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Ahead of our first real world wine tasting event this Saturday March 13 at the Seddon Wine Store we thought we’d look at two of the wines that are the theme for the tasting. So Brad kicks off with a Riesling from Frankland Estate, one of the Western Australian producers who are doing great things with our favourite white grape. Danny looks at a Pinot from Dog Point, a New Zealand producer, proving his bias isn’t anti-Kiwi, just anti average wine. And although it’s not on tasting this weekend we round out the week with a wine from Rymill in the Coonawarra that’s blended to be drink worthy right now.

Tasting event details:
Where: Seddon Wine Store. 2/101 Victoria St. Seddon Vic 3011
When: Saturday 13th March, 2pm-5pm.
What: Rieslings and Pinot Noir – More than 2 dozen wines on tasting.
How much: Free!
RSVP: Via Facebook or just turn up on the day

This week’s recommendations are:

• Frankland Estate Poison Hill Riesling 2009 ($25-28)
• Dog Point Pinot Noir 2008 ($40-$45)
• Rymill MC2 2005 ($15-$18)

Download the video: (4 min 56 sec)
Windows Media (15.9 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (28.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.5 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Three different vintages and three very different wines this week. Wines from the 07, 08 and 09 vintages.

The first is one of Australia’s gifts to the wine world: Hunter Valley Semillon. Andrew Thomas, “Thommo” to his mates, shows just how good the region can be with this grape. Brad follows up with a red blend from Margaret River producer Voyager Estate, the Girt by Sea. To round out the week Danny looks at a wine from Spinifex. Blended to make a super approachable wine for everyday drinking using Cinsault and Mataro to soften the boldness of Barossan Grenache. And the art of blending is definitely on show here.

If you’re in Sydney and want to score one of 5 double passes to the Taste of Sydney festival you can go into the draw one of two ways. Either send us an email at info@wineweek.com.au with the subject line “Taste of Sydney tickets” or post on Twitter using these all of these three phrases; i) “@WineWeek”, ii) “Taste of Sydney”, iii) “win” or “winner”. So your twitter post might look like “I want to win tix to the Taste of Sydney fest, pls pick me @WineWeek!”.

If you’re in Melboure then set Saturday March 13 aside and join us for our first real world wine tasting. Held in conjunction with the Seddon Wine Store it should be great fun and we’ll be showing off a bunch of great Rieslings and Pinot Noirs that we’ve featured on the show, plus a few that are favourites that we haven’t told you about yet!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon 2009 ($25-28)
• Voyager Estate Girt By Sea 2008 ($22-$24)
• Spinifex Papillon 2007 ($25-$28)

Download the video: (5 min 00 sec)
Windows Media (16.2 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (29.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.7 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

The hot days down under aren’t done with just yet. And vintage, when vineyards are picking their grapes, is in full force too. With both those things going on at once we look at a sparkling wine from Blue Pyrenees which is picked in the cool of the night to make sure they get the best from their grapes.

We also look at a super bargain priced Rosé from Angoves great for warmer days, and a classic quaffer from Pepperjack perfect for matching with lamb on the BBQ.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Angoves Nine Rows Rosé 2009 ($8-14)
• Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvée 2002 ($22-$26)
• Pepperjack Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($18-$23)

Download the video: (4 min 31 sec)
Windows Media (14.9 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (26.8 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.7 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Sometimes wines we intend to review get overlooked. Not for any good reason other than there’s lots of good wine about. So this week we say ’sorry’ to a couple of great wines by finally getting around to looking at them on the show.

The first is a lovely Pinot Gris from Yabby Lake’s second label, Red Claw. Following up is a bargain priced Cabernet from Kingston Estate that proves it’s not just Shiraz that can be done well at under $10. To round things out we also check out a Sangiovese from a great King Valley producer, Pizzini.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Red Claw Pinot Gris 2009 ($23-25)
• Kingston Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($9-$13)
• Pizzini Sangiovese 2008 ($24-$28)

Download the video: (3 min 58 sec)
Windows Media (12.6 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (23.2 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.3 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

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)
Windows Media (15.3 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (28.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (14.9 Mb)

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)
Windows Media (20.0 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (36.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (19.4 Mb)

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)
Windows Media (16.8 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (30.5 Mb) | Mpeg4 (16.3 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)
Windows Media (26.5 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (47.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (25.6 Mb)

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

This week we look at three wines that might not be your first thought when looking for a wine this week. The first is an interesting vineyard blend from Pondalowie, made from Shiraz, Cabernet and Tempranillo. The next is an “off-dry” semillon from Andrew Thomas in the Hunter Valley, a wine with a touch of sweetness that’s really hitting its straps. Lastly we check out the new Shiraz from Mike Press, a wine selling at amazingly low prices given the quality of fruit inside!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Pondalowie Vineyard Blend 2005 ($18-20)
• Andrew Thomas Wines Six-Degrees Semillon 2009 ($20-$22)
• Mike Press Shiraz 2008 ($12-14)

Download the video: (5 min 00 sec)
Windows Media (16.3 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (29.9 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.6 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny