Wanted: Advice for attending wine events!!!!

[Ian S]

In terms of events, definitely sign-up for any offlines in Melbourne (or any other convenient locations). Such events are often a great chance to taste an interesting mix of wines brought along by the attendees and to chat about them. Indeed offlines are a good chance to indulge our geeky desire to talk incessantly about wine, that in other social circles would have us painted as tragic obsessives!

Tasting with friends is much more enjoyable than big walk round 'scrum' tastings

[GraemeG]

I won't bag Penfolds, as they were a fantastic entry for my wife and I to the world of wine when we first seriously began drinking wine back in the early 1980s. For many years we regularly bought Bins 707, 389, 128 and 28 which were affordable in those days, and even the occasional Grange and some extras such as the RWT.

I always look forward to a 20th century Penfolds, I'll happily admit. And I'm more sad than angry at Penfolds pricing themselves out of the local market in order to have stock to fleece the Chinese, who I think are usually canny enough to know when they're being played for suckers.
I thought for a while it was St Henri which was the value-for-money wine in the portfolio, but I don't think anything passes muster at 'standard' prices any more.
Penfolds are clearly doing their best to capitalise on being Australia's only luxury brand and turn it into as much $ as possible. Don't know how sustainable that is long-term, either for customer loyalty or wine quality, but hey, they're a listed company - it's not about the long-term, is it?
Locally, for the price of three Bin 407s you could have two Mount Mary Quintets, for example. That's not even a contest.
cheers,
Graeme

[Mahmoud Ali]

Penfold's is so passé. I realized this last weekend when I went to a wine tasting in aid of charity. There were about a dozen importers with a selection of their wines on tasting. One of them had the Penfold's Max Shiraz and Shiraz/Cab on tasting and, givren the other wines there, I passed their table several times and made no attempt to try them. I asked a friend of mine who was there if had tasted the Penfold's Max and he said no.

By the way, I've never even tasted a Penfold's Max - what's with the red bottles?

Mahmoud.

[savingforgrange]

Welcome to the forum, savingforgrange!

These days the only Penfolds we regularly buy each year is the Koonunga Hill (the original shiraz/cabernet blend, not any of the straight varietal Koonungas), because we believe it's the only value-for-money wine in their line-up anymore.
...
Enjoy your wine journey: ... Focus on wine you can afford and don't worry about wines that are out-of-reach; they are great to buy once in a while for a special occasion, but really aren't worth the money for regular drinking.

Let us know how you progress!

Thanks grhm1961 for your encouragement!! Same, of the Penfolds I go for Koonunga Hill Shiraz as well. Haven't had the pleasure of trying the rest yet (28, 389). Yep I'll take your advice on the wines out of reach and save'em for special occasions

[savingforgrange]

In terms of events, definitely sign-up for any offlines in Melbourne (or any other convenient locations). Such events are often a great chance to taste an interesting mix of wines brought along by the attendees and to chat about them. Indeed offlines are a good chance to indulge our geeky desire to talk incessantly about wine, that in other social circles would have us painted as tragic obsessives!

Tasting with friends is much more enjoyable than big walk round 'scrum' tastings

Thanks Ian S, I'll keep a lookout for offlines!

Wish my close friends were wine drinkers- would make mini-meetups easier if we each bring a bottle but they're all beer drinkers. As for wine, it's also hard to share with my gf as she enjoys white and I, red!! haha

[savingforgrange]

Locally, for the price of three Bin 407s you could have two Mount Mary Quintets, for example

[savingforgrange]

By the way, I've never even tasted a Penfold's Max - what's with the red bottles?

Since I'm just starting my journey I don't mind trying this one. I'll get it soon and let you know

[Mahmoud Ali]

Welcome to the forum, savingforgrange!

These days the only Penfolds we regularly buy each year is the Koonunga Hill (the original shiraz/cabernet blend, not any of the straight varietal Koonungas), because we believe it's the only value-for-money wine in their line-up anymore.
...
Enjoy your wine journey: ... Focus on wine you can afford and don't worry about wines that are out-of-reach; they are great to buy once in a while for a special occasion, but really aren't worth the money for regular drinking.

Let us know how you progress!

Thanks grhm1961 for your encouragement!! Same, of the Penfolds I go for Koonunga Hill Shiraz as well. Haven't had the pleasure of trying the rest yet (28, 389). Yep I'll take your advice on the wines out of reach and save'em for special occasions

Perhaps it was a typo on your part but Graham was referring to the Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cab and not the straight Shiraz, or any other varietal or blend. I would concur with him, in a good vinage it might be a medium-term cellaring proposition.

Cheers ............. Mahmoud.

[asajoseph]

I struggle to make sense of all the various Penfolds bins (it should be WSET Diploma module in its own right!!!), but I will say I still think Bin 28 & 128 both offer pretty good value (I'm also a fan of the St Henri, and lucky enough to have a case in the cellar in the UK).

Bin 8, however, I've heard less than favourable things about the winemaking process - one to be avoided.

[asajoseph]

Anyway - at a slight tangent to the original post - any half decent events coming up in Sydney? I'm still struggling to find more than one tasting every few months that's worth attending, and WineArk don't seem to be hosting events any more.