Category: South Australia

A fun night recently with some of my wine drinking associates where we celebrated the birthyear (and in one case the conception year) of the people attending with wines from that vintage. The years we were celebrating were 1963, 1968, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984. None of the years are especially legendary or classic, […]

Some quick notes from an excellent evening hosted by David Lole in Canberra. All wines were tasted and scored blind except for the Curlewis, the St. Henri and the Petaluma Essence. Rockford Sparkling Black (Sept. 2005 disgorgement) – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Bright, clean raspberry, cherry, pepper, vanilla and blackberry aromas as well as a […]

I went to a hastily arranged dinner at Sakana-Ya in Crows Nest following the Torbreck tasting at North Sydney Cellars that I wrote about here. The quality of the dishes was good and there was some interesting food that I haven’t tried previously (Fried Eel being an example). The service was attentive and polite. Take […]

Leo Buring Leonay DWU13 Watervale Riesling 1991 (Clare Valley, South Australia): Light golden in colour which seems to hint away from the age. On the slightly shy nose it had freshly squeezed lime juice, some toast, butter and honey. Palate exhibits good length and intensity but perhaps just lacks focus. 89/100 Curlewis Chardonnay 2002 (Geelong, […]

A recent dinner with some friends in Canberra, including the very best red wine I have been lucky enough to taste. I know I have been talking about a fair few international wines recently which is a deviation from the theme of the site, but I hope to get back to more Australian content shortly […]

A quick get together at Borelli’s Italian Restaurant in Epping. The restaurant was good for what it is, a small local place that has food with good flavour and large servings, with fairly priced meals (for us it was around $50 AUD per person for three courses and tip) and corkage at $4 a bottle. […]

Fast Facts: Variety: White Frontignac Region: Barossa Valley Country: Australia Winemaker: Matt Wenk Closure: Cork Alcohol: 6.5% Cost: $18AUD (500ml) Source: Purchased from friend Winery Website: Two Hands This is one of the first wines to appear from the 2006 vintage, having just been bottled mid last month. I had a look at the 2004 […]

An excellent dinner hosted by friends Gavin and Gen. I’ve included the menu items interspersed throughout the notes. I won’t post too detailed impressions on the food, but in general they were good matches, especially the Salmon with the Champagne and the smoked Duck with the Pinot/Burgundy. Smoked Salmon, mayonnaise and avocado Franck Bonville Grand […]

A few short notes from a free tasting with Torbreck winemaker David Powell at North Sydney Cellars late last month. These wines are favourites of the powerful American wine critic Robert Parker, hence the prices of the top wines are beyond the budget of most people. This was a good chance to taste these wines […]

To balance the night of French legends that I spoke of in the last post – it was decided that we should come together again in early April to have a dinner that would be a tribute to some great Australian wines. We gathered at Restaurant Atelier at Glebe – another restaurant with an excellent […]