The Free Run Wine Blog

Are you drinking this weekend?

2011-10-20T13:52:00.006+11:00

Just a quick run down of what I have seen in the liquor ads today.

First Choice http://www.1stchoice.com.au/documents/pdf/inthepress_nsw_20111020.pdf

Orlando St Hilary Chardonnay $13.80 (6) - always a lovely Chardonnay with only a touch of oak. Great value, we used to special this out ten years ago at $13.99.

Katnook Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon $15.80 (6) - Great value Coonawarra Cab. six bottles for under $100!

Chandon NV $18.40 (6) - cheaper than last week, and that was a deal at $19.99.

A mention here for Jamiesons Run at $8.80 (6) now there is a brand destroyed. Ten to fifteen years ago this brand sold in the high teens. The wine was good and it was a good solid wine. Now it is full of cheap wine. Do brands ever recover from discounting and cheapening of the product; think Rosemount.

Dan Murphys.

http://danmurphys.com.au/dm/home.jsp

Probably the buy of the week is Woodlands Cabernet Merlot 2009 $18.90 (6) from the Wilyabrup region of Margaret River. The vineyard is very close to Moss Wood and Pierro wineries. A very good bargain, under $20.

Reschke Cabernet Sauvignon $12.35 (6) - made by Peter Douglas who was in charge of Wynns wines for 16 years. A big Cab Sauv.

Chrismont La Zona Prosecco $15.90 single bottle price - bone dry Australian Prosecco out of the King Valley, Victoria. Amazing aperitif.

Happy drinking.

Sydney Wine Deals - Chambers Cellars

2011-10-17T08:17:00.002+11:00

Saturdays Sydney Morning Herald had a big Chambers Cellars catalogue in it. Chamber Cellars have come a long way from the days when they were a small chain of stores based in the west. They now have 30 stores dotted around Sydney and seemed to have grown very quickly. Steve Chambers, owner of Chambers Cellars was the son-in-law of Theo Karedis who started Theo's Liquor. Theo sold it in 2002 to Coles Myer for $175m!

Anyway, let's have a look at their specials that run until 8th November 2011. There is a pretty good delivery price of $7.50 per carton delivery in Sydney Metro. I would check to see if that is per dozen or any carton, as many wines now come in six packs.
Prices are in any dozens so you can mix it up.

Sparkling
Yellowglen Yellow only $6.99 (12) that is very cheap! Is it drinkable? Some like it!
Sir James Cuvee NV $9.99 (12). This is outstanding value and rated very highly by James Haliday.
Chandon NV $19.99 (12) great value for a very good sparkling. It is gift boxed too!
Cloudy Bay Pelorous NV $26.99 (12) very very good Kiwi bubbles.
Veuve Cliquot NV $59.99 (12), single only $64.99
Dom Perignon $199 (12) and only $220 single. The real status symbol.
You can mix the dozens up.

White wine
For the collector. Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2011 $45.99(12) and the little brother Grosset Clare Valley (formerly known as Watervale) Riesling 2011$35.99 (12) I used to collect these beauties many years ago and my word they have rocketed up in price. However, they are the iconic Australian Rieslings and the 2011 vintages have received rave reviews. These wines will last a very long time if you want to put them down.
There is the normal smattering of Nz Sauvignon Blanc.
Yalumba Pinot Grigio $9.99 (12) is a great value wine.
Jim Barry Riesling 2011 $13.99 (12) is a great crisp buy.
Philip Shaw Chardonnay is a great price at $16.99(12) however the wrong tasting notes appear by the wine. I have never ever tasted a Chardonnay that has a drinking style of blackcurrant and dark chocolate!
Tucked away at the top of page 2 is Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2008, possibly Australia's best Chardonnay $79.99 go on, buy one in a mixed dozen it will bring you back to Chardonnay.

Red wines.
The absolute stand out here is on page 13. Philip Shaw was the winemaker at Rosemount for many years. Philip Shaw The Idiot Shiraz (no vintage shown)is unbelievable value. The 2009 vintage of the wine picked up Trophy for the best red wine at the Royal Sydney Wine Show this year. I will say that again, the 2009 vintage of this wine picked up the Trophy for the best red wine in show. It is $12.99 (12) !!!!!!!!! This is by far the best value wine in the whole catalogue. However, you are unlikely to get the 2009 when you order. If you do, bingo!
Taylors Jaraman Shiraz 2009 is also great value at $19.99 (12) a lovely medium bodied wine.
Packing more of a punch is the Meerea Park Howard Vineyard Shiraz 2006 at $26.99 (12). It has some age on it and has softened out but is still a fairly hefty mouthful.

There are, of course, lots of average brands to pad the catalogue out, however, these are my real picks. I also noticed Tanqueray Gin at only $39.99. It is about that time.

In my next blog I will tell you all about how brands end up in catalogues.

Sydney Wine Offers - 12th October 2011

2011-10-11T13:23:00.009+11:00

The market is full of noise at the moment. Discounters, on line auction houses, on line retailers and lots and lots of new brands. Wineries are now protecting themselves from brand discounting by Coles and Woolworths by supplying them with similar brands. The wineries can not afford not to do business with the big retailers, however, they cannot afford to see their brands discounted to silly price points. So why not take your iconic brand and come up with similar brand or a twist on your name. The label looks the same but with a different name and then sold exclusively to Coles or Woolworths. It is a great way to keep brand integrity and still sell to the big retailers. Lets call them half cousin labels.

To make sure you are all drinking well, I have taken some time to have a look at the current wine offers running around town at the moment. Below are my suggestions, in no particular order.

BWS - (Woolworths)- pretty uninspiring selection, however, you can buy 2 X 4lt Coolabah casks for $18.......................(yes, for two)

Cracka - some very good offerings on their front page, especially like the Kilikanoon. These prices might have been sharpened up to fall in line with their big advertising push. however, the Kilakanoon is possibly the pick around town.

Dan Murphys - (Woolworths) - a real blend of iconic labels and their own brands (check out Nelson County Bourbon, why rely on established brands when you can make your own) The stand out is the Mildura Rothwell Cab. Sauv. 2003, at only $25, it is a very good buy.

1st Choice - (Coles)- seems to rely on beer and spirits however, there are a couple of gems being St.Helga Riesling at $13.90 (6) and the Bremerton Cab Shiraz Merlot at $14.90 (6) is a really good buy.

Graysonline - the wine place to shop three years ago, looks like they failed to move on. There seems to be a distinct lack of quality wines.

Kemenys - Great range, including some of their excellent Hidden label wines. Vavasour Sauv. Blanc is a steal at $13.50, Hensckhe Henry's Seven is also a bargain at $21.99, one of the best. If you like your Pinot Noir check out the Kooyong Massale, I often use this on tastings.

Porters - catalogue in SMH today, a couple of crackers from De Bortoli, Windy Peak Pinot Grigio at $9.99 (6) and Gulf Station Pinot Noir $14.99 (6) as well as Pewsey Vale Riesling at $16.99 (6), I really like the look of the Lillydale Heathcote Shiraz at $19.99 (6). But I have not tried it.

Vintage Cellars -(Coles)- some great deals on Bleasdale (a real unsung hero) and Fontys Pool. Little Yering Chardonnay could also be good, very good producer with a half cousin label.

I hope this helps you choose some great drinking, please contact me at ben@freerunwineevents.com.au if you have any questions.

The food at Willow Creek.- Mornington Peninsula Pt2

2011-02-08T09:09:00.008+11:00

Following on from my previous blog, what you mean you did not read it......go back and have a look, I have had lots of very favourable comments about it.

Are you back now? So we zipped across the top of a very wet Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula. I, raving and ranting in the passenger seat of the Avis Hyundai about Chardonnay. Kooyong had, as I expected, made me do a little dance on the spot. Chardonnay to die for. In fact I could down a glass right now. Hey, its my job.

I was really keen to visit Willow Creek which is literally just down the road. I had fallen in love with their wines along time ago when I sold them into the Sydney corporate market, oh, those lucky bankers and accountants etc etc. :) Jules, now at the steering wheel, me having drunk everything put infront of me, pointed out to me that the restaurant at Willow Creek had received great reviews and was much talked about. Have a look for yourself http://tinyurl.com/ykucl22

The food was fantastic, the restaurant was pretty near full. We sat against the window, a table full of old money Melbourne next to us, the vineyard complete with kangaroos on the other side. Above is a photo of my main, Pan fried King Dory fillet with fennel, orange, cavier, basically the works. It melted in my mouth as the pan frying added that all important texture. I matched it with Willow Creek Pinot Gris which James Halliday awarded 94/100. As the rain continued to fall out of the sky and the kangaroos bounced around the top vineyard. We shared a dessert!!! Guys, you know that conversation Me "Right then dessert" thinking white chocolate, Belgium chocolate, Jules "Oh, I am full I'll just have some of yours" Me, mustering a neutral tone but really resigned to the fact that I will only get 2/3's of my dessert "OK then" Anyway here it is,

Belgium Chocolate Mousse with strawberry balsamic salad and blackberry coulis. I got my fair share.

The food, the wine, the view and, of course, the company made this a truely memorable foodie experience.

Then came the real main event for me barrel sampling with Willow Creeks winemaker Geraldine McFaul. We tried a selection of stunning wines that I will take about in Part 3. Gerry is a character, a fantastic winemaker with a true passion for what she does. Look out for Mornington Penisula Pt 3 where I will tell you about tempramental Pinot Noir, Mornington Cabernet, fizz and just how wonderful passionate wine industry folk really are. Yes, I will actually talk about the wine!

The Mornington Peninsula - Part 1, Chardonnay, it is soooo back!

2011-01-19T16:36:00.007+11:00

It has not really been a long time between drinks, as if!!! Silly! Just a long time between blogs, stuff happens like Christmas and New Year and.........sitting on the beach and on the couch etc etc. You know what I mean, dohnnntya. I have a back log of great wines and wine experiences to talk about. Watch this space for Hunter Valley Semillon heaven, Chilean reds, bubbles, tokay and more and the worlds best Vanilla Slice coming up soon.

We, myself and Jules, booked a week down in Melbourne on the Sunday and on the Monday we were there, how exciting. If you like wine and food, it is the city for you. That is all they do down there. Every cafe and restaurant seems busy even on a wet Monday afternoon. I could go on and on and on about how good Melbourne is, and I am a confirmed Sydneyite. I will leave it to talk about wine.

We spent two and a half fantastic days down on the Mornington Penisula. We did loadsa stuff other than wine and each experience was awesome. From the hot springs, oh my skin was smooth as a baby's, baby! To the worlds best vanilla slice and here it is, above. You have to head down to Sorento right at the bottom of the Mornington for this beauty.

Anyhoo, I am rambling, wine, wine. All the wineries on the Mornington are pretty much located around the Red Hill region of the MP. We choose wisely and only went to two. I insisted on going to Kooyong and Willow Creek. I am a massive fan of Sandro Moselle and what he does with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at Kooyong. Little did I know that Kooyong and Port Philip are now owned by the same person. The winery is totally stunning and would have cost a fair bit to build. Beautiful views. But, so what? If a winery cellar door does not have life, soul, character and of course, great wine, then it is nothing. That is when we met Leonie. What a great ambassador. Funny, knowledgeable, irreverent.

Now, I know a good picture is worth a thousand words, I just got so excited by what I was tasting the camera and the iphone pretty much stayed out of the game.

Let me tell you that if you think Chardonnay is not for you, you are soooooooo wrong. Come back to Chardonnay because Australia is producing subtle, complex, delicate, interesting, lean, full, exciting Chardonnay. Yes, all those in one glass. When it comes to the best, Kooyong is probably near the very, very top of the tree. These are wines that make me want to do a little dance on the spot.

We tried a whole range of excellent wines from Port Philip (PP)wines, these are wines made from grapes grown at the winery, the Kooyong vineyard is approx. 12kms north west of the winery. The PP Salasso Rose has seen some barrel fermentation that offers up some texture. A lovely wine. Then the PP Sauvignon Blanc.

