December 30, 2011
One of the nicest Sauvignon Blanc blends I had so far this summer is the ‘2011 Deen de Bortoli VAT 2 Sauvignon Blanc’ by de Bortoli Wines.
This is a fresh and clean wine with strong herbal and tropical fruit flavours. The wine is medium bodied and low in alcohol (12%).
About 50 % of the grapes for this brand come from old vineyards in the Riverina region in South Eastern Australia; the other half comes from the cool climate King Valley in Victoria.
As you probably know, 2011 was a difficult year for wine makers all over Australia. First, there was so much rain, second there was so much pressure from fungal diseases and third not all grapes would ripen perfectly.
We enjoyed the wine with a pasta with mussels and chorizo. The perfect choice.
Life is just beautiful.
Leave a Comment » | 
food, food and wine, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: 2011 vintage, Australian wine, De Bortoli Wines, Deen de Bortoli, King Valley, Riverina, Sauvignon Blanc, South Easter Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley | 
Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 29, 2011
After a very enjoyable trip to Port Melbourne where we visited our friends Phillip and Julia who live in a former church (a very interesting dwelling), we returned to the farm and spend a quiet evening at home overlooking the vineyard and the paddocks.
Since we were spoiled with good food the whole day, we decided on a simple “German dinner” meaning cold dishes only. Some Australian cheese, cold cuts, olives, a salad and an avocado together with a German bread would do for the two of us.
Our dinner table
2008 Inigo Shiraz
From under the sink, my secret stash of fine wines, I produced a bottle of ‘2008 Inigo Shiraz’ by Sevenhill Cellars in the Clare Valley in South Australia.
The bottle was left from last years special order which we got through our friend Neville Rowe, who used to work there as marketing manager.
The ‘2008 Inigo Shiraz’ is an old fashioned red, beautifully round and full of flavours, with a lot of alcohol, in short an “umpf” wine, a wine with character. The grapes come from old vines (very old ones) and display black cherries and other dark fruit aromas. The tannins are smooth and has the spicy character we so much love in Shiraz. The finish is long and memorable.
Well, when I work in the vineyard, I inevitably think of the Bible and the many stories about vineyards in the biblical age. In fact many vineyards and wineries in my home town Trier and along the Mosel valley would not exist without “clerical” support.
The Jesuits of Sevenhill Cellars in the Clare Valley know how to make wonderful wines.
My tip: try some wines from Sevenhill Cellars. You won’t regret it.
Leave a Comment » | food, food and wine, wine, wineries | Tagged: Australia, Australian wine, Clare Valley, Glenburn, Inigo Shiraz, Neville Rowe, Sevenhill Cellars, South Australia, Two Hills Vineyard, Victoria | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 23, 2011
Dramatic clouds over the land
It was a glorious day on the farm in Glenburn. Just the right day for a first pick-nick near our second dam (the one we use to irrigate the vines).
We had bought some inexpensive bubbly (below 7 A$), a ‘Sacred Hill Sparkling Brut’ (non vintage) by De Bortoli, from the Riverina in New South Wales.
Christmas makes me wozie
It was the perfect drink for a hot summers pick-nick, just days before Christmas. I liked the crisp acidity and the strawberry nose.
We thought that a bottle of ‘Sacred Hill’ would just be the right stuff to be drunk at Two Hills Vineyard.
Another day in paradise came to a marvelous end.
Leave a Comment » | wine, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, De Bortoli, Glenburn, New South Wales, Riverina, Sacred Hill, sparkling, Two Hills Vineyard, Victoria | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
December 21, 2011
We are back on the farm for our Christmas vacation. Yesterday was my first full day. After a long flight from Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia via Beijing, China and Bangkok, Thailand, I had finally gotten to Melbourne. My family picked me up and off we went to Glenburn which we reach at about midnight.
I had traveled a fair bit to get back to Australia, not only distance wise. But Mongolia had minus 37 Celsius (Beijing minus eight) and it went to about 26 plus in Bangkok. The Melbourne night was cool and I slept like a baby in our shed in the countryside about 2 hours north of the Victorian capital.
It is so quiet out here. The night is very dark. We are out in the countryside and one does not see many people. I worked a bit around the house. After that we had our first family meal together. I tell you it was just sensational to have a zucchini paste and an insalata caprese.
Look at the two pictures below, doesn’t the food look delicious?
What about the wine, you might ask?
No, we did not have a Two Hills Merlot with the meal, but instead….
Zucchini pasta
Insalata caprese
….we had a ‘2008 Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay’ blend by Paul Bettio from the King Valley.
