A Family Outing

As I entered my last week of paternity leave, I wanted to ensure that
I'd be leaving the home in a good state for when the good lady is home
alone and also that we had taken the opportunity to spend some time
together.

Not wanting to put to much pressure on the wife - as any outing would
mean her having to confront the requirement to feed in public for the
first time - I was keen to go out and get somewhere that appealed to
us both.

So it was to Mt Tamborine Brewery and Witches Falls Cheese Factory
that we went. A destination to offer something to us both.

Fairly easy to get to, exiting the pacific highway from Beenleigh
South, it's then a fairly picturesque 20m drive through fairly
pleasant country, including a nice climb up into the 'mountain' itself.

So the beer, for $10 I had a sampler tray of four beers:
American Pale Ale - 3.3% - lovely light pale ale, floral aromas and on
the palette
Czech Pilsener - 5% - nice crisp pils with slightly bitter palette
Black Cockatoo - 4.8% - lovely German style schwarzbier, with a bit of
caramel and chocolate
India Pale Ale - 6.5% - heavy in the hops, great example of an IPA

All these were great accompaniments to a Wagyu burger! The mrs having
a goats cheese tart with caramelised onions. The cheese was curd from
the associated Witches Falls.

This was to be the limit of our day out, however someone recommended
visiting Witches Falls Winery. The individual in question works in the
wind industry so I was fairly certain that it would be a good
recommendation - my faith was repaid.

The cellar door was nicely laid out. The member of staff in hand was
excellent, very knowledgable about the wines, their styles and also
their technical aspects. It turns out she us studying part-time at
CSU. She led us through a range of whites, reds and some dessert
wines. The stand outs for us were: Fiano, Verdelho, wild ferment
Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache and a sem/ sav botrytis.

A very worthwhile visit - and our girls first winery. Certainly not
her last I am sure.

Terroir

If I recall correctly, one of my first posts on this blog made mention of the notion of terroir (pronounced teh-wah). I think at the time I believed it to be a French concept, not just a French word, a concept to add yet more mystique to their industry and a notion designed to eke a few more Euros out of the consumer of their wines.

Terroir is about a sense of place. A series of variables that all contribute to making a wine what it is. To paraphrase leading wine writer Huon Hooke from a book published in 1997 called Words on Wine, terroir is a series of factors that makes each wine unique and unable to be copied anywhere else in the world. For, to me, terroir is amongst other things about the climate, the soil structure, the micro-climate for an individual site on an individual block of an individual vineyard.

It is this that leads me to comment on this subject. In today's Australian Magazine (23rd/ 24th January 2010), James Halliday writes about the Shiraz Bledisloe, or the Hawkes Bay Syrah Challenge. This is a challenge in which Syrah from Hawkes Bay, NZs leading Syrah region with two thirds of its national planted total for that varietal, is pitted against Shiraz from Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley.

Now, I have some beef with this comp. For a start 85% of the red crush in Mornington Peninsula is of Pinot Noir and in the Yarra Valley, Shiraz is cited as the third principal red grape variety, after Pinot Noir Cabernet Sauvignon (taken from Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia) . Further Halliday cites that the "choice of Australian regions was based on the similarity of the climate of the three regions". To link this to the title of this post, climate is just one contributory factor that makes a wine what it is. What little I know of Hawkes Bay - I have been and sampled some of the regions delights - one of the key features of the region are the alluvial plains with their famed 'gravels', something I believe neither the Yarra Valley nor Mornington Peninsula possess. This comp to me is a little like challenging the champ - my perception is that Shiraz is Australia's champ variety - to a bout in a discipline in which it is not. To me the Mornington Peninsula does Pinot Noir very well and the Yarra Valley is Chardonnay. Yes, they both represent other varietals well but an Aussie Shiraz contender should come from the Barossa, Canberra, Hunter Valley or McLaren Vale.

I am not disputing the quality of Hawkes Bay Syrah, or its wines in general for it could be said that it's 'Bordeaux' are even more supreme, but that, to pit them against Australia they should be pitched fairly against Australia's best. As to what Australia's best is I'll leave that to someone far more knowledgable than I.

