous fruit flavours, complemented further by the wine's full, soft tannin. A lingering finish reveals layers of leather and warm savoury oak. For something different, try Cabernet Franc with vegetable quiche, roasted turkey or crusty French breads.
Discover your new favourite wine at Rimfire today! To view all of our Rimfire wines and compare the $$$$ advantages of being a Rimfire Wine Club member CLICK HERE
