Backdoorwine News

Grab a great mixed dozen for Valentines Day

2008-01-28T01:05:00.001-08:00

Wow, it’s been a while between drinks here on the Backdoorwine blog, but we’re getting back into full swing after a quiet January…

To kick things off we’ve got a great mized doz. special perfect for balmy summer evenings and with each bottle individually gift wrapped it is perfect for giving away as Valentines Day gifts.

Ridgemont Mixed Dozen

6 x Ridgemont Classic Dry White

6 x Ridgemont Sparkling Brut

~~Was $100/case~~ Now only $55/case (order here)

PS – If you’ve been waiting for an email from us, it’s Charlie’s fault…he broke his leg mountain biking a week ago and has been on part time duties, but he’s back on regular hours as of this week so promises to catch up.

Merry Christmas from Backdoorwine

2007-12-18T00:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a huge year all round really, and a pretty good one for Backdoorwine all thanks to our members and the winemakers who've chosen to list their product with us. 2008 is going to be even bigger, so let's all take a well earned break and enjoy a happy, safe, and relaxing Christmas and New Year :)

The Big Travel Giveaway

2007-10-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

This post will serve as a place for us to provide updates as we go through the process of drawing a winner in our Big $5000 Travel Giveaway.

Entry in the draw closes at midnight October 15th, 2007, and we are making the draw October 16th, at 5pm Sydney time. Not long now :)

We will not be announcing the winner until we've been able to verify their details. We've only got email addresses at this stage so we'll have to wait for the winner to get back to us. But once we've done that we'll post the details here, and send an email to all entrants announcing the winner (Oct 18th). We will also post a notice in The Age and SMH announcing the winners on Oct 25th.

--
UPDATE at 5:05pm, October 16th: Well that didn't take long. We're all done...at least for now. We've drawn a winner and will now be getting in touch and verifying their identity. Once that's done we'll make the formal announcement.
--
UPDATE October 18th:

Without any further ado the grand prize winner is...

Wendy Crow from Sydney

Wendy has won a $5000 travel credit. She plans it, we pay for it.

If you didn't win don't dispair we are still running our monthly members draws. And while we can't afford to give away a $5000 holiday every month, you never know when you might win. Stay tuned.

Contact us

We're giving away a $5000 trip anywhere in the world!

2007-09-11T04:13:00.000-07:00

So we figure it was time to up the ante once more and do something really big for current members, and at the same time to attract some new members...so we're giving away a $5000 trip anywhere in the world!

And the prize is literally that open...you plan you trip and we'll pay for it to the tune of $5000. Just tell us who your local travel agent is and we'll give them the funds as a credit on your travel booking.

The promo has an interesting twist too, because we are also giving all current members and anyone who signs up during the campaign a special link which they can forward to their wine drinking friends and if one of your friends ends up winning then we'll give you a $5000 travel credit also, just to say thanks :-)

If you are a member already then you will shortly receive an email containing your special referral link to pass on to any wine drinking friends. If you are not a member already then what are you doing still reading this?!? Get over here, sign up, and be in to win a $5000 dream holiday on us :)

Cheers!

2007-09-01T23:07:00.001-07:00

Cheers!
Originally uploaded by jurvetson.

Love this image found on Flickr...isn't this glass just begging to be filled.

Backdoorwine Newsletter Poll

2007-08-15T02:25:00.001-07:00

We've been thinking about the content of the BDW newsletter and we'd like to know your opinion...

Cheers

Steve & Charlie

CSIRO predicts sour future for grapes - Business - Business - theage.com.au

2007-08-05T12:23:00.001-07:00

BY 2050, the quality of Australian wine grapes could be halved and the area planted for grapes could be cut by 40 per cent in a worst-case scenario for climate change, according to CSIRO research.

CSIRO predicts sour future for grapes - Business - Business - theage.com.au.

Best starting cellaring now then eh!

Sainsbury trials imported wine in PET bottles

2007-08-05T03:04:00.001-07:00

I guess this is has been on the cards for a while now, and probably isn't that surprising if you have done any camping in Europe (plastic bottles being the staple of camping ground bottle stores). Still interesting all the same.