However, the main event took place as Leonie told us how she nearly poked her cousin in the eyes when he said he did not drink Chardonnay. Because Kooyong Chardonnays are stunning. There is a whole range with different coloured labels that denote the style of the Chardonnay, and they all have names with a story behind them. The Kooyong Cloneale Chard 07, is made from 8 different Chardonnay clones, hence clone ale. Etc, etc I could tell you all the stories if I had not got so excited and scribbled my notes, buffoon that I am. Oh, yes, Massale comes from a brewing term, Mass ale. I was also too busy doing my little dance. But hold on, what is that smell, apricots, peaches, flowers; it is really strong. I stop dancing around, "What is that smell?" Jules informs we that not only are the wines exquiste but also the bathrooms have Aesop products, "A sign of attention to detail and quality" I am told. Jules has obviously just availed herself of this detail and quality. This all actually takes a milli second as I carry on my wine uptopia. The range of these sublime wines include Haven, Faultine, Ferrous and the one we walked away with Farrago, which I believe stands for "wine that will make you want to relax your shoulders, sigh, roll your head back, smile, fall in love with the world and then do a little dance." All these wines have different characters and come off different parts of the Kooyong vineyard.

If you are looking for big style Chardonnay that will fill your mouth with oak, butterscotch and other old style Aussie Chardonnay flavours, don't go to Kooyong. Go there if you want to experience wine, I mean real wine. Sexy, sexy wine.
And I havent even mentioned the Pinot Noir. No really, honestly. Up there with the Chardonnay!

As I sat in the passenger seat of the Avis Hyundai! and was driven to Willow Creek a massive big red hopped in front of us. I thought my life could not get any better. However, my next blog will tell you all about a world class lunch, Pinot Noir to die for and just how wonderful wine industry people are.

Christmas Cake in a bottle.

2010-11-29T06:51:00.006+11:00

I always end my tastings with a glass of either Rutherglen Muscat or Tokay matched with blue cheese. It is one of the classic wine and food matches. These are delicious sweet wines.

Rutherglen is in north east Victoria and is home of these two world class fortified wines. Muscat is made from well, Muscat. There are over two hundred types of the Muscat grapes, the Brown Muscat grape is used in Rutherglen. Tokay is made from Muscadelle.

So what exactly are these delicious sweet fortified wines? They are aged wines that will thrill you! They are both made in the same way. Once the wine is made it is aged using the solera sytem. This is a system of interconnected barrels. I was lucky enough to visit Campbells winery in Rutherglen a number of years ago and in the winery were huge walls of these barrels. The wine is poured into the top barrel and is therefore, mixed with older material that is already sitting in the barrels. Over time the wine develops this wonderful golden colour. Brandy spirit is added to wine to fortify it. This practise was originally came from Europe. Wine being transported to England would often have gone off by the time it reached England. By adding brandy spirit, fortifying the wine stopped it going off so readily.

There are four different grades of Muscat and Tokay.

Rutherglen.
Average age 2-5 years. Residual sweetness 180-240 grams per litre.

Classic
Average age 5-10 years. Residual sweetness 200-280 grams per litre.

Grand
Average age 10-15 years. Residual sweetness 270-400 grams per litre

Rare
Minimum age 20+ years. Residual sweetness 270-400 grams per litre.

The differences in the wine are subtle. Tokay has more of a dark chocolate, molasses character, whereas Muscat smells and tastes like Christmas Cake in a bottle.

Tokay will soon be called Topaque due European Laws. Tokaj is a Hungarian wine.

As I mentioned it is a great match to blue cheese or just grab yourself a bowl of top shelf vanilla bean ice cream and pour some Muscat or Tokay over the top.

Enjoy! You can find a 375ml bottle of Campbells Rutherglen Muscat or Tokay for approx A$20.

Subtle, sublime and sexy.

2010-11-14T17:35:00.007+11:00

I was lucky enough to use this amazing wine on a tasting on last Thursday. What can I say........James Halliday gave this wine 95/100.
So what makes me write such a seeexy headline? Subtle, sublime and sexy all in a bottle. Tyrrell's have over 150 years of wine making experience and it shows. They very wisely sold off their bottom end Long Flat range of wines and now produce the entery level Old Winery wines, the Lost Block range and a handful of single vineyard wines. This move is really starting to pay dividends with James Halliday anointing them his "Winery of the Year" for 2010.

So lets talk Semillon. Nobody does it better that Tyrrells. King of the Semillons is Australia's most awarded white wine Tyrrells' Vat 1 Semillon. With a cupboard full of Trophys and Gold medals. Tyrrell's also produce single vineyard Steven's and Belford Semillon. All of these are low alcoholic wines. Hunter Valley Semillon is picked early to avoid the humidity that hits around picking time.

On Thursday night I was dealing with the HVD, which stands for Hunter Valley Distillery. It was in a line up of eight wines and it just stood out, the Tertini Pinot Noir 2006 came a close second. I have another bottle of that an will blog about it soon. The HVD 2005 is a low 11.5% alcohol, it is pale in colour and on the nose it is full of minerals, lemons, limes, toast, butter, nuts etc etc yes it is amazingly complex. In the mouth it is soft and sexy with amazing subtly. Around 15 seconds after it leaves your mouth an amazing soft acidic makes your mouth water. This wine is totally amazing and with a plate full of prawns it is like what I imagine a date with Audery Hepburn would be like. Subtle, sublime and sexy.

Can you really judge a country by the wine it produces?

2010-11-06T07:40:00.014+11:00

Yes, bloody right you can! There, have I got your attention. I am behind on my blogging but, fortunately not behind on my drinking. I have had some crackers recently and last Thursday night I ran an event for Stella Gianotto owner of the fabulous Stella Designs http://www.stelladesign.com.au/ and we tasted, slurped, sipped and drank wines from around the world. Stella talked about design trends from around the world and I talked wine. Without sounding too much like Kerry Bradshaw, it got me thinking...................."Are German wines like German people, are Spanish wines like Spaniards, can we nicely stereotype people?" Hell why not!

So we started the evening with Seppelt Salinger 2006, Victoria, Australia. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from various cool climate regions of Victoria. Matched with prawn and cucumber canapes it started the evening very well. Lovely and soft with small bubbles and a crisp finish. Vintage sparklings and Champagnes spend time hanging around in the bottle with dead yeast to create a softness in the wine. This wine certainly has this with a wonderful yeasty, bready character. Is it typically Australian? So how would you picture an Australian? A big loud Shiraz or a Chardonnay? Think again, times have moved on. Australia produces world class sparkling wine from regions such as Tasmania (I love Tasmania), Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. These wines are surprising every time I try them, they are really, really good. So yes, they are a good representation of modern Australia, always surprising.

Next up was Germany. Wittmann Trocken Riesling 2008, Rhinehessen, Germany. For many years German wines were the laughing stock of European wines, so absolutely no resemblance to the German people there! Apart from Henning Wehn who is hilarious http://tinyurl.com/2473qxb We all remember Blue Nun don't we. Hmmm, sweetness in a bottle. Germany has moved on from those sweet Leibfraumilch wines. However, apparently you can still buy Blue Nun http://tinyurl.com/2wk49x the website will tell you that the brand has be "revitalised" Ok, 67 on my unwritten list of 101 wine rules, "Good wine never comes in a blue bottle." Got it. ................Where am I? Oh, yes, Wittmann, pronounced VITTMANN, have been around since 1663. This trocken Riesling, (trocken means dry in German) is delightful. At 12% alcohol it is light and crisp and full of austere minerally characters, there is an underlying sweetness there in the background. So German wine, German people. Yes, serious, austere and dry.

Next up was Lis Neris Pinot Grigio 2008, Fuilli, Italy. Fruilli is in north east Italy and is the home of Pinot Grigio. A quick 101, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grapes variety just made in different styles. Grigio, Italian, Gris, French. This wine is a whopping 14% alcohol, big for a white wine. It was fermented in stainless steel, no oak. However, same as the sparkling wine, it sits on dead yeast for a period of time. This gives the wine softness and texture. This wine is full of mineral characters, a touch of dried fruit and almost a tonic water finish, nice and savoury and a touch bitter. However, it was just a little disappointing. So is it Italian? Yes, it is I love Italy, the food and the whole idea of Italy. However, like their football team sometimes it just does not cut it.

Now to Spain, who does not love Spain? Huh? The food, the flamenco, the football (love the football) and of course the wine. Sexy, sexy wine. Tempranillo, the major grape variety of Rioja (Ree Ock a) has been described at Pinot Noir of steriods, Great description. Dido La Universal 2007, Montsant, Spain is not made from Tempranillo but from Monastrell. You might know Monstrell as Mouvedre or even Mataro.....no? Think of a GSM blend, Grenache Shiraz Mouvedre, that is what it stands for, or of course, the industry term "Good shit mate" This wine has a lovely rustic, almost farm smell about it. It the mouth, oh my word. It is sensual and subtle with savoury, sweet, bitter and loads of other descriptors going off. A gorgeous seductive wine, sexy, sexy, sexy. Perfect match to Chorizo or lamb chops.

So to our final stop on the journey around the world, America. Will the American wine remind us of America, the American people and all that they stand for? I went with Francis Coppola Merlot 2006, Napa Valley, California, USA, was it going to be The Godfather of all wines. If so which one, Part 1, Part 2 or the unfortuante Part 3. America wines are big. Big in alcohol, big in flavours, big in oak etc etc etc etc etc etc etc, There are some exceptions, think Oregon Pinot Noir. This wine was the left down of the evening. It smelt like a fortified wine, it had too much oak and was really simplistic. Is that how we view Americans? I will leave you to answer that one.

Wine is about..............where you are and who you drink it with.

2010-10-10T17:12:00.010+11:00

Last Friday I had ran one of my favourite tastings ever. It was on Cockatoo Island slap bang in the middle of Sydney Harbour. For those of you who don't know where it is, this is it. The event was part of Sydney International Food Festival http://www.cravesydneyfoodfestival.com.au/index.php

I arrived at Woolwich wharf at 3.45pm and at 3.55pm sharp a water taxi arrived to take me to Cockatoo Island. The sun was shining and I met the man with the best job in the world. Imagine being a water taxi driver on Sydney Harbour...............he was one happy man! Mind you I was thrilled to be doing this event, right then I had the second best job in the world.

Victoria, who runs the accommodation on Cockatoo Island and I decided that wine, food and camping are such a good mix. We put together Wine and Glamping. An evening of wine tasting, beautiful food, glamping (for those of you who have not heard of glamping before, it is posh camping).

At around 5pm the first campers arrived and by 6.30pm we were all set up and tasting our first wine. It was just the ideal situation as people rocked up and introduced themselves. I was just so casual, it really hit the right note. I am not going to talk about the wines much here because it was the whole situation that made the event so special. Anyways, we had Yarra Burn Rose Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling with Oysters, followed by quails egg rolled in sumac.

This was the table, what a position! We watched the yachts as they glided by..........

Next up was a beautiful antipasto plate matched with Oddbins Hunter Semillon 2008 and Ninth Island Chardonnay 2009, Tasmania. This all happened as the sun was just going down over the harbour.

Little did I know it but it turns out the Victoria is a very accomplished chef and absolutely cooked up an amazing meal for us.

Here are the antipasto plates and cheese board.

The barbecue ready to go. Check out the multi coloured carrots.

It was such a relaxed evening that we got just a little out of kilter with the wines..........oh well. Next up as one of my favourites Chapel Hill Sangiovese Rose 2009. During the evening I gave an education on the wines and Victoria talked about the food. This beauty has a gorgeous orange tint to it, if you are looking for a dry rose this is what to look for.

Conversation was flowing between a group of people that had not met before. There as a couple celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary, a birthday celebration and a whole group of foodies and wine lovers.

Main course was beautiful steak and marinated spatchcock matched with Chapel Hill Sangiovese 2009. This wine was a little young, lucky we had a beautiful harbour breeze to help aerate the wine.

Finally, another of my perennial favourites Campbells Rutheglen Muscat with a gorgeous cheese plate.

It was a truly awesome evening.

Unfortunately, I had to hop on the 10pm ferry. I ran a private wine course the next day.

The guests stayed over night in beautiful tents and then had a fully cooked breakfast and then got to spend the day on Cockatoo Island.

So let me just tell you, you might think that this is a blatant plug, well it sort of is. We are doing it again on Friday 29th October. Most of the people attended worked in the CBD and just got the ferry from Circular Quay after work. For only $150 per person, you could join us.

Just call Cockatoo island on 8898 9774 or email reservations@cockatooisland.gov.au

Lava lamp outshines vino.

2010-09-08T07:34:00.006+10:00

We recently became the proud owners of a retro lava lamp. A wonderful rocket shaped lamp full of orange liquid. It is a sneaky lamp, when you turn it on, nothing happens, so you look away. Next time you look it has formed a kind of freaky looking thing inside it, however, it is not moving. Keep watching and nothing will happen. Look back and it has sprung, hypnotically into life. Orange bubbles of ........stuff, I suppose it is. Rise and fall, it is very calming. You can see it behind the wine.

