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The lucky person who wins our Best Dozen of 2010 is announced this week! While we get ready to read out the name we check out a couple of wines that have a strong tie with the Best Dozen.

The first is the Heathcote Estate Shiraz. While it hasn’t appeared in the Best Dozen yet, the winemaker is the same as for the Yabby Lake pinot that did make it. We also feature a Ben Glaetzer wine, although this time not the winning Wallace, but it’s more expensive sibling the Anaperenna. In between we also look at a Chardonnay from Margaret River producer Flametree.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Heathcote Estate Shiraz 2008 ($40-$44)
• Flametree Chardonnay 2009 ($26-$28)
• Ben Glaetzer Anaperenna 2009 ($48-50)

Download the video: (5 min 38 sec)
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Have you seen our Best Dozen purchase offer? You can purchase 6 of our Best Dozen of 2010! Details here.!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Update: Just announced – our friends at Boccaccio Cellars are offering 6 of our Best Dozen in a special pack at just $130 plus delivery!

It’s that time of year again! Yes, that time when we announce the 12 wines that impressed us the most over the last year…. and then give them away to a of lucky fan of the show!

If you’re an email subscriber you get one entry into the draw to win the complete set 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 2010 packs!

The Best Dozen of 2010 are:

• De Bortoli Rococo Blanc de Blancs NV
• St. Hallett Eden Valley Riesling 2010
• Toolangi Chardonnay 2008
• Andrew Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon 2010
• Scion Vineyard Durif 2008
• Yabby Lake Pinot Noir 2008
• The Story Grampians Shiraz 2008
• Ben Glaetzer Wallace 2008
• Teusner Riebke Shiraz 2009
• Yalumba The Cigar 2008
• Penfolds St. Henri 2006
• Wolf Blass Platinum Shiraz 2007

Download the video: (11 min 11 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (68.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (37 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

With the World Cup kicking off tonight, we look at a couple of wines from the competing nations – and announce our tipping competition where you could win a dozen great old-world wines! The first wine is a German Riesling, and while we Aussie hope they don’t do well in the first game, we know they make great wines.

When talking France and football we’re certain that if they win the big gold trophy that there will be lots of corks popping. So we look at a grower Champagne from Pierre Peters that is worth celebrating with.

The World Cup wouldn’t be what it is without the Italians, and we look at a great Chianti Classico from Castello di Monstano worth diving into.

Want to win more than $400 worth of great old-world wine? Just join our tipping competition! The winner will take home a dozen brilliant wines from Italy, Germany and France thanks to the guys at Mondo Imports.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Dönhoff Riesling Kabinett 2008 ($38-$41)
• Pierre Peters Cüvee Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV ($70-$75)
• Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico 2007 ($37-$40)

Download the video: (5 min 48 sec)
Windows Media (18.7 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (35.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (18.1 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

France, Germany, Italy, Australia, America… normally when we mention these countries we’re talking about their wines. But the world turns round-ball mad for the next month as the World Cup kicks off in South Africa, so for a while we are going to mix wine and football on a world scale.

To join in the fun, we’ve set up a World Cup Tipping Competition, and the winner will get to take home more than $400 worth of wine from Italy, Germany and France!

The prize pack includes

• Piero Benevelli Barolo DOCG 2005 ($100)
• Corte Sant Alda Soave DOC 2009 ($27)
• Langwerth Von Simmern Hattenheimer Riesling 2007 ($30)
• St Urbans Hof QBA Estate Riesling 2007 ($20)
• Serge Mathieu Non Vintage Champagne ($70)
• Gran Sasso Montepulciano DOC 2008 ($10)
• Luccarelli Puglia Primativo 2008 IGT ($13)
• Le Vigne de Alice Prosecco Extra Dry 2008 ($25)
• Borgogno Barolo 2004 ($100)
• Castello Monsanto Chianti Classico 2007 ($40)

All up, there’s $435 worth of brilliant wine up for grabs thanks to Mondo Imports.

To enter you need to sign-up and enter your tips via http://tiny.cc/wwwctipping. To be in the running for the major prize you also need to be signed up to our email updates. (Competition open to 18+ year old residents of Australia only… sorry to everyone else.)

So get to it! And go Australia!

We’ve got three great wines and a great giveaway this week, so let’s get straight into it!

The first wine of the week is the Campbells Bobbie Burns Shiraz. It’s a great table wine from Rutherglen, a region probably better known for its brilliant fortified wines. Danny, a massive Rutherglen fan himself, follows up with another of his personal favourites – Coonawarra Cabernet. This week he talks about a single vineyard wine from Wynns. The Alex 88 might be getting a new name from the next vintage, but grab this one while you can. To end the week Brad checks out a Riesling from Western Australia’s Great Southern. The Xabregas Show Reserve Riesling is perfect if you’re looking for something that will handle a bit of cellar time.

