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Posts tagged ‘White wine’

Jan 20

White Delight


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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 :)

May 20

Wine By Some Young Punks

Brain Food…

Selecting a good wine is a complex & intriguing process.

Navigating your way through a sea of shelves and bottles, hundreds of tiny little question marks bubble happily in your brain…vintage? grape variety?  price? recommendation? label? taste? region?
Eventually, all these puzzle pieces struggle together to form a seemingly coherent thought, upon which a bottle is plucked triumphantly from the shelf and whisked away to the counter, Happy as Larry.

It is with this in mind that I must tell you I’ve been slightly naughty – the other day I bought some wine based purely on the look of the label.

Love them or hate them, all label designs by ‘Wine By Some Young Punks’ will have the same effect on you – they’ll jump out at you as if you’ve been smacked over the head.

Bursting with colour and character, each variety has a design, and subsequently a story inimitable to any other.  This story is communicated through a variety of visual languages, whether this be Pulp Fiction, Gothic Romance, Graphic Novel or Street-style Graffiti art. The concept behind each label is documented on the Wine By Some Young Punks website, which is well worth a visit.

I very much admire these winemakers for their bravery in breaking the traditional mould, and founding a contemporary winemaking ethos:

“We make charismatic wines that are true to what we think ‘wine’ should be about… Each wine, each vintage, and each label is a moment that will never come again… We believe that awesome wine is a powerful aid to creativity; there is always the danger that while drinking a bottle of Punks you may also be pushed to random acts of winemaking, it definitely keeps us ticking over…” 

Tasting The Story:

Monsters, Monsters, Attack! 2011 Riesling is a sweet, musky and seriously enjoyable sensation from the Clare Valley. Its feminine and floral aromas will tickle your nose, and its complex palate of apple, musk & lychee-like flavours will tease your tongue.
It’s fairly sweet, but not overpoweringly so; I’d pair it with a vegetarian meal, chicken, or salmon.  If you’re a fan of moscato, you might also enjoy this Riesling as an after-dinner wine. It retails for about $23 a bottle.

Fierce Allure 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is a bio-dynamic, single vineyard drop from the McLaren Vale.
As the name suggests, some serious tannins will hit your mouth during that first sip. But once the wine has been aerated, the tannins will soften and open your palette up to exquisite red fruit flavours, laced with the spiciness of herbs, cinnamon & liquorice.
Enjoy it with a hearty winter meal…making sure there’s a nice portion of succulent red meat somewhere on your plate. I recommend cracking the lid a day or so before you intend to drink it. It retails for about $30 a bottle, so you may as well get the most out of every drop!

Post Script

The story behind each of the Young Punks is an interesting one. I’d recommend doing a cheeky Google search on Jen Gardner, Colin McBryde and Nic Bourke for a little bit of background, as the Young Punks website doesn’t really give you too many details.

Apart from that, all I can say it that their ‘new world’ winemaking ethos has seriously impressed me – I look forward to seeing what the Punks come up with in years to come. 

Apr 17

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Dopff Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer.

Say it with me. guh-VOORTS-truh-MEE-nur

Better yet, don’t try and say it, just drink it.

From the grapevine
Gewürztraminer is a variety that’s not widely grown in Australia as it thrives in a cooler climate. However, you will hear of some areas, such as Tasmania, the Clare Valley & the Hunter Valley produce memorable bottles of this variety. In contrast to other whites, such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, this variety is comparatively sweet, due to the grape’s naturally high sugar content.

I’m currently smacking on a Dopff au Moulin 2010 vintage, which deliciously fruity. To me, it’s half a sip away from a dessert wine. If you love a good sticky, then you’ll certainly enjoy a drop of the Gewurz with your dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I’d recommend drinking this wine over a meal that is a mix of both sweet and savoury, to balance out the flavours. I’m sinking my teeth into a Trout & Spinach pastry – a dish invented by my Mother, the culinary genius – and it has a hint of raspberry preserve at it’s base, which is perfect with a glass of the the Gewurz. (See the recipe at the end of this post)

Alternatively, I wouldn’t say no to a shotglass of the Dopff with a fruity dessert of some kind.

Easy Pickings…

This bottle came highly recommended from the manager at my local Dan Murphy’s, who is usually spot-on with his wine advice. As an imported wine, Dan Murphy’s  is probably the only place you’ll be able to purchase this one – for about $17 a bottle. The tasting notes on this baby describe hints of Turkish Delight & spices – if this appeals even more to your palate.

Fun Fact:
Gewurztraminer is a fusion of two German word. Gewurz, as it is often referred to, means spicy, and tramin refers to the Italian region where the grape originated.

Trout & Spinach Pastry

What’s In The Box?
A couple of de-boned Australian Trout fillets
A cup of sweet white wine
Dill
Bunch of fresh spinach
2 rashers of bacon, or proscuitto
A white onion (chopped roughly)
Parsley
2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese.
Brown Rice
Raspberry preserve
2-3 sheets of Organic Puff Pastry

Make the Magic Happen:

1. Pop your trout fillets in a bowl & cover them in white wine & dill. Let this sit for 1/2hr to let the trout soak the wine up nicely.
2. Put the a cup of the brown rice on to boil.
3. While the trout is marinating, wash & chop your bunch of spinach. Wack it in the fry pan with the chopped bacon (or proscuitto), the onion, a few chopped sprigs of parsley & a bit of pepper. Cook until the onions have sweated.
4. Once the rice & the spinach dishes are cooked, combine & add a little ricotta cheese. Stir ingredients until everything is nicely mixed.
5. Lay out your (square) sheets of pastry. Spread a spoonful of raspberry preserve over each in a line down the middle. Spoon a decent amount of the spinach mix over the raspberry, and then strips of trout over the top of the spinach. Fold the pastry over.
6. Spread a little milk or an egg-wash over the pastry so that it will brown up nicely in the oven.
7. Cook in a moderate oven (180 degrees) until the pastry is nicely cooked.

8. Eat until you can eat no more.

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