Anyway, to celebrate the lamp, I got my hands on a bottle of Pewsey Vale Gewurztraminer 2008. I flimsy excuse I know.

Pewsey Vale have been around for ever and are most famous for their Rieslings out of the Eden Valley and their Cabernet out of Clare. Louisa Rose, who made this wine has a track record of producing very good to outstanding wines.

So lets talk a little about Gewurztraminer , lets call it GWT for ease sake. GWT is most widely planted in Alsace in north east France. Before the war, (why does Basil Fawlty come to mind) Alsace was actually in Germany and was given the French by the allies for their outstanding work during WW2, sigh! Hence the reason the grape has a more Germanic name than a French one. It is planted widely in central Europe and there are a sprinkling of plantings around the world. It produces the best wines when planted in a cooler region.

So to Pewsey Vale GWT 2008.......even as I sat looking at the lamp, this wine could not excite me. GWT should be spicey with touches of rose water and maybe a hint of dried fruit characters. If I thought really hard about what was in my mouth, I could hardly detect those characters. It was really just a white wine. Even three months maturing in old French oak had not helped. I was very disappointed by the is wine, especially seeing as it retails for approx $35. I had it with sushi and sashimi. (If you are ever in Bondi try 'Ten Japanese" on Bondi Road, the best Japanese food around. You also get the feeling that your order is never fully understood or acknowledged and yet it always arrives, bless) Anyhoo, as we ate our delicious food, drank the wine and looked at the lamp. We agreed there was one poor cousin here, the wine. Not recommended!

Here you can see the lamp outshining the wine. It is going through that weird about to burst into life stage.

cheers

Ben

Nothing under 94 points.

2010-08-22T10:52:00.018+10:00

"We would like you to run a Shiraz night for us" said the voice at the end of the phone. "No problem" I replied, "Any idea what wines you would like to use" "Well, we are entertaining some of our top clients, so we thought a King of Shiraz night, say, a couple of vintages of Grange against some other iconic wines". "No problem, I can put something together for you" The phone call ends and I do a little dance.

So last week I took myself to a big corporate in town who were trusting me with their top clients. The wines choosen were all 94 points and above from James Halliday. Happy days indeed.

We ran a Shiraz tasting before dinner, using five different Shiraz. It was a blind tasting where each wine was pre poured. Because the election was on the Saturday I put together a voting slip, similar to the House of Reps. voting slip. Vote 1 to 5 in order of preference. Wines were named 1 - 5. Therefore, the guests did not know what they were voting for...........just like the election really.

The first wine was Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz 2005. From a "difficult" year in the Hunter Valley this wine was lovely, yet, all the wines were lovely, we were really splitting hairs. It was tight and medium bodied and still had a long to go. Probably not your typical Hunter Shiraz as it lacked the over blown jammy character. It is 14% alcohol, however, upon checking the website it tells me the wine is 13.4%, ah the vagaries of the alcohol labelling laws.

Approx $100 James Halliday (JH) score 96

Next up was Penfolds Grange 2005. A little unfair to be drinking this wine so young. I think it needs another ten years before it will start to show at its best. Talk about brooding power! Very little on the nose and not much in the mouth apart from separate components of acid, fruit, tannin and oak. Blended from the Barossa, MacLaren Vale and Coonawarra, this wine is 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. But, just you wait because this will turn into a delightful Grange. The Penfolds tasting notes suggest amongst other food matches dehydrated vegetables!?! OK, whatever! Approx $600 JH 96

Shadowfax One-Eye Shiraz 2005 was next. Typically cool climate, typically Heathcote. Not as a dense colour as the Grange, but then what would be. Lovely white pepper and spice character on the nose, this is a distinct sign of cool climate. This wine comes from the oldest vineyard in Heathcote that was planted in 1968. A great example of (I am biased here because I love cool climate Shiraz) of cool climate red. Medium to full bodied, potentially hard to gauge after the Grange. Berries and spice and all things nice, a very good wine. Approx $55 JH 95
(Bargain)

The next wine was the only wine not from the 2005 vintage. This wine was very different being a 1996, and it showed. The colour was not as vibrant, just a dark brooding purple. Hmmm, Grange and the word brooding seem to go well together. Yes, this was Penfolds Grange 1996. This is one of the classic Grange vintages and a wine I could drink all night..............Blueberries, blackberries, spice, pepper, oak, and about twenty other descriptors. Most importantly age. All of the flavours and elements of the wine have intergrated. It is sourced from Barossa, McLaren Vale, Magill and Padthaway. No wonder James Halliday gave this wine 97/100. It is a classic Grange. Approx $700

Last, but certainly not least was Yalumba Octavius 2005. From 100% Barossa fruit this wine was aged in very small oak barrels called Octaves. This is a very good wine and certainly was approaching the power of both Granges. I really liked this wine. It was full bodied, well they all were, however, it had a lovely smoothness to it. Although it had been aged in small American oak it was not too oaky, there was certainly a vanilla character present and some mocha and chocolate. A very good wine.

Approx $100 JH score 96

A beautiful setting.

So how did the crowd vote.

1st place - and by some - Grange 96

2nd place - Yalumba Octavius 05

3rd place - Shadowfax One-eye Shiraz 05

Equal 4th - Grange 05 and Brokenwood Graveyard 05 (A little unfair on such a young Grange)

We then had dinner that started with Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay 06, 97 from James Halliday and my equal favourite wine of the night.

Then a wine from some of the new young guns First Drop JR Gantos Cabernet Touriga Nacional 06. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional (Portugals most famous red grape variety, that brings perfume and a little more interest to the Cabernet. This wine like the Shiraz, needs time.

Finally Cornet & Cie Banyuls Grenache Noir 2005 a gorgeous fortified wine from Rousillion which is right in the bottom South Eastern corner of France. The wine is made from Grenache and has a wonderful cherry/raspberry character.

We had a great night and I did a little dance again when I got home.

Check out my cider blog at http://www.landlordcideriup.blogspot.com/

Pop me an email if you would like me to run a fun educational wine event for you:

ben@freerunwineevents.com.au

Acid!

2010-08-15T10:07:00.004+10:00

“There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I forget the third.” Timothy Leary

OK the esteemed Dr. Timothy Leary was, of course, talking about a different kind of acid. However, acid is a crucial part of a wine, especially if a wine is to age well. The best examples of this are the Hunter Valley Semillons that are picked early at low sugar levels and high acidity. Whilst young these wines are light, crisp and high in acidity. As they get old all the flavours integrate and change into toasty, nutty complex characters. The acid in the wine acts as a preservative and enables the wine to live a long and happy life.

This brings me nicely to Wild Stone Cabernet Merlot 2009, organic and preservative free all the way from Ferguson Valley, WA. This valley is in the Geographe Wine region, just north of Margaret River. There is a big move to organic and biodynamic wines. I will talk about biodynamic wines in another conversation.

What really stood out for me in this wine is the acid. It is certainly jam packed full of berry characters and is a lovely wine. I would certainly recommend it. But, it was the finish that stood out, a big mouthful of mouth watering acid. It makes this wine a lovely match to some roast beef or steak.

I got thinking about why this wine should be so high in acidity, then I thought about the Preservative free statement. Preservatives are added to wine, to well, durrrr, preserve the wine. No preservative means that the wine might fall over a little quicker. Acid is a natural preservative, therefore, me thinks the acid levels in this wine a higher as a natural preservative.

This is a great wine and as the back label says "Pure fresh - just crushed fermented and bottled. Full of flavour - Taste the difference. www.wildstonewines.com You should find this wine for under $20.

Still not sure who Timothy Leary is? Heard of the saying "Turn on, tune in, drop out" he coined that phrase, check him out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_leary

A kiss, clink, cheers and a beautiful mouthful.

2010-08-09T07:28:00.008+10:00

It is really starting to happen, Rosé is finally becoming popular in Australia. It should be; out of all wine styles it is the most versatile of all wines. It can be drunk by itself or with food. Rosé is ideally suited to the Australian climate and the outdoor life we lead. Just imagine yourself lying on a blanket in a beautiful park, you look up and above you the sky is blue and a huge tree sways above you. The birds are singing and life is good. You look down and a delicious picnic is laid out on the blanket. In your hand is a chilled glass of Rosé. You look to your left and there is a gorgeous person also with a glass of Rosé in their hands. A kiss, clink, cheers and a beautiful mouth full of dry Rosé. That is what Rosé is all about. So to the wine.........

La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2009, Rhone Valley, France.

Rosé can be made from any red grape variety! All the colour in any red wine comes from the skins of the grapes. If you peel a red grape there is no colour in the flesh. So the colour in the wine comes from time the juice spends with the red skins. For a Rosé this may only be 8 to 10 hours, the juice is then drained off leaving the skins.

Rosé should be fresh and young and this wine is certainly that. It comes from the Côtes du Ventoux which is right at the bottom of the Rhone Valley. Made from Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah (Shiraz) this wine has only a very slight orange tinge and overall is a vibrant red colour. This is not always a good sign. Bright red Rosés tend to taste like they look, of red cordial, sickly sweet. It smells of strawberries and sweet fruit and in the mouth I found it just a little too sweet. I think the red colour was a dead give away. It did have a good acid finish which would still make it a perfect match to an anti-pasto plate.

You will find this wine for under $20 a bottle, I suggest you spend a few dollars more and pick up a good Aussie Rosé, try Mitolo or Chapel Hill.

Cheers

Ragu and Rioja.

2010-08-02T07:45:00.008+10:00

I had one of the best bottles of wine I have had for a long time on Saturday night. Matched only in it's brilliance by my signature dish, Lamb Ragu. It is such a simple dish and yet so tasty.

So, lets start with the food first. Ragu is basically a meat based sauce normally served with pasta. I believe it is a derivative of the French Ragout. It is lamb that has been slow cooked in white wine, tomato and capsicum sauce. Here is how you do it, I wish I had a photo to show you but it went from pot, to table, to stomach very quickly!

To serve two, you will need:

2 hours for the lamb to sit, just over 2 hours cooking time.

600gms boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and diced (lamb shoulder is one of the tastier cuts of lamb)

1/2 tsp of sea salt (always use the good stuff)

1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup of quality olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp of dried chili flakes

2 bay leaves

250ml dry white wine

1 tin of plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

1 yellow capsicum, thinly sliced

1 tbsp flat-lead parsley finely chopped

1 packet of Papparedelle pasta

1/3 cup of freshly shaved Parmesan (do not use the dried tinned stuff, that is a classic way to ruin a good meal)

Combine lamb with salt and pepper, cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Medium heat oil in a heavy based pot, add finely sliced garlic, chili flakes and bay leaves, cook for 1 minute whilst stirring. Turn the heat to high and add lamb, stir occasionally until lamb is browned approx 3 - 4 minutes.

Add white wine and cook without a lid. Cook until most of the white wine has evaporated, approx 8 - 10 minutes

Add tomatoes and juice, tomato paste and capsicum. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 2 hours, stir occasionally and add a little water if required.

After 2 hours, remove from the heat. Remove meat from sauce using a slotted spoon or tongs. Place the lamb on a chopping board and shred using two forks.

Place lamb back in the pot and add the parsley. Stir well.

Boil a large saucepan of slightly salted water. Add Papperdelle and cook until al dente. Do not over cook it!

Toss pasta with lamb ragu and serve immediately with the freshly shaved or grated Parmesan on top.

Match with delicious wine and person.

So the wine...it was Mugo Reserva Rioja 2004 under cork. I still love that pop when the cork comes out.

Lets talk about Rioja first. Rioja is a region in North Eastern Spain that is famous for it's red wines. They are predominately made from Tempranillo with a little Grenache (Granacha, as the Spanish call it) splashed in. This wine is made from 70% Temp. 20% Garnacha and 10% Graciano and Mazuelo. ( I always think Graciano sounds like an Italian football player......GRACIONA, GRACIANO.......GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!) I recently did that at a high power corporate gig, I suppose you have to read the audience, I know they were laughing on the inside :)

Anyhoo, the whole region of Rioja has really picked it's game up and is now producing stunning wines. Tempranillo is certainly becoming more and more popular here in Australia.

Rioja reds are food wines. As so often with European wines they need that balance.

