Wine Week 178: I see red, I see red, I see red!
Yesterday Australia found themselves with a new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. While some have been focused on the fact this is Australia’s first female PM, we’re looking at it a different way.
Yes, our new leader has flaming red hair!
So what better way to toast the new PM than with a few bottles of red?! We first raise a class to the “Power Fox” (as Crikey have dubbed her) with glass of sparkling red. The Fox Creek Vixen is a lovely way to celebrate an early morning coup as it goes beautifully with bacon and eggs. While some make fun of red-heads by calling them “rangas”, we prefer to check out the Ata Rangi Crimson. It has been known as the second stringer for a long time, but it seems good enough for the job at hand. Lastly we pay homage to the outgoing Kevin Rudd with the Brave Faces from Two Hands. A soft, supple wine that pays its respects to history and the people who tended the country’s vines before those in charge today.
This week’s recommendations are:
- Fox Creek Vixen NV ($20-$23)
- Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir 2008 ($30-$33)
- Two Hands Brave Faces GSM 2008 ($24-$26)
Download the video: (5 min 48 sec)
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Cheers… and happy wine buying!
Brad and Danny
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Just came across your web site and have spent an hour or so going through your wonderful program (best from Au. maybe the world), I am new to wine and have two questions for you:
1. What does “ripper” mean?
2. How do you know when a wine can be cellared?
Thank you,
Dennis from the USA
June 27th, 2010 | #
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for tuning in. Firstly, “ripper” is an Australian (and British) term for something great. So a “ripper wine” is a really good wine. Secondly, when it comes to cellaring things aren’t quite as simple. While acidity, fruit intensity alcohol and tannin all play a large part, it’s not as if we could say “find a 14%+ alcohol wine with big tannins, lots of acid and gobs of fruit” and be 100% certain it will last 10+ years. Past cellaring performance of the wine in question is often the best indicator as are the notes provided by the winemaker who will have spent a lot of time judging how the wine may develop over time. It’s a tough thing to judge, but a fun thing to play with if you can spend time cellaring a dozen bottles of something you think you might love – opening one every year or so!
June 27th, 2010 | #