Bright, ecclectic labels, enchanting names, and bold flavours.

I’ve been slowly working my way through the variety of wines in the Mollydooker collection for some time. This company has the user journey nailed – from the bottle store to the bottom of the glass.

Based in McLaren Vale, the Mollydooker vineyard grows Shiraz primarily, as wells as Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. I love that their philosophy is all about bringing out the ‘wow’ factor in the wine – it’s all about character, as opposed to the quest for excellence. Labels within the Mollydooker family are bright stars among their pale rivals on the shelf, with bubbly graphics and names like ‘Two Left Feet’, ‘GigglePot’, ‘Enchanted Path’ & ‘Carnival of Love’. Furthermore, each wine has a story to tell.

The 2009 Maitre D’ Cabernet Sauvignon that you see pictured above was named after the winemaker himself (‘Sparky’), who, according to the website, put himself through winemaking college working as a left handed Maitre D’.

This wine is beautiful example of the rich, bountiful flavours produced by Mollydooker. A very sweet red, you’ll be able to taste berries, chocolate, vanilla and spice. It makes for a smoother mouthful on the second day of opening – I would recommend running this one through an aerator if you want to drink it straight away, or leave the cap off for 1/2hr so the first mouthful is as wonderful as the last.

The Maitre D’ would add heart to any meal. I enjoyed it with a slow cooked Lamb, Date & Spinach tagine, and then later with a block of dark chocolate as dessert.

If you have a few minutes to spare, take a wander through the Mollydooker website – it’s a treasure trove of information about the winery, it’s produce and the people behind it. My favourite was the story of Sparky & Sarah and how the success of their winery came to be, among other things ;)

Finally if you’re in the mood for decadence - their 2011 Velvet Glove looks divine. At $185 this is one for a special event – but it’s so beautifully packaged, I’m already thinking about the next occasion that would justify a bottle!

Paris is a complex city.

It is contradictory, rhythmic, full of opinion. Everything is layered.

A place of both opulent wealth and bohemian living, the rich wrap themselves in designer brand labels, and the poor cloak themselves in only in their artistry. A jazz player will be found making melodies in the Métro carriage, this priceless gift exchanged roughly for a couple of coins. Well above ground, the parochial wife of a powerful business man swans down the Champs Elysees, draping her exquisite figure in fur, gold and silk.

Chocolate is baked tenderly in butter and pastry, in Boulangeries all over the city. Hundreds upon hundreds of Pain au Chocolat feed a never-ending horde of hungry mouths from dawn until dusk.  Well-versed accents coat the native language in a crisp exoticism, often bewitching and sometimes abusing a mass of beguiled tourists. These visitors flock to the main attractions, Tower de Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, Musee du Louvre, their cameras working hard to capture every crumb of history and landscape.

Somewhere between the 7th and 8th Arrondissement, a girl is wrapped tightly in her one and only coat, her nose bright red from the cold, a black and white print scarf wound high around her neck so she can nestle her cheek against occasionally it for warmth. She has less than 5 days to soak up everything that Paris has to offer. Her heels pound the pavement with the mixed force of conviction and desperation – she wants to see all the popular tourist attractions, but also some snapshot of real Parisian culture. This experience she knows she will only stumble upon by luck, tucked away in some dark romantic corner that only the locals know of.

After her 5 days are over, a concoction of happy scribbles have taken note of the following:

