Cider on the move

Cider

Am I imagining it, or has there been an increase in cider drinking? If there is, it’d fit with our decade long rush into premium beers of all styles.

Certainly there’s a reasonable range of ciders now being imported from the classic cider-producing areas of south-western England and Normandy, France – not that you’ll find them in every liquor store, though.

Last year at 1st Choice, Phillip, I discovered the joys of Norman pear cider in a bottle of Le Pere Jules Poire de St Desir-de-Lisieux (Leon Desfrieches). Close your eyes and think, not of England, but of Normandy, just across the channel. This is fruit country. And what better way to preserve fruit than by making eau-de-vie or cider.

Calvados and poire William – Normandy’s classic apple and pear brandies – offer, just like the region’s other fruit eau-de-vies, a teasing impression, or spirit, of the fruit that made them. But cider provides a more direct connection to the fruit flavour, and a drink more suited to our hot summer. Pere Jules was as delicate, fresh and crisp as a just-ripe, just-picked pear, and offered a similar balance of sweet-fruit and tart acid, at just four per cent alcohol.

At last we know where to find more of the same. Watch this column.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Canberra show needs its benchmarks

Wine

Once again judges at the recent Canberra Regional Wine Show praised the strength of Canberra’s shiraz and riesling. What the commentary didn’t reveal though is the statistical dominance of shiraz from the neighbouring Hilltops region.

Hilltops fielded just nine of the forty-seven wines in the two shiraz classes but won seven medals – an extraordinary 78 per cent strike rate. Even more extraordinary, it won three of the six gold medals – one for every three wines exhibited. And for the second year a Hilltops wine took out the honours as top wine of the show. This year Eden Road Wines The Long Road Hilltops Shiraz 2008 shared the honour with Helm Canberra District Premium Riesling 2008; last year the award went to Chalkers Crossing Hilltops Shiraz 2005.

But the strength of a few wines from Hilltops doesn’t deny the beauty of some Canberra shirazes. Winning three gold and three silver medals from thirty entries – a ten per cent strike rate for each – is impressive. What’s not so impressive is the short tail of six bronze medals, meaning a total medal strike rate of just forty percent. In other words the judges rated the majority of Canberra shirazes as pretty ordinary wines.

That should be a wake-up call for the district. It’s the sort of result expected in emerging regions, where there’s a chasm between the best and the worst and the quality of the average wine is poor. However, the numbers might’ve look better had a number of key makers exhibited in the important 2008 vintage class. Many that might have entered, could not for the simple reason that their wines were either not bottled or just bottled and not yet ready for showing.

Where were entries from leading makers Clonakilla, Mount Majura, Collector, Brindabella Hills and Ravensworth? How do you benchmark a region’s wines without the benchmarks? And what’s the real value of a medal when the champs, especially Clonakilla, don’t run?
Judges don’t get to see the region’s true depth and diversity; other exhibitors miss out on full benchmarking; and the marketing opportunities presented by the show results become more limited.

The Limestone Coast and Hunter wine shows, for example, benefit greatly because local icons Wynns and Tyrrell participate. If, for example, you’re a Hunter semillon, shiraz or chardonnay maker, winning a medal in company with Tyrrells sends a strong message about your quality. Good on Bruce Tyrrell. It takes confidence and guts to put prestigious wines on the line year after year. He doesn’t need to.

In Canberra, our dominant riesling maker, Ken Helm, exhibits every year. His success in the local show and at other events make Helm riesling the local benchmark. Other makers benefit from being judged alongside Ken’s Classic Dry and Premium Rieslings.

Though it’s our dominant class, shiraz could be even richer if we had the local benchmarks in the show. Clonakilla’s shiraz viognier is now seen as a world-class wine; and its cellar mates, the O’Riada Canberra District Shiraz and Hilltops Shiraz are beautiful wines. But they’re not in the show.