We’ve also got 5 double passes to the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show next weekend to give away. To be in the running to win just subscribe to our free email newsletter, or if you’re already a subscriber reply to this week’s email (full details in the email itself.)

This week’s recommendations are:

• Campbells Bobbie Burns Shiraz 2008 ($20-$25)
• Wynns Coonawarra Estate Alex 88 2006 ($35-$39)
• Xabregas Show Reserve Riesling 2009 ($23-$28)

For more chances to win, tweet “I want @WineWeek to pick me to win tix to @GoodFoodWineMel (for Fri/Sat/Sun)”. Only include the “for Fri” if you can’t attend one or more of the days, including the day(s) you can.

For yet another chance to win, follow us on Facebook and comment under the competition details post. Make sure you include what session(s) you want to get along to!

Download the video: (5 min 39 sec)
Windows Media (17.9 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (35.2 Mb) | Mpeg4 (18.4 Mb)

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)
Windows Media (15.9 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (29.1 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.5 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

This week we start by looking at a favourite cabernet from the Coonawarra that Danny thinks would go perfectly with a late night lamb sandwich. Following this Brad looks at a riesling from the Eden Valley which constantly rates as one of Australia’s best, and it’s bargain too! To round things out Danny also suggests you ignore passing trends for a moment and try a shiraz from one of Australia’s oldest wineries.

PLUS we’ve got two double passes to the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show with entry to Matt Skinner’s class on matching food & wine.

To enter simply join our subscriber list (if you’re not already) and then email us at info@wineweek.com.au. You’ll need to be able to make your own way to Melbourne on Sunday 7 June.

For an extra chance to win one of the two double passes you can also follow us on twitter and tweet the following message on your profile: “I hope @wineweek pick me as the winner of a double pass to the Melbourne Good Food & Wine show with Matt Skinner!“.

Winners will be announced during show 125 and notified via email or twitter! Make sure you’re in the running to win this great prize!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($22-25)
• Peter Lehmann Eden Valley riesling 2008 ($13-15)
• Bests Bin 1 shiraz 2006 ($23-30)

Download the video: (4 min 01 sec)
Windows Media (17.3 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.0 Mb) | Ipod (17.3 Mb)

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free and the winner receives brilliant Kalleske wine!)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

This week we include a wine we’ve looked at before as well as a wine whose grape we haven’t looked at as a single variety ever before. We kick off with a straight Malbec and while we’ve seen the grape in blends on the show previously, never have we looked at it on its own. Following this we check out a Clare Valley Riesling that we’ve seen in previous vintages and it’s still a great drop. To round things out we have a look at a Cabernet/Shiraz blend that is awesome buying right now.

PLUS we’ve got two double passes to the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show with entry to Matt Skinner’s class on matching food & wine.

To enter simply join our subscriber list (if you’re not already) and then email us at info@wineweek.com.au. You’ll need to be able to make your own way to Melbourne on Sunday 7 June.

For an extra chance to win one of the two double passes you can also follow us on twitter and tweet the following message on your profile: “I hope @wineweek pick me as the winner of a double pass to the Melbourne Good Food & Wine show with Matt Skinner!“.

Winners will be announced during show 125 and notified via email or twitter! Make sure you’re in the running to win this great prize!

This week’s recommendations are:

• Bleasdale Second Innings malbec 2006 ($14-18)
• Petaluma Hanlin Hill riesling 2008 ($23-25)
• Yalumba The Scribbler 2007 ($16-20)

Download the video: (4 min 14 sec)
Windows Media (17.3 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.0 Mb) | Ipod (17.3 Mb)

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free and the winner receives brilliant Kalleske wine!)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

It’s that time of year again when the Aussie Rules football kicks off. And we’ve got a tipping comp that could win you half a dozen great wines from Kalleske. As well, of course, we look at three wines worth taking a punt on. We look at a white good enough for Brad to serve at his wedding last year. Our first red is a big, bold grenache from a producer in tip-top form. Our final wine is a lesser know producer kicking goals with top of the table Barossa fruit.

Join the Wine Week footy tipping competition! (Entry is free!)

This week’s recommendations are:

• Leeuwin Art Series riesling 2007 ($17-19)
• d’Arenberg The Custodian 2006 ($17-20)
• Laughing Jack Jack’s shiraz 2006 ($17-20)

Download the video: (4 min 06 sec)
Windows Media (16.7 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.5 Mb) | Ipod (16.7 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny