Welcome to Helm Wines of Murrumbateman

Helm Wines, the centre of the world at Murrumbateman.

Helm Wines is an owner operated family winery located in the Canberra District.  The winery was given a 5 star rating by James Halliday in 2009, and is well known for producing award-winning Rieslings and Cabernet Sauvignons.

Helm Wines is one of about 40 boutique cool climate Canberra wineries (established in 1973), one of the first commercial wineries in the Canberra District Wine Region. Located just outside of Murrumbateman, approximately 30 km north of Canberra, Helm Wines is open daily from 10am to 5pm except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. (address and contact details)

LATEST NEWS

Riesling in Australia

Ken Helm AM and Trish Burgess are delighted to announce that Riesling in Australia was published in  June 2010, by WinetitlesPty Ltd in Adelaide.

In 1788 the First Fleet carried the first vines to Australia, and Riesling could well have been among them. Riesling in Australia explores the history of the Riesling variety in Australia, from its arrival to the present day.  Twenty “Legend Riesling Makers” give their personal insights into wine making, growing the variety and their favourite wines.

The book, introduced by Wolf Blass, includes an exploration of viticulture and the science of  flavours by Louisa Rose, Senior Winemaker at Yalumba Wines and Dr Leigh Francis from the Australian Wine Research Institute. All 550+ current Riesling producers are listed for easy reference, together with regional maps, an explanation of the Geographical Regions and an outline of Riesling events around the world.

Copies are available from Winetitles on-line book shop:  www.winetitles.com.au/bookstore or ask your local bookshop to get it in for you.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Phone: (08) 8369 9532) for discounts and postage costs on multiple copies. Pre-payment is required for all orders.

2010 Australia Day honour

Winemaker Ken Helm (AM) was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day 2010 honours. The award recognises Ken's service to the Australian wine industry as a winemaker, through the promotion of the Riesling white grape variety and as a supporter of cool climate wine producers and to the community of the Canberra/Yass region.

 Award-winning wines

February 12 2010

Helm Riesling strikes gold again in Sydney.

The Royal Sydney Wine Show results announced last night has awarded Gold and Silver to the Helm Rieslings from Murrumbateman in the Canberra District.  The show attracted over 2300 entries from some of the best wineries in Australia.

It’s the second year running that Helm Rieslings have been awarded gold at the prestigious Show.

The latest award adds to an impressive tally of 17 trophies and 19 gold medals for Helm Rieslings at Capital City, International and Regional Wine shows in the last five years – including the Royal Sydney Wine Doug Lamb Trophy for Best Riesling, awarded to the Helm Riesling Classic Dry 2008 last year (see photo to left). This was the first time the trophy was won by a winery outside South Australia or Western Australia.

This year the Helm Classic Dry 2009 won gold and was again judged off for the trophy - a rare event for any winery. The Helm Premium Riesling 2009 was awarded  Silver.

The 2009 Helm Classic Dry Riesling celebrates the 33^rd Riesling vintage for Helm Wines – in

fact, the wine contains juice from some of the oldest plantings of the Riesling grape in the Canberra District

Photo: Ken Helm with the Doug Lamb Trophy for Best Riesling at the Royal Sydney Wine Show in 2009