Category: Australia

Be mine…you lovely wine!

Happy Valentine’s Day from me to all of you! May your day be filled with wine-y goodness! I thought I’d take this moment to post some delicious finds for you this week. This recent Vintages release featured some yummy wines for the money. I think there’s something for every taste here.

This Vintages LCBO release featured California Cabs. This wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot with some Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.   This wine showed ripe blueberry, chocolate, plum and violet. It’s dry with soft, integrated tannins. It’s a bit hot on the finish but other than that, it’s well-balanced. At this price point, there is a lot to savour!

Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $24.95
Sonoma County USA

I wanted to try something different and I found it with this one. I’m a huge fan of Greek wines. This grape variety is called Moschofilero. Not too high in alcohol, it’s dry, very aromatic with lively lemon zest. It’s tart with a good finish. I liked it!

Tselepos Moschofilero Mantinia 2010 $16.95
Greece


This lovely Shiraz had a great deep purple colour. It was spicy with lots of berry and licorice with slight vegetative flavours. It had great structure with nothing really jumping out to overpower along with a long delicious finish. I’m not one to normally drink Australian Shiraz but I would drink this one. I trust the wines from Plunkett Fowles. Not only is the quality there but it comes at an affordable price.

Plunkett Fowles Stone Dwellers Shiraz 2008 $19.95
Victoria, Australia

I’m in love! This Tempranillo will surely lure you into the boudoir this Valentine’s Day. With it’s silky sultry smoothness, it’s a typical Rioja. Wonderful nose with vanilla, chocolate and sweet ripe fruit. It’s medium bodied so don’t expect a macho-macho wine.

Finca Nueva Reserva 2004 $19.95
Rioja, Spain

I have some excellent news to share with you! Remember that tasting challenge that I participated in just before the holidays?

www.theyummygrape.com/2011/11/tasting-blindly-through-sea-of-wine.html

I came in 3rd place in the Amateur division! How about that. I didn’t think I did well at all. It was a tough competition. Time to practice for next year! The award ceremony will be April 17th at the oh-so- cool 99 Sudbury. Looking forward to it!

Winefox goes Aussie…

Winefox

Last week I attended the Winefox Media Tasting featuring the wines of Australia. The event was held at the ever-so-fabulous Eight Wine Bar inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The goal of this tasting was to showcase Australian wine for good value. None of the wines were over $20. That sly fox! He’s a sleuth when it comes to finding that quality to price ratio.

The tasting book

This was probably the most casual media event I’ve been to in recent history. It was small and intimate. There were individual tasting stations for each of the 8 steps of the Winefox tasting chart. Along with various bottles at each station, there were also delicious food pairings to match. Yum! Good thing I skipped lunch that day (well, if you minus the Starbucks cheese plate I ate at my desk).

Cute tasting cards!

Check out the easy-to-follow Winefox tasting chart: www.winefox.ca/taste-chart

Eight Wine Bar

It was a pour-yourself style of tasting. I can’t say I’ve ever been to one of those before! What a great idea. You could just go from station to station, helping yourself to whatever you wanted to try.You could take your time trying each wine. I had to be more mindful to spit though. When it’s self-serve, one must always stay focused and in-control. I’m sure the fox agrees. 😉

Winefox.ca is a website dedicated to “taking wine from snobby to hobby”. It’s an approachable resource for those who are new to wine and for the seasoned experts. It has everything: an online magazine, store and community. It also contains interesting articles, wine reviews, videos and blogs. I like this site. It’s modern, easy and fun to use.

A kangaroo in the bar!

“Winefox is all about giving insight that will help you discover fabulous new wines and learn more about who and what makes wine so great.” –  www.winefox.ca

On the site, there are lots of videos, including the unique Winefox tasting chart: www.winefox.ca/tools-tips/wine-101

Following the WineFox tasting chart, here were my personal favourites:

Bubbly station

Bubbles
“Low temperatures and CO2 bubbles emphasize the brightness, making it oh so refreshing and fun.”

Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV $14.95

The Whites

Crisp Station

Crisp
“You know that juicy, fresh burst of flavour you get from biting into a green apple? That’s what these wines are like. Light, happy and refreshing.”


James Oatley Tic Tok 2009 Sauvignon Blanc $14.95

Loved the Pinot Gris
Mellow Station

Mellow
“Just like jazz baby, it’s smooth all the way. Medium-bodied, balanced soul. Blissed out and relaxed.”

Cooralook 2008 and 2010 Pinot Gris $15.95

Lush
“Rich, deep and full-bodied. Like a plush velour throw on a cool winter’s night. This wine comforts with joy.”

Xandu 2009 Next of Kin Chardonnay $14.95


The Reds

Vibrant Station

Vibrant
“It can be delicate. It can be powerful. It can be a symphony of delight for your palate. Vibrant wines sing with excitement.”

Lenswood Hills 2010 Pinot Noir $17.35

Smooth Station
Ok now that sounds funny

Smooth
“With sweet fruit and soft tannins, these wines are the smoothest of operators.”


Mitolo 2010 Junior Shiraz $16.20

Bold Station

Bold
“Intense and uncompromising. Strong tannins. Assertive flavours. A bully that will win you over in one sip”

Stone Dwellers 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon $19.95

Sweet Station

Sweet

“You taste the sun in every glass. Sweet rays and concentration give this wine a warm heart. A classic with dessert or as dessert – and who doesn’t love dessert?”


Matt Fowler’s wife designed this
label of the Shiraz
“Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch”

I have to admit that I don’t drink a lot of Australian wine. Not that I don’t like it! I just find my wine rack stuffed with all sorts of bottles from Ontario, Germany, California and France. This is probably due to the fact that I’ve traveled extensively to these regions and visited many of their wineries (minus Germany). I remember talking to Erika Neudorf, who works for Wines of Australia telling her that I just need to really discover this vast wine producing country. When one thinks about Australia, they think Shiraz. Am I right? However, the more I attend tastings like this and the more research I do, I’m continuing to discover what wide-range of wines Australia has to offer the consumer.

“Australia has a diverse range of climates, from cool and crisp to warm and dry. This diversity ensures there will always be a great location for each grape variety to prosper. No matter what your taste or occasion, from white to red and sparkling to fortified” – www.apluswines.com

I made a small video at the event featuring Lindsay Gavey who is the brand manager at Winefox.ca as well as Matt Fowles, who represents Plunkett Fowles winery. Enjoy!

Love the swag!

At the end of the event, we each received a pretty cool bag with various items such as a bottle opener (always need those!), an apron and some learning materials on Australian wine…plus the bag itself which always comes in handy. Thanks!

For more information on Winefox.ca and Australian wine you can go to the links below. Both sites are well-developed and have a ton of information.

www.apluswines.com

Follow on Twitter:
@WinefoxCA
@apluswines

Subscribe on Facebook:

An iYellow Aussie Revolution

Aussie!

The last iYellow event, “Revolution – Taste the New Australia”, was the largest event to date! It was located at the cool 99 Sudbury event space in Toronto. There were over 100 wines available to try. That’s a lot of tasting to do. I went to the event with a game plan. I was going to try to stay away from red wine. Mainly, Shiraz. Nothing against the grape. I just wanted to seek out other grape varieties from “down under”. Luckily for me, there were some nice finds.

Wine lovers!

I had a wonderful time at this event. This was a great way to spend a Friday night. I have to give it to Angela Aiello of iYellow Wine Club. She is bringing wine to the people! If you’re reading this and have never attended an event, I strongly urge you to come out to the next one in June – South African Braai. It will be at the chic C Lounge in downtown Toronto. I guarantee that you’ll have a blast. 

Winemaker at Plunkett-Fowles

I spoke with a few of the winemakers who were pouring their wines. They had such cute accents! Well, I guess we have the accents according to them. 🙂

I didn’t even taste half of the wines that were available. It was hard to find the time between eating and talking with people.  There was an oyster bar, a pig roast and lots of hors d’oeuvres. Sigh. I know, hard life.