Wine

Before any Strines reading this proclaim: "Typical Pom, always
whining" I am of course talking about matters vinous.
When I came to Australia, I set myself the objective of only drinking
Australian wine, more specifically Barossan Shiraz. I certainly took
to this task with zeal and was able to pursue this objective further with
a trip to the Barossa in Feb '09, along with the good lady and some
dear friends.
However, over 2009 I think it fair to say that I probably learnt more
about Australian wine than I had over the previous years. This was
largely thanks to extensive research for my aforementioned trip with
such resources as Taste by Messrs Jukes and Stelzer, James Halliday's
Wine Companion and latterly WineFront run by Gary Walsh and Campbell
Mattinson.
Now, this for me has only served to confuse further. Whereas with
drinking Barossan, I knew what I was getting, opening myself up to all
these other delights from across the country has led to my poor
palate being confused. Quite simply, I cannot get enough of the
stuff. I even developed vinsomnia (a self created term for the lack of
sleep caused by constant thought about wine) - it could get quite
unhealthy.
I have gotten to the point where I don't know what my 'style' is: do I
explore all these other wonderful regions? Do I go back to my first
love, the Barossa? Do I need an answer now? Or do I just enjoy the
journey and work out the destination when I get to it?
I feel a bit like the characters in Jack Kerouac's On The Road. To
me, in this book, they seem to spend the time zig-zagging across the
country, back and forth, back and forth. This is how I feel about my
desires for wine. I want to drink some from WA, maybe a Chardonnay;
then a pinot from Mornington Peninsula; a traditional jammy Shiraz
from the Barossa; a Riesling from Clare; a Semillon from the Hunter.
End result=confused boy!
So there is only one thing for it. Research. Thus the wine regions
that I would like to visit are:
1) Hunter Valley: semillons from lovely sandy/ loamy soils; hunter
Shiraz to see what that is all about.
2) Canberra: home of Australia's best Shiraz Viognier; cool climate
Shiraz; and some Riesling.
3) Orange: cooler climate region, home to some good Chardonnay, Sav
Blanc and even some cider.
4) Mornington Peninsula: Pinot Noir for me!
5) Victoria: too many regions to contemplate: Beechworth, Heathcote
and Bendigo, Yarra Valley.
6) Margaret River: Australia's answer to Bordeaux?
7) Barossa Valley: a return to my first true love!
So there's plenty to keep me occupied there, just hope the nipper
likes road trips!

Just a Small One

The title was originally a mantra for life, a stock response offered when asked if I fancied a drink, a drop, a brew.

Now that I have become a parent, it has an altogether different meaning and reflects the responsibility I now share with my wife in raising and bringing up the bundle of joy we have created together.

I would like to think that I am a decent citizen and actually contribute something to this world. I am no saint, but I would like to think I have good morals and that I can share this outlook with the newest member of our family. To use the title of a Nigel Planer book that I have never quite gotten around to reading I hope to be a "Good Enough Parent".

As long as the nipper stays away from my wine stash and joins me in persuading my wife/ her mother that the cricket needs to be on TV then we'll be alright!

More Ramblings...

Over the course of 2009 I fell in love with wine more than I thought possible. One of my greatest 'finds' of the year was a site called The Wine Front, an independent review site for consumers run by Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattinson. Available to all members of the public, certain attributes such as full reviews, scores etc are available by subscription only.

Following the birth of my daughter recently I was able to use the Wine Front's Wine Finder tool to find wines that have a connection to her:
1) Matilda's Estate
2) Henschke's Tilly's Vineyard
3) Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon; and if I want to go the whole hog then
4) Robinson Family Vineyards

Safe to say that I will be purchasing select cases of 2010 releases when they become available to see us through!!

People in Glass Houses.....