It’d be wonderful for the district if one day Clonakilla’s Tim Kirk – an ardent wine show judge and recipient of industry largesse through the Len Evans Tutorial – entered these graceful wines in our show. As well, the National Capital Agricultural Society, organiser of the show,  might consider moving the judging  back by a few months. This would allow makers to finish their previous-vintage shirazes for inclusion in the taste offs.

In this year’s show the three top scoring shiraz gold medallists, all from Hilltops, were Eden Road Wines The Long Road Shiraz 2008, Grove Estate The Cellar Block Shiraz Viognier 2008 and Chalkers Crossing Shiraz 2006. The other three gold medallist, all from Canberra, were Lambert Shiraz 2008, Tallagandra Hill Shiraz Viognier 2008 and Lerida Estate Lake George Shiraz Viognier 2007.

In the riesling classes, Canberra wines dominated, with gold medals for Gallagher 2009, Capital Wines ‘The Whip’ 2009, Helm Premium 2008, Wallaroo 2008 and Brindabella Hills 2002. Centennial Vineyards from the Southern Highland also earned gold for its Woodside Riesling 2008.

High, cool Tumbarumba made a clean sweep in the two chardonnay classes, earning gold medals for Barwang 2008, Eden Road The Long Road 2008 and Barwang 842 2006, as well as several silver medals.

Cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir fared poorly overall. Pinot classes produced no gold medallists, just a couple silvers for Eden Road Tumbarumba 2008 and Mount Majura 2004. And Tallagandra Hill earned a gold medal for its Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2008 as did Barwang for a 1998 Hilltops cabernet sauvignon.

And if you look hard enough, you’ll always find inexplicable anomalies in any show results. Mount Majura’s delicious Tempranillo Shiraz Graciano 2008 failed to rate a medal in the Canberra Regional show but won gold in the Winewise Small Vignerons Awards just a few weeks earlier. And Capital Wines ‘The Whip’ Riesling 2009 won gold in the Canberra show but nothing in the Winewise event.

The result overall make a good shopping list. But these striking inconsistencies tell us to take any judgement with a grain of salt. You can see the full show results at www.rncas.org.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Wine review — Disaster Bay, Peter Lehmann, Murdoch Hill and Toolangi

Wine review

Disaster Bay Pambula River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 $20
In 2000 Dean O’Reilly planted about a hectare of vines on his parents Pambula River farm. The site was too cool for the Bordeaux red varieties, but the whites, semillon and sauvignon blanc, perform well. Dean crushes the grapes on site then transports the juice to Murrumbateman and makes the wine under the tutelage of Andrew McEwin. It’s barrel fermented, in the Bordeaux style, and at just 12.5% drinks deliciously – cleverly made, light and subtle. It’s available in the better restaurants around town and by the glass at Tongue and Groove, in the city. Dean recently won a place in the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial.

Peter Lehmann ‘Layers’ Barossa Red and Adelaide White $14–$16
Semillon, muscat, gewürztraminer, pinot gris and chardonnay are the unlikely partners in Peter Lehmann’s new non-vintage white blend. It’s a bit like putting the grape equivalents of Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, Wayne Swan, Tony Abbott and Steve Fielding into one bottle. Surprisingly, it’s an harmonious, soft, gentle blend with none of the idiosyncratic individual varieties starring. The generous, soft red is less political – more like a back room gathering of diverse but like-minded individuals, bent on a single purpose. Shiraz, mourvedre, tempranillo, grenache and carignan were always going to work together – and do so deliciously.

Murdoch Hill Adelaide Hills The Cronberry Shiraz 2007 $22
Toolangi Yarra Valley Shiraz 2006 $25
Here’s a couple of contrasting and attractive cool-climate shirazes – one from South Australia; the other from Victoria. The Downer family’s Murdoch Hill, made by Brian Light and Michael Downer, is the more robust of the two ¬– it’s rounder and a touch more alcoholic with juicy, savoury shiraz flavours and extra palate weight derived from oak maturation (see www.murdochhill.com.au). Julie and Garry Hounsell’s wine, from the Yarra Valley’s Dixon Creek sub-region, shows an even cooler face of shiraz. The flavours are more at the pepper and spice end of the shiraz spectrum, with the taut, elegant structure that goes with that territory (see www.toolanngi.com).

