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When a winery can charge, $60 to $100 for their best know wines you known they’re doing something right. But not all of us can afford three figures for a bottle of wine everyday. So many of the most respected wineries have wines commonly referred to as ’second’ wines. But don’t let the fact that these aren’t their most expensive offerings suggest that they aren’t up to scratch.

The first wine we look at is the ’second’ Chardonnay from Leeuwin Estate, maker of arguably Australia’s best from the white grape. Next up is a Pinot Noir from Kooyong that comes in at half the price of their most renowned Pinot. The last wine we recommend is the ’second’ from Moss Wood, one of the the greatest Cabernet producers from the Margaret River region in WA.

We also recommend you visit http://boozemonkey.com.au/ and http://www.empireauctions.com.au/ to check out the Wine For Haiti auction, raising much needed funds and giving you great wine in return.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2008 ($30-35)
• Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir 2008 ($28-$30)
• Moss Wood Amy’s Cabernet 2008 ($30-$35)

Download the video: (4 min 44 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week we announce the two lucky winners of our Best Dozen of 2009 competition. They each receive a complete set of our favourite dozen wines from the almost 150 wines we reviewed in 2009!

As well as announcing the winners we look a couple of bargain options for everyone who didn’t win. We kick off with the Teusner Riebke Shiraz, a great offering from a winemaker who has been a favourite since before Teusner even existed. We also look at a Pinot Gris from Delatite, an Upper Goulburn producer and a red blend from Thorn Clarke that has some split opinions from the wine scribes.

We also recommend you visit http://boozemonkey.com.au/ and http://www.empireauctions.com.au/ to check out the Wine For Haiti auction, raising much needed funds and giving you great wine in return.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2008 ($18-20)
• Delatite Pinot Gris 2008 ($17-$20)
• Thorn Clarke Shotfire Quartage 2007 ($18-$20)

Download the video: (6 min 10 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week is the last chance for you to be in the running to win our Best Dozen of 2009! But before we draw the winners over at http://wineweek.com.au/ we check out three wines hoping to make it to the top in 2010. The first is a great Riesling from Pipers Brook in Tasmania. Next is a “jam explosion” in the form of the Miss Harry from Hewitson in the Barossa Valley. The last wine we check out this week is a lovely Shiraz from one of the very best Margaret River producers in Cape Mentelle.

Want to win the Best Dozen of 2009? You’ll go into the draw if you’re a subscriber. If you’re a Twitter follower or a fan on Facebook then you’ve got another chance to win! Retweeting on twitter, or posting on your facebook wall with a link to the competition will get you another entry too! There are heaps of ways to give yourself the best possible shot at taking home one of the Best Dozen of 09 packs!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Pipers Brook Riesling 2008 ($25-28)
• Hewitson Miss Harry 2008 ($18-$23)
• Cape Mentelle Shiraz 2007 ($30-$32)

Download the video: (4 min 55 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Sometimes a little bottle is all you need. It might be you’re out to dinner and one or two glasses each is enough. This week we kick things off by looking at a big, powerful wine from Henschke that’s also available in a little bottle. In the spirit of sharing, we also check out the Taylors Jaraman Rielsing. The Jaraman range grabs fruit from two great regions in order to share the best results. Rounding things out is an inexpensive Cab/Merlot from Gramps – a name that’s being shared around a bit.

Don’t forget you can still win one of our Best Dozen of 2009. You’ll go into the draw if you’re a subscriber. If you’re a Twitter follower or a fan on Facebook then you’ve got another chance to win! Retweeting on twitter, or posting on your facebook wall with a link to the competition will get you another entry too! There are heaps of ways to give yourself the best possible shot at taking home one of the Best Dozen of 09 packs!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Henschke Keyneton Estate Euphonium 2006 ($25-27 375ml)
• Gramps Cabernet Merlot 2006 ($15-$20)
• Taylors Jaraman Riesling 2008 ($22-$25)

Download the video: (5 min 11 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

2009 is done, and we’ve started a new decade. And what better way to kick things off than with three bottles you might open at the start of a an afternoon or evening with good friends and good food.

But, not everyone starts off with a wine… so this week we kick things off with that most Aussie of aperitifs, a beer. But not just any beer! This is brewed on the grounds at one of the great wineries of the Clare Valley, Knappstein. We also look at a lovely rosé from Yering Station that isn’t just ‘cotton candy in the mouth’. And we round out the starting field with a great, inexpensive, bottle of bubbles from Jansz.

Don’t forget you can still win one of our Best Dozen of 2009. You’ll go into the draw if you’re a subscriber. If you’re a Twitter follower or a fan on Facebook then you’ve got another chance to win! Retweeting on twitter, or posting on your facebook wall with a link to the competition will get you another entry too! There are heaps of ways to give yourself the best possible shot at taking home one of the Best Dozen of 09 packs!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Knappstein E.B. Premium Larger ($13-17 per 4 pack)
• Yering Station E.D. Rosé 2008 ($18-20)
• Jansz Premium Non Vintage Cuvée ($20-$23)

Download the video: (5 min 39 sec)
Windows Media (18.0 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (33.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (17.6 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

It’s that time of year again! Santa’s packing his ute with presents for the good kiddies, and all us adults are wondering if there will be something special under the tree for us from the jolly man.