- Apartment in the 3rd Arrondissement
- The Eiffel Tower
- Salmon at the St Regis Cafe
-  Jaegermeister for 17€ at the local supermarché
- Champs Elysees (overrated)
- Louis Vuitton & Mercedes
- Wine & Pizza @ Grazie - 91, Boulevard Beaumarchais
- Arc de Triomphe & the roundabout of death.
- The Moulin Rouge (thoroughly uninspiring)
- Da Vinci’s The Mona Lisa, seen from the perspective of a sardine in a tightly packed can of touristes
- A morning run along The Seine – finally beautiful without all the people.
- All the colours of Montmartre
- Saint-Sébastien — Froissart (on line 8 of the Paris Métro)
- Confirmation of the undying wish to become an artist.
- Cigarette Smoke and cured Jambon
- Creperie, pronounced ‘craperie’
- Le Pain Quotidien
- A bottle of Bourdeaux, Foie Gras & Escargot at an exquisite old Train Station (Bouillon Chartier)
- Magic & Disneyland
- A ride on space mountain, and vomit to match.
- Old friends, silly stories & too many shots @ The Bootleg Bar
- One hell of a hangover #worth it
- A lone souvenir
- A sleepy train ride back to England

One balmy night, about three years ago I bought a dusty bottle from a dusty little bottle store,tucked away in a little nook behind a cranny somewhere at the back of Glebe Point Rd. Hungrier than a harras of horses, my companion and I found a homely BYO Italian place to dine right next door, whereupon the contents of the bottle were sipped greedily between large mouthfuls of fresh wood fired pizza.

At the time I didn’t know whether it was the pizza, or the fact that I was already a little tipsy from the cocktails I’d drunk an hour before, but the wine tasted like a drop of heaven. Magically labelled ‘Dark Side Of The Moon‘, this wine left a mysterious mark on my memory.

I didn’t think I’d ever find the same bottle again – I went back to the same place a few weeks later, only to find they’d run out of stock. I searched for it in other popular liquor stores to no avail. Ironically, the pizza place also closed down a few months later, which was sad because their food had heart, as did the people that worked there.

Fast-forward to a couple of days ago when The Dark Side of The Moon decided to come out from the shadows, and wave at me from the Shiraz isle at non other than Dan Murphy’s. The vintage I’m currently drinking is a 2011, so it’s only aged by a year or so, but it’s as rich and subtle as I remember. It’s made by Claymore Wines, of the Clare Valley in South Australia. Check out their website for more on The Dark Side of The Moon (2010 tasting notes only), and their various other wildly-named varieties. Titles like Black Magic Woman, Saltan’s Swing, and Purple Rain, this winery seems to ooze both intimacy and imagination. I thoroughly look forward to trying some of the varieties…

<booming voice>

Step right up ladies and gentleman!

Step up and try a glass of the most succulent, sensuous, salacious, sophisticated Cabernet Sauvignon! Sourced from 80 year old Barossa vineyards, each grape is picked by hand, basket pressed, then matured a wood barrel carved from a old French oak tree. 1 year to 16 months later….  voila! An enchanted bottle! A delight of the senses!

<in a quiet whisper>

…The Raconteur Cab Sav is even rumored to contain sorcerous properties…

<pause for dramatic effect>

Where one may taste blueberries, and a hint of spice, another drinker will taste something different entirely. Cherries perhaps, a faint whiff of desire, or a memory long forgotten… There is no telling what a single drop of the Raconteur may evoke.

It’s liquid magic at it’s best good folk! 

<booming again>

So if you’re after a good nose, great legs; a titbit for your taste buds, step right up to buy a bottle. Hell. Buy half a dozen!

If it so happens you can’t get enough, (don’t worry you’re not the first) visit Vinaceous wines to browse the collection in it’s entirety. But for now, drink up! There’s plenty to be had. With freshly cooked streak, fine company and some entertainment to boot, get set for a night of merriment and mischief…
Brought to you by Vinaceous wines & The Tipsy Scribbler Inc. Pty. Ltd. 

If you follow the tipsy trail right back to when this little barfly started blogging, you’ll notice that I don’t really talk about white wines nearly as much as red.

If my relationship with white wine were a status on Facebook, we’d fall under the ‘It’s Complicated’ category. Simply put, cheap white wine had a really bad influence on me during my uni days.  Don’t get me wrong, we had some amazing nights together, but in the end all I was left with the next morning was a bitter aftertaste in my mouth and one too many horrible hangovers. Serves me right – for thinking that quantity over quality was a good idea. Eventually, the relationship proved too toxic to continue, so I stopped all communication, and focused my energies to finding a nice bottle of red to settle down with instead.