So pop went the cork and into my Plumm - Australian designed glassware the inky purple wine went. (I will blog about this fantastic glassware soon). In the glass the deep brooding colour alerts you to a tastefest that is about to happen in your mouth. On the nose it is still a little shy and closed, after about twenty minutes and decanting the wine really opened up smelling of dried berries, sour and black cherries, strawberries and a big crush of raspberries. OK, sit very still.................................take a deep breath in an imagine..........................Yum.

So a clink, or should I say tinnnnnnnggggggggg, beautiful glassware was involved.

It is a mouthfilling wine! A gives you everything it has promised. It is medium to full bodied and although being 6 years old still has years to live and will just get better over the next 2 to 3 years. It is juicy, and yet firm (there is a little oak in there somewhere) it is soft and yet has some sour fruit in there. It finishes smooth and elegant...........................then quite sometime later..............................................the soft acidity shows itself. It says, I need meat. That is where the lamb ragu came in.

So, to wrap up. (Even though I say it myself), delicious food, delicious wine and delicious person, thanks Jules.

If you read my earlier World cup wines blog, you will know that this wine won the competition.

Go out and treat yourself to this wine. Ole.

"never heard of him" - Pinot Noir came to the rescue

2010-07-24T12:14:00.008+10:00

Ant Moore Pinot Noir 2008, Central Otago

I have had a long, long week. I had a ream of meetings. a couple of large scale corporate gigs and an appearance on a live wine stream, watch this space. I finally got home and sat on the couch at 8.15pm with chicken and chips! But what to drink................oh did I need a drink! To hand I had a bottle of Ant Moore Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008.

So just who is Ant Moore? One of the best wine reps to walk through my door when I was a wine retailer was Greg Gaupset from Red and White. When Catalina Sounds Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc hit the shelves over here all Greg kept saying was "It's made by Ant Moore"! and we were like .................."never heard of him". Finally, we tried the wine. OK, send us in 12 dozen we knew our customers, the corporate market would love this wine, and they did. Ant Moore had spent sometime working at Isabella Estate in Marlborough after moving across the ditch from Oz in 2002. As most of you know Catalina Estate and his second label Crowded House are winners in the market place. Isabella Estate still operates in the top shelf market and you will not regret paying for one of their wines.

Ant Moore has recently launched his own wine called, wait for it, Ant Moore. A bold move indeed to stick your name right up there on the front of the bottle. The Ant Moore business itself recently purchased a winery in Cromwell, Central Otago. The label, as you can see is beautifully designed. It depicts leaves from a vine in gorgeous colours all based on a classic white label.

So to the wine!

What can I say. A life saver, a wine that when you pour it into the glass, you know it is going to really hit the spot. A quick clink of cheers with Julie my partner and the first mouthfull was gone. This is what wine is all about, picture it. A long very exhausting week ended with chicken and chips, a beautiful (and very patient person, Julie) the heater cranked up, a big soft couch and Masterchef on the television.

The wine is a deep purple almost inky colour, it is 14.2% alcohol. The back label recommends that it is decanted and allowed to breath before drinking. I did not have time for that, I needed a drink, quick smart. Therefore, on the nose the wine was a little closed and really started to open up after about the third glass.

In the mouth it has those classic Pinot Noir characters of sweet and savoury cherries, touches of strawberries and a hint of dare I say it Shiraz. French oak has helped the complexity of this wine. It finishes with a lovely soft acidity. This will help the wine age and makes it great with food. Even the local organic chicken and chips.

So who is Ant Moore? I strongly suggest you find out because this wine is a beauty.

Check out his website at http://www.antmoore.com/

Half a name from Wuthering Heights

2010-07-18T21:36:00.003+10:00

I taught wine all day Saturday and then had to back up at an awesome wine dinner. Once a year Doug and Flic put on a wine dinner where each guest brings a special bottle or two. Infact, two bottles of the same wine. All the bottles are wrapped to disguise them and a story has to be told or clues given to guess the wine.

I wrote this poem.

Blood of Jove was spilt
Embarrassingly caused a blush(ed)
If not obvious in these words
An Italian grape was crush(ed)

A “Queenly” wine some may say
It certainly comes from that state
But from northern parts
It did not cost as much in road freight

Half a name of a man from Wuthering Heights
Then end with cote and you will have it right!

From Italy, not from France
So you should not call him garçon
This 2009 Sangiovese Rosé is made by...........................

Who?

Vinea Marson http://www.vineamarson.com/vinea-marson-wines.html

I stunning wine, just as Rose should be.

No photos of this one. Just buy it seriously!!!!!!!! You will discover the joy of Rose. Just how do I get that thingo over the e :)

World Cup Wines

2010-07-01T22:14:00.021+10:00

Last night I completed one of my favourite tastings. Imagine; I got to talk about wine and football. I small intimate tasting for 18, however, I must just name drop a little here. Amongst the 18 was a host of very senior bank execs from not just one but four major banks. Not one of them offered me an overdraft, pah!

We tried eight wines in four brackets of two, wine against wine, country against country. The crowd tasted and then voted!

I played World Cup wines with them. Eight wines from eight participating world cup countries, just like the quarter finals.

Quarter Finals

New Zealand sparkling Vs German Riesling

Italian Soave Vs French Rose

South African Pinotage Vs Spanish Rioja

Argentinian Malbec Vs Australian Grand Tokay

And the winners are ....................... read on

Pelorus Vintage 2005, New Zealand This wine just confirms my theory that top end Oz or NZ sparkling totally out performs bottom end Champagne and saves you money. The wine is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir and each 3 clones of each variety has been used. Some parcels of wine were fermented in stainless tanks and others in oak. Nine months on yeast lees followed by three years in bottle before disgorgement. This is a very smart wine indeed, however it was pitted against the Germans. RRP $44.99

Dr. Burklin - Wolf Trocken Riesling 2008. Germany. Stern, austere and crisp. From Germany's largest family owned winery located in Pfalz. This 12.5% alcohol Riesling offers hints of citrus on the nose, however, overall it is jam packed full of minerals. It finishes with a lovely soft acidity that arrives late into the mouth. A very good wine. Perfect with a piece of fish. RRP $35.99

First quarter final result:

NZ, Pelorous Vintage 2005 Vs Germany, Dr Burklin - Wolf Trocken Riesling 2008

A very close game, the winner Germany.

Pra Soave Monte Grande 2007, Italy
When people think of Soave they normally think of cheap light unsophisticated white wine. This wine made by the Pra brothers blows that right out of the water. Made from 80% Garganinga and 20% Trebianno this viscous white is full bodied despite seeing no oak treatment. Lovely spicey characters in the mouth with soft acidity on the finish. Unlike the football team this wine is a stand out. RRP $59.99

Chateau de Roquefort, Cotes de Provence 2008 Rosé, France
Imported by the great Romauld Delage of Delage Wines this wine is a blend of six different grape varieties working as a team! to produce a wonderful drink. Hints of strawberries and cherries on the nose, however, in the mouth it is dry and gorgeous. A perfect summers day wine. A hint when looking for a dry rosé is to look for an orange hue or tint to the wine. RRP $33.99

Second quarter final result:

Italy, Pra Soave Monte Grand 2007 Vs France, Chateau de Rocquefort Rose 2008
An even closer game, I had to have the casting vote, the winner in a very high quality quarter

France!

Kumani Pinotage 2006, South Africa
Pinotage is grown in only a handful of countries, however, it's home is really South Africa. It is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. This is a highly perfumed wine and to be honest, it did not really show well. Maybe it was there because it was the host nation. It was also up against the very inform Spanish.RRP $31.99

Muga Reserva Rioja 2004, Spain

From the moment the aromas of this wine hit you, you could smell class. This wine is 70% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 5% Mazuelo, 5% Graciano. Aged for 30 months in oak and then 12 months in bottle before release. The 13.5% alcohol wine is still a baby and will just get better and better. It was full of black and sour cherries with oak characters playing a supportive part. A lovely long finish crying out for a lamb cutlet! RRP $62.99

Third quarter final

South Africa, Kumani Pinotage 2006 VS Spain, Muga reserva Rioja 2004
Spain completely over ran South Africa, lets say it was a very big margin.

Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza 2007, Argentina

A heavy weight in many respects, heavy bottle and big red wine. Malbec is not subtle, maybe similarities here between the wine and Maradona. This wine is still young and given time would really open up. A deep dark inky purple colour this wine is a teeth stainer. However, it is very classy and integrates rich fruit with obvious oak treatment. It needs steak, you almost feel this wine has eaten a steak already! RRP $56.99

All Saints Grand Tokay, Australia

Tokay is made from the Muscadelle grape variety and this style of wine is unique to the Rutherglen region. Tokay smells and tastes of sweet, dark chocolate, toffee and molasses. This is a beauty. The term Grand signifies the wine has been aged in barrels for between 10-15 years. Smooth a velvety this wine is great with blue cheese or just over vanilla ice cream. RRP $65.99

The fourth quarter final

Agentina, Acheval Ferrer Malbec 2007 Vs All Saints Grand Tokay

The winner, Agentina with a surprisingly big margin.

So the semi finals were:

Germany Vs France

Spain Vs Argentina

The first semi final was close, however Germany got the nod

The second semi was not close, Spain romped home.

The final

Germany, Dr Burklin- Wolf Troken Riesling 2008 VS Spain, Muga Reserva Rioja 2004

The winner.

Spain.

I agree to is and outstanding wine.

Phew, what a night! Olé, olé, olé

Fume Blanc

2010-06-26T18:00:00.007+10:00

We are down in a chilly Southern Highlands again for a weekend away from busy, busy Sydney. My partner Julie's parents live in Burradoo, just outside Bowral. We skipped off work early and got down to Burradoo just into time for a 6pm G+T. We quickly wound down, put on the slippers and opened a local bottle of Sauvignon Blanc by Bou-saada. It is a fume blanc style of Sauv. which basically means it has been aged in oak barrels before release. The name was coined by the famous Californian winemaker Robert Mondavi in the 1960's. He basically wanted to copy the French Loire Valley style of oaked Sauvignon Blanc, the most famous of these being Pouilly-fume" He never trademarked the name and it is now used around the world to signify an oaked Sauvignon Blanc.

So Bou-saada! http://www.bousaada.com/index.html The winery is named after a town in Algeria, Bou stands for father and saada peace, nice eh! Unfortunately the name is nicer than the wine. It was certainly blown out of the water by Cathy's fish pie.

The wine comes from estate grown fruit and is actually made next door at the Southern Highlands co-operative winery. The wine was aged in oak barrels for nine months. This gives wine a broader spectrum of flavours, a bigger mouthfeel and enables it to last longer. So the wine was lets say a little thin in flavour and full of green characters. It really tasted a little disjointed and was very short. A disappointing wine for one of my favourite wine regions.

As a footnote I have to mention that the wording on the back label must have been around 4pt font. I could hardly read it.

Anyway, look out for fume blanc it is barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc.

Norman Mailer on picking a bad wine.

2010-06-21T07:53:00.006+10:00

The wine was Sierra Blanca a California Sauterne.

But it had a moldy label and a green rusted cork, age and colour of cobweb.

So we chose it over a fine dry fast cool professional blond from Bordeaux.

Yet, when the nectar crested over the eddies of fume which rose from the dust of the cork,

the wine was sour and squalid like bad breath on a good goose with bad teeth.

Oh well, we murmured never fall for a pretty face again.

A very relaxed looking Norman Mailer. "bad breath on a good goose with bad teeth" great words indeed.

Drink and write

2010-06-19T10:47:00.012+10:00

The Gertrude and Alice Crew.

I have been meaning to up this up for awhile, time gets away ....................................................... you know what I mean! I am behind on my blogs, but way ahead on my drinking :) I have lots to tell!

As part of the Bondi Winter Magic Festival I was involved in a wonderful event at Gertrude and Alice in Hall Street, Bondi. For those of you that don't know Gertrude and Alice is a fantastic second hand bookstore in Hall Street, Bondi. Jane Turner the owner has created a beautiful space with thousands of books to browse and room to sit and sip a tea of have some wonderful food. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas lived in Paris in the early 19 hundreds and were famous for holding Saturday night salons at which people like Hemingway, Picasso and Matisse would attend. Alice B. Toklas is often remembered for her brownies that often contained Marijuana. Peter Sellars famously starred in a movie that celebrated such brownies, the movie is called I love you Alice B. Toklas. Check out a great clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ot-mtIhrpA&feature=related they don't make them like they used to!

