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The best known wine ‘valley’ in Victoria would have to be the Yarra Valley, but a little further afield there’s the King Valley, where winemakers such as the Dal Zottos have been working wonders with Italian varietals.

This week we look at their Pinot Grigio before popping over to the Barossa Valley for a bargain shiraz from Thorn Clarke. We finish up by looking at a Cabernet not from Margaret River or Coonawarra but from the stylish folks at Balgownie Estate up around Bendigo.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Dal Zotto Pinot Grigio 2010 ($15-$16)
• Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Shiraz 2009 ($15-$20)
• Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($30-35)

Download the video: (4 min 04 sec)
Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (25.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (13.3 Mb)

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

Spring has sprung downunder and we thought we would have a look at some fresh, bright wines to get us in the mood as the warmer weather approaches. First up we have an interesting wine from the guys at Torbreck – a wine made totally naturally without preservatives, chemicals, sulphur etc – just delicious fermented grape juice! We follow that up with a great value pinot grigio for the warmer weather, and finally we have a look at a fantastic Tasmanian pinot noir from the talented hands of Stefano Lubiana.

This week’s recommendations are:

• Torbreck Vintners Natural Wine Project 2009 (restaurant only)
• T’Gallant Juliet pinot grigio 2007 ($15-19)
• Stefano Lubiana Primavera pinot noir 2008 ($25-$30)

Download the video: (4 min 55 sec)
Windows Media (20.1 Mb) | Quicktime/iPod/iPhone (16.3 Mb) | Mpeg4 (15.4 Mb)

Wine Week Footy Tipping competition winner! with Round 22 of the AFL concluding last week we have a winner in the tipping comp. Congratulations Blair on taking the honours with a big finish – just pipping Simon to take the great Kalleske wine pack! We’ll be in touch shortly regarding your prize.

With the AFL finals kicking off tonight, and as we’re both huge Essendon fans, we wish the boys well in their big game against the Crows!

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

Now the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum… So this week we look at three wines that aren’t exactly standard everyday wines. The first is a tempranillo, graciano blend with style, attitude and a great story behind it. The white we look at this week is a pinot gris from a producer well known for getting the best from the grape. And finally we look at a true Italian chianti which should be available around the world, including Italy!

In this episode we recommend:

• Kid You Not Dashing Master Huntley 2004 ($23-25)
• T’Gallant Tribute pinot gris 2007 ($30-35)
• Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2006 ($22-25)

Download the video: (4 min 08 sec)
Windows Media (16.7 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.6 Mb) | Ipod (16.8 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

When most people mention the Pyrenees, the first thought is Europe, but there is also a Pyrenees in Australia. This week we kick off with a brilliant shiraz from the Aussie version. We also look at a bright, dry Rosé from the Yarra Valley and a Clare Pinot Gris that contains more depth than usual for the variety.

In this episode we recommend:

• Pyren Vineyard Block E shiraz 2004 ($25-30)
• Dominique Portet Fontaine rosé 2007 ($16-19)
• Tim Adams pinot gris 2007 ($18-20)

Download the video: (4 min 02 sec)
Windows Media (16.4 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.4 Mb) | Ipod (16.5 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny

In this, our 50th episode, we look back at our favourite dozen wines from the past year, and you could win one of two complete sets of the Best Dozen of ’07!

As always our criteria was to pick our favourite bottles based both on the quality of the wine and value for money. It would have been simple to pick the 12 most expensive wines but we think that there are some absolutely brilliant bargains out there. If a wine is a brilliant drop and is awesome value for money it ranks pretty high with us.

For your chance to win, all you need to do is subscribe to our weekly emails. You can get extra entries into the draw by sending the competition details out to as many friends as you like – for everyone who you refer you’ll get an extra chance to win one of the two Best Dozen of ’07 packs.

The Best Dozen of ’07 are (in no particular order):

• T’Gallant pinot grigio 2007 ($12-15)
• Kalleske Clarry’s Red 2006 ($18-20)
• Jacobs Creek riesling 2007 ($8-12)
• Petaluma Hanlin Hill riesling 2007 ($19-22)
• Saltram Pepperjack shiraz 2006 ($15-26)
• Highbank blend 2001 ($45-$50)
• Zema Estate cabernet sauvignon 2004 ($20-$25)
• Torbreck The Steading 2005 ($38-$45)
• Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Quartage 2005 ($18-$24)
• Wirra Wirra Church Block 2005 ($18-$20)
• Olivers Taranga shiraz 2004 ($25-$28)
• Buller Fine Old Tokay NV ($18-20)

Download the video: (6 min 46 sec)
Windows Media (19.6 Mb) | Mpeg4 (20.7 Mb) | Ipod (27.7 Mb)

Cheers… happy wine buying and good luck in our competition!
Click here to enter by subscribing.

Brad and Danny

With tomorrow being Australia Day we thought we would take a look at three wines which would go down well with any Aussie BBQ. We kick things off with a white wine style that is growing in appreciation in Australia, followed by a beautiful Cab Sauv from Margaret River and finish with a typical big BBQ shiraz.

In this episode we recommend:

• T’Gallant Juliet Pinot Grigio 2006 ($11-17)
• Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($26-34)
• Pepperjack Shiraz 2005 ($16-22)  

Download the video: (4 min 01 sec)
Windows Media (11.7 Mb) | Mpeg4 (12.2 Mb) | Ipod (16.5 Mb)

Cheers… and happy wine buying!

Brad and Danny