I am not a fan of a SB-Chardonnay blends in general. I prefer the two varieties as single grape wines. But this medium dry wine was just a great refreshing drink. The tropical and citrus fruit flavours went very well with the light pasta and the salad.
The King Valley is one of my favourite cool climate wine regions in Victoria. I will tell you more about its wines at a later stage.
2008 Paul Bettion Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay
Leave a Comment » | food, food and wine, wine | Tagged: Australian wine, Glenburn, King Valley, Two Hills Vineyard, V, Victoria | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
October 8, 2011
The beautiful “off-red” colour of a Pinot Noir
Well, I gave it almost away in the title of this blog entry.
Yes, it is a Pint Noir and yes, it comes from the Yarra Valley in Victoria.
But please answer me:
Mirror mirror on the wall which is my favourite wine of them all? ,
asks the wicked queen alias “the critical consumer of fine wines”?
Well, the answer is just below; on my wine cabinet so to speak.
Can you identify the producer?
I guess now you can.
2009 Bloody Hill Mayer Vineyard Pinot Noir
And yes, you are right, this is an awesome wine from the Yarra Valley, the eastern part of which has a truly cold climate. Timo Mayer is a great wine-maker. In his boutique vineyard near Healesville he produces outstanding fruit. His philosophy of minimum interference in wine-making does the rest and out of this comes a wonderful product of a vintners craftsmanship.
The bottle has DIAM cork, the real thing
It is just a shame that we cannot get this wine here in Bangkok.
In the UK, Ireland and in Germany you can order it.
By the way, right now Timo is on a sales tour in Europe. On September 28th he was special guest at the K&U Weinhalle, a wine merchant in Nuernberg. There is a nice story about Timo written by Martin Koesler.
Our Sunday lunch table with the Peking duck
PS: We made the Peking Duck ourselves. It was a beautiful feast on a warm tropical Sunday. Timo’s Pinot Noir is an ideal wine also with Asian food. The proof is in the eating and drinking. Trust me I know what I am talking about.
Which distributor in Asia is interested? Now is the time….
1 Comment | food, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Bloody Hill, Healesville, K&U Weinhalle, Le Caveau Kilkenny, Martin Koessler, Mayer Vineyard, Peking Duck, Pinot Noir, The Grape Store, Timo Mayer, Victoria, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
September 30, 2011
Whenever I visit my family in Trier, they spoil me with super delicious food, mostly game dishes. Heinz is a passionate hunter and he reserves only the best meat for me. This time young roast venison was on the agenda = my plate. I tell you, it was awesome.
The young roast venison
Venison with vegetables and egg noodles
2001 Merlot from Two Hills Vineyard
I washed the venison down with a ‘2001 Two Hills Merlot’, which is still a drinkable wine. The softness of the Merlot tannins went well with the savoury taste of the young game.
2 Comments | food, vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Merlot, Mosel, Riesling, Trier, Two Hills Vineyard, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
August 29, 2011
I have written about the wines produced by Jean-Pauls Vineyard near Yea, Victoria earlier.
August is a special month anyway since it carries my birthday, and I needed to be spoilt somehow. That is why I opened one of “my treasure wines” the other day. Wine bottles are heavy and one cannot carry many on the plane. Moreover there are customs regulations which somehow limits further the number of bottles on can carry. Believe me it is not easy to decide which bottle to take on the plane.
But we brought this bottle of ‘2007 de Castella Shiraz Cabernet’ by Jean-Pauls Vineyard.
William de Castella is one of our neighbours so to say. His Jean-Pauls Vineyard is situated near the pcituresque country town of Yea, about a 30 minutes drive from our farm in Glenburn. Will is also a member of our association, the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association.
Will de Castella started his operation in 1994. From about 6 acres under vines he produces only 200 cases a year, a tiny amount in comparison to much larger family and industrial operations. His vineyard is organically certified and produces exquisite fruit. I just love boutique vineyards and wineries since the passion of the people behind the operation directly transpires into their wines.
The de Castella family carries a famous name, Will’s ancestors where the pioneers of the Yarra Valley and the Victorian wine industry in the 19th century. I love his fruity and delicate wines which are well balanced and just a delight. This blend of Shiraz and Cabernet combines the strength of both varietals.
So this wine made my day after a busy and stressful day in the office. We had it with food, of course, one of our customary family meals which are so enjoyable.
If you should visit Victoria, please take a day and drive up to Yea and check out some of the wineries along the way. You will not regret it.