Anyway, to the evening. Here is a photo of myself, Jane Turner and Kate Griffen on the couch before the event. Just before the crowd arrived and was offered a wonderful cup of Roast Capsicum Soup with olives, lemon rind & yoghurt. A truly sublime way to start. We then moved on to the Yarra Burn Sparkling. I kicked off the event at 7.15 and Jane said a few words of welcome. I ran through a 101 on sparkling wine and then handed over to Kate Griffen.

Kate opened up with a quick explanation of just how many writers had been influenced by alcohol, it was a lot.

The first bracket of writers included Malcolm Lowry and Graham Greene and how some of their greatest works were written under the influence. This was all matched with a Hunter Semillon and Crab & Spinach Fritatta Rolls.

We got an amazing insight into how Lowry and Greene operated under the influence. They were actually quite disciplined in their drinking. It was often write and then drink. The Oddbins Hunter Valley Semillon was light, crisp and awesome match to the Fritatta Rolls.

Next up was one of my favourite wines to use at a tasting, Chapel Hill Tempranillo. I am a really big fan and it far more interesting to show than the usual suspects. Tempranillo is the major grape variety in Rioja, Spain. The best way to describe Temparanillo is Pinot Noir on steroids!!!! I love that description. It was matched with beautiful gourmet pizza slices and Vietnamese Pork Rolls yum. You can just see a bottle in this photo. I talked about the wine and Kate then told us all about the "crazy woman of the village" Ann Sexton. An American writer who was famous for her poetry. Jean Rhys followed, some of you might have read her book Wide Saragossa Sea. Jean lived to the rip old age of 89. See a little vino now and again, probably helps. ............Unfortunately, Ann Sexton only made it to 45!!!!!!

We sat on the Tempranillo as Lamb Cutlets with Dukkah were brought out. Just leave the plate right here, thank you! Kate told us all about the American writers American writers Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and Charles Bukowski. She managed to conjure up some great images of these writers. Bukowski in particular seemed to live his life through alcohol. He actually gave up writing for ten years, those years gave him the title "ten-year-drunk."

We finished the night with another of my favourites, Campbells Rutherglen Tokay matched with Spiced Apricots with Cream Cheese & Pistachios and a gorgeous cheese plate. Tokay is made from the Muscadelle grape and is an iconic Australian fortified. It smells of Christmas cake, molasses and dark chocolate. I love this wine poured over vanilla bean ice-cream.

Kate talked about the Irish writers that liked a drink,.................the list could have been shorter if she had talked about the ones that did not like a drink. Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan all had a fair bit of time devoted to them.

The night was a wonderful cultural experience and everybody walked away having been well fed, having drunk some great wines and with an education on "drink and write"

If you like the sound of this event we will be running another one in October.

Now where did I put that bottle.....................................whadya mean its empty. To the cellar quicksmart! I feel a poem coming on.

Drink and write.

2010-06-14T11:35:00.002+10:00

We are going to have a great evening on Wednesday http://tinyurl.com/2caxjfa there are some tix left. Be quick.

Clover Hill Vintage 2005 - this is where pedigree stands out.

2010-06-13T12:07:00.009+10:00

The Tasmanian Clover Hill vineyard is owned by Victorian winery Taltarni. The vineyards overlook Bass Strait on the north side of Tassie and are close to the small town of Lebrina. A perfect sparkling location! Before I talk about the wine lets tell you a little bit about Taltarni. Here is a link to their website a nice man will tell you all about their vineyards, there is also somebody playing a piano in the background http://tinyurl.com/2756wrl :)

However, it does not mention the fact that David Hohnen was the guy who found the vineyard. David Hohnen is a bit of a legend in the wine industry. He started Cape Mentelle and had a major part to play in the founding of Cloudy Bay in Marlborough, NZ. He now has an awesome winery in Margaret River, WA. His wines are very good and use what he calls the second generation of grape varieties of the Margaret River, his Tempranillo is stunning. Anyway, I sooooo digress! Dominque Portet was brought in from France as the winemaker. Dominque now has his own excellent winery in the Yarra Valley, try his outstanding pink sparkling.

When Taltarni expanded to Tasmania it took the team two years to find the right spot. I am such a big fan of Tasmanian sparkling, you will have to look hard to find a bad Tassie sparkling. So really, experts have put the whole package together. Have a look at this map of Tassie! http://tinyurl.com/23uytw3

Lets talk about the wine. It is delicious and does what all good sparklings do. It smells of bready, doughy characters combined notes of honey and citrus. It is complex alright. It is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the three traditional Champagne varieties. The yeasty almost nutty character comes from extended time sitting on yeast lees (dead yeast) this adds softness and the bready character. It the mouth this sparkler is light delicate and just a wonderful drink. It has everything going on in small delicate ways. It is soft, citrus, bready, light, crisp and delicious. It has no hard acid just a wonderful softness. Do you reckon I like this wine? You better believe it. At approx $40.00 this is soooooo much better than any bottom end French Champagne.

Don't you hate it when.......

2010-06-12T13:40:00.009+10:00

you forget your camera. Last Wednesday afternoon I ran a wine masterclass in the most amazing venue, The Sergent's Mess in Chowder Bay http://www.sergeantsmess.com.au/ A gorgeous place for any event. I ran an afternoon session for a large international bank who were having an offsite for their heads of department.

I thought I would run "What wines are around the corner?" It gives everybody a heads up on what will be on the list once Sauvignon Blanc dries up. (Please let it be soon).

We did eight wines, all in situ above. I have reviewed them below.

Yarra Burn Pinot Noir Rose Sparkling NV, Yarra Valley, VIC - Pink sparkling wine and Champagne are big movers in the market at the moment. In fact all sparkling wine is booming, as we in Australia get better at making it, have I told you about Tassie, I sure I have! This wine, however, was a little disappointing. It had some sophistication on the nose, hints of bready, yeasty characters. It was dry in the mouth, but I just felt something was missing,

Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2009, Clare Valley, SA - This is what Riesling is all about, minerals, citrus and lots of secondary fruit characters in the background. Dry and light, this pale yellow wine is the perfect fish wine. It is also a mukti award winner.

Plozner Pinot Bianco 2009, Fruili, Italy - I had to rummage around in my bag to find a corkscrew for this one. In France and Spain this grape variety is called Pinot Blanc. It has hints of perfume on the nose and in the mouth it is light and refreshing, probably more so than the Riesling. A delicious Northern Italian wine that is the perfect match to a warm Australian afternoon.

Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio 2009, McLaren Vale, SA - Made by the much awarded Michael Fragos. This is on the heavier side of Pinot Grigio and, although good was not quite as good as the Plozner. Yes, it is also light, crisp and perfect for a light lunch with some of your mates.

Wirra Wirra Mrs Wiggley Grenache Rose 2009, McLaren Vale, SA - Probably the least favourite of the afternoon. Yes, this wine has a lovely Grenache nose of mixed berries, cherries and raspberries. As with a lot of rosé wines there is a disconnect with the smell of the wine and what happens in the mouth. This wine almost had a boiled sweets, medicinal character in the mouth. It is a vibrant red colour which usually indicates too much going on in the wine.

Tar and Rosés Sangiovese 2008, Heatcote, VIC - Made by Don Lewis (Tar) and Narelle King (Roses) who I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of years ago at a trade tasting. Yes, Don is defo the Tar and Narelle the Roses. As with all good Sangioveses this wine would have really hit it's straps if it had been matched with some food, maybe some paper thin prosciutto. Gorgeous sour and black cherry characters leave the mouth wanting more.

Chapel Hill Tempranillo 2008, McLaren Vale, SA - Pinot Noir on steroids!! Yum. Tempranillo is the red grape used predominately to make Rioja, the Spanish flagship wine. A brooding wine, it was a little closed and needed some tempting. Heavier than the Sangiovese this wine will age wonderfully. It smelt of good Pinot Noir with a touch of earth, it tasted like, well like you could just sit there on a winters day by a fire and drink three or four big glasses and then have snooze :)

Campbells Tokay, Rutherglen, VIC - Lets first differentiate between Muscat and Tokay. Muscat is made from........the Muscat grape and simply put, tastes of Christmas cake and dried fruit. Tokay, named after the Hungarian wine, is made from the Muscadelle grape. It tastes nothing like the Hungarian wine and will have to change its name due to the European naming issues. It tastes of burnt toffee, mossales, dark chocolate with a few crumbs of Christmas cake. It is delicious! This wine is awesome by itself. However, I like to pour it over really good vanilla bean ice-cream. Double yum.

The very best way to enjoy wine.

2010-06-06T10:03:00.012+10:00

I have, well, had, a case of West Cape Howe Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 sitting in my garage for quite sometime. Last night was the perfect night to open another bottle of it. I will tell you all about the very best way to enjoy wine. Firstly, let me tell you a little about West Cape Howe and the wine.

West Cape Howe is the brainchild of Gavin Berry. Gavin was the winemaker at Plantagenet in the Lower Great Southern region of WA, it seems just to called the Great Southern now. Plantagenet Shiraz was one of my favourite wines for many years. It was one of the original cool climate Australian Shiraz's (is it Shiraz, Shiraz's, Shirazes or indeed Shirazi? What ever) Every vintage showed a beautiful white pepper character which is a distinct sign of cool climate. West Cape Howe are one of the the wineries that has a range of wines that is outstanding pretty much all the way through. I put their Tempranillo on the wine list at the Bondi FM cafe.

So, West Cape Howe Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, under cork and a beauty. At 13% alcohol this medium bodied wine has mellowed out as it has entered middle age. Straight away this wine shows that it is a little older, there are some darker, slightly duller tinges starting to show. On the nose there is blackcurrent and blueberries, however, there is also a touch of oak and a big whack of cool climate spices and just a tiny, tiny hint of sappiness. In the mouth it is just wonderful, aged and soft, finishing with a lovely soft acidity. Lush! This wine is now called "Book ends"

So what is the best way to enjoy wine? I did it last night. Julie my partner cooked a lovely slow cooked Beef Shin Moroccan Stew. We closed the curtains and put the heater on. The wind and rain rattled the windows. We sat on the couch and watched a mindless movie, ate our stew and drank the wine from beautiful wine glasses. That is the best way to enjoy wine. Great wine, great food and a beautiful person.

The question is just when will the Australian public rediscover just how good Australian Chardonnay is?

2010-06-03T21:47:00.018+10:00

I was invited to a great Wineark tasting on Thursday at the Australian Museum. Craig, the main wine bod choose a selection of wines that he wanted. Great choice Craig!

On arrival we had the Moorooduc McIntrye Vineyard Chardonnay 2008. The scene was set, it was going to be a good night. Pale in colour and on the nose it showed stone fruit and a bit of spice with the oak there, but it the right place, in the background. This wine had a lovely mouthfeel with a touch of viscosity but nothing to cloying. In the mouth flavours of stone fruits, melon and, what is that, hmm, maybe a little buttery character there. This is wine has had minimal winemaker interference and has been fermented using wild yeasts. This is a single vineyard wine from the gorgeous Mornington Peninsula, the McIntyre family own Moorooduc Estate. $35.

We then travelled north to the Yarra Valley, which is actually not that far from the Mornington Peninsula, as Craig pointed out it is the Melbourne traffic that makes it seem a lot further. Last time I was at Oakridge it was under different owners, it is now part of the same group that own Evan and Tate from the Margaret River. It is a gorgeous winery to visit and is easy to get to being on the main drag through the Yarra Valley. So Oakridge Chardonnay 2008 This Chardonnay is 12.5% alcohol and I found it a little more restrained that the Moorooduc. It has a minerality about it and the whole wine is built around a really solid acidity, this wine will last. It cleansed the palate almost like a good Riesling. I really liked this wine. $27.

Margaret River is one of Australia's stand out regions for Chardonnay (think Leeuwin and Pierro). Stella Bella Chardonnay 2007 picked up the Chardonnay Trophy at the Royal Sydney Wine Show. This wine has great nose that promises so much and it delivers. It is refined and delicate with a grapefruit like acidity. Touches of oak are there in a supporting role. A v. good wine. $28

These three wines were then, hmm, lets say benchmarked against a Chablis, how else can you measure our Australian Chardonnays . JM Brocard Chablis 2006 is under screwcap, yes a French wine, it has been especially made this way for our market. On the nose it is typically austere with minerals and maybe a hint of stewed pear in there. This is a good wine, but I felt there was a dullness about the wine and something was missing. There was a great soft acid finish, but still this wine let me down, especially at $49.

