The Auswine Forum

4500 wines and hundreds of producers - what are your tips for tasting?

What are the must do 's

NN

Neville, this is my strategy:
1. Steer clear of the whites, cuts the odds significantly
2. Spit after tasting as much as you can.
3. Resist the temptation (and politely decline booth staff pressure) to 'taste the range' or 'you must try this new release, it won a bronze at X Show', just cherry-pick the best.
4. Try wines you've heard of, but never tasted, and some you've never heard of that look interesting.
5. Try new vintages of wines you are thinking of buying.
6. Keep at least a brief record of your favourites (and maybe the ones to avoid) for future buying decisions.
7. Don't forget some wineries may not be in the Exhibitor list, but are at the stands of distibutors. (eg Kalleske)
8. Tag along with Ric to compare impressions

Some lesser-known from the list that I'll probably be visiting:

Ladbroke Grove
Lake Breeze
Reschke
Shingleback
Shadowfax
Higher Plane
Woodlands

Neville, you must have a plan and stick to it otherwise the day ends and you kick yourself for what you didn't try.

Red Bigots suggestions are sound. I always get a list of exhibitors off the website and mark which ones I don't want to miss and do them first. Then move onto the relative unknowns.

Spit, lotsa water, only try the best couple from each maker, enjoy!

707 wrote:Red Bigots suggestions are sound. I always get a list of exhibitors off the website and mark which ones I don't want to miss and do them first. Then move onto the relative unknowns.

It may also be a good opportunity to taste wines from regions that you may not have tried before: i.e. my home state of queensland. Admittedly most QLD wines I've tasted have been pretty uninspiring, but there is a handful of half-respectable wines out there. Some are actually quite interesting. Most are even reasonably priced since they don't have the hype and attention that is attached to some southern wineries.

There are heaps of new wineries opening up in the south burnett/kingaroy region and many buy-in their grapes from down south while getting started. So better to stick with the names you've heard of for a couple of years.

707 wrote:Spit, lotsa water, only try the best couple from each maker, enjoy!

And brush your purple teeth when u get home.

Go on the trade days if you want to taste the best and best of all you don't have to elbow your way through the sea of grandpapas & mamas. Steal or borrow a name card from someone in the industry to register.

Thank you all for your comments

I am verging on converting into a "Red Bigot", at least for the event.

NN