Coonawarra is, of course, Australia’s most-famous patch of cabernet growing dirt and a recent Chateau Shanahan tasting, though far from definitive, gave the region a healthy score card. But it wasn’t thumbs up for all of the wines tasted and, as well, several otherwise appealing drops suffered from over-oaking — a scourge that won’t quite … Continue reading Coonawarra origins — not long above sea level
The old adage that the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn anything from history is bunk. At Wynns Coonawarra Estate, a close study of historic wines taught Sue Hodder and her winemaking team plenty about Coonawarra wines. A decade on from two retrospective Wynns shiraz and cabernet tastings — stretching … Continue reading How Sue Hodder’s history lesson improved Wynns’ Coonawarra reds
Lake George’s two oldest wine estates – Lake George Vineyard and Madew Wines – seem to have fallen off the radar in recent years, leaving relative newcomer, Lerida Estate, to keep the flame burning. But there’s a renaissance in the making. Madew is on the market. And Lake George owner, Theo Karelas, recently engaged former … Continue reading Lake George renaissance
Coopers Dark Ale 375ml $2.35 Cooper’s ads invite you to meet the dark side of the family – Dark Ale. While it’s dark in colour it’s comparatively low in alcohol (4.5 per cent) — meaning lighter body but not a lack of flavour. It has ale’s fruity aromas and, under that, a touch of roast-coffee-like … Continue reading Beer review — Coopers Dark & Newcastle Brown ales
Real Champagne, from the region of that name in northern France, provides the model for Australia’s rapidly evolving premium sparkling wines. It’s a century since we first copied Champagne-making techniques. But it’s only in the last few decades that we got to the heart of the matter in seeking the right grapes. In the first … Continue reading Champagne, nature’s accident, and its Aussie emulators
Holm Oak Vineyards Tasmania Riesling 2006 $20 Holm Oak is a seven-hectare vineyard at Rowella on the Tamar River, Northern Tasmania. Ian and Robyn Wilson own the vineyard but leased but lease it to their winemaker daughter, Rebecca and partner Stuart Catlin. They arrived in mid-2006 in time to launch this very fine aperitif-style riesling. … Continue reading Wine review — Holm Oak, Wyndham Estate & Coriole
At Len Evans’ wake a few months it was inevitable that in the kick-on party venerable old bottles of Hunter shiraz and semillon appeared. Served on Len’s home turf these regional specialties hit the spot. But to the unconverted they remain idiosyncrasies. Idiosyncratic is a key word here for each is as eccentric as it … Continue reading Idiosyncratic or idiotic? — Hunter semillon
Ah, wine shows. They seem to be everywhere. Canberra alone has five that I know of: in chronological order, Winewise Small Vignerons Awards, Canberra Regional Wine Show, Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show, the Hyatt International Riesling Challenge and the National Wine Show of Australia. Different people with different objectives operate them, but each one aspires … Continue reading International riesling challenge 2006 points to huge value for drinkers
Talking to a few local winemakers recently led to a little flurry of samples arriving on the tasting bench. While far from a comprehensive review of what the district has to offer, tasting the wines confirmed a view that Canberra excels with shiraz, looks increasingly good with riesling and offers pretty good value at the … Continue reading Shiraz and riesling emerge as Canberra’s top wine varieties
Shortly after keying last week’s column on the glories of the 2003 rieslings, I received a note from Petaluma’s Brian Croser. Like the other makers referred to in the column, Brian expressed excitement at the quality but, at the same time, was aware of what scepticism might attach to claims of two consecutive vintages of … Continue reading Why the 2003 rieslings are so good