My conclusion is that we make fantastic Chardonnays! When will the consumer come back and rediscover the joys of a good Chardonnay.

We then moved on to a bracket of four Shiraz.

Montirius Serine Syrah 2007 is a deep dark wine smelling of sour cherries and has a warmness about it. It has a lovely mouthfeel and I can easily use the term iron fist in a velvet glove here. It needs a little food to really show itself at its best. It is from what Robert Parker described as the best vintage ever from any region! Big call. $35

It is often a little unfair to comment on a wine that had been affected by a touch of cork taint. The Guillaume Gilles Cornas 2007 was such a wine. It was flat and with a distinct smell of must and wet cardboard. Shame! $85 Here is a serious issue, are you really going to buy expensive wines under cork when they could be off, if Henschke do it with Hill of Grace, why not others?

Ah, then came a real star, something I had never heard of before Paradise IV Dardel Shiraz 2008. It is in fact the old Moorabool Estate winery renamed. The vineyards were first planted in 1848! This wine is a deep dark brooding purple. It was a little closed but with a little swirling it really opened up. The wine has fruit, it has spice, it has touches of oak and all with finesse. This is a name to watch and a wine to buy, it will just get better and better. It combines beautiful fruit with careful oak treatment and a very healthy dose of class. $45.

Best's Great Western Bin O (thats an O as in Orange)Shiraz 2007 is going to be an awesome wine. Right now it is young, closed and pretty secretive. It is not giving much up at the moment. At 13.7% alcohol this wine will age wonderfully and needs way more time, I strongly suggest you buy a case and put it down and don't even look at it for five years. Concentrated fruit flavours with spice and oak. If you buy some invite me round in five years.

Then to an unusual flight, four wines made from Grenache.

We went to France to start, of course to the Rhone Valley. Montirius Cotes du Rhone Jardin Secret 2007 (the secret garden eh? I wonder what they are hiding) looking back at my notes I wrote "I really like this wine" oh, how professional, obviously I was getting more interested in the drinking :) On the nose sour black cherries, in the mouth it is full of sour fruit and is there a hint of strawberries? At 15% alcohol this wine will age. $35

Now to Chateau Mont-Redon Lirac 2007 only $29, yes $29. For me the wine of the night. This wine is ready to go, drink now. It is a no brainer. It is 14% alcohol but seems to be lighter, it has a hint of bitterness on the finish which adds even more interest. Simply put, a really good drink. There was an explanation of regions and sub regions, I think sometimes we can get caught up in exactly where a wine comes from. Really, lets play devils advocate here. On a hill, round the corner, on the river bank, so, is it a good wine?

It helps if you know the answer to the question. The next wine was Jasper Hill Corella Grenache 2008 from Heathcote, Victoria. At the end of the tasting Craig asked the crowd what % alcohol they thought was in the wine. I put my hand up for 16%, I was right, only because I knew the answer, I used to sell it when I was GM of Vintage Blue! Cheeky. This wine did just and only just hold on to the alcohol. I think given time the alcohol would become more and more prevalent and the wine mellowed. On the nose it had touches of a fortified and I could smell the alcohol rising out of the glass. $55.

And last wine of the rank was the Cirillo 1850 Old Vine Grenache 2006. My notes are sparse on this wine. I wonder how wine judges really do it? But,.....that is a whole new conversation. I don't think I liked this wine, "Way too much oak, which dominates." There you have it, $40.

Check out http://www.wineark.com.au/

also their cheeky blog at http://winearkblog.com.au/

See ya,

cheers

Ben - hey will you be my friend at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=168340279820&ref=search

Tiny what?

The Southern Highlands and Kangaroo Legs!

2010-05-30T12:31:00.024+10:00

Yesterday was another fantastic day in The Southern Highlands. I took a group of Meetup Expats down there and we had a whole range of nationalities; Australian, English, Scottish, American, Canadian, Iranian, Mexican, French and Belgian all in a group of 19.

We started with coffee and cake at Bourke Street Bakery again. I should have got my camera out but the coffee had not kicked is as yet!

After some wine education on the way down our first stop this time was Bluemetal. Here is a photo of what we were doing at 10am yesterday. Jane, the cellar door manager is busy here pouring. The wine highlights at Bluemetal are the rosé and the fumé blanc. Fumé blanc is a sauvignon blanc that has been aged in wood and has a bigger body than a regular sauvignon blanc, it's most famous example is called Pouilly Fumé that comes from the Loire Vally in north west France. The term fumé blanc was coined by Robert Mondavi, probably Americas most famous wine maker.

We also had a wonderful warm sticky date pudding after the wine tasting. Bluemetal has a great little cafe and also rents out the cottage that is on the vineyard. Check out Bluemetal here is their website http://www.bluemetalvineyard.com/.

We then headed off to Joadja, The Southern Highlands oldest winery. It was first planted in 1983, this just shows how young the region is. Kim and his wife Francis are a joy! Kim holds court as he passionately explains why they decided on this cool , wet region. After planting his own vineyard, Kim has now consulted to and helped plant most of the other major vineyards in the region. He is one of the most passionate people you could ever meet, and you can taste his passion in his wines. The real stand out wines are the Chardonnay (as good as any Chablis at over double the price) and the Malbec that is made using biodynamic techniques. I will tell you all about biodynamics in a blog soon. This is a photo of Kim explaining all about the vineyard. A fascinating talk.
http://joadjawinery.com.au/

I love this photo.

Now, on the way to Joadja I had a request to stop if we saw a kangaroo. Melissa had just arrived from America three days before the trip. We did not have to stop as Rollie, the gorgeous winery dog came walking up the vineyard looking very guilty. Everybody thought he had a stick in his mouth. It was in fact the end of a kangaroo leg.

Here he is knawing on it. Yummm!

After a delicious lunch in Berrima we headed off to Centennial Estate which is just outside Bowral. Centennial is the biggest winery in this region. Ken the wonderful cellar door manager gave us a great behind the scenes tour. We were showed the scale of a big winery and got to try three wines that were still in tank. Brrr, it was cold in there. Centennial have been awarded five stars by James Halliday. They produce a whole range of outstanding wines. My standouts are the Extra Dry Brut and the Sangiovese and Barbara.

Here is Ken lining up some sparkling for us.

http://www.centennial.net.au/

By this time we were having such a good time we were running late. We were due at the next winery Tertini at 3.15, we got there at 4pm and quickly took a team photo in front of the rainbow bus.

Robert at Tertini put on his special show for us. We tasted the whole range of exceptional wines. This is a winery to watch, everything they do is top shelf. They have picked up an amazing amount of awards, medals and trophies. I love what they do at Tertini. Their regular Pinot tastes like a reserve and the reserve is out of this world. The standouts are all of the wines.

We then followed the tasting amongst the barrels with coffee and the best lemon cake in the world!!!!!

http://www.tertiniwines.com.au/

We finally left The Southern Highlands at around 5.30, ooops we were just having too much of a good time. We even had a good old sing song on the bus on the way home.

Phew!

Last night!

2010-05-27T16:52:00.010+10:00

I had a night with 15 lawyers last night and I didn't get sued and it was a lot of fun! I won' t tell you who but a big Sydney law company asked me to host a wine dinner for them and a selection of their top end clients.

I was asked to choose the wines, a dream job for any wine bod. We had:

Kreglinger Vintage 2003, Tamar Valley, Tasmania
Made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay this cool climate sparkling really shows how far Australia has come in making bubbles. This wine is the flagship of the Pipers Brook winery that also produces Ninth Island. A pale golden colour in the glass and on the nose it shows complex characters of citrus fruits combined with a yeasty biscuity aroma. In the mouth it is medium bodied and combines cool climate acidity with a bready softness that comes from aging on dead yeast (yeast lees). I would put this up against any bottom end French Champagne!

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2009, Clare Valley, SA
95/100 from Huon Hooke in The SMH, 94/100 from erobertparker, etc etc. I could just list a multitude of accolades. This is the 29th vintage of this wine and Geoffrey Grosset seems to raise the benchmark set by himself, most years. Light, delicate and sublime. A very pale yellow in colour this wine combines citrusy limes with a stern minerality. This wine has a wonderful soft acidity that really sets it apart from most other Reislings. The perfect match to white fish and a squeeze of lemon. This wine will drink fantastically well for many, many years to come.

Tyrrell’s HVD Semillon 2004, Hunter Valley, NSW
James Hallidays winery of the year for 2010. Their flagship Semillon Vat 1 is probably Australia’s best white wine. Hunter Semillon is traditionally low in alcohol and appears quite simplistic when young. However, give it time and a good Hunter Semillon will do two things, firstly, it will develop unique lemon buttery, toasty, nutty characters and also start covering itself in bling. At a low 10.4% alcohol this pale wine champions everything good about the Hunter. Soft and unassuming (oh, a little wine talk there) you really need to sit back and let this wine work it’s magic in your mouth.

Paringa Estate Pinot Noir 2008, Mornington Peninsula, VIC
The Tyrrell’s winery is 151 years old, Paringa, 24 years old. This relative new comer has been a consistent award winner with both it’s Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The Mornington is probably producing Australia’s best Pinot Noir with a selection of top producers. Pinot Noir can offer more flavours across the spectrum than any other grape variety. This medium/full bodied Pinot, shows sweet fruit in the background with a lovely hint of tangy savoury characters. It cries out for a piece of lamb.

Seppelt “Benno” Shiraz 2003, Bendigo, VIC
The first vintage of this wine that was named in honour of Benno Seppelt, one of the Seppelt founders. Cool climate Shiraz is on the rise, with particularly regions of Victoria leading the way. Age has mellowed this wine out to make it smooth and easy. The fruit is supported by quality French oak that supplies spice and pepper characters. Unfortunately, I think this wine was over shadowed slightly by the Paringa.

Seppeltsfield Grand Muscat, Rutherglen, VIC
Rutherglen has graded their fortified wines into four categories. Grand is the third category and requires the wine to be aged in oak barrels for no less than ten years. This helps give the wine that wonderful deep rich dark colour. Made from Brown Muscat grapes this wine smells of Christmas cake! It is sweet, but not overly so. Pour it over a bowl of top quality vanilla bean ice cream.

Seppeltsfield Grand Tokay, Rutherglen, VIC
The name Tokay originally comes from the Hungarian, Tokaji. This, therefore, will be one of the names to be changed. Similar in characters to the Muscat, however, this has a bigger more intense mouth feel and flavours of burnt toffee, molasses and 85% chocolate. Again, go and get that bowl of ice cream.

And this is what the people outside were doing.

Soooooo over rated

2010-05-24T21:43:00.004+10:00

About three years ago I ran a tasting for a large software company. Every year I would go in to help them choose their Christmas wine. This year they requested that St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon was included in the tasting. Soooo, I obliged and I put it up against such wines as Frankland Estate Olmo's Reward, Mitolo Jester and d'Arenberg Galvo Garage. There really was no contest. The thing that stood out was the sweetness of the St. Hugo, not since I tried a McGuigan Black Label had I tried a sweeter red wine.

So skip forward to last night. I had been given a bottle of what is now labelled Jacob's Creek St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon, it was a 2004. Why would you call it Jacob's Creek, isn't St Hugo enough.

I cooked up a beef stew and needed a wine to add to the pot and to drink on a cold Sunday night. The St Hugo was picked. The front label tells me it is the 228581th bottle, why? It proves it this wine is hardly limited. It is 14.5% alcohol and comes from the famous red soil of Coonawarra.

The wine has all the right smells, blackberries, blueberries, hints of spice and oak. However, the fruit has started to drop out. In the mouth it is a real let down. It is thin and lacks body, it has an unneccessary sweetness to it and leaves no flavours. It is short.

Try and buy this wine and it will be between $40 - $50, don't do it! Just ask me.

Angove's Lunch at The Woollahra Hotel

2010-05-19T17:09:00.011+10:00

You know somebody just has to do it!!!! It was a who's who at The Woollahra Hotel last week as we tried and compared the latest top end wines from Angove's Family Estate. Now on to their fifth generation of winemakers. Just who is the longest serving family in the Australian wine industry? Henschke are on to their sixth generation, any longer?

We kicked off at 11.30am with six 2009 Clare Valley Rieslings, all tasted blind. I was sitting next to Jon Osbeiston, owner of The Ultimo Wine Centre. Jon had been asked to comment on all the wines, really who better to sit next to. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jon since the early 1990's when I went to work down stairs at Oddbins in York St, Sydney. There were plenty of familiar faces in the room, Rob Geddes MW, Ian Cook of Five Way Cellars and Simon Clarke of The Oak Barrel to name a few.