I guess it all comes down to the context. I mean, for things like camping, or picnics, or backyard bbq's plastic bottles actually make lots of sense...just don't plan on cellaring!

A UK supermarket is trialling an Australian wine and another from New Zealand that are packaged in tradionally-shaped bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Sainsbury trials imported wine in PET bottles.

Free Shipping!!

2007-07-17T03:03:00.000-07:00

A few updates this week...

Most importantly we've now got free shipping on the following specials for delivery anywhere in Australia:

2003 Donovans Grampians Shiraz - $100/case
2004 Donovan Cabernet Sauvignon - $110/case
2005 Donovan Tempranillo - $120/case
2004 El Choueiri Cabernet Sauvignon - $85/case
2003 Red Earth Estate Premium Shiraz - $98.40/case
2006 Red Earth Estate Riesling - $168/case (bronze)
Red Earth Estate Mixed Dozen - $98.40

Be quick through because some of these are in very short supply.

Congratulations also to Sacha Fraser of Sydney, your name came out of the hat in our June members draw so you have won a case of wine on us. We'll be in touch to arrange delivery.

As always we'd love to hear from you if you've got any feedback for us. Otherwise stay tuned, there's more in the pipeline.

Whoopsy daisies

2007-05-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Everything is back to normal. A server change impacted the checkout unexpectedly. Small and easy fix.

Just when we send out an email we encounter an unknown bug which causes the checkout to fail. Sorry for the inconvenience, we'll have it up and running asap.

Cheers

Charlie & Stevo

Winner announced in April members draw

2007-05-15T03:28:00.001-07:00

New Grapes in Hunter Valley
Originally uploaded by gregandsommerly.

Without any ado, we're pleased to announce the April winner in our April members draw:

Congratulations Troy Coleman from Sydney!

We're just waiting now to hear back from Troy on what he wants, and then we'll arrange to have it shipped it right to his door...can't ask for better than that :)

Check out the mixed dozens mentioned in this weeks newsletter.

Now that's what we call a tasting glass...

2007-04-20T00:13:00.001-07:00

About time

2007-04-09T03:38:00.001-07:00

Excellent, we have just pushed the go button on a long overdue feature here on Backdoorwine.com.au…categories!

The home page has been getting progressively more tiresome to navigate as we’ve added new specials, so now we have simple categories (White/Red/Sparkling/Medal Winning) which make it easier to find just want you need. If more categories are warranted in time then we’ll add them, but for now I think that will cover it.

You’ll also be able to easily identify any medal winning wines by the little medal icons (Gold, Silver or Bronze) which will appear inline with the listing title. A simple but handy addition I think.

What’s next? How about customer reviews of wines they’ve actually purchased? That would be cool eh! I concur.

How gorgeous is this photo!

2007-04-05T04:15:00.001-07:00

Vitis*
Originally uploaded by imapix.

Wish I could say I took this one, but alas...I just stumbled on it over at Flickr.com, just gorgeous. Click through to check out the full sized version.

We just got a really nice Canon digi with a decent optical zoom and 10 mega pixels...can't wait to get away and start experimenting with it.

March winner drawn

2007-04-04T02:41:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Andrew Bryant of New Lambton, you've won our March members draw and can choose a case of any wine we have available on the site at the moment. Nice :)

If you didn't win don't dispair there is always next month and we do have some new super duper specials from Littledale Estate Wines which you should check out:

Littledale Estates 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon - $150/case (save $85)

Littledale Estates 2004 Shiraz - $150/case (save $70)

Littledale Estates 2005 Verdelho - $130/case (save $68)

Littledale Estates 2006 Rose - $135/case (save $70)

These have only just been listed on the site so they're only available to logged in members for the next few days. Become a member here.

How to order via fax

2007-03-12T00:58:00.001-07:00

Let us start this post by saying that Backdoorwine uses industry standard encryption on the site, so when you order online your credit card details are transfered securely to our server. This has been independently audited by Thawte the leader in online security authentication.