Getting Back In The Game…
I’m happy to say now however, after 2 years of abstinence, I’m slowly learning to appreciate white wine again.

I can drink some of the lighter whites and really enjoy them. Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio are my favourites – they’re fruity, but not too sweet, and light enough to enjoy half a bottle without the acidity bringing up any bad memories. In comparison to other white varieties, on average the acid of the pinot gris/grigio grape drops very quickly upon ripening, which makes for easy growing in cooler climates, and also makes it ultra friendly food-wine.
Let’s look at the 2012 Mojo Pinot Gris, as a divine example. Each light, crisp mouthful is better than the first, smacking & smelling softly of pear, passionfruit, honeysuckle- but not overpoweringly so like some of it’s cousins. Drink it with a simple salad & fresh fish.

Another simple, and glaringly obvious tip to drinking white is to have it pre-chilled to the correct temperature. The chill magically counterbalances the acidity, kindly making each sip refreshing.

And so, armed with a renewed sense of hope & appreciation I continue to work my way through bottles in the Gris/Grigio family. I knew the Mojo would be a keeper – having already been thoroughly impressed by a Shiraz of theirs I tried last year. I plucked this bottle from the shelf at Vintage Cellars, and a knowing wink from the manager sealed the deal. Wine tasting notes aren’t on their website for this variety as yet, so leave any critiquing in the capable hands of both your tastebuds & your imagination :)

The Wine List:

Breakfast with Twist
1. Innocent Bystander 2011 Pinot Gris (Yarra Valley)
A light & delicate glass of this Pinot Gris from the Yarra Valley is the perfect thing to start the engines early on in the day. Enjoy it with a large Aussie mango & other fruits for a breakfast, or, if you’re adverse to drinking before 10am have it solo later in the morning.

A Nip & A Nibble
2. El Coto 2008 Tempranillo (Rioja, Spain)
Not wanting to go too hard to early on with full-bodied reds, pop the cork on a juicy Tempranillo at about midday; an ideal red to compliment large chunks of cheese, pate, olives and any other tapas-style nibbles that tickle your festive fancy.

A Lengthy Lunch
3. Kilikanoon 2010 Exodus Shiraz (Barossa Valley)
4. Leconfield 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra) 
Decanted overnight, or aired slowly in the glass over the many hours of eating, digesting, and eating some more, these reds are ripe and rich and seamless in complexity, and certainly do justice to the occasion.

Sweet & Sticky
5. De Bortoli 2008 Noble One Botrytis Semillon 
Stomach now at breaking point, fill what little space is left with a small bowl of sweets and a shot glass of the unbeatable Noble One Botrytis Semillon. Nectar of the gods.

Nap Time. 
Finally at that point where neither food nor wine cannot be looked upon, at least for another few hours.
Celebrate your over indulgence with a sly little nap.

Heavy Suitcase…

I returned from Europe a few weeks ago with a lot of new things.

A stack of trendy clothes, bottles of extra virgin olive oil, a renewed appreciation of sunlight (thanks London), and an addiction to Tempranillo.

To help remedy the latter, I’ve made the journey to Dan Murphy’s a few times to take stock of their imported wine section. Though the tempranillo grape has been in Australia for a very long time, it’s not a hugely popular variety amongst Australian wine growers (yet). As much as they try, the grape (historically) hasn’t grown too well in the Australian land & climate.

Considering the fact I drank my way through so many amazing bottles of the pure variety in Spain, it seems silly to mess with a good thing. Since my return, I’ve mainly been buying bottles imported from Rioja – the home of the tempranillo grape. Though I’m now forking out $20 for what was  €4 in Spain, it’s what I’d be paying normally for any other variety so I don’t really mind.

Care to join me?