Tim Boydell, Executive Director of Angove's opened the proceedings reinforcing the the message that Angove's were now establishing themselves as top end quality producers. They are now receiving twelve wine reviews a week worldwide. So to the wines:

The 2009 Clare Valley Rieslings were:

KT and the Falcon.

Monsters, monsters attack. (Yes , it is a wine)

Angove's Vineyard Select

Petaluma Hanlin Hill

Kilikanoon Morts Block

O'Leary Walker

All tasted blind, Jon picked the Angove's as the best. There was a very high standard. To my mind the best of the bunch where the Angove's and the Petaluma, very closely followed by the Kilikanoon and the O'Leary Walker. Monsters, monters attack showed a like too much sugar for me but was still passable. It had a very low alcohol of 10.5%

Next up were the Chardonnays, we were told they were from five different regions and all 2008. Again all tasted blind, they were:

Coldstream Hills, Yarra Valley

Petaluma Picadilly, Adelaide Hills
Angove's Limestone Coast

Stoniers, Mornington Penisula

Shaw and Smith M3, Adelaide Hills

Penfolds Bin 311, Tumbarrumba

So Angove's set themselves a very hard task. It was up against some very good award winning wines. The real dud for me was the Coldstream Hills, it was over worked and lacked any kind of subtly. Very disappointing. The Petaluma was also very disappointing, another big over worked wine with too much alcohol. The winner for me was the Stoniers. Mornington is such a fantastic region for Chardonnay, cool and yet with that wonderful maritime influence. I was young and sprightly and yet had tight acidity and was going to age wonderfully. The Angove's came in a third for me, behind the Stonier and the Shaw and Smith M3, but only just. It was a really well balanced wine that showed high acidity, lovely fruit flavours and the ability to get better with age. I would like to see this wine again in two years.

I will post the reds up in the next blog and tell you all about the fantastic lunch we had on the terrace at The Woollahra Hotel. Here is a taster!

My delicious entree.

Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream & Melba Toast

Fantastically matched with Angove's Reisling.

Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale

2010-05-16T20:00:00.004+10:00

Yes, I know it is a beer!!

Matilda Bay Brewery was originally started way, way, way back in 1984 in the Sail and Anchor Hotel in Freemantle. They producer two distinct beers being Redback and Dogbottler. Redback was and stilll is a delicious wheat beer. Dogbottler, or The Dog is still a huge dark monster of a beer. It is designed for stormy nights!

The Brewery went from strength to strength based on these two beers. Beez Neez joined the team and in 2005, Matilda Bay brewery was moved across to Dandenong in Victoria. Probably something to do with the brewery now being owned by Fosters!!.

So last night before we headed out I had a bottle of Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale, with my partners veggie curry.

This beer is not for the fainthearted. It is made using Cascade hops that are jam packed full of citrus and hoppy characters. At 5.2% alcohol this is deep, dark brown in colour and has a strong aroma. It is styled after an American Pale Ale, that tend to be bigger and darker than the English Pale Ales.

It is full flavoured which makes it a stand out (most Australian beers being light on flavour). It is smooth in the mouth and a good winter beer.

cheers

Pierro and Henschke pre-release.

2010-05-08T15:47:00.016+10:00

I was asked recently to host the monthly Wineark tasting for their members!!!! Can you imagine my delight when they told me it was going to be Pierro and Henschke. Just the regular wines I thought, but no, the Pierro range including the stunning 2008 Chardonnay and pre-release tasting of the Henschke big guns, being Cyril, Edelstone and Hill of Grace.

So last Thursday I turned up at The Australian Museum. 140 people RSVP'd and we got 140 people, unsurprisingly. The crowd was there for two things lets face it, neither of them me. Pierro, iconic Margaret River winery producing stunning wines including their world class Chardonnay and Henschke, legendary Eden Valley producer, with of course their reds including Hill of Grace.

On arrival the the guests were greeted with Pierro LTC 2009. Le Trios Cuvee as it was originally known was one of the very first Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends from the Margaret River. Dr. Mike Peterkin the owner of Pierro pioneered this blend for this region whilst learning his trade as winemaker at Cullens. A lovely wine that is a pale yellow colour, has dried grass and sweet fruit on the nose. In the mouth it is made for food. It is medium bodied with citrus hints and finishes with a wonderful soft acidity.

At 6.30 sharp the crowd was restless, so with a ting, ting on a glass they fell silent. I introduced myself and told a quick story about my last trip to the Margaret River about four years ago. I was lucky enough to share some wonderful Wagu Beef with Mike Peterkin at Pierro.

http://www.pierro.com.au/

I introduced Dr. Mike Peterkin to the guests and he told us how he got into the wine industry. When he was training to be a doctor he fell in love with wine. Directly after finishing his medical doctorate he went to study wine. Working in the Clare Valley and ending up in the Margaret River.We then tried the truly wonderful Pierro Chardonnay 2008. A master piece of a wine, full of delicate, subtle flavours. Hints of oak, but only there to support the fruit and the soft acidity. This wine is 14% alcohol, however, there is no way you would pick it. This is Australian Chardonnay at it's very, very best. It will age and just get better and better. It is exceptional.

We followed this with the Pierro Pinot Noir 2007. No upfront fruit here, restrained with plenty of secondary characters. Earthy and savoury with a solid acid finish. Right at the other end of the spectrum from the over blown Central Otago monsters.

Pierro LTCf Cabernet Merlot 2007 was the next red. This wine was produced as a partner to the LTC . LTCf, stands for "A little touch of Cabernet Franc" We really moved from Burgundy style wines to Bordeaux with this wine. The Cabernet Franc adds an extra dimension, certainly a touch of perfume on the nose and faint hints of cherries in the mouth.

Pierro Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2005 was still very much a young wine. It was one of the stand outs in a night of exceptional wines. Lets talk serious Bordeaux here, very slightly minty Cabernet bolstered with broader Merlot. The age has certainly mellowed this wine, however, the acid backbone with ensure that is wine will continue to delight in many years to come.

I then opened up the floor to questions, Mike answered many questions and highlighted the fact that he totally embraced screwcaps and how he viewed the major quality issue for wines now being heat.

I then introduced Paul Boothby, National Brand Manager for Henschke. Paul talked about the Henschke winery and mentioned that the sixth generation was now making wine. Is this the oldest family winery? I know Tyrrell's is on their fifth generation.

http://www.henschke.com.au/

We started with the dry, crisp Henschke Julius Riesling 2009. This 12.5% alcohol Riesling ticks all the boxes. On the nose it has the typical Eden Valley citrus notes. In the mouth there are touches of lime, with a mineral backbone. A real nod to the Henschke Germanic heritage.

Then we started on the Henschke reds, none of these wines are released until 1st July! Cyril Henschke Cabernet Merlot 2007 was first. What a truly spectacular wine, possibly my pick of the night. Silky smooth Cabernet, backed up with Merlot and an 8% splash of Cabernet Franc. A true competitor. Medium bodied and just like an iron fist in a velvet glove. This wine will win many accolades. I would like to say one of the first is right here.

Henschke Mount Edelstone 2007, was next. This single vineyard Shiraz comes off a vineyard that was originally planted in 1912. No overblown 15%+ wine here. Just sticking to what Australia is world famous for, good solid Shiraz, everything in the right proportion, fruit, acid, and oak. A very complex wine that was just starting to open up and show us what it had to offer.

We finished off the night with Henschke Hill of Grace 2006...............Really, what can you say when you try a wine like this. Paul informed us that Stephen Henschke views this wine as one of the best. Certainly James Halliday recently gave this wine 97/100. !!! Still a baby, this wine comes off a vineyard planted in 1858. A wine to put down. Be quick, because on the 1st July you blink and it will be gone.

Look at that line up!!!!!!!

The evening finished for us at Time for Vino in East Sydney with Pierro Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Henschke Cyril and Edelstone. Awesome Lamb Ragu. Mike and Paul were both on great form and Mike told us where the name Pierro came from. Pierrot (pronounced Pierro) is a famous European jester character, often portrayed with a tear rolling down his cheek. Mike was going to call the winery Pierrot, however, he realised that in Australia it might be pronounced Pierro"T" loosing it's meaning. Hence Pierro is called Pierro.

We had a fantastic night, here is a picture of Mike Peterkin and my good self.

Check out http://www.freerunwineevents.com.au/

Gem of a wine region

2010-05-03T16:51:00.012+10:00

Done the Hunter Valley? A little too commercial for you? Try the Southern Highlands! I took a bus load of merry travellers including many fellow BNI members down there yesterday. We left a foggy Bondi Junction at 7.45am, picked up at Central at 8am and headed down to the Southern Highlands via coffee and cake at Bourke Street Bakery, love that place no wonder there is always a queue out the door.

The Magic Bus got us to Tertini at 10am on the dot, happy days. Robert Key the director of sales really made sure we were looked after. We had a private tasting in the winery surrounded by oak barrels. This photo shows Robert in full swing. Tertini is a winery to watch, the wines ranged from very good to exceptional. The 2005 Riesling is already a multi award winner. They have a great range of three Pinot Noirs which are all busy winning accolades and being chosen for exclusive dinners. We finished it all off with some award winning cake from Gumnet Bakery, Bowral. Yum.

We then headed off to Centennial Vineyards near Bowral. James Halliday has given this winery 5 stars. It certainly is gorgeous. Wonderful sandstone buildings set in beautiful vineyards and grounds. They were busy. We managed to get behind the scenes and tasted the unfiltered 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, all cloudy and grapefruit tasting. That is what wine tastes looks like and tastes like before it is filtered. We then had a tasting in the private room. Very impressive.

Then on to Berrima for lunch. Half the group went to The Magpie, to quote Roland "Possibly the best steak sandwich I have ever had" The other half including me went to The Surveyor General Hotel, the oldest licenced pub in NSW. Good food, I had Bangers and Mash, with a Coopers Pale Ale. Maybe they should clean the bird poo off the tables in the beer garden! However, the sun was shining.

Then off to Joadja Wines, just ten minutes outside Berrima. Kim and Francis Monginie are the pioneers of wineries in this region. They bought their land in 1983. Here is the wonderful Kim explaining the wines to us and how they use biodynamic practises on their Malbec. This was definitely the stand out wine for me along with the Fumé Blanc (Sauvigon Blanc aged in oak) However, I think the real hit was the gorgeous Boysenberry Liqueur. Kim will soon be making various varietal ciders, get ready for the long weekend! I am very excited about that! May King, Secretary of The Southern Highlands Food and Wine Society caught up with us at Joadja. Watch this space as we start showcasing this beautiful region.

We finished the tour just around the corner at Blue Metal. Named after the Basalt that lies under the vineyard. The stand out here was the rosé, as well as the Sauvignon Blanc. We finished the day off with some needed plunger coffee and delicious apple and pear cake with a stunning side of Raspberry conserve.

We finished the day with a photo as the sun went down in the Blue Metal Vineyard.

Happy days!

Just a quick drink.

2010-05-03T16:44:00.003+10:00

Oh, I am weary today. Saturday I had "a few" wines at Bondi FM cafe with an old school friend of mine I had not seen for approx. 23 years. Hey, we had to have "a few" drinks......three bottles of West Cape Howe Tempranillo later................. This is a great cool climate wine from right at the bottom of WA. Typical Temp. loads of sweet and savoury fruit characters. It takes a little time to open up but is a wonderful drink once it does. I was going to take a photo...........ah, the wine got the better of me. It is a deep dark red black colour and is a perfect match to a cheese, ham and tomato toasty, what else......who needs tapas. Top location and top wine.

A big night

2010-04-25T16:36:00.021+10:00

I am a little lost for words today, recovering from a product knowledge evening! Jules and I had some very close friends round for an evening of food and wine, what a night is was. I think I got to bed at around 3am. Now that is what I call a good dinner party. Jules cooked up a storm with a delicious Greek Lamb Stew, yum; the grilled Feta really added the gorgeous finishing touch. So what about the beverages?

As you can see we drank well; and certainly did not go thirsty.

First to be opened was a bottle of Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995. Absolutely wonderful, light and delicate with a beautiful soft acid finish. This Champagne is only made in very small quantities and only in years that Heidsieck think the fruit is good enough. Made from 100% Chardonnay this beauty is aged for a minimum of 10 years of yeast lees. The aging softens the wine out and provides some yeasty, bready characters. Retail approx $180.

