There was mention of wine on a thread recently and comparisons between different styles of wine being used as a metaphor for differences in the audio world between equipment, digital streaming or perceived listening experiences. I have a small personal history with wine, including some small-scale commercial ventures, so I dropped in some observational commentary about the suitability of the metaphors and a (maybe) humourous pic of me in my grundies in a one tonne vessel digging out a ferment-cake.
The post prompted a really pleasant exchange with another member who has an ongoing passion for the grape and we’ve shared some of our respective finds and recommendations too. This has made me think there may well be others who have an interest, love or disturbing obsession with wine on here.
I have a few bottles and am a regular buyer too. I love to visit cellar doors and do 2 or 3 special trips a year to wine regions around Australia. Hell, I even live in a wine region. Mrs Tel and I probably go through 4 or 5 bottles a week on average.
I admit to being myopic with my procurement; almost everything I have is Australian. It’s hard not to buy local when the quality is so high and the prices are reasonable too.
I’d love people to share. No snobbery. No pretence. Just share some experiences and preferably prompting some recommendations. If the wine is put in context of any food you might have paired with it, then even better
Please put a pic up of something you’ve enjoyed and why. Maybe some pics of any collection you may be building? Maybe a pic or two of your storage solution?
Extra cred for pics with audio kit in the background and/or a mention of what you’re listening to whilst imbibing; although I love whisky, it can’t be the only lubricant that audiophiles reach for, right?
Following. Like audio systems, there are enjoyable bottles at all price-points. Like music, wine invites continual exploration since no two vintages are the same. This thread should be fun. Thanks for starting it.
This is the crux of it. I find it wondrous that there are an almost infinite amount of variables and that some of them are beyond our control. I also find it sad too: when I finish the last bottle of a case that I might have purchased 7 or 8 years ago and can’t find any of the same vintage for sale any more. There can be a melancholy associated with these situations.
I’ll get the ball rolling on sharing.
It was Melbourne Cup day, yesterday. There is actually a public holiday here in Victoria for a horse race… So we lit the barbecue as it was a lovely 25c day (it’s unAustralian to not have a barbecue on a public holiday and as a newly-minted citizen, I don’t like to offend). I dug-out a couple of bottles from some of my favourite Barossa Valley producers. Here is our second bottle of the evening:
Elderton Wines is based in Nuriootpa, South Australia. The Grand Tourer Shiraz is named in honour of the owners’ dad, Neil Ashmead. He used to drive thousands of km across the country in his car every year in order to market the family wines. We spent an afternoon with Allister Ashmead back in May when I last visited the Barossa Valley. He is one of the brothers who are the third generation owners. Allister told us some of the tales of his father’s exploits behind the wheel and had us in stitches: Tales of Neil setting and trying to break his personal records for getting back home from Sydney, a trip of about 1,300km and also about the time when Neil hosted a long lunch at the winery for several distributors and thought it would be fun to demonstrate his souped-up V8 around the tracks of the property and ending up with the car on its roof. All the kind of stuff you could get away with 30 or 40 years ago, but not today.
Looks lovely. I’m hoping to have something to share this weekend. It’s my wife’s birthday, so we will open more than one bottle. She taught me everything I know about enjoying wine, especially that it’s nicer when you have someone to share it with.
Lamb shoulder, celery, onions, carrots, tomatoes, olives, home-made stock, rosemary, red wine. Nothing grown, raised or processed more than 25km away. And a beautiful grenache, shiraz, mataro to go with. 20211104_125605|690x322
On the right are the daily reds, typically Rhone and Italian, and sometimes Beaujolais.
in the middle are better Syrahs, Cab, Malbec, and a section for Pinot/Burgundy. on the left are “daily” Bordeaux, and the last two columns are special wines, mostly Napa, procured on one of my trips out there.
It’s never straightforward when working out how to “file” your wine. So many multi-dimensional variables: varietal, country, region, producer, year etc. It’s not easy. I loosely go by varietal and then year.
I’m probably considered a heathen but, I tend to drink with music not food (apart from the odd pack if nuts from time to time) and I tend to find Shiraz a little to “heavy” for my unsophisticated taste.
Each to their own. I’ll not knock you for how you enjoy your wines. As for “heathen”, nah… If you know your palate and you have preferred styles, then at least you’re aware of your preferences. I can’t think of anything worse than going with the crowd based on the weight of other people’s expectations and social mores. You do you.
It’s implied that caviar is the height of sophistication; the inference is intended to be that if you don’t like it then you are an uncivilised grunt. Well then, I guess I’m a barbarian with no understanding of life’s finer things. I’m comfortable with that.
Wine and music are my favourite combination. And good food.
Personally I’m in love with white Burgundy wine like, Meursault, Chassagne, Puligny. I had once the chance to try Bâtard-Montrachet from Vincent Girardin it was an absolute delight.
When I was in Oz, I had a Vasse Felix from Margaret River, I enjoyed.
I always enjoyed more white than red I find them more delicate.
I ordered this last week, can’t wait to try them out!
I’m OK with Old World chardonnays like those. I do find that a lot of New World chardonnays are brash and have too much wood thrown at them. There are obvious exceptions, but it takes effort to dig out good ones from down this way. It takes skill from winemakers to shepherd ferments through secondary malolactic processes so they don’t end up with buckets full of acid at one extreme, through to liquid butter at the other.
Vasse Felix is a notable example and is a close neighbour of 2 other Margaret River producers whose chardonnays are exceptionally good - Pierro and Leeuwin Estate. The latter’s Art Series is a personal favourite of mine, but not exactly priced for everyday drinking.
Closer to home in Macedon Ranges, Victoria, I regularly drink chardonnays from Curly Flat and Mount Towrong. These are cooler climate than Margaret River and have a lovely soft lemon and oyster-shell palate. Yarra Valley, about 90mins away from me, has some excellent styles too - I really like Yarra Yering chardonnay, but again, they charge like a wounded bull for their product.
@ElTel like you, I’m in Australia and within minutes of some of the finest wine regions of South Australia. We’re within 20 mins of Adelaide Hills, and about 30 from the Barossa, with the McLaren a mere hour away… It’s difficult not to love the grape when you’re so close to the stuff that never escapes Australia
I think everything bar the odd bottle that were gifts all are Australian, and 95-odd percent South Australian at that. Everything is definitely because we love it, rather than we should love it. We’ve not been scared to say we really don’t like something that’s trendy or should be loved. Last count, I think we’re sat at around 500 bottles - this time last year thanks to COVID and reduced chances to visit our favourites we were getting very thin!
Tonight is a fantastic Kangarilla Road Blanche Point Shiraz - definitely one of our favourite vineyards, along with Coates in McLaren. I prefer the Blanche Point, my husband the Alluvial Fans from Kangarilla. Thankfully this week the vineyard were offering 40% off both for Christmas
We’re also lucky that Mr Postie has been visiting and brought for us our Kangarilla order, and some sparkling Brut Riesling from Paulett’s in the Claire Valley, so that will make breakfast more interesting at the weekend.
