ARMADALE CELLARS MILESTONE:

Announcement posted by Armadale Cellars 31 May 2017

Phil Hude’s Melbourne wine retail institution turns 20, celebrated with 20th Birthday Tasting Festival from May to September 2017

Media release

Wednesday, 17 May 2017,

Melbourne, Australia (for immediate release)

Melbourne wine icon, Phil Hude first took over the reins at Armadale Cellars in 1997. Now in 2017, Armadale Cellars marks its anniversary with a 20^th Birthday Tasting Festival (@armadalecellars #AC20thBdayFest), running from May to September 2017. The Festival will celebrate two decades at the Cellars, with museum wine tastings from Phil’s favourite boutique and premium producers.

Since 1997, Phil and the Armadale Cellars crew have welcomed thousands of the wine-curious through the doors to ramble the sweeping and eclectic wine collection, join his famously unpretentious wine courses and taste new vintages with Australia’s most important winemakers.

Armadale Cellars, located in Melbourne’s leafy inner east, is one of the city’s few remaining independent, owner-operated wine merchants. Over the years, Phil has weathered the challenges of numerous trends, big retail and economic fluxes but thrived by remaining committed to quality, boutique, artisan producers.

Phil has been a longtime supporter of once-young-wineries now recognised as icons and heritage producers like Giaconda, Wild Duck Creek, Paradigm Hill, Ata Rangi, Katnook Estate, Moorilla, Best’s Wines, Shaw & Smith, Moorooduc, Mac Forbes, Tappanappa, Felton Road, Ocean Eight and Henschke. These are among the producers that have supported his loyalty with hard-to-find allocations, digging into the cellars to find some unobtainable wine to commemorate Armadale Cellars’ birthday!

In celebration of this milestone, Phil and the team are very excited to launch the Armadale Cellars 20^th Birthday Tasting Festival (running May-September), culminating in the 20^th Birthday Party tasting on Saturday, 23 September. This invitation-only, grand tasting will include both current and impossible-to-find museum wines from these iconic wineries, menu by the inimitable Andrew Blake and some incredible door prizes.

In fairness to Phil’s numerous loyal customers, entry to this final birthday event will be by Golden Ticket only, with 20 double passes given away to #AC20thBdayFest event guests during the festival. Phil Hude and the Armadale Cellars team can’t wait to celebrate with their friends and supporters from over the years and present some museum wines normally locked away, each vintage marking a year in the life of Armadale Cellars.

Armadale Cellars 20^th Birthday Tasting Festival Program, visit Events review the following list and follow #AC20thBdayFest for public event announcements in the coming weeks.

For more information, images or to arrange an interview with Phil Hude, please contact Kimberley Pearce at Wine Brain: kp@winebrain.com.au, 0413 120 385.

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About Phillip Hude

As a young man, Phil Hude first caught the wine bug working in hotels, before progressing to wine retail in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

In 1992, he began a wine marketing course (ADWM) at the famed Roseworthy campus, the University of Adelaide, which he completed over four years.

Notwithstanding his unassuming, Aussie turn of phrase and knockabout charm, Phil’s studies made him one of the most qualified wine merchants in the country.

In 1997, Phil bought Armadale Cellars and had since stocked some of Australia’s and indeed the world’s most iconic wines. He has tutored thousands of wine-interested folks during his palate training, wine courses and Shiraz challenges. Phil has presented hundreds of tastings and winemaker’s dinners and lent his wine expertise to numerous corporate speaking engagements and television and radio interviews.

Constantly clad in a wine apron and ever ‘under the pump’, but no matter his haste Phil will always have time to talk passionately about the latest boutique wine release, best local restaurants or his beloved Hawks.

#AC20thBdayFest Events*

Ocean’s Eight – Thu 18 May

Best’s Wines – Wed 24 May

Giaconda on-premise release – late May

Katnook Estate – Thu 15 Jun

Moorilla – Thu 22 Jun

Paradigm Hill – Mon 26 Jun

Levin Wines - Tues 11 Jul

Moorooduc Estate – Wed 12 Jul

Standish & Head – Wed 26 Jul

Levantine Hill – Thu 27 Jul

Wild Duck Creek – Thu 3 Aug

Mac Forbes – Tues 15 Aug

Shaw+Smith – Thu 17 Aug

Tappanappa – Tue 22 Aug

Tolpuddle – Fri 1 Sep

Felton Road – Tues 12 Sep

Armadale Cellars 20^th Birthday Party – Sat 23 Sep

*More events to be announced in the coming weeks on Events