Latin Reds - A wine tasting with Peter Bourne

Wine Tasting

Latin Reds. From Italy, Spain and South America

Thursday 18th August 2011

The Robinson Room

The Royal Hotel Canowindra

6.30 - 9.00pm

Tickets $80 (includes nibblies)

Join Peter for an evening of Latin Reds. He will be tasting an

eclectic range of red wines from Italy, Spain and South America. Taste some new varieties, enjoy Peter’s perspective on each wine and where it is from. Join in the conversation.

Limited places. Bookings essential.

Return e-mail or call Jamie 0427708878

Peter Bourne is widely known as “The Wine Man” – his name synonymous with fine wine and fun times. Peter is Australia’s foremost wine educator, a long time wine retailer, industry consultant, hospitality trainer and regular wine writer.
Peter is totally professional with boundless enthusiasm to all things vinous. He enjoys a high profile, priding himself as both independent and credible - a view reflected within the wine industry, the wine media, his long-standing clients, and most importantly, with countless dedicated “wineheads”.
With 35 years experience, Peter really knows his stuff. His long association with wine started in hospitality before he established The Peter Bourne Wine Emporium (originally Moore Park Cellars) in 1976. Peter’s wealth of knowledge entitles him to call Australia’s leading winemakers his friends, as well as high profile chefs, restaurateurs and his colleagues in Australia’s wine media.
Don’t expect a pompous, wine bore. Peter has enormous gusto, which is extremely contagious. He believes wine is a fantastic part of life, to be savoured or slurped but never taken too seriously.
Peter’s qualifications underpin his passion. A member of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin and former winemaster of the Sydney Wine and Food Society, in 1990 Peter won the prestigious Vin de Champagne Award - an honour underpinned in 2003 with the Diplome d’Honneur de Saint Vincent for his support to Champagne as an ambassador, educator - and dedicated consumer. Peter’s a lifetime member of the Wine Communicators of Australia (formerly the Wine Press Club of NSW), an honour bestowed for his “support and dedication”. Peter has also won a number of several significant awards for his wine and food writing.

The Royal and the 100 Mile Dinner

The Old Girl dresses up well for the 100 Mile Dinner

Mid April 2011.
340 food and wine lovers gathered in the main street of Canowindra for the annual 100 Mile Dinner. Gaskill St was closed off and tables were set up on the road. Food and wine were provided by the local regions with nothing coming from further than 100 miles away. The band played, the people ate, the people danced.

The Royal Hotel dressed up for the night. Sally hosted a degustation dinner on the verandah and the main bar was lit with hundreds of candles. Truely a magic night.
By midnight it was all finished and an army of volunteers had returned the street to normal. It was as if nothing had ever happened. And then it rained.

Dan Lambert's Triumphant return to the Royal

Saturday the 10th October 2010........ 10.10.10.... who would have thought this would have been a special evening. All was quiet at the Royal, a few locals were just finishing a game of billiards over a 28yo Glenbroygle single malt and were thinking about heading off. The live feed from Antwerp diamond exchange was closing for the night and thoughts were turning to home..

That was until the large black tour bus arrived at the Royal, as the dust settled we realised that it was Dan Lambert's tour bus en route between Sydney and Melbourne. The "Pommie in a Pub Tour' had come to town.

Dan and his enterage got off the bus and wowed us with stories of the current world tour. Apparently the Budhakahn has never seen better and Red Rocks has finally been exorcised of the U2 gig. After a bit of encouragement Dan picked up his guitar and let the music flow. please sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

It may make more sense if you watch it laying down??

The Royal Red Deer



The Royal Red Deer



Many people think the stuffed deer head in the bar is a fake or a Tooheys promotion. No, he was real.

Arthur Richardson, a long departed publican struck an acquaintance with Prince Phillip when both men were young just after the war. Arthur was travelling in Scotland and visiting a friend who worked at Balmoral castle. To make a long story short, Arthur met Phillip and a mutual love of hunting found them out on the moors one evening.

Phillips usual batman was ill so Arthur was filling in re-loading the Princes rifles as they hunted. As the sun sank low Phillip spotted a magnificent stag in a clearing just ahead, the men crept up until a clear shot could be taken. As everyone knows a Red Deer in hard antler is a very dangerous animal and will defend its territory to the death if necessary. When the stag got wind of the hunters it charged the Prince who discharged a shot but failed to bring the animal down. Arthur prevented a Royal goreing by firing off a deadly accurate round that felled the beast only feet from the Prince thus saving his life and bagging a 14 pointer into the bargain.

The stags head was stuffed and presented to Arthur for services rendered and has remained on the wall at the Royal ever since. It was said that while the Stag watches over the Bar of the Royal Hotel all will be well with Queen and Empire.

Lost Footage from the Royal

Finally found the last footage from that magical night at the bar when the Three D's played. Now looking for more talent to liven up our days...dont be intimidated. If you are half good we will supply a beer and if you are great we will give you two.

The three D's - Live at the Royal

A home away from home for many major recording stars....and these guys. Dan and Dave and Dan, formed in Feb 2010 played to a sell out crowd and broke up. This is one of only two recording made on  the night of what may have been the greatest musical confluence that the world has ever seen. This gig was so exclusive that we didnt let anyone in, the VIP room was empty and so for that matter was every other room in the Pub. Seriously though, Dave is Canowindra's resident guitar guru (the bugger can play anything), singing Dan is our import from London...a hard rockin', proper tear away who is also a stand out chef  and Dan #2 is another Pom visiting from Sydney who wisely stopped picking vegies and went back to being a carpenter (any resembelane re. the hair and the occupation is purely coincidental)

The Royal Hotel and the Bushrangers 1863

Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner and the Royal Hotel
The first raid on Canowindra occurred on Saturday night, 26 September 1863.

At about 6pm the five bushrangers arrived in Canowindra...At half past seven, Constable Sykes, who had been making his way down town, unarmed and unsuspecting, was “stuck up” by the bushrangers. He was kept at Robinson’s Inn (the site of the present day Royal Hotel) under the eye of Gilbert and company, until five o’clock the next morning.

Soon after the arrival of the bushrangers there began at the public house what The Bathurst Times described as “quite a jollification”.

The bushrangers paid for all they drank at the hotel and Gilbert, a man of “irrepressible good humour and witty speech”, is said to have “kept the company in roars of laughter”…

At five in the morning the men left the inn, had two hours sleep in a nearby paddock and rode away at 8am, taking a valuable horse of Robinson’s with them.

On Sunday 11 October, at about 8pm, the five members of the gang rode back into Canowindra. Hall and Gilbert took possession of Robinson’s Inn and bailed up the landlord and those in the house. They searched the premises for money and took any notes they found but left all the silver. After the search, Vale, O’Meally and Burke arrived and Gilbert stood drinks for everyone there… A few hours later they told Robinson they intended to hold up the entire town.

The following morning, the gang stationed themselves to guard the approaches to the town. All who came along, townspeople and travellers alike, were brought to the hotel until, at the end of the bushrangers’ three day stay, the company numbered about forty people. Outside the hotel were tied up the horses, drays, teams and carriages of those taken into custody.

On the third day the gang left town, but maintained a watch on the town from a rise nearby, probably what is known today as Blue Jacket Hill. As they left, they took another of Robinson’s horses, but it, like all the rest, was returned a few days later.

From The Sydney Mail, 17 Oct 1963;

“Gilbert’s gang have held the town of Canowindra for three days, bailing up and detaining everybody that passed during that time, till at length they had about forty prisoners. The bushrangers made themselves agreeable by treating everyone…”