Start with the bottles you see photographed above. El Coto and Glorioso. Sown, grown, plucked, fermented and consumed with all the love that Europeans put into their food & wine.

Tempranillo is a little lighter than your average full bodied Shiraz or Cab Sav; it has lower amounts of sugar and less acidity. It’s deliciously sweet nevertheless, and works little miracles on your tastebuds when consumed with food.

Another little novelty you’ll enjoy when drinking imported wine is use of your cork screw. Screw-tops have become so commonplace in Australia over the past few years, cork screws have become a wee tad redundant.
The bulk of wines bottled in Spain still use corks though, so dust off the rusty cork screw that’s sitting idly in your kitchen drawer, and put it to good use popping the top off a few of these bottles.

Finally – when drinking Tempranillo – drink as the Spanish do! A couple of bottles over a few hours, with nibbles of food & fine company. The perfect mixture for a lazy Sunday afternoon. :)

2007 Ad Hoc Mix Master.

The description on the back is divine in its simplicity: Well Mixed Red. 

‘What’s in it?’ you ask, turning the bottle round in your hands as if further annotation will magically appear.
Answer: who cares?

Having tried Larry Cherubino’s wines before (not to mention his glowing reputation) I know that a red blend at the price point of $17 at Dan Murphy’s is bound to turn out OK.

This wine has a great personality-  a light, yet full bodied mouthful delivers sweet and long lasting fruity flavours, wrapped with a touch of spice. A good ‘quaffing’ wine as they say – one to be enjoyed across a range of different foods.

What I love most about this wine is that the label gives nothing away about it’s contents – the drinker will never know what grape varieties have gone into it’s making. I’m a big advocate of enjoying wines that resonate with your personal taste, and not letting the price or the wrapper influence your enjoyment (which they tend to do a lot of the time!)

So head down to your local Dan’s and pick up 1/2 a dozen of this mysterious delight.

Hasta Mañana

Let me open by saying – Lordy May! It has been a while.

In my defense I’ll say this – one cannot stay in the same place, living out the same daily routine for an extended period of time and not expect to feel restless; a drought in the old the creative juices is fairly common as well. And so! One must break the monotony of repetition every once in a while – go crazy,  pack a bag, and set forth driven by the overly romanticized notion of the wild unknown.

Foreign words. Creativity in landscape. Enchanting people. Architecture and Story. And, of course, a healthy overdose of food and wine.

Sorry about the cliché but a little travel is good for the soul. And so it was in this buoyant spirit of search, that I embarked on a month long journey to Spain. What will follow here is my abbreviated food & wine diary (yes – abbreviated – I don’t want to risk you getting bored). My journey started in the beautiful city of Barcelona and flowed down along the South along Costa del Sol.

Though I covered a lot of terrain, a few weeks is not enough to experience all of the culinary delights that Spain has to offer. Even listing them down seems clinical. If you ever get the chance to go, your first priority should be to head to your nearest tapas bar, order a cerveza, and wrap your lips around a chunk of fresh bread heaped with olive oil and Jamón. A small bite of heaven.

{Abbreviated} Travel Diary

Places Visted in Spain: Barcelona (everything it’s cracked up to be), Malaga (The Spanish version of Surfers Paradise), Granada (home of the Alhambra Palace), Marbella (beachside town who’s earned it’s dot map with a few sculptures by Salvador Dali), Sevilla (food that rival’s Barcelona, fairytale architecture and the oldest Bull Ring in Spain).

Time of Year: October – not recommended if you’re after sun. Un paraguas (umbrella) is essential.

Favourite Experiences: The Picasso Museum, The Barcelona Chocolate Factory, the streets of El Born, (Barcelona district), seeing a live Flamenco show in the depths of a Gypsy Cave in the mountains of Granda,  the Alhambra Palace, taking a run along the beaches of Costa del Sol, Plaza de España (in Seville), getting lost (seriously – it makes the exploration so much more fun {except when it’s raining}).

