The Auswine Forum

I think the problem with doing a tour is that they pretty much only go to the really big wineries, who are set up to deal with large coaches. If you want to visit the smaller places, you either need to hire a car & driver ($$$$) or drive yourself ... Spitting the wine rather than drinking it see...

Agreed, Philip White's blog is well worth reading. I enjoyed reading through Oz Clarke & Margaret Rand's "Grapes & Wines" when I was first learning about wine. It has a lot of good, basic information. I also like Andrew Jefford's "The New France", and "The Winemaker'...

I am not buying wine to cellar, but it's interesting nonetheless to for me too anyway: Red 60.9% Pinot Noir 20.3% Shiraz 10.9% Shiraz Blend 4.7% Cabernet Sauvignon 4.7% Merlot 3.1% Red Bordeaux Blend 3.1% Poulsard 1.6% Red Blend 1.6% Cabernet Franc 1.6% Mourvedre 1.6% Cabernet-Shiraz Blend 1.6% Gama...

I don't drink enough of either English sparkling wines or champagnes to be able to comment on how they compare, quality wise. I'm not even sure how one would go about this -- they are different terroirs. Nonetheless, some of the good English sparkling wines are very good, and worth considering as se...

You should have no trouble finding full bodied red wines in the wine shops (or the supermarkets) but they won't be locally produced. If you go to a good wine shop, you'll find a better selection of EU wines than you'll find back here. If you want any particular Australian wines (eg to show friends),...

It'd also be worth trying getting the same person to do multiple readings and see if they get approximately the same result. Not all of these breathalysers are accurate.

Mind you, all this would show you is that the equipment is consistent. No use if it's consistently wrong...

If you look up the price of French wines on French websites, that will make you depressed too. Taxes there are even lower than in the UK.

You won't find so much Australian wine, though I remember hearing that NZ wine has become popular in Paris, at least with younger consumers.

Mark Jappe wrote:Anything with a bit of age would be great.

I don't have anything much with any bottle age. Perhaps an Hunter Valley Sémillon?

EDIT: hmm, not sure I'll make it now -- it seems to conflict with a meeting I thought was on Thursday. I'll check...

gavin,

If you end up going somewhere not too expensive, I'd be tempted to come along too. I've not been to an offline auswineform tasting before. I don't know the restaurants in town well enough to suggest anywhere, though.

Ah, my mistake -- I thought your main complaint was with the stylistic differences. Yes, I agree that RO is a bit of a cheat, and it'd make me perhaps reconsider whether to buy the wine or not. I do know quite a lot of the top estates use it, which is a shame. A quick Google shows that Pontet-Canet ...

I can't afford Bordeaux either. Sorry to disagree, though, but I do think you're being a bit harsh on Bordeaux. They do make some pretty good wines. Yes, they are quite different in style to Australian Cabernet/Merlot-based blends, but you'd expect that? They're grown in very different conditions, a...

Love the story about the Killerby. Was out for dinner last night discussing a similar topic with Hacker, and mentioned how a wine can just instantly grab your attention and hit all your sweet spots It moves you so much that what anyone else thinks is trivial. Those wines get burned into your memory...

I hesitate to post on threads like this, as anything I get to drink will be effortlessly outclassed by others ... but still. I remember drinking a beautiful 1963(?) Remoissenet Volnay 1er Cru in Burgundy a few years back. It wasn't from a particularly prestigious site, I think it was actually a blen...

Just saw the Adelaide 7 day forecast. Lowest temperature 37C. Mostly in the 40's Certainly a challenge for the wineries with little chance of picking reds before the heat ala 2008. I imagine they will not be ripe yet. Could be the first bad even year sine 2000 in SA (wet). The weather isn't looking...

Ok, a bit premature then. Hope your trip goes well... I haven't got to the Eden Valley myself yet, but tried a few Torzi Matthews at a local wine shop tasting - just the two shirazes and a riesling, I think. They didn't stand out at the time, but I bought a bottle anyway and had to change my opinion...

I've never tried any of their wines (yet!) but Lopez de Heredia in Rioja are famous for releasing an aged Gran Riserva rosé. From their website, the current release seems to be the 2000 vintage: m I know they're imported into Australia, but I've never seen them in the shops. They'd probably be to...

No problem. Hope you enjoyed your visit to the hills.

n4sir wrote:By the time I made my way up the driveway to the restaurant, I noticed what looked to be some signs of damage from the heatwave.

Thanks for the pictures! Some of those bunches look like a good argument for a sorting table...

A few suggestions: * Ngeringa -- biodynamic, beautiful red, white & rosé wines, but only open Fri-Sun & public holidays m This is a bit out of your way, in Mt Barker, but well worth the detour. * Tilbrook Estate -- m * Ashton Hills -- make a very well regarded Pinot Noir m * Paracombe -- ...

No problem, glad you enjoyed the Yangarra tasting! This reminds me that I must go back there again soon and get another couple of bottles. I tried the preservative free shiraz last time I was there ("PF Shiraz" - an in-joke, as PF is short for both "Preservative Free" and "P...

I'd also recommend Yangarra and Samuel's Gorge. A great way to get to Yangarra is to drive through the hills via Clarendon then Kangarilla - a beautiful drive, especially if you go along (I think) Tourist Drive 57. If you're going further south in the McLaren Vale and are organised enough to make an...

My suggestions would be (in no particular order): * Ballandean Estate * Tobin Wines * Ridgemill Estate * Pyramids Road * Boireann Estate (looks like they are open at the moment, from their website) * Ravenscroft * Heritage Estate (I did work experience with them for a couple of months - their reserv...

Another French wine to try would be a Cahors. These are made from Malbec (called Côt there), and tend to be very big wines.

Milan wrote:Everything in moderation.

A very ancient Greek ideal.

That includes moderating moderation.

"You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough" -- William Blake.

Hi John --
Thanks for replying here, and thanks for the email. I've already arranged storage with the Tunnels, but it's useful to know your prices in any case.

Scotty vino - ok, thanks. I will keep an eye out and see if anything comes up on Gumtree (or eBay). I guess this might take a while, though, so I'll send some wine off to the Tunnels for the moment so they don't cook with this hot weather we're having now!

There's no reason why a merlot wouldn't age, so long as it hasn't been grown too ripe and lost all of its acidity (assists in providing good structure). If you can grow merlot, and get it flavour-ripe, and be able to pick the fruit before it starts to drop its acid then you're well on your way, I w...

Hi I've read a few articles now that suggest drinking red wine staves off common colds and bugs. Anyway, I'm starting to think this is indeed true as we have a 2 year old who from time to time picks up all sorts of nasties from daycare etc. Interestingly, the last 4 times he has been sick my wife h...

PaulG - thanks for the reply. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and take some wines up to the Tunnels. It's going to be cooler than where I am - it's cooler inside my house than outside but was still 37°C today! I also found this old thread which has another recommendation for the Tunnels: http://forum....

I've got about a case of wine I'd like to store off site, as they're wines I'd like to age for a couple of years. They'd cook over summer if I left them at home. Glen Ewin Cellars and Kennard's both seem to require me to pay for storage I wouldn't use. The Tunnels looks good (the price is right!) bu...