April 22, 2010
We have hearty good food when on the farm in Glenburn. The beautiful autumn weather allowed us to sit outside and enjoy pasta dishes, meats, salads and other rural food in the mid-day sun. And we all love Italian cuisine.
Zucchini pasta
Insalata caprese
We also have wine with the food. Often we just open a bottle of Two Hills Merlot. But more often than not, we are tasting wines made by our friends in the wine industry. The cucchini pasta we had for instance with a bottle of 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Steve Sadlier’s vineyard, Nenagh Park, in Yarra Glen.
It has no label as yet, what Australians call “clean skins”, but it’s a ripper of a wine, not in the New Zealand style but rather the one of Sancerre, France. Epicurus would give an arm and a leg to be with us, for sure.
Steve’s Sauvignon Blanc
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food, wine | Tagged: Australia, Australian wine, Epicurus, Glenburn, Nenagh Park Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Steve Sadlier, Two Hills Vineyard, Victoria, Vine Advice, Yarra Glen | 
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Posted by themanfrommoselriver
April 20, 2010
Pips Paddock, Springvale, Yarra Glen
The current overproduction of wine grapes is a great worry for many of the small, medium as well as large producers. Especially for fruit growers the outlook is bleak. Nobody wants to buy your grapes if the slightest deviation from “perfect” is detectable. They just walk away from you and let you sit on the fruit. It’s a buyers market.
However, there are options. One is to make your own wine. Not much equipment is required and space is usually available, even if it is on the back porch of the house.
The new stainless steel tanks on the back porch
My friend Gayle Jewson from Springvale, Yarra Glen did exactly that. The grapes were hand picked and sorted, pressed, destemmed and dumped in new stainless steel vats for fermentation.
When we arrived I tasted the “brew” for the first time. Two weeks later I had a second tasting opportunity. What a difference two weeks can make? Amazing. I think Gayle’s Pinot Noir is on the right track and her Chardonnay is just lovely. Lock out for Pips Paddock Pinot and Chardonnay this year. There is only very limited supply. Visit Gayle on her farm and/or order by phone.
Tasting if fun
The backyard vintner in action
Leave a Comment » | Vineyard profile, wine | Tagged: Australian wine, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pips Paddock, Victoria, Yarra Glen, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
April 18, 2010
Leaving Two Hills Vineyard in Glenburn is always a sad affair. The evening before departure we bid farewell to our old friend Steve and our family, Michael and Helen. On Sunday morning we said good bye to our neighbours, Hillary and Ken. Then we drove to Yarra Glen where we left the car at Gayle’s farm. We had a morning tea, moved the luggage into her car and off we went to Melbourne Airport. Gayle dropped us there and we did the usual stuff.
Fortunately, there was a nice bar called “Plonk”, right next to gate No. 4 from which we were to depart for Bangkok. We went through their wine list and chose a wine from our wine region (the Upper Goulburn Wine Region), a ‘2008 Delatite Riesling’. What a delight this wine was, fresh and fruity with citrus and passion-fruit aromas, a good structure and a long finish. The waiter was particularly charming. Here we said our final good bye. Reminiscing about the past is an old man’s vice, but the memories we took with us are treasures of a very special kind.
Leave a Comment » | vineyards, wine, wine regions | Tagged: Australia, Delatite Winery, Glenburn, Riesling, Two Hills Vineyard, Upper Goulburn Wine region, Victoria, Yarra Glen | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
April 12, 2010
Enjoying good wines together
It is always a pleasure to visit Gayle and Phillip at their Spingvale farm just outside of Yarra Glen. They served us wonderful wines. A ‘2005 Tappa Pass Shiraz Vineyard Selection’ by Henschke from the Barossa Valley in South Australia and a ‘2008 All Saints Estate Durif’ from All Saints Winery in Rutherglen, Victoria. Both wines are wonderful, lush and full of flavor, the right stuff for a long chat on the lawn. Needless to say, we had a great time.
An afternoon with red wines
The 2005 Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz
The 2008 All Saints Durif
The Henschke Shiraz with a glass enclosure
When its over: bottles on the ground
Leave a Comment » | wine | Tagged: All Saints Estate, Australian wine, Barossa Valley, Henschke Wines, Rutherglen, South Australia, St Leonards Vineyard, Victoria, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
April 11, 2010
Rocky Passes 2006 Syrah
One of our favorite “house wines” is Syrah from Rocky Passes, a winery about an hour north of Two Hills Vineyard. Rocky Passes Estate has received rocking reviews from James Halliday, one of the “popes of wine” from the Yarra Valley. The 2006 vintage received 92 points. Vitto Oles is a jolly good fellow, excellent wine maker and carpenter.
James Halliday wine reviews of Rocky Passes
Liz Mazurek painting
Today the newest art exhibition of Liz Mazurek starts at Rocky Passes. The theme is “The Persistence of Existence”. There is also a three course Spanish dinner available at the opening. If you have not reserved just go for some wine tasting and have a look at the colorful paintings of Liz. Rocky Passes Estate is worth a visit.
