The Grampians Grape Escape

This weekend we go west, up to the beautiful Halls Gap in the Grampians for the annual Grampians Grape Escape.

Set in beautiful Halls Gap, there'll be heaps of the locals there with some exciting wine and food choices.

As for Mitchell Harris, we'll have all our new season's wines out for some of their first public sips:

The 2009 Mitchell Harris Sauvignon Blanc Fumé

The 2008 Mitchell Harris Shiraz

The 2007 Mitchell Harris Cabernet Sauvignon

Hope to see you there, we'll be back with news and shots of the weekend next week!

Rivalry Round with MH! 3 bottles to win!

Well, after bagging out our resident winemaker's picking ability last week he came out and topped the round! Johnno, being the generous soul he is, has donated the winning bottle back into the pool for the winner of Round 6. And Johnno, being the cocky soul he is, has also offered another bottle to the winner just if they beat him! So, that's 3 bottles of Mitchell Harris gold up for grabs this week for our winner!!

A cracking game to kick off the rivalry round this week with the Bulldogs looking to hang onto a top 8 spot when they come up against the Saints who have won 21 of their last 23 matches at the Phone Dome. Adelaide, yet to post a win for 2010, has it's back to the wall this week.  They're up against rivals Port Adelaide who won a hard fought game against the Saints last week and are looking to move on up into the 8.

Finals chances are on the line for both the Hawks and Bombers on Saturday night. Round 22 last year (remember this?) will be in the front of Hawks fans' minds as these bitter rivals face up at the G.

4 wins in a row for the Dees? It hasn't been seen for a while but they've lost 10 of their last 11 games at Etihad Stadium so the Roos could be in with a chance on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile Sydney at home will be a task for Voss' boys on Saturday night, especially with some injury doubt over the Brown/Fev duo.

Richmond's team list has more changes than an Elton John concert this week when they come up against the Cats at the Cattery.  Centrebet is offering a tempting little $14 for the Tigers to win but you might be better to save your pretty pennies on this one. A Huge game follows at the G on Sunday afternoon with the Pies clashing with a Blues outfit that knocked off Geelong last week thanks to a dominant performance from skipper Juddy. And to finish up the round it's a Derby over in the West with Freo looking to give West Coast's finals chances the heave-ho after a blistering start to their season.

So take your time this week tipsters, there's three bottles of the MH goodness to be won!

Cheers,
Shan, Lis, Johnno and Mitch

Salary Cap Scandal for MH

Breaking news... Mitchell Harris is reporting its own serious salary cap breach...Johnno has been found to be having above and beyond his quota of Mitchell Harris Cabernet and has been stripped of all wine allocation for the 2010 season. The 07 drop of Cabernet has certainly been found to be performing enhancing but in the volumes JH has been taking home it's downright dangerous. If he could actually tip above two each week we'd strip him of his tipping score as well, but that would be like stripping Richmond of their premiership points for 2010.

One of the top tippers from 2009, Hels Bainbridge, took home the bottle for Round 4 with an unbeatable little selection of 8 for the week. Nepetism is alive and well in the Mitchell Harris family with two Harris' and two Mitchells in the top 8 so far.

So, onto the tipping..

The Crows are having a shocker of a season so far and should struggle to bother the Doggies at the phone dome on Friday night. Big Bazza will shine..
Saturday afternoon sees the Eagles soar over to the east coast to play off against Sydney and their young team could battle to knock off Roos' boys.
Another impressive performance from the fighting Dees last week but they face a much tougher opponent in the unbeaten Brisbane on Saturday night needing some tight defence to stop the Lions power forwards.
Sitting 11th on the ladder with a yo-yo start to 2010, Port Adelaide copped a shalacking from Geelong last week and the Saints could easily do the same to them this week. The home ground advantage could be their only saviour.
A solid win for the Pies last week holds them in good stead for the Anzac Day showdown against the Bombers on Sunday. Essendon usually do pretty well with the Digger spirit behind them on Anzac day but they've been another team high on inconsistency this year.
One win each for the season, the Hawks take on the Kangaroos down in Tassie on Sunday night. As a second home ground for the Hawks, Aurora Stadium should play host to a close encounter between the two.
Freo are travelling along quite nicely and should have a bit of a training run against Richmond whilst the Cats' forward line will give the Blues a run for their money on Monday afternoon.