Since last time out I have been quite busy. First of all I passed the quite rubbish age of 31. However, the weekend of my birthday was quite impressive. The Friday before I went to see the Killers. Well almost see as we were quite possible about as far away as you can get. Brandon Flowers is teeny at the best of times. Nonetheless, they rocked and I enjoyed. The following day it was too the 'Gabba to see Australia take on Sri Lanka in the Warne/ Muralitharan cup. My first test, my first trip to the 'Gabba, my first meat pie at an Australian sporting event and - typically - an strong Aussie performance. I enjoyed, I will be back. Saturday night. The plan was to actually go home and rest/ have some tea. Never happened. Out it was, taking in some dinner at least at the Himalayan cafe in the Valley. The evening finished up in the P&W with the Brisbane Hammers, watching the mighty Irons take on Derby, result: 5-0 to the bastards in claret and blue. Thank you gents, 3 points for my birthday. So to Sunday. That day appeared to pass me by somehow. Nothing to do with the all day drink-a-thon. Excellent way to pass 31. Then this weekend just gone. I flew down to Melbourne on Thursday (15th November) for a training course. My previous visit to Melbourne left me feeling none too excited about going back. However this time I was with a colleague who had lived their for eight years previously and showed some of the more pleasant sides. It seemed that previously I was staying in a part of Melbourne the equivalent of Lambeth. I am sure those Londoners amongst you can understand why it wasn't too enamored. This time out we took in some nice restaurants, including Il Solito a lovely little Italian restaurant that actually had some Italian people in it! It was right opposite Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, it seems Mr O is looking to take on the world! After dinner my colleague took me to the Melbourne Supper Club, a venue that is quite possibly one of my world faves (and I don't do faves really). It oozes genteel charm with lovely old leather sofas, wood panelling, dim lights and a 100 page wine list. Heaven. Well potentially the road to ruin given my proclivity for the vinous liquid. And that was just Thursday night. Unusually for me I actually really enjoyed the training course. It was on facilitation techniques and itself was facilitated by an organisation called Maura Fay. It really was good, a balance between taught and participative styles kept me engaged. Hats off to you. Friday nights dinner saw me take my first sojourn to St Kilda. A place I had heard much about from friends who had either visited or indeed lived there. Thus I took the opportunity to send some text messages to invoke envy amongst those friends! An interesting place, effectively in two halves with a strip of 'nice' places to eat and drink and then further on a 'strip' of places more akin to what you'd see in any trashy beachside 18-30 destination. Dinner this night was at a delightful Malaysian influenced hawker bar called Chinta Blues, where I had a delightful Beef Rendang....yum yummmm washed down with a lovely little Tassy sparkling rose. Can it get any better? Well the only downside was the flies, however as the sun started setting they popped off leaving me to dine in relative peace. That's another thing I did like, and experiencing this has made me change my opinion on this subject, and that is daylight saving. Queensland doesn't observe daylight saving so you get the situation where NSW immediately south, and really only about 3 hours away max does observe daylight saving. So you could live somewhere like the south end of the Gold Coast and be able to gain and lose an hour just by hopping over the state border. The reason I have changed my mind on this subject is that it was so nice to be able to eat out and it still be light at approaching 8pm. In Queensland it's dark approaching 7, not really conducive for an outdoor lifestyle. The funny thing is, the reason oft stated that DST is not observed in Queensland is that it would upset the cows. Go figure!