Address:
Vitto Oles & Candi Westney
Rocky Passes Estate
1590 Highlands Rd
Whiteheads Creek
Vic 3660
Australia
+61 3 5796 9366
www.rockypasses.com.au
Leave a Comment » | culture, wine | Tagged: Australian wine, Glenburn, James Halliday, Liz Mazurek, Rocky Passes, Syrah, Two Hills Vineyard, Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association, Victoria, Vitto Oles, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
March 31, 2010
Beautiful scrimps in garlic and olive oil
In the hot weather of March and April big meals are not very attractive. Alas, Thailand has a lot of choice in seafood and lighter dishes are the go. Some rice with tofu and green vegetables and plenty of scrimps are the right stuff for a light meal. The question is which wine to drink with it?
A simple “Chinese set” meal
There is a lot of choice actually. As far as white wines are concerned one could choose a Chenin Blanc from Gran Monte, Thailand, for instance. Or one could have a Pinot Grigio from Italy or Germany. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are other possible choices.
If the dish is spicy, and the above one was, the ‘Grande Signature de Rapatel’ by Gérard Eyraud, France, a blend of Roussanne and Bourboulenc, is a great choice. The wine is oily and thick and full of apricot flavour. It balances the spicyness of the food in a wonderful way. I never thought that a Roussanne could be such a good complement to Asian food. My tip of the day: try it.
PS: You can get bottles of this wine in Bangkok from Lake House and Comte de Sibour.
1 Comment | food, wine | Tagged: Asian Food, Bangkok, Chenin Blanc, Comte de Sibour, Domaine de Rapatel, French wine, Gérard Eyraud, Gran Monte, Lake House, Rapatel, Thai food | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
March 30, 2010
Last Friday we went to a wine tasting at Lake House. Four wines were on offer, two came from California and two from South Africa. The Californian producer was Bliss Family Vineyards, which is a third generation family business in Mendocino County. The South African producer was Darling Cellars. Both producers are not small entities.
From each producer we tasted a Merlot and a Sauvignon Blanc. I do not want to bore you with tasting notes. The clear “winner”, the wine I liked best, was the Merlot from Darling Cellar, a ‘2007 Six Tonner Merlot’. I did not like the wines from California. Both Sauvignon Blancs tasted very unusal but did not hold my attention for very long.
The atmosphere at the Lake House tasting was, as always, great. We met so many interesting people, from Argentina, India and the USA. Dan and Dan, two of three partners of the Lake House venture were also there and we had a good chat about life and the universe.
Leave a Comment » | wine | Tagged: Bliss Family Vineyard, California, Darling Cellars, Lake House, South Africa | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
March 24, 2010
This is the time of the year when the thermometer shows already 32 degrees Celsius at 6:30 in the morning. In mid April it may reach 40-44 Celsius at noon. Alcoholic drinks are not ideal under such conditions. However, a glass of wine with lunch is still something desirable. So what to drink?
Well, my first choice is obviously white wine, maybe a rose, but the wine needs to be chilled. Gran Monte Estate, one of the nine Thai wineries, is located in the Khao Yai region, a two hours drive north of Bangkok, and offers both, white and rose.
Today I talk about their ‘2009 Spring Chenin Blanc’, a fresh and vibrant young wine, very well made with tropical fruit aromas. The grape variety is not my preferred choice when it comes to white wine but for the Gran Monte I make an exception. This Chenin Blanc is perfect for hot days and goes well with Italian and Asian dishes. The alcohol is 12.5% only which makes it also easy to drink in hot weather.
If you live in Thailand or visit Bangkok, try it out. It is worth the odd 500 Thai Bath you pay for the bottle if you purchase directly from the Gran Monte Bangkok shop.
PS: Gran Monte offers also a Syrah rose (the Sakuna rose) in a half bottle which I have tried as well. More about this wine another time.
Address in Bangkok:
Granmonte Co,Ltd.
17 / 8 Soi Sukhumvit 6, Sukhumvit Road,
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel : 02-653-1522
Marketing@granmonte.com
Leave a Comment » | wine | Tagged: Bangkok, Chenin Blanc, Gran Monte, Gran Monte Estate, Khao Yai region, New Latitude Wines, Thai wine, Thailand | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
March 20, 2010
There are plenty of good restaurants and fancy dining in Hua Hin, this seaside town about 3 hours south of Bangkok, which has become such a very popular destination for Bangkonians to spend the weekend.
During our recent workshop in Hua Hin we ate out a couple of times. I report about a not so famous place, called Pom Pom, where you can eat for very little money home cooked dishes. Some of the food is announced as “Italian”. The place was an insiders tip, which we could not refuse.
The participants of this dinner where divided as regards the quality of the food. Some thought it was awesome, other were appalled. There were few guests that night, a weekday, but the staff was very friendly and we remained seating and drinking wine for a couple of hours after the meal had ended.
We consumed many bottles of wine. Nothing fancy. Some of the wines were re-bottled and re-blended as the label in full honesty proclaimed. We drank “our way up price’wise” and did not regret it: We woke up the next morning without hangover. We had a jolly good time.
Leave a Comment » | food, wine | Tagged: Bangkok, Hua Hin, Thailand, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
March 17, 2010
My newest treasure
When I got home the other day from a week long business trip, the two boxes of wine by Gérard Eyraud were already waiting for me.
I told you that we had attended a wine tasting at Lake House and that we just loved the wines presented to us by Gérard.
Grand Signature de Rapatel – the Roussanne – Bourboulenc blend.
The Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre blend
The Syrah – vine de table/table wine
More about these wines later, maybe even some tasting notes. Stay tuned.
1 Comment | Vineyard profile, wine | Tagged: Domaine de Rapatel, French wine, Gérard Eyraud, Lake House | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 