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Beer review — Samuel Smith and Cooper’s

Beer review

Samuel Smith Organic Best Ale 550ml $9.40
This very fruity, piquant ale comes from Tadcaster, Yorkshire. The colour’s mid amber-gold; it has a luxurious, long-lasting head; and the palate, though rich and malty, is cut with tangy acidity and well-balanced hops. There’s an overall impression of richness and complexity without heaviness.

Cooper’s 62 Pilsner 355ml 6-pack $16.99
In 1862, as Abe Lincoln grappled with the rebellion, Cooper’s founded its wonderful ale empire. They perfected ale making but made occasional rebellious forays into lager land. Alas, the latest raid, a fresh but tepid shot at Bohemia’s pilsner style, lacks the palate weight or bitterness of this classic style.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Beer festival this weekend at Olim’s

Beer

Olims Hotel, Ainslie, is hosting its second National Capital Craft Beer Festival this coming Saturday and Sunday, from 11am each day.
There’ll be food and music, but most importantly beer. It looks to be underpinned by the craft brewing arms of the big operators ¬– with Matilda Bay representing Fosters and Little Creatures and Macs (New Zealand) representing Lion Nathan. Throw in family owned, sizeable Cooper’s and there’ll be enough beer variety to keep us from early boredom. But there’ll be no surprises in that line up, either.
There’ll be a splash of colour, though, from smaller operators Schwartz Brewery (Sydney based owner of Olims), Zierholz, Barons, Fusion, Red Oak and Sydney’s Lord Nelson Hotel Brewery.
There’ll be food, music and education sessions, including presentations by Canberra Home Brewers on how to brew at home.
Organiser Daniel Gaul says entry fee is $25. This includes a tasting glass and 10 tasting tickets (extra tickets $1 each). You can book at www.outincanberra.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Cowra boutique wines — part 2 of 2

Wine, Wine review

As reported last week Cowra’s wine output recently halved as demand for its grapes evaporated. In response, a dozen independent growers formed Cowra Winemakers to promote the area’s soft, fruity, easy-drinking, inexpensive wines.

Like South Australia’s Langhorne Creek and Wrattonbully regions, Cowra’s broad-acre developments fed largely into multi-regional blends. As a result Cowra became perhaps better known to the wine industry (as a blending source for ‘brand Australia’ than) than it did for its regional styles.

By joining together, the twelve vignerons in Cowra Winemaker group hope to spread the regional message. It’ll be a tough task in a crowded market. But they have the advantage of making realistically priced, soft, easy-to-drink wines that don’t need cellaring.

And, unlike the early days when soft, juicy chardonnay looked to be the only string in Cowra’s bow, its red wines, notably shiraz, and the white verdelho offer decent drinking, too.

These are my impressions of the 12 wines offered on the group’s recent road trip to Canberra. The wines are ‘recommended retail’, so could be expected to vary considerably.

Rosnay Sparkling Rosé 2009 $23
A tank-fermented blend of shiraz and mourvedre from the Statham family’s organic vineyard. Light, bright pink colour with matching vibrant strawberry-like aroma and flavour, finishing crisp and dry. This is very good and refreshing enough – but I still don’t understand why anyone would choose to drink rosé.

Toms Waterhole Semillon 2008 $18
A very pale-coloured bone-dry white weighing in at just 10.5% alcohol and therefore very light bodied. This could be a good thing but, to me, it lacks fruit flavour and there’s something peculiar in the aroma and flavour. Belongs to the former owner of the legendary Canowindra pie shop and apparently offers delicious bread and pizza at the cellar door.

