Tag Archives: Australia

Torbreck, Cuvée Juveniles, Barossa Valley, Australia 2010

Posted on January 30, 2014 by waywardwine

Forget Yellowtail. Forget Crocodile Dundee. Forget everything you know about Australia.

Instead, put your mind in Paris. Get off at the Pyramide Metro, not far from the Louvre. Wiggle your way to 47 rue de Richelieu, and then, behold: Juveniles:

Now think of Scotland. Because inside you will find fantastic British farmhouse cheese, charcuterie, and Haggis always on the menu. Tim Johnston, a Scot ex-pat, founded it decades ago.

But now, turn to South East France, because Juveniles is a wine bar, and gained its cult following for pouring the Rhône Valley’s best wines. But then, Tim shocked Paris. He poured Australian Shiraz.

Your head may be spinning, but follow the thread. Australia grows Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and other varietals typical of the Rhône Valley. Many vines predate the French (thanks to dodging phyloxera). And what would pair better with haggis for cult Rhône drinkers than Shiraz. Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES, Grenache | Tagged Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley, Craig Isbel, Dave Powell, David Powell, Grenache, haggis, Juveniles, Juveniles Bar, Mouvedre, Paris, Shiraz, Syrah, Tim Johnston, Torbreck | 1 Comment

A FOODLESS WINE FEAST OF PENFOLDS #MWWC5

Posted on November 14, 2013 by waywardwine

No greater feast of wine befits this Monthly Wine Writing Challenge (MWWC5):

It is 7:48 am. I should be in bed. Instead, work has me walking into a conference room. No one told me why. My waxen eyes fall on some bottles:

“Hmm, eight Penfolds for breakfast. Nothing like big, Australian reds instead of waffles. Sorry liver.”

But beyond this glass regiment, at the table’s end, sits a decanter and a bottle.

Grange. Bin 95. 2008.

Oh yes.

But before Penfolds’ big turkey, an hour of lecture drags on like the NFL Pre-Game Show: informative but missing the point of turkey day. Finally, the feast begins with “appetizers”: Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES, Red, Syrah | Tagged 2008, Australia, Bin 407, Bin 707, Bin 95, Cabernet Sauvignon, Corn Bread, cranberry sauce, gluhwein, Grange, NFL, NFL pregame show, Oak, Penfold, Penfolds, rwt, Shiraz, South Australia, St Henri, Syrah, Thanksgiving, turkey, wine, Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator | 13 Comments

QUADY NORTH, SYRAH, 4-2, A, ROGUE VALLEY, OREGON 2008 $25

Posted on October 17, 2013 by waywardwine

I met Herb last week. He stood behind a table, in a black shirt and cap. His wines lined up in front of him. Nothing else. Flanking him towered suit and tie representatives from Oregon’s famed Pinot Noir producers. They had flyers, business cards, banners, and slideshows of vineyard porn on small screens.

I tried their wines, heard their soliloquies, but kept returning to Herb. His black, cracked hands poured each bottle. He said even less. I felt that he itched to return to his vines, tanks, and family in Southern, Oregon. Continue reading →

Posted in Red, Syrah | Tagged Australia, Bonny Doon Vineyard, California, Crozes-Hermitage, Herb Quady, Oregon, pinot noir, Quady North, Randall Graham, ROGUE VALLEY, San Francisco, Syrah, Valley Vineyards | 1 Comment

DEPOSSESSED DRINK: WINE ON LOAN #MWWC3

Posted on September 23, 2013 by waywardwine

“Possession” provides the theme for September’s Monthly Wine Writing Challenge begun by The Drunken Cyclist.

Already, possession has revealed many astounding collections online: from old bottles, to 173 glasses, to German vineyard land laws.

For as many reasons as people, wine often leads to obsessive hoarding. We wine geeks splurge on rare, interesting, and expensive bottles. But when to open them? When will the window of drinkability close? Should we keep the experience to ourselves or share (and show off) to friends? Does one even “own”, let alone remember, a wine after drinking it? Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES | Tagged #MWWC3, Australia, Bordeaux, Brunello di Montalcino, Château Camensac, Château du Tertre, Château Smith-Haut-Lafite, Chianti, Deposessed Drink, Edward Sellers, Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, Margaux, Monthly Wine Writers Challenge, Monthly Wine Writing Challenge, Peninsula Ridge, possession, Produttori, Ridge Winery, Selvapiana, Sheldrake Point, Torbreck, Wayne Gretzky, wine, Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Woodcutters Shiraz | 16 Comments

BUBBLE.BUBBLE

Posted on November 14, 2011 by waywardwine

I’m not worried. Some yeasts take days to wake up. My blueberry wine, although crap, took days before fermentation started. So I don’t expect the vidal blanc that I bought 24 hours ago to have begun. Still exhausted from my … Continue reading →