Food:

Tapas, tapas and more tapas. These cute little bars, tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the narrow cobbled streets are absolutely bursting with food worth salivating over: Jamón (cured ham) a plethora of cheeses, olives, pimientos, sardines, anchovies, mussels, plenty of bread and olive oil. It’s the Spanish way to head to a tapas bar at 1 or 2pm, order a cerveza or a glass of Rosé, a plate of cured meat and eat & sip the latter slowly, (with good company) for an hour or so, then head home for a little siesta, or onto the next bar to do it all again. :)

Other culinary delights – pizza (no more than 3 toppings, 4 max), leafy green salads with goats cheese (literally a whole wheel of goats cheese dumped on the top), and lots and lots seafood (fried or fresh).

And of course, there is classical, mouthwatering Paella (pay-yeh-yah). Your menu will always invariably list 3 options  - Vegetable, seafood or chicken, but seafood is always a clear winner (Paella de Mariscos). To be ordered for no less that 2 people, always 20 minutes in advance. I love the concept of slow-cooked paella; it tastes so much better knowing the 20 minutes of love that has gone into it’s preparation.

Breadcrumbs:
Take note of these awesome Wine & Tapas Bars in Barcelona:
El Xampanyet / Mosquito / Princesca / Shoko / Txirimiri

Wine, Beer & Spirits

Cerveza – pronounced ‘ser-veth-a’ in the south, a glass of cerveza is pretty much a given everywhere you go. On my first night in the city, a giant cheesy pizza & a long cerveza was the magical cure for my little case of jet lag. Though I’m hardly an expert on beer I thoroughly enjoyed Estrella & Alhumbra beers in Spain. Don’t be fooled by the advertising for San Miguel & Cruzcampo – these beers are the ones to avoid.

Cava – Spain’s answer to champagne. There are are few famous cava factories and bars which serve locally-made bubbly, dotted throughout Barcelona. El Xampanyet (a must see)- is renowned both for its tapas and it’s function as a Xampanyeria (champagne / cava bar). Located a few feet away from the Picasso Museum, this tiny little bar, tucked into a hole in the wall, is packed to the brim with cava, people, music, lots of cheer from the bar staff, and plates full of mouthwatering pimientos.

Spirits - All ridiculously cheap, and available for purchase at all little convenient stores (supermarcat). Spain did nothing but nurture my obbsession for Campari; unlike Australia where a shot will be measured out and poured into a glass then filled with soda; a few cubes of ice will be tipped into a Tumbler glass, followed by half the Campari bottle. Thumbs up.
Other than Campari, there’s never a shortage of the world’s favourite spirits – whiskey, bourbon, vodka etc.

Wine - for lunch & dinner, and often breakfast if you’re so inclined. I quickly got into the habit of enjoying a sleek nip of Rosé (rosado) with tapas in the middle of the day, and moving to full bodied reds in the evening. Equipped only with a smattering of Spanish vocab left me in the dark with a lot of the names & regions when ordering off a menu. For red wine, I always asked the waiter (with a twinkle in his eye) for the recommended red, and I was never disappointed. They serve up a lot of Tempranillo, which is grown nationally in the Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions of Spain. Other varieties come from France and South America – in particular Argentina & Chile.

I also enjoyed a lot of fortified wines in Spain – as a little nightcap! In Malaga (south Spain) the town prides itself on the locally- grown and produced sticky wine, which lived up to the hype as sweet and delicious. It was interesting to see how many of the bars & local eateries get behind the wine of their region – Malaga sticky wines were listed on every menu, and recommended by most bar staff.

La Cuenta (The Bill)
The best thing about wine in Spain is the fact that a glass in a restaurant (and I’m talking good quality stuff) will cost you 1 – 2 euros. 3 tops. The ritual of drinking slowly, with some olives or a slice of cured meat is an experience to be savoured; if nothing else this experience taught me that we rush though the pleasure of food and wine far to quickly in Australia.
And on that fairly wise note, I’m going to say Adios! and Buenos Dias!