The Mill Verdelho $17.99
This comes from the David and Elizabeth O’Dea’s extensive Windowrie estate and is a terrific example of what Cowra does best. It’s vibrant, aromatic in a lovely musky way, and the palate’s juicy, soft and refreshing.

River Park Rosé 2009 $19.00
Apparently made from cabernet, although to me it tastes like simple and lolly like.

Kalari Cowra Chardonnay 2008 $17
This gold medal winner from the Cowra show delivers a great juicy mouthful of ripe, peachy chardonnay flavour with add-ons derived from oak fermentation and maturation. A very pleasant drop indeed and best enjoyed while young. Cowra does this style very well.

Cowra Estate Merlot 2007 $18
Cowra Estate’s medium bodied merlot has the bright, appealing fragrance of cabernet franc, not merlot. That’s not surprising as much of the merlot planted in Australia twenty years ago turned out to be cabernet franc, another of the Bordeaux varieties. This, then, is probably a blend of the two, and it’s very appealing as an easy drinking luncheon red.

Pig in the House Shiraz 2008 $25
Jason O’Dea, son of David and Elizabeth, produces this from his own small organic vineyard. It’s a delightful, pure expression of shiraz, very much in Cowra’s juicy, soft, drink-me-now mould.

Mulyan Bloc 9 Shiraz Viognier 2007 $25
This more weighty, chunky red comes from the Fagan family’s Mulyan vineyard and is made by Frenchman Chris Derez at Orange. It’s full and round with loads of soft tannins and alcoholic warmth. Mulyan makes some of the area’s best chardonnays, but they were not featured at this tasting.

Swinging Bridge Shiraz 2008 $19.95
I rated this as the most complex of the shirazes in the tasting, albeit still in the soft, drink-now Cowra style. It’s not quite as fleshy as the others, it has an appealing savouriness and there’s a real-red grip to the finish. Made by Chris Derez.

Gardners Ground Canowindra Shiraz 2008 $19.95
This was another complex red and unexpectedly peppery and spicy for a shiraz from such a warm area. Has lovely fragrance and fine, taut structure.

Spring Ridge Cowra Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $19
Spring Ridge belongs to Peter and Anne Jeffery. Peter says the fruit came from a small section at the top of his vineyard, at around 350 metres above sea level. The wine offers pure, sweet, ripe cabernet varietal character without any of the lean, green flavours we see in a lot of inland cab sauvs. It has cabernet structure too – not too fleshy; but not mean; and finishing dry with a distinct tannin bite.

Wallington Petit Verdot 2004 $20
Petit verdot is a useful blending variety in Bordeaux, but a number of Australian makers now offer it solo. I tried very hard to like this wine but, alas, found little to enjoy.

It’s not always easy to find Cowra wines in Canberra. But the individual growers can give details of stockists. Just Google the vineyard names or see www.winesofcowra for general info about the region and details of cellar door locations.

But as Cowra’s just two hours drive from Cowra, it’s worth an overnight trip. While you’re there, the must-visit Neila Restaurant (www.neila.com.au) offers excellent food, and they don’t charge corkage on BYO wine.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Wine review — Westend Estate, Mount Horrocks, Tamar Ridge, Collector, Shaw + Smith and Vintage Cellars rk Beechworth

Wine review

Westend Estate Hilltops Tempranillo 2008 $11.95
Westend Estate Richland Merlot 2008 $11.95
Chapel Hill McLaren Vale ‘The Parson’s Nose’ Shiraz 2008 $16
Westend, a sizeable Riverina winery, belongs to Bill Calabria and, under winemaker Bryan Currie, turns out high quality, modestly priced wines – like the two recommended here. Tempranillo offers generous mainstream flavours that are somehow different from what we are used to, but easy to love. The merlot is a medium bodied, plummy drop with fine, drying tannins. And for a more robust drink, Chapel Hill’s Parson’s Nose provides full-blooded, soft and savoury McLaren shiraz flavours at a modest price.

Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2009 $29.95
Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Tasmania Riesling 2008 $16–$20
We taste tested these contrasting, superb rieslings against the food at Lemongrass Thai in the city. The generally spicy, sometimes chilli-tinged food at Lemongrass tends to sit well with delicate aromatic wines. Mount Horrocks, from the Clare Valley’s Watervale sub-region, showed young riesling’s amazing lime-like briskness. It’s rich, purely varietal and bone dry. On its own you’d call it light and delicate. But the Tasmanian wine tasted lighter and more delicate again – its fine, acidic structure and low alcohol being attributable to the Tamar Valley’s much cooler growing climate. See www.tamarridgewines.com.au and www.mounthorrocks.com

Collector Marked Tree Shiraz 2008 $26.95
Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2007 $34–$39
rk Beechworth Shiraz $42.99
Local winemaker Alex McKay’s Collector wine looked the goods in our little tasting of top-shelf cool-climate shirazes. The benchmark Shaw + Smith sits at the very ripe, dense dark side of the cool-grown shiraz spectrum – an appealing, complex wine albeit bolder in style than the previous vintage. Rk Beechworth, made for Vintage Cellars by Giaconda’s Rick Kinzbrunner, impresses for its deep, juicy, peppery-savoury-spicy flavours. And Collector, from a couple of Murrumbateman vineyards, is a class act built on elegant, red-berry flavours and plush, fine tannins – with complex, ‘stalky’ notes derived from using whole-bunches in the ferment. It’s available on www.collectorwines.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Beer review — Flying Dog

Beer review

Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale (4.7% alcohol) 355ml
This is ‘classic’ American pale ale – very malty; very hoppy. It’s a deep amber colour and its big, warm malty flavour is cut with bracing, pungent hops aroma, flavour and bitterness. Maintaining harmony can be a challenge when brewers pack this much into a beer. But doggy style seems just right.

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter 355ml (8.7% alcohol)
Steadman’s label drawing of Thompson, captioned “OK! Let’s Party!!”, sets the tone for this big, strong, dark porter. Powerful dark-chocolate flavours, derived from roasted malt, drive the opulent, silk-smooth palate; alcohol lends a heady note; and an assertive, lingering hops bitterness counters the malt and alcohol sweetness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Fear and loathing in Fyshwick

Beer

I bought the beers for the labels created by Ralph Steadman and featuring quotes from Dr Gonzo – Hunter S. Thomson. But what the hell had the great British artist and American writer to do with America’s Flying Dog Brewery?

A lot it turns out. And the beers are as brilliant and as idiosyncratic as the three old mates behind them. You can read the wonderful story at www.flyingdogales.com – but, in brief, the brewery owner, George Stranahan was a long-time friend of Thomson who introduced him to Steadman.

The label promises (and delivers) “Good beer. No Shit” from a “purposeful, provocative, irreverent brewery”.

The beers range from easy drinking, but still distinctive styles, to some amazingly good, high-alcohol, high-bitterness specialties built for the occasional sip.

They’re available from Plonk, Fyshwick.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Cowra part 1 of 2 — honey, they shrunk the wine industry

People, Wine

Two weeks ago a dozen independent Cowra winemakers visited Canberra. Their story is a microcosm of the shrinking act now underway in Australia as big makers pull the pin on grape contracts, export and local prices decline, and domestic tastes shift dramatically away from chardonnay to sauvignon blanc.

Cowra, the group told me, had already dropped wine grape production from about 25 thousand tonnes a year to 12 thousand tonnes. And the figure seems headed for further decline as big companies that used to queue up for Cowra chardonnay disappear over the horizon.

One of the region’s biggest holdings, a 400-hectare vineyard owned by Australian Vintage Limited, reportedly sold recently for just $1.5 million, about its land value according to the visiting winemakers – suggesting anything but a grapey future for the block.