We're all getting our backside trackside at the Avoca Races on Anzac Day so if you're up for a day trip come and join us!

Johnno, Shan, Lis and Mitch

Art on the Tasting Bench

Some blending art, a la Jackson Pollock?

Nice one Johnno...

Round 4 Mitchell Harris Tipsters!

Round 4 is here after some tough tipping last week. Jen Absalom has struck form again this year, just knocking out The Wiz by a solitary point. What a round...a special mention to The Bald Hawk bringing up the rear with a less than impressive score of 2.

We head over the Nullarbor tomorrow night to kick off the round with two teams yet to hit their straps for the season. The Dons knocked off a mediocre Carlton last week but the Eagles are yet to clock up the 4 points. The home ground should give them a boost. Swans are showing some decent form and take on a Roos outfit that's been up and down more than a toilet seat so far. Look out for Bomber Harvey to show some leadership again this week.

Adelaide has spent more time in the physio rooms than on the training track this week and may struggle to find a fit 18 players to take the field on Saturday afternoon. They might need a bit of pressure point therapy from Juddy as he makes his return for the Blues desperate for some form of leadership. It should be a top little match up north between Brisbane and the Doggies. Can Big Bazza shine up on the forward line to counteract the Brown/Fevola show at the other end?

Lets hope the Hawthorn lads have got a clean rap sheet this week as they come up against Malthouse's boys and his potty mouth at the G on Saturday night. Richmond put in a superb effort at Sydney's Intercontinental Hotel last Saturday with Daniel Conner taking out the best on ground performance and the Cuz out for a week for "unduly rough play". They play Melbourne who racked up their first win in a while last week and are actually heading into a game as the favourite. Bring it on Dees! The pussy cats are at home for the first time this season and should come in easily against Port. The round wraps up with a home game for Freo against another unbeaten team in the Saints. 1st V 2nd, but no Riewoldt??

Start tipping tipsters and while you're on the computer jump onto our facebook site here and become a fan to keep up with all the latest MH news.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Lis, Mitch, Shan and Johnno

Follow that Cab....

Ok, so after a few weeks fermenting in our big new shiny open-top fermenters, the 2010 Mitchell Harris Cabernet has been drained out, and hits the presses today. Nice work Johnno, you deserve a beer.

Beautiful fruit from our Moonambel vineyard looks like it'll make one of our best vintages yet, and now set for a stint in our snappy new French Oak barrels.

Stay tuned for more progress...

Round 3 Mitchell Harris Mates Footy Tipping

Welcome to Round 3 tipsters!

Well, the competition has well and truly kicked off, with Whooper the Whopper just leading the way from Mitchell Harris' very own Miss Lis.
Jan Godfrey took out the Easter chocolates last week, picking 7 in a tough round.

Round 3 kicks off with a cracker of a game on Friday night. A highly fancied Saints outfit takes on the Magpies who don't know if they're Arthur or Martha on the footy field. 
North Melbourne scored themselves an embarrassing lesson on the game last week but should bounce back to give the Weagles a run on Saturday afternoon.

Port Adelaide are at home to Brisbane who have won their first two games thanks to stirling performances from one J.Brown whilst the Blues are looking for their first win for 2010 against the Bombers at the G. Saturday night sees the Swans take on a struggling Richmond, looking at a drubbing of 91 points or more . Did we say 91 points?? Wow that's what the 2007 Mitchell Harris Shiraz scored in a review by the highly respected author Gary Walsh of The Wine Front. What a coincidence...

The Demons missed out on knocking off the Pies by a solitary point last week and could give the struggling Crows a run for their money as well at the G on Sunday. Doggies against the Hawks should be another ripper of a game with both teams looking in fine form. Bulldogs should still be pretty fresh after barely raising a sweat against Richmond in Rd 2.  Freo have never won the first three games of a season and this may still be out of reach in 2010 when they face up to the Cats on Sunday evening.

Speaking of our 2007 Shiraz, we're running out the last few cases at a special price of $30 per bottle (usually $34.95), or a tasty little 6 pack for $150.
Just reply to this e-mail with any orders.
Get on board!!

Have a great weekend!

Shan, Johnno, Mitch and Lis