We then had two bottles of the unusual but delicious Mad Brewers Orchard Ale. The Mad Brewers are the James Squire In 640ml bottles this a blend of ale and cider. A dark golden brown with texture like sun. It is a smooth drink and very thirst quenching. However, unfortunately for everybody only a small batch of this brew was made. Search it out in a good retailer. $8.99 per bottle.

Next was Australia's white Grange, Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 1999, Hunter Valley, NSW. Talk about bling! This bottle is covered in gold!!!! 7 Trophies, 2 Top Gold, 17 Gold. Really do I need to say more? At only 10.3% alcohol this wine is absolutely stunner. The wine is very complex and amazingly subtle. Hints of toasty nutty characters, hints of citrus all finished off with a very very soft acidity. A fantastic match to light flavoured seafood dishes. Retail approx $90.

Fourth off the rank was Mitchellton Airstrip Marsanne 1997, Goulburn Valley, VIC. I opened three half bottles that I picked up at the winery in the Goulburn Valley in 1999. The wine came from vines planted on the winery airstrip. Unfortunately, the wine had oxidised and was a golden colour. Next!!

Oddbins Etrangete Pinot Noir 2003, Central Otago, NZ. Two bottles of this aged Pinot Noir were opened. A wonderful medium/full bodied wine. Cherries, raspberries, plums all wrapped up in savoury characters. A perfect match as we finished of the antipasto plate and started on the lamb. Age has really mellowed this wine. Retail approx $50.

The iconic Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock Shiraz 2000, Heathcote, Vic. came next. Potentially wine of the night. No overripe fruit here! The wine is 15% alcohol but is not overdone. The fruit and the acid, balance out the alcohol. I am not a fan of high alcoholic wines., this wine is one of the few exections. Cool climate spicey characters with mellow dark berry characters. Retail approx $110.

The seventh drink was Lindemans Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 1992, Coonawarra, SA. This wine also showed cool characters, hints of savoury and pepper, the 1992 vintage was cool. This wine was good, but after the Jasper Hill, it was in the shade. Retail approx $70.

Number eight, I had to run down to the cellar by now the crew was thirsty. Bowen Estate Shiraz 1992, Coonawarra, SA. Potentially just over the hill, but still a beautiful wine. Jeremy Oliver gave this wine 93/100. I can see why! The label on this bottle was $15.99, I got a bargain when I bought this many years ago.

Number nine, a very hard to get hold of Duncan Macgillivray Block 11 Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Adelaide Hills, SA. A monster bottle, it weighs a tonne. A big no nonsense wine. Gorgeous, gorgeous wine. Blueberries, blackberries with a touch of oak. 14.5% alcohol this wine will age beautifully.

Wellington Iced Riesling 2004, Tasmania came next. As all good dessert wines should be it is a blend of sweet fruit and savoury.

And finally,

Lustau Pedro Ximenex, Spain, one of my favourites. This sherry looks like engine oil and tastes of Chrsitmas cake, dried fruit. It is rich and smooth. Pour it over high quality vanilla bean ice-cream, yum. It is also a truely great match to blue cheese.

Phew, so we did it, it was tough, but we got through it. Only six of us, including two half pint drinkers.

Today was a struggle! Especially seeing as I was talking on Bondi FM today. I was on the wonderful Corby-Sue's show Corby's Table http://www.corbysue.com/ check out her site. She had Max Markson on the show. He talked about his love of chocolate. I then talked about Cider, check out my new blog http://landlordcideriup.blogspot.com/ early days yet. I will keep you posted about my cider antics.

cheers for now.

Ben X

Cider - The drink of summer.

2010-04-23T16:55:00.005+10:00

You better start expanding your drinking repertoire, cider is on the way. The commercial stuff has been around for ever over here for a longtime. I was selling Strongbow twenty years ago, sweet, dry or draught. We now have a whole range of ciders to choose from, I went into Camperdown Cellars in Darlinghurst last week and they had thirteen ciders on the shelf. I will be working my way through them, just to see what is worth drinking. Here is my report so far.

Mad Brewers Orchard Ale http://preview.tinyurl.com/23o6u8n this is a very limited drop. It is a dark amber brew of beer and cider. Very unusual and in a 640ml bottle. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Westons Organic Cider, Herefordshire, UK. at 6.5% alcohol this is a fantastic cider. It has a touch of sweetness but overall it is well balanced. On a warm day this is the drink. I had it with sushi.
http://www.westons-cider.co.uk/

Westons Organic Pear Cider, Herefordshire, UK even better than the apple cider. 5oomls of crisp cider with beautiful crisp acidity. It was the perfect match to sushi, Yes, I got through the first bottle. You really must try these ciders.

Right I am off to Bondi for a early evening walk on the beach. Then back home for a fish supper.

Cheesetastic

2010-04-21T13:51:00.000+10:00

Tonight we have Buche Bougon (French Goats cheese) Bleu D'Auvergne (French Blue Cheese), Pecorino (Italian Sheeps cheese), Brique D'Affinois (French White cheese) and Mauri Artavaggio (Italian wash rind cheese) all matched with wines. Hands up!!!!!

Southern Highlands Wine Tour

2010-04-21T11:48:00.003+10:00

A have four spaces left on the "magic" bus that will be taking a bunch of merry travellers to the beautiful Southern Highlands wine region on Sunday 2nd May. If you have done The Hunter and want to find out about the next up and coming region. Join us, you will be very nicely surprised. Leaving Bondi Junction at 7.45am and Central at 8am we will visit four outstanding wineries and have access to behind the scenes tours and winemaker talks. We will have guided tour through a vineyard and find out all about biodynamic wine making! Lunch (not included) will be in gorgeous Berrima; this is a lovley old town with some great shops. We will have you back in Sydney by 6.30pm having had a great fun day out and having tasted delicious wines.
The price is only $120 inc GST, if you buy two tickets the second ticket is only $108.
Email me at ben@freerunwineevents.com.au to find out more.

Mazzei Zisola Nero d’Avola 2007, Contrada Zisola, Sicily, Italy

2010-03-10T06:20:00.001+11:00

Mazzei Zisola Nero d’Avola 2007, Contrada Zisola, Sicily, Italy
In a beautifully presented bottle this is a big red. A deep almost black colour the wine needs time to open up and show its full array of aromas, which show tarry deep black berry characters. This is a winter warmer, and a perfect match to any hearty meat dish. This grape variety is native to Sicily.

Sangiovese

2010-03-08T06:38:00.001+11:00

The name Sangiovese comes from “the blood of Jove” It is Italy’s most famous wine and the best examples come from Tuscany. It tends to be a bright deep red purple in colour and magically blends sweet and sour cherries with a fine earthiness. It can be made in many styles, however, Sangiovese tends to be a medium to full bodied wine. It works best with food.

Vietti Moscato d’Asti La Cascinetta 2008, Piemonte, Italy

2010-03-06T07:01:00.001+11:00

This wine is a delight; at only 5.5% alcohol it is the perfect palate cleanser. Although being light and fine it manages to have a huge amount of complexity combined with a sweetness that is not over powering. An ideal way to finish a meal with biscotti, or have half a glass in between reds.

Check out the vineyard!

http://www.vietti.com/welcome_eng.lasso

I'm back

2010-01-24T15:11:00.003+11:00

Finally I am back in Sydney and ready to start blogging watch this space. Thank you to Corby-Sue for another great show today on Bondi FM. Tune in every Sunday 12-2 88.0 FM. This week we talked about NSW beers to drink on Australia Day and wines to accompany seafood and lamb. I will be back shortly to tell you more.

Tonight

2009-12-18T18:07:00.000+11:00

Off for a drinkypoo Chandon NV, Dal Zotto Pinot Grigio, Mitolo Jester Sangiovese Rose, La Vieille Ferme Rose, Running with Bulls Tempranillo, Oddbins Central Otago Pinot Noir followed by Torbreck The Bothie. Party on Wayne!!!

I will let you know how I go!

What I did last night

2009-12-10T09:45:00.004+11:00

Leeuwin Estate Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2002 - 88/100
Frogmore Creek Riesling 2008 - 97/100
Oddbins Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - 90/100
Lochaburn Pinot Gris 2008 - 88/100
Charles Melton Rose of Virginia 2008 - 94/100
Oddbins Etrangete Pinot Noir 2004 - 94/100
West Cape Howe Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 - 86/100
Lustau San Emilio Pedro Ximenex - 98/100

Thank you Futuriswm for a great event.

Beer for lunch

2009-11-29T14:51:00.006+11:00

There is a hot wind blowing today. Perfect weather for a cold beer, a glass of white or a glass of bubbles. It has been a busy week. I ran a series of beer lunches again this week. All Australian and all from Micro breweries. This week I used Tim Knappstein Enterprise Reserve Lager, Redback Wheat Beer, Lord Nelson Three Sheets, James Squire Amber Ale, all followed by Redoak Belgium Chocolate Stout. Yum. Not a dud beer. The Tim Knappstein was soft with a hint of bitterness. The perfect beer for a hot day. The Redback, also a soft beer. We matched this with Sushi. A gorgeous light way the start a meal. Main course was Veal matched with The Lord Nelson and the James Squire. Two great Sydney beers. The Lord Nelson Three Sheets recently picked up a gold medal at The London International Beer Show. A slightly cloudy pale ale with a hint of citrus. The James Squire Amber Ale is the perfect Australian dark ale. It is not too heavy or bitter. Who wants a heavy bitter in hot weather? The Redoak Belgium Chocolate Stout is made buy using 90% Dark Chocolate. It is heaven in a glass for beer and chocolate lovers. I ran these lunches for a law company who were entertaining a couple of their large clients.
Beer for lunch anybody!

Hot

2009-11-22T14:41:00.002+11:00

It is cooking here today. It is in the mid to high thirties with a wicked wind. We, that is my trusty offsider Julie and I, are up visiting her wonderful parents Dez and Cathy in the Southern Highlands of NSW. As I write this the beautiful smell of roast lamb and rosemary is whafting trough the house. It smells delicious and I am sure it will taste the same. But what to drink? Last night it was Bombay Sapphire by the pool. A late lunch of lamb requires a good Pinot Noir. We should be drinking locally with something from Centennial Vineyards! However, we have a couple of bottles of Oddbins Etrangete Pinot Noir 2004 from Central Otago to knock over. I will let you know how we get on.

Micro Brewery lunch

2009-11-20T08:22:00.002+11:00

Had a tough gig yesterday. I ran a Micro Brewery lunch in Sydney CBD for a group of high profile lawyers. We started off with Murrays Nirvana Pale Ale from Port Stephens. On the darker side of pale ales with quite a pronounced bitter finish. Then we moved to Redback Wheat Beer, now apparently being brewed in North Melbourne. Very aromatic with a lovely smooth finish. To accompany the main course we have Lord Nelson Three Sheets, recent Gold Medal winner at The London International Beer Show and the Lord Nelson Old Admiral. Both beers are delicious. The Three Sheets has a lovely hint of citrus and the Old Admiral takes no prisoners. It is bitter, dark and brooding. To finish Redoak Belgium Chocolate Stout. 90% dark chocolate in this on. Every chocolate and beers lovers wet dream.
A tough gig but somebody had to do it.........I am doing another one next Friday ;)

Weary

2009-11-17T22:59:00.003+11:00

I have been filming all day with the wonderful Mr Ashley Roan from Page2. He is a gentlemen and an expert behind the camera. Then a couple of bevies with my old mate Rene Bros who somehow is now Global Head of Invention or something like that at Beam Global. We had a couple of cheeky pints at The Lord Nelson. Gotta love the Three Sheets.

Looking tired and emotional at Bondi FM

2009-11-16T10:44:00.003+11:00

A face designed for radio ;)

Bondi FM

2009-11-16T07:04:00.003+11:00

Another good wine section on Bondi FM yesterday with Corby-Sue. We talked about white wines and spruiked the wines on the Bondi FM wine list. It is a great little cafe, tucked away and is a real discovery. I talked about the different varieties of white. How Chardonnay is coming back, how Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is about to shoot itself in the foot. These wines all blended with a nice splash of funk and soul. Bondi FM cafe 143 Curlewis Street, Bondi. Get down there, I put the wine list together.

Welcome

2009-11-14T11:21:00.003+11:00

G'day and welcome to my blog, cheers! I will be blogging about wine and some other stuff thrown in, you will probably read a bit about beer, food, VWs especially splities and Bondi. That is it for now. I will be back very shortly.

Cheers