The site, developed in the nineties for Orlando-Wyndham by Brian Sainty, traded originally under Orlando’s Richmond Grove brand before passing to McGuigan Simeon Wines Ltd. McGuigan Simeon, in turn, changed its name to Australian Vintage Ltd in January 2008.

But Cowra’s first vineyards had been established by Tony Gray in 1972. The area’s grape-growing potential had been identified by John Stanford acting for a group of investors. Gray acquired land and planted 36 hectares according to Stanford’s plan when the original investor group went broke.

It proved an ideal location. By the Lachlan River in central Western N.S.W. in a benign climate with plenty of water, it quickly and efficiently produced biggish crops of high-quality grapes.

Len Evans and Brian Croser recognised the quality early. Thus, Gray’s Cowra vineyard provided fruit for Croser’s first Petaluma chardonnay in 1977. At the time Croser was lecturing at Riverina College of Advanced Education (now Charles Sturt University), Wagga, where he made the wine.

In 1981 Evans, by now a partner in Petaluma as well as head of Rothbury Estate, in a controversial boardroom decision, acquired the Cowra vineyard for Rothbury. Some say this decision saved Rothbury’s bacon by severing it from a reliance on unpopular Hunter Valley reds and allowing it to meet an exploding demand for chardonnay at a modest price.

As an indicator of the scale of Rothbury’s Cowra investment, the vineyard produced 1,000 cases of chardonnay in 1981, 42,000 in 1990, and about 60,000 in 1993. The rapid growth in production reflected grafting over of the other varieties to chardonnay rather than expanded plantings.

The action at Cowra did not stop with Rothbury. Gray’s Cowra Vineyards Pty Ltd (CVPL) went on to plant a further 73 hectares of vines adjacent to Rothbury’s Holdings, with another 10 established by CVPL’s vineyard manager, Greg Johnston. That’s how Cowra found broad acres of grape vines nestling up to its suburbs.

This cluster of vineyards almost in the town was joined later by a 29-hectare planting about 20 kilometres downstream on the Lachlan’s beautiful plains. David and Elizabeth O’Dea established the vineyard on their 364-hectare ‘Windowrie’ hoping for better returns than those generated by breeding Simmental cattle and wheat farming. The O’Dea’s later extended their plantings and remain one of the area’s biggest independent growers. They now have a winery on site, The Mill restaurant in Cowra. And their son Jason was one of the 12 independent makers in Canberra two weeks back.

But Cowra can thank Brian McGuigan for its biggest vineyard. While head of Wyndham Estate, Brian foresaw sales outstripping grape supply. With viticulturist, Brian Sainty, he identified Cowra as a potential low-cost source of grapes for making soft, fruity, easy-drinking wines.

A small-investor scheme designed to fund the development failed to get the tax office nod and, as well, became caught up in the collapse of Wyndham’s parent company. Wyndham was acquired by Orlando and the merged Wyndham-Orlando Group decided to proceed with the Cowra development. Thus, Brian Sainty’s ambitious plans bore fruit.

In a development Sainty claimed was unprecedented in Australia, 222 hectares were planted on 56 blocks to 11 grape varieties in one year, 1989, complete with a computerised irrigation system that allowed tailored watering control for each block.

Between 1972 and 1993, Cowra’s area under vines grew from nil to 343.6 hectares. The majority of other growers now in Cowra arrived through the mid and late nineties.

Because most of Cowra’s production headed off to multi-region blends, the area attracted little consumer recognition – a fate shared by South Australia’s Langhorne Creek, Padthaway and Wrattonbully regions.

Despite a lack of wider recognition, smaller players had been chipping away for years, building their regional brands. But this side play has suddenly become the main game – hence the swathe already cut through production. And given likely permanent water shortages along the Lachlan, the days of mass production are unlikely to return.

The twelve independent growers recognise this. We’ll look at their wines and plans next week.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009