And it’s also the time of year when we announce the 12 wines that impressed us the most over the last year…. and then give them away to a couple of lucky friends of the show!

If you’re an email subscriber you get one entry into the draw to win one of two complete sets of our Best Dozen automatically. If you’re a Twitter follower you’ll get another entry into the competition. And if you’re a fan on Facebook then you’ve got another chance to win! Retweeting on twitter, or posting on your facebook wall with a link to the competition will get you another entry too! There are heaps of ways to give yourself the best possible shot at taking home one of the Best Dozen of 09 packs!

The Best Dozen of 2009 are:

• All Saints Moscato 2009 ($15-19)
• Pewsey Vale Riesling 2009 ($13-18)
• Wirra Wirra Mrs Wigely Rosé ($16-$19)
• Deen De Bortoli Vat 8 Shiraz 2008 ($8-12)
• Yalumba The Scribbler 2008 ($16-$18)
• Stefano Lubiana Primavera Pinot Noir 2008 ($28-$30)
• Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir 2008 ($18-$20)
• Shaw and Smith Shiraz 2007 ($30-35)
• d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original 2006 ($16-20)
• Giaconda Warner Vineyard Shiraz 2006 ($80 en-primeur)
• Zema Estate Family Selection Cabernet 2005 ($40-45)
• Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling 2006 ($32-35)

Download the video: (8 min 10 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

In wine, as in property, the one thing that everyone wants is a prime location. The best vineyards give the best fruit. But it’s not always easy to get the best locations. Two of our wines this week come from producers who have decided location is the key to the best grapes, while the other has helped define their region as one of the best Chardonnay areas in the land.

Between the Jim Barry Cover Drive and the Wyndham Estate George Windham Shiraz Grenache you can see why regional blending has become a key part of the winemaker’s arsenal. At the other end of the spectrum, the Voyager Estate Chardonnay continues to gain favour as a stand-out example of just what Margaret River can produce with the white grape.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Jim Barry Cover Drive 2007 ($18-23)
• Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2007 ($38-42)
• Wyndham Estate George Wyndham Shiraz Grenache 2007 ($17-$22)

Download the video: (5 min 45 sec)
Windows Media (18.6 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (33.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (18.0 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Lost your shirt in the financial crisis? Tyrrell’s Lost Block Semillon might be just the answer. It’s a great semillon made by a top Hunter Valley producer but perhaps the best bit is just how inexpensive it is! And speaking of inexpensive, Xabregas have released a show reserve Shiraz from the same vintage as their Jimmy Watson short listed year. But at under $30 for a Great (Southern) Shiraz it’s ripper value. To round things out we check back in on a family favourite. d’Arenberg’s Laughing Magpie certainly hits the spot, and they say laughter is the best medicine!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Tyrrell’s Lost Block Semillon 2008 ($10-15)
• Xabregas Show Reserve Shiraz 2007 ($23-26)
• d’Arenberg Laughing Magpie 2007 ($24-$29)

Download the video: (4 min 34 sec)
Windows Media (14.2 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (26.0 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.8 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

3 years and almost 450 wines later we’re up to episode 150! To celebrate we’re looking at wines that you’d probably only open on special occasions, and only if you’re really splurging!

Penfolds having been looking to produce a white wine that rivals the great Grange, and the Yattarna we check out this week might be that wine. Over the last 150 episodes more than one Kalleske wine has come across our desk, because they are such great wines. This week we look at the very top of the Kalleske range; the Johann Georg. When discussing long periods of time, the wines from Wendouree immediately spring to mind. With vines dating back more than 100 years and producing wines like the Shiraz-Malbec that are long term cellaring gold. To round things out, we finish with a wine that might be the best red in Australia; the Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier. It’s a brilliant drop that we think is still undervalued even as we’ve seen the price rise steadily over the last decade.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2006 ($120-130)
• Kalleske Johann Georg Shiraz 2007 ($90-100)
• A P Birks Wendouree Shiraz-Malbec 2006 ($55-$100)
• Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier 2008 ($75-85)

Download the video: (7 min 33 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

It’s been hot, really hot, around the south eastern part of Australia recently. Not just warm, but ear-wax meltingly hot! So we thought we’d offer up some wines that go well when the mercury is busting through the top of the thermometer. The All Saints Moscato is light on alcohol, with a light, bright fizz and a touch of sweetness and goes beautifully chilled down or even served over chipped ice. Wirra Wirra’s Mrs. Wigley Grenache Rosé might be your style if you’re not after a white but the day is just a bit too warm for a big red. And to round things out, a Pinot Noir is the obvious choice for a red during the hot months, and Paringa Estate’s Estate Pinot Noir is one of the very, very best you can buy.

This week’s recommendations are:

• All Saints Moscato 2009 ($16-18)
• Wirra Wirra Mrs. Wigley Grenache Rosé 2009 ($16-$19)
• Paringa Estate Estate Pinot Noir 2008 ($55-60)

Download the video: (5 min 15 sec)
Windows Media (17.6 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (30.3 Mb) | Mpeg4 (16.4 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny