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Posts tagged ‘food’

Jan 4

Decanting & Deliciousness

A Tipsy Christmas

Decanting & Deliciousness

5

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.
4

3

Dec 10

tempranillo

Tempranillo Temptation

Tempranillo

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. :)

Jun 3

30

Drop of Wine, Splash of Paint

And What Is This Wine?

A 2011 De Iuliis Cellar Release of Sangiovese.

Grown in the Hunter Valley, De Iuliis has done exceptionally well in producing such an enjoyable drop out of this Italian grape.

Radiant red, this Sangiovese has all the fresh fruit flavour minus the heavy alcohol content you’ll find in a Shiraz or Cab Sav. Crisp and delicate on the tongue, it’s one you’ll enjoy immensely with food. Work your way through a bottle over lunch or a light dinner, or sip on a glass when you’re after something sweet and refreshing.

If I had to give it personality traits, I’d describe this wine as both happy and youthful.

As a Cellar Release, unfortunately this wine is not readily accessible. To order a bottle (or half a dozen ;) I’d recommend contacting De Iuliis Wines  and requesting some, or visit their Hunter Valley cellar door.  If you’ve in the area, The Cracked Pepper restaurant adjacent to the winery looks worth a visit too.

Much to my delight, Michael De Iuliis seems quite active on Twitter too – so if you have any questions, or you simple want to say hi, flick him a Tweet!

Scrambled Eggs…

At the end of a long work week, when all coherent thought seems to get lost in my scrambled egg of a brain, sometimes there’s nothing I crave more than a blank canvas and a paintbrush; the simple task of crafting a composition from raw colour.

What better way to get the creative juices flowing than with some chillout beats and a light glass of wine.

And so I sit and swallow light. And sound. And Sangiovese.

Eventually the once flapping, curling chaos of paint transforms into recognisable shapes – an eye, an ear, a hand.

In this way, music, colour and flavour combine and create a language of their own, clean and pure. Unlike the heaviness of the spoken word, it is weightless, lifting everything to new, unexplored and imaginative territory…

Chillout Sessions:

Call Me Maybe Cover – Ben Howard

Old Pine – Ben Howard

1000 Things – Jason Mraz

Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman

Amen Omen – Ben Harper

Closer – Kings of Leon

Message In A Bottle – John Butler Trio

I Remember – Deadmau5

Perth – Bon Iver

15 Step – Radiohead

California Dreaming – The Mamas & The Papas

Drop In The Ocean – Ron Pope

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