That said, we know there are some of you who still don't like ordering online...in which case just follow these three easy steps to order via fax:

Browse our selection of available wines and add them to the shopping cart as you go. You don't have to submit any details, adding the products to the site shopping cart just makes it possible to see the shipping costs before you print off your order for faxing.
Once you've chosen the wines you want ,and added them to the shopping cart, go to the shopping cart page and make sure you select your shipping zone from the pull down list.
On the order summary page you will see a link, "submit order via fax", click this and the resulting page will be a plain order form which can be easily printed off. The printed order form has space to add all your delivery and billing details and has our fax number. Fax us and we'll send you an email confirmation once the order has been processed (same day).

That's it. Pretty simple really, so go check out all the wine specials and place an order today.

Febuary's Members Draw

2007-03-12T00:23:00.001-07:00

wine pour
Originally uploaded by katiew.

Congratulations Kristian Zimmermann from Sydney.

Kristian has won our Febuary members draw, which means he gets to choose a case of anything available on the site and we'll arrange to have it shipped, nice :)

Don't forget you can improve your chances of winning in the monthly draw just by telling your mates about BDW...which is to say if they end up winning we'll give you a case of wine as well. Find out how this works by logging in and clicking the "invite a friend" link.

But before you do that, check out these three medal winners:

2003 Big Hill Bendigo Shiraz (quadruple medal winner) - $8.33/bottle (RRP $20/bottle)
2005 Smithleigh Hunter Valley Semillon (triple medal winner) - $10.50/bottle (RRP $17/bottle)
2006 Red Earth Estate Rielsing (Bronze medal winner) - $14/bottle incl. shipping (RRP $17)

And we must mention as well the fabulous Mt Jagged 2005 Chardonnay, which has enough of the good stuff to earn 89 points from James Halliday in his 2006 Wine Companion. This is pretty limited as well so probably won't last long.

And what's this photo got to do with anything? Nothing actually, but it's a great pic eh!

The Wine Rack

2007-03-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

We're not completely sure what to make of this, but it is wine related news (sort of) and it made us chuckle, so here ya go...

Conceived by the same team who developed the infamous Beer Belly concept, the Wine Rack is a device designed for ladies to smuggle their favorite drop into events (sports games, concerts etc), or even if there's no smuggling required it could be a handy way to carry your wine, and is guaranteed a few laughs. From the site...

Now you can turn an A cup in to double Ds AND sport your favorite beverage for yourself and your friends! We get it that some chicks just don’t want that pregnant look that comes with The Beerbelly. We developed The Winerack to “Fill Out” our product line if you will. The picture shown here is of our good friend Sue, who is not, no offense Sue, Well Endowed. Strap on the Winerack and Viola’ Sue’s giving Pamela Anderson a run for the money.

So together the Beer Belly and the Wine Rack really are the ultimate his and hers party accessory. Maybe.

How much is shipping?

2007-02-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

We get asked this question a lot and the answer is always 'it depends'...when you buy from Backdoorwine your order is actually routed direct to the winery for processing and dispatch. In other words you are dealing direct with the cellar door and the costs vary depending on their location and your shipping address.

To find out what the shipping is on a particular wine just add a case to the shopping cart by clicking the "Add to order" button. On the shopping cart page you will be able to define your shipping region and check the cost of shipping (click the "update order" button), without actually submitting your order to the winery.

Based on feedback we're working on some improvements to make it easier to see the shipping costs with fewer steps, but hopefully this tip is helpful in the meantime.

Cheers

Get me back to the wine

January winner

2007-02-11T02:11:00.000-08:00

The winner in January's members draw is... [imagine drum roll]

Angela Smith from Sydney. Congratulations.

When we contacted Angela to let her know about her win she told us she's in the middle of writing a thesis! Perfect, just the kind of customer we like...a student, so obviously smart, not afraid to have the odd glass occasionally, and always looking for a bargain ;)

If you're similarly interested in sharp wine deals we've assembled this list of the 18 best deals on the site for under $10/bottle, arranged here in order of greatest $ savings...

