Typical situation: I’m on the way to a party, I’m at Dan Murphy’s, there are walls of wine and how am I supposed to pick something out when they all look the same?
Just like looking for a car, wine can turn up some duds. However, the truth is that this is a golden age in wine. Never in history has the level of non faulty bottles been so high. Similarly, going up a little in price could be the difference between a new hyundai, and an old datsun. They both get you from A to B, but there are some intrinsic differences you can surely appreciate.
But Mitch, shut up and just tell me what to look for.
Alright, Australia is all about brands. You will consistently find good stuff under $10 from Rosemount
My current gold for solid quality, widely available, a cool bottle design and generally under $10 look for those of the Yalumba Y Series. Basically all their wines are solid, so pick the grapes you have liked before or these 2 are pretty interesting:
(White) Yalumba Y series Viognier
(Red) Yalumba Y series Shiraz/Viognier
Nerd facts to show off:
1) Viognier is a full bodied aromatic peachy white which is difficult to grow properly. In Europe, it is basically only found in the Rhone valley of France. Because of its rarity, it can be an expensive little bugger.
2) Australian wine guru James Halliday gave this viognier 91 points/100, a score never achieved by wines under $10
3) Shiraz/Viognier is a common blend found in the northern Rhone valley, just below Lyon, France where they add a little white viognier to their shiraz to spice things up a bit. If you see a Côte Rotie red, these are the grapes inside.
4) Yalumba is still a family owned company,,,it is by no means a little backyard shed winery but it is also one of the very very few big Australian producers that is not part of a wanky faceless moneymaking monster that is more proud of “fostering a culture of winners” than in making wine.
- WINEDUCATION - 