Yabby Lake Cooralook Pinot Gris $14.95

Kangarilla Road Shiraz $18.95

James Oatley Tic Tok Sauvignon Blanc $14.95

Jansz Rose NV $24.95

Pikes Clare Hills Riesling $14.95

McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Moscato NV $13.95

Australia doesn’t only offer Shiraz and Shiraz blends. There are some great whites to be savoured such as Pinot Gris, Riesling, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. As I’m writing this, I’m going through the booklet that was given to us with a list of all the wines. There were many wines that I didn’t get to try. Too bad for me. I’ll have to seek them out at the wine shop. I’m also reading about A+ Australian Wine. They partnered the event with iYellow to give us this fabulous night. I like what they have to say on the inside cover of the booklet:

“Just being ‘good’ and saying ‘Australia’ on the label is no longer enough to tell the true story of Australian wine” – www.australiaplus.com

Enjoy some pictures I took throughout the night. Hard to capture good pictures with an old iPhone camera. It’s all I had with me. 🙂

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Another glass of Knotty please!

I attended another fun evening hosted by the iYellow Wine Club back in September (I know, this post is really late!). The event was held at the Thrush Holmes Empire gallery on Queen Street West. This night was to showcase the launch of Red Knot wines of the Shingleback winery from Australia. Dj Dinamo was getting the crowd into a festive mood while they went from station to station, sampling different wines.

The winemaker, John Davey, talking about his winery and his wines. Specifically, the Red Knot label. His Australian accent was just charming!

More about John Davey:
http://www.shingleback.com.au/about-us/our-people?id=1245

Here is an interview John Davey with the people at Lifford Wine Agency:
http://www.liffordwine.com

The following is taken directly from the Shingleback website:

http://www.shingleback.com.au

“”
The McLaren Vale region is located 45 minutes south of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. First planted with vines in the 1830’s, McLaren Vale is best known today for its internationally acclaimed rich, flavourful Shiraz.

Red Knot
The Red Knot family of wines are designed for immediate enjoyment, full of ripe, fruit driven flavours. The style is bright, fragrant and varietal with the emphasis on fruit richness, giving the wine lover a delicious wine experience at an affordable price.

Shingleback
The white labelled Shingleback wines are hand-crafted primarily from the Davey’s estate Shingleback vineyard and are made in a style that expresses the essence of McLaren Vale. These wines are lush, fruit-forward and food friendly, both appealing on release and worthy of cellaring.
“”

There were various wines from the Shingleback portfolio that were sampled, including:
Sparkling Red Knot Shiraz
Pinot Grigio
Red Knot Cabernet Sauvignon
Red Knot Shiraz
Red Knot Shiraz Reserve
Shingleback Cabernet Sauvignon
Shingleback Shiraz

The wines that we can get here at our own LCBO are:

 Red Knot Cabernet Sauvignon $17.95
Tasting Note from Shingleback:
“Deep red with purple hues. Blackberry and dark chocolate aromas, with hints of eucalypt and vanillan French and American oak. A medium bodied wine, filled with ripe berry and dark cherry flavours, subtly enhanced with toasty oak. Fresh acidity complements the long, sweet fruit finish, resulting in a wine with immediate appeal and varietal presence.”

Shingleback Shiraz $23.95
This was my favourite wine of the night. Was it ever yummy! It’s Full-bodied with lots of big fruit flavour with hints of chocolate and vanilla. Aged in French and American oak for 14 months, this wine has a lovely finish. For the money, it’s a good wine.

Tasting note from Shingleback:
Deep red. Ripe blackberry and strawberry primary aromas are overlaid with with blueberry, chocolate and hints of vanilla. Fine-grained American and French oak subtly frame the rich berry mid palate. A full-bodied wine that is seamlessly integrated from the first taste to the long, lingering finish.”