Drink your way through Billy’s Best wine book – a bottle or two at a time. Follow the instructions and you’ll be a wine wizard by Easter. New lessons are posted every Wednesday. Looking forward to hearing about your ‘homework’!
Lesson #3 Does the situation call for the old wine camp or the new?
The old wine [...]
THE LOW DOWN: Six picks ranging in price from $15 to $25. Blockbuster, crowd-pleasing Argentinan wines are the feature but they are outdone by my Cotes du Rhone pick. France also scores with a Sauv Blanc. Malivoire Gamay and Southbrook Chard are outstanding locals.
WHITES
wine style: fresh white
LA CHABLISIENNE 08 Sauvignon, Saint-Bris, France 641753 $14.95
Seriously dry [...]
THE LOW DOWN: Best Vintages release in a long time. Lots of great tasting and distinctive wines for only $12.95. But you must try the Rasteau for $15.
anytime sipper
wine style: fresh white
RAPAURA SPRINGS 08 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, N.Z. 142919 $14.95 New Zealand Sauv in a mellow mood. Well, almost. The usual exuberance is tempered with [...]
Posted in Vintages Picks, Wine Picks | Also tagged chardonnay, Chile, Corbieres, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Rasteau, red wine, sauvignon blanc, Terra D'Aligi, Vinho Verde, viognier, white wine |
THE LOW DOWN: Fabulous Furmint, a Chardonnay alternative, a blockbuster local and a fun Riesling are my white recommendations. In reds, you’ll find good value Syrah from the producers of Fuzion, a classic Bordeaux style wine from Chile and a Ripasso that’s perfect for fall meals and moods. The dry Rosé – buy of the [...]
Fuzion has built a following delivering a smooth, crowdpleasing red wine. I expected the newly arrived white to be similar in style – but it’s not. Instead it’s crisp, pure and tart in the style of Italian Pinot Grigio. A hot day refresher, or before dinner wine. A bargain in summer whites.
Familia Zuccardi 08 Chardonnay/Chenin [...]
Posted in Wine Picks | Also tagged Fuzion, white |
THE LOW DOWN: Dry Rosé is the feature and I’m recommending five wines including a great-value local from Tawse Estate. My picks are novel whites from Greece and Austria, and a lone Aussie red.
WHITES
style: RICH WHITE
RABL 06 Grüner Veltliner ‘G’, Kamptal, Austria 117390 $29.95
This is one of those pricey wine experiences worth paying for. While [...]
It’s time for my favourite Spring ritual – a glass of Sauvignon Blanc
on the patio, or in the garden. On a warm day in early May I like to
take a well chilled bottle of Sauv Blanc to a spot in the sun – pour
myself a glass – and feel this great season.
Sauvignon Blanc is the [...]
THE LOW DOWN: Tuscany is the feature but I found the wines to be too New World and expensive. Welcome to the modern era in Tuscany! Not for me.
My list is short but it contains a candidate for red wine value of the year in Santa Julia Cabernet from Argentina. The style is perfect for [...]
VINTAGES March 14, 2009
THE LOW DOWN: Not a lot to recommend. But you can’t go wrong buying Colio Sauvignon Blanc and Cotes du Rhône for summer drinking. And crowd pleasing doesn’t get much better than with Bianchi Malbec.
Rant! The two wines from Reif have unpleasant musty, dusty flavours. A quality I’ve found in many of [...]
Posted in Vintages Picks | Also tagged BECKETT'S FLAT 07 Cabernet/Shiraz 'Five Stones', CASTEL OUALOU 07 Côtes du Rhône, COLIO 06 CEV Sauvignon Blanc, COOLEY’S ‘Connemara’ Peated Single Malt, COOLEY’S ‘The Tyrconnell’ Single Malt, DANIEL LENKO 06 Unoaked Chardonnay, FAMIGLIA BIANCHI 06 Malbec Mendoza, France, HILLEBRAND 07 Trius White, Ireland, Margaret River, Niagara, VQA, Western Australia |
