There’ll be no ‘paradox of thrift’ should any of Uncle Kevin’s largesse wash up at Chateau Shanahan. We’ve developed a taste for expensive pinot noir so we’re hoping to stimulate the economy most nights. And we’ve got our sights on a long list from Australia, New Zealand and Burgundy. It’s an old craving, fanned recently … Continue reading Mornington pinot celebration part 2
Knappstein Enterprise Brewery Reserve Lager 330ml 6-pack $19 Knappstein winery in the Clare Valley is part of the Lion Nathan group. So when the winemakers decided to make beer a few years back they had a wealth of talent to tap – including master brewer Chuck Hahn. It’s a superb, vibrant lager as good now … Continue reading Beer review — Knappstein Enterprise and Weihenstephan
I’m writing from the Mornington Peninsula, an area viewed by local vignerons as the heart of Australia’s pinot noir country. They’ve adopted pinot as their signature variety. And in a show of unity rare in an Australian wine region they’re taking this single, strong message to the world. It’s a comparative small wine-growing region, where … Continue reading A letter from Mornington
Stonier Reserve Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2007 $50 Yering Station Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2007 $26 For Christmas luxury few wines match a top-notch pinot noir. The heady perfume, supple texture and luxurious flavour suit the Aussie summer and our traditional food, such as roast turkey and ham. Pinot also suits more robust seafood such … Continue reading Wine review — Stonier, Yering Station, Vintage Cellars, Grant Burge and Coffman & Lawson
Predictions are generally wrong, sometimes dramatically so, as 2008 proved for the wine industry. An expected end to the wine glut was stymied by two unrelated forces – a bumper grape crop and a dramatic decline in exports. The bumper crop caught the industry by surprise, prompting a press release from the Winemakers Federation of … Continue reading 2008 a memorable wine year for Australia
What do wine shows mean? What goes on behind all those white-coated judges we’ve seen recently on TV news – in September’s Canberra Regional Show, October’s International Riesling Challenge and this month’s National Wine Show of Australia? Who are the judges? What attracts them to serve without pay, not just in our three high-profile local … Continue reading Wine shows — what do they mean?
Fourteen-year-old Bill Redman arrived in Coonawarra in 1901with his older brother, Dick. They’d heard that work was available at John Riddoch’s cellars, says Bill’s grandson, Bruce. ‘Bill was small and they put him to work in the cellar (he could fit into barrels’, adds Bruce, ‘but his brother was bigger and was put to work … Continue reading Redman — 100 years in Coonawarra
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008 $17.99 cellar door Penfolds have kept this delicious, retro-packaged riesling out of the retail scrum, offering it only at their cellar door outlets in Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, and Magill, Adelaide, and in some restaurants (where it’s more like $35). They do this with a number of outstanding wines, so … Continue reading Wine review — Penfolds, Pizzini & Eperosa
Brindabella Hills Canberra District Riesling 2008 $18–$20, Shiraz 2006 $22.50–$25 Roger and Faye Harris’s delicious, lime-like riesling has at last been recognised in a top-tier wine show – the 2008 recently winning gold in Canberra’s International Riesling Challenge. The wine was also rated by the judges as one of the best ten Aussie rieslings in … Continue reading Wine review — Brindabella Hills, Alinga Four Winds & Majella
Grant Burge Moscato 2008 $16–18 Grant Burge Barossa Valley Filsell Vineyard Shiraz 2006 $30–35 Formally it’s muscat-blanc-a-petite-grains, but in the Barossa they call it white frontignac, or fronti. In Italy it’s moscato, a name increasingly adopted by Aussie winemakers as they emulate the light, zesty, grapey, sweet, ‘frizzante’ style made in Asti, Piedmont. Grant Burge’s … Continue reading Wine review — Grant Burge, Pirramimma & Brands