We all remember our favourite teacher. For Pat Underwood of Little Reddie and Patrick Underwood Wines, it was Wendy Oates.
“Oatesy was a teacher at my primary school, Winters Flat in Castlemaine, where she remains famous for her next-level kindness and ease with kids,” Pat says.
“Her classes always seemed to be having more fun than any other," he adds. "The boys from the rougher and tougher homes would soften and warm in her presence. She was, and is, just awesome, and is still adored by the current school community as she does regular relief teaching.”
Wendy had inherited her mother’s home on Coolstore Road in Harcourt three years ago, after a lifetime of renting. Due to prohibitively high insurance costs, when it was destroyed by the fire that tore through the Central Victorian town back in January, she was left with nothing.
To raise funds for her recovery and the rebuild of her home, Pat has bottled “a lovely, medium-weight dry red” made from merlot grown on the now-ripped-out Brown Brothers site in Colbinabbin, Heathcote. The Compassionate Red, awarded 92 points by Jeni Port, is sold exclusively as a 12-pack for $150 (equating to $12.50 per bottle), and can be purchased via the Little Reddie website.
Pat is also part of a group of 14 producers raising funds for Gilles Lapalus, of Maison Lapalus, Bertrand Bespoke and Maidenii, who also lost everything in the Harcourt fires.
The group, which also includes Michael Dhillon (Bindi), Erinn Klein (Ngeringa), Julian Castagna, Ben Portet (Dominique Portet), Ian Rathjen (Whistling Eagle), Tobias Ansted (Tellurian), Chris Catlow (Sentio), Mark Walpole (Fighting Gully Road), Tim Sproal (Minim), Rob Ellis (Hanging Rock), Roscoe Power (Grada), John Davies (Colbinabbin Estate), and Wiremu Andrews (Dearth of a Salesman/Sentio), has rallied to produce four wines under the Le vin de mes amis label to help Gilles get back on his feet.
French for “the wine of my friends”, the range includes the Renaissance White (a multi-vintage blend of grenache blanc, viognier, arinto and chardonnay), the Renaissance Rosé (a multi-vintage blend of syrah, cabernet, grenache and more), the Renaissance Light Red (a multi-vintage blend of syrah, cabernet, grenache, nebbiolo, sangiovese and pinot noir), and the Renaissance Red (a multi-vintage blend of syrah with a touch of grenache).
The wines cost between $30 and $40 per bottle and can be purchased via the Maison Lapalus website, as well as select retailers and on-premise – see the full list below.
RETAIL
Blackhearts & Sparrows, Le Tuffeau, Maker & Monger, Natural Science Wine & Liquor, The Recreation, Swords Queen Victoria Market, Wine Republic Fitzroy.
ON-PREMISE
Al Dente Enoteca, Black Kite Commune, Bottarga, Carnation, Cutler, Marion, Dessous, Gerald's Bar, Kelvin Club, Lane's Edge, Lilac, Marameo, The Marquis of Lorne, O.MY, Roma Ristorante, Royal Oak, Sporting Club Hotel, Winston's,
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