Wine
ring.bolt
A few years ago, 2006 to be precise, Yalumba released a wine crafted by their winemaker Peter Gambetta. It was a cabernet sauvignon with the fruit coming from a cigar shaped parcel of vines inside Yalumba’s Menzies estate in Coonawarra. Unsurprisingly the wine was named Menzies The Cigar, which over the subsequent years dropped the Menzies part off the label to become The Cigar to avoid confusion ...
McWilliams Fortifieds.
This time of the year shows everything that’s great about living in North Queensland, 30ish degree days, clear skies and lower humidity. It does bring with it our cooler nights, well cooler for us anyway. One of the best things about that cool change is the ability to sit back at night with a glass of fortified, sitting back late at night with a cheese board and having a chinwag with a few mates. ...
Best Job in the World?
There are people that I meet that think being a wine judge is the best job in the world, the ones that automatically ask “how do I get that job?” Some out there think that tasting your way through a hundred or more wines in a day is some kind of booze induced hazy heaven, but those people need to be put straight, as my dentist, GP and long suffering family will attest, it isn’t all a bed of roses,...
Dandelion and Heirloom
I’ve got pretty average hand writing, very, it’s a cross between printing and running writing that just looks wrong on the paper at the best of times. So you could well imagine the difficulty I’ve had trying to decipher my tasting notes after I had spent the day chatting with 30 something winemakers, all with about ten different wines to try. It’s become more hieroglyphics than handwriting, I’m so...
50 years of Vasse Felix
50 years, it’s a long time to be in business. Most local companies don’t manage it, in fact a heck of a lot of national companies don’t manage it either. Those stats are worse when you look at wineries, especially ones that pop up in, what are thought of, as unusual spots. It’s hard for new wineries to get the label out there, and it only takes a couple of bad growing years for the profits to star...
Pinot-files…5 under $20
Before I start this column I should probably announce that I’m an unashamed fan of Pinot Noir. And I’m not alone in my love for the variety; it’s one of the most highly prized wines in the world, certain labels are among some of the most highly priced wines in the world too. There is just something about it. The best styles of Pinot Noir can often be found from wines that are grown in cool climate...
De Bortoli “Down the Lane”
There wouldn’t be too many wine drinkers in Oz that haven’t heard the name De Bortoli. And more than any other winery I can think of, De Bortoli are continually tweaking and extending their range of wines under label. Creating outstanding entry level, drink now $10 wines that taste like they should have mid $20 price tags right through to their most expensive, age worthy premiums, the range and qu...
Chaffey Bros. Wines
Last week I had the chance to cross something off my “all things boozy” wish list, I’ve finally had samples turn up, and every single one of them was fantastic drinking. Now if you’re sitting there reading that thinking “geez life must hard for you mate” then think again, every week there are samples turning up here. Wines from all price points and all styles, some of these wines have been a true ...