Evening All

Nah, I haven't been arrested....just it is the evening here. Well it has been a while, and also today marks the first anniversary, in weekly terms, of our arrival in Brisbane. It has been interesting - in a good way. Have completed my first week in the office - just. Information overload has been the oft used phrase this week. The company are certainly a good bunch - which is nice, just lots to get to grips with: new processes, new language, new way of doing things around here. No room for complacency and still much to learn. However things are possibly looking up and I may have my first client based assignment. Not counting ones chickens so more about it should it come off. Other news: Brisbane is a great city. I really cannot say much more than that. Compact enough to get around and yet big enough to really feel like a city. Folks here are friendly (couldn't imagine a Londoner offering you directions, then again I couldn't imagine a Londoner accepting them - as I did!). No hoodies - nice, just plenty of Emo/ Goth dudes (why you would cake your face in make up in temperatures of 20+ degrees I do not know (considering this is Autumn I wouldn't like to consider whether they do this in summer. Many of the restaurants here have a BYO policy so you can take a decent bottle of wine in with you and only get charged $1.50 (yes I have to think in dollars now) or so corkage. That segues nicely into the subject of my earlier blogs: the noble rot. I came here not necessarily expecting to see some of the same Aussie producers that you get in the UK - how wrong was I as were those who had informed me of this. Recent samples: Kangarilla Road Shiraz but not enough jam and fruit for Em (I quite liked its understated approach , so obviously a Shiraz yet smoother than others). Another wine, although not sampled, that I was pleasantly surprised to see was d'Arenberg's Feral Fox Pinot Noir a wine that I had the fortune to sample in the UK, but was rather difficult to get hold of - not so here: three cases just sitting unopened in a little bottle shop we went to last night. Tonight's wares: Battle of Bosworth Shiraz, lovingly being decanted in a plastic jug (all we have before I am branded a philistine!) I'll try and let you know how it is soon.

Terroir.....my arse

In my lost blog I endeavoured to keep an online record of the wines that I have been consuming. I immediately failed after last weeks post to record my opinions of the wines consumed then. Well so to this week.... Friday Hegarty No. 3 from the Minervois. I didn't like this one iota. In fact I didn't drink it aside from an initial taste. I would rather have consumed some neat blackcurrant cordial. Lesson Learned = stick to Ozzie wines Two Hands Gnarly Dude Shiraz. Brilliant. Everything I want in a Shiraz. Big, with a bit of spice, silken finish with light tannins. One to commit to memory for future consumption and a producer to keep an eye out for. Saturday 2005 Henschke Henry's Seven. An interesting Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viogner from the Barossa Valley. I was expecting big things from this wine, and whilst on the nose it was very appealing, on the pallet it offered less and didn't really open up. This is one of Henschke's lower end wines and so I shall be keeping an eye out for other stable mates. St Hallet Gamekeeper's Reserve. For a sub tenner wine this is rather enjoyable. Another interesting Barossa blend, along with the ubiquitous Shiraz and Grenache an element of Touriga is thrown in for good measure. That's enough for now, I'm sounding like a poncy wine cnut.

Last of the NZ Reds

I am trying to resist the temptation to post for postings sake, but at the same time I am mindful that I want to maintain some kind of momentum, conscious of that fact that there have been other initiatives in the past that I have undertaken, that have fallen by the way-side somewhat. So given this quandary, I have decided to post anyway. The reason: I was thinking that my blog could serve as some kind of permanent reminder of the wines that I have consumed. Why was I thinking this? Well when my wife and I went to New Zealand on our honeymoon last year we managed to return with a number of fine wines, the quantity of which has slowly dwindled 'til we find ourselves in the position that today we have decanted the last of the NZ reds, a Nautilus 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve. Sounds fancy....well wait until you smell it. At first I thought it was corked (it was that rare thing amongst NZ wines - it actually had a cork rather than the more frequently encountered Stelvin enclosure - screwcap to thee and me) but I think that was just a slight mustiness around the bottle neck, and once decanted (not as pretentious an act as it may seem, it gives the wine a chance to breathe and relax a little more) all seemed well. At this stage I cannot say what it is like, it is still sitting in the Decanter in the Kitchen. As my wife and I plan to enjoy an evening in its company, I thought it only correct to purchase another bottle of wine - this one a 2003 d'Arenberg Galvo Garage - an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I like the way that d'Arenberg - and so many other Australian winemakers have a story behind the production of their wines, or at least the initial inspiration for them. Hopefully with my work-in-progress relocation to Brisbane, I should be in a position to get to try more Australian varietals than I currently have access to in the UK market. I should get to see if they do indeed keep some of the best wines to themselves. Although much of the viticultural action is in South Australia and Victoria, I am certainly keen to sample the output of the boutique wineries of Queensland - particularly Robinson family vineyards. Maybe I'll post tomorrow to serve as a reminder of how the Nautilus and 'Galvo' went.