Address:
Jean-Pauls Vineyard
RMB 6173, Yea, Vic 3717 (postal)
Upper Goulburn VIC
Tel.: +61-03-5797 2235
www.jeanpaulsvineyard.com.au
Comments Off on My wine of the month: Jean-Pauls Vineyard 2007 de Castella Shiraz Cabernet | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, boutique vineyard, boutique vineyards, Glenburn, Jean Paul's Vineyard, Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association, Victoria, Yea | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
August 19, 2011
On a hot summers day somewhere in the Canadian wilderness, a wine drinker needs somthing nice. The LCBD or government booze distributor in Ontario does not carry a very large sortiment of wines, usually industrial ones, which means large and very large wineries offer their wares.
2010 Fifth Leg Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
However, we enjoyed the drink. It was a pleasant wine indeed. I found interesting what the label said.
I quote from the label
“An abundance of snow peas and passion fruit hit the nose with fragrance blossom and freshly muddled lime”
“A generous palate with intense lychee and passion fruit finishes with a crisp apple crunch”.
I never knew that I loved “muddled lime” and “apple crunch” is also something of another world to me.
The label tells the story about the fifth leg
Leave a Comment » | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Australian wine, Fifth Leg, Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc, Western Australia | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
June 11, 2011
Some of you might wonder when I would put the first pictures of our new place up. Well, here they are. In fact they are pictures of our first trial barbecue on our terrace for some trusted friends. The trial run was quite successful and calls for a repeat. Here are some pictures of the event.
First came the prawns
But I also did beef
I also roasted a big piece of pork but it went so fast that I had no chance to take a picture of it.
The chefs
I always drink a ot of beer while behind the grill. Charlotte does not drink (yet).
The little carnivores need to be fed first
Then came the adults
A very modest portion
The vegetables I prepared in a wok which I put on top of my Weber.
The girls had baked a cake: Frankfurter Kranz
As usual, nobody wanted to go home
Beautiful message to us by Giuseppe and Lucjia
As always when I do barbecues I have no time to take care of the pictures. I fact I did not take any of the many side dishes, the salads, the vegetables and the carbohydrates. But we had a jolly good time, that’s confirmed.
I could also not keep track of the wines consumed during the event. Everybody brought some bottles. I restrict myself to one white and one red (I found the empty bottles after everybody had left).
The ‘2009 Taylor’s Sauvignon Blanc’ from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia is a beautiful refreshing wine at a hot summers day. Since we have always “hot summers days” in the tropics it can be enjoyed year round in Bangkok. Hurrah.
The ‘2009 Rosso Conero’ by Fazi Battaglia is an inexpensive mass-produced red from Marche, Italy. It is a blend of Montepulciano (85%) and Sangiovese (15%) for easy drinking.
The wine company is already more than 60 years old and has about 280 ha under vines in the Marche wine region of Italy. In the meantime Fazi Battaglia has bought up smaller vineyards and wineries in Toscana, one is Fassati with 80 ha and the other Greto delle Fate with 11 ha under vines.
1 Comment | culture, food, wine | Tagged: Adelaide Hills, Australian wine, Bangkok, Fassati, Fazi Battaglia, Greto delle Fate, Marche, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Taylor's, Toscana, Weber barbecue, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
May 29, 2011
As you know I am not much of a cook. But today I cooked a traditional Sunday roast. I am so proud. I did it. Not that it was particularly difficult. Actually I just seasoned the meat, put it into the oven for 60 minutes, and voila there was a delicious meal.
This called for a special wine, and a special wine we had. I choose a ‘2006 Cabernet’ from the Mayer Vineyard, made by my old friend Timo Mayer in the Yarra Valley. Timo is one of the famous South Pack, a group of young and creative wine-makers in Victoria.
This is a beautiful wine, full of red berry flavour, a good structure and a long finish. The cherries on my palate were almost like the ones of a Merlot, but it is a straight Cabernet, amazing.
Great colour
The roast was just perfect with its pink colour. It was Thai beef of a very good quality. As were the other ingredients by the way. The girls made a Yorkshire pudding. Moreover we had broccoli and carrots as vegetables.
The roast
Delicious Sunday lunch
Great vegetables
From here it was downhill all the way. First came my favourite cigar, then came the port. I just love Sundays like this.
Leave a Comment » | food, wine | Tagged: Australian wine, Cabernet, cigars, port wine, The Mayer Vineyard, The South Pack, Timo Mayer, Victoria, Yarra Valley | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
The Man from Mosel River 