2003 Premium Shiraz - $98.40/case (save $166.60)
2004 Mudgee Growers Cabernet Sauvignon - $100/case (save $164)
2004 El Choueiri Cabernet Sauvignon - $85/case (save $155)
2003 Big Hill Vineyard Bendigo Shiraz - $100/case (save $140)
2006 Mudgee Growers Verdelho - $80/case (save $136)
2005 Q Wines Margaret River Premium Red - $90/case (save $83)
2003 Red Ridge Coonawarra Cab. Sauv. Shiraz - $95/case (save $70)
2004 Red Ridge Coonawarra Chardonnay Semillon - $95/case (save $70)
2004 Charlotte's Farm Shiraz - $85/case (save $58)
2004 Charlotte's Farm Verdelho - $85/case (save $58)
2005 Charlotte's Farm Chardonnay - $85/case (save $58)
2005 Seven Day Road Unoaked Chardonnay - $99/case (save $57)
2005 Seven Day Road Merlot Malbec - $99/case (save $57)
2005 Seven Day Road Sauvignon Blanc Semillon - $99/case (save $57)
2006 Friday Monkey Merlot - $99/case (save $45)
2006 Friday Monkey Chardonnay - $99/case (save $45)
2005 Friday Monkey Shiraz - $99/case (save $45)
Friday Monkey Mixed Case (bonus Hoyts movie tickets!) - $99/case (save $45)

Browse and order these wines (along with lots more).

Cheap wine, Valentines Day, and free movie tickets

2007-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie...we've had a bunch of new clearance deals listed in the last couple of weeks and we've got more on the way, so stay tuned ;)

A couple of highlites:

Big Hill Vineyard 2003 Bendigo Shiraz for just $99/case (save $140) - This wine has won four bronze medals, is great drinking right now but would also cellar for a couple more years, so for $99 it is brilliant buying
Charlotte Farm's 2004 Shiraz, 2004 Verdelho, or 2005 Chardonnay all for $85/case (save $58)

And as a special Valentines offer:

Friday Monkey Wines mixed case (Shiraz/Chard/Merlot) for $99 (save $45). And if you order now they're throwing in two free Hoyts movie tickets (worth $30) with each case.

Cheers

Mapping vineyards

2007-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

This is defintiely worth a look...A clever bloke by the name of Matt Haywood has created a site based on Google Maps which provides a visual way to navigate around Australian Wine Regions and zoom in to find the details of all listed wineries. This is a really nice way to get a perspective on the geography of the regions and where different vineyards are in relation to each other. You can even switch to satellite mode to see satellite images of the locations, although these are not yet available to a decent resolution for all locations outside major metro areas.

There's been lots of innovation done on top of the Google maps service, but this is my favorite so far.

And the winner for December is...

2007-01-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

We've been a little slow around BDW HQ recently as everyone ambles back from holidays, but we have got around to drawing the December members prize draw. It is the last for 2006, and the first of our case 'o wine giveaways, so with out further ado...

Congratulations Darryl Carlton. We've been in touch and are now just waiting for Darryl to pick a case (any case) from what we have available at the moment and we'll arrange to have it shipped over asap.

If you'd like to increase your chances of winning in the monthly draw just look for the link when you next login.

Latest deals are right over here.

Happy New Year Everyone

2007-01-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

Pre-Christmas
Originally uploaded by redcipolla.

Wow, 2006 disappeared super fast. We spent a great deal of time working on the inner workings of the website during 2006, and so we're really excited that the big stuff is all in place now and we'll be able to kick into 2007 stongly right from the start of the year.

Once everyone is back on the office we'll be working on some new deals in the pipeline, but in the meantime you should really go and check out some of the great wine, vine, and viticulture photography on Flickr.com.

Flickr is a fabulous photo sharing website that provides all sorts of interesting ways to discover some amazing photography. I've been a user of Flickr for a while now (it's great for sharing pix of the little guy with Grandma), but I spent a little time these holidays checking out all the cool discovery tools they provide to help find great images of pretty much anything you like...and it is totally worthwhile. Not to mention they've got a cool blogit! feature which lets you post (appropriately licensed) images you find directly to your blog, so you can probably count on lots of grape pictures from now on ;)

Order now if you want it before Christmas

2006-12-07T02:42:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: From this point (Dec. 16th) it really isn't possible to guarantee delivery before Christmas, but if you need to stock up for New Years Eve go to it :)

I am probably stating the obvious here, but at this time of year the courier companies are overloaded, so if you want to receive your order before Christmas please order as soon as possible.

[just a gratuitous image to empahaise how overloaded the couriers are at this time of year]