PART 1: For Cellar Door Visitors Winery Cellar Doors can be one of the most exciting wine experiences a lot of people may ever have,,,or leave a bitter taste, even turning people off a winery, region or off wine in general. After many years of visiting cellar doors all around Australia andContinueContinue reading “Cellar Door Etiquette Short Course- Part 1 For Visitors”
Category Archives: Enjoying Wine
Wine Trip: Yarra Valley August 2011
Melbourne is a great place if you like wine. There is a multitude of places to drink wine (eg Jimmy Watsons in Carlton) , top wine shops (eg Prince Wine Store in South Melbourne) and the wine regions of the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Sunbury are all within 70 Minutes by car. Many othersContinueContinue reading “Wine Trip: Yarra Valley August 2011”
Anne asks why is there the red grape Pinot Noir in my white sparkling?
After recently recommending a sparkling wine, I was asked how you can have white bubbly made from the red Pinot Noir grape? Very valid question with an answer that touches on the basis of winemaking: different grapes are different colours, as we know, but that colour is only skin deep. The juice inside any redContinueContinue reading “Anne asks why is there the red grape Pinot Noir in my white sparkling?”
Why are there fish things,eggs, sulphites and 220 in my wine?
Wine is one of the rare food articles that isn’t required to show a label of all ingredients that have gone into the liquid. Wine makers have the luxury of using a number of additives and not having to declare it. The ones you will see in Australia are: Sulphites (220) – preservatives used inContinueContinue reading “Why are there fish things,eggs, sulphites and 220 in my wine?”
I haven’t finished the bottle, what can I do?
Just stuff the cork or closure or some rolled up kitchen paper back on and put it in the fridge. Thanks to something called the Arrhenius effect, the slowing of chemical processes at lower temperatures, your wine will last longer in the fridge. This article from wine spectator has a little more on this process.ContinueContinue reading “I haven’t finished the bottle, what can I do?”
Question 1 from Mike: If a wine is made from grapes, why are there hints of _______________?
Chemistry, oak and aging. Grapes taste like, well, grapes when they come out of the vineyard. The ones used for wine are different in structure to those in the supermarket. If you ever get the chance to taste nice ripe vineyard grapes, you’ll note that the seeds are bigger, the grapes smaller and the tasteContinueContinue reading “Question 1 from Mike: If a wine is made from grapes, why are there hints of _______________?”
What was the most expensive bottle of wine?
Ah haa. It is French, it is old and it is definitely out of my price range. As of 2010, the most expensive bottle ever sold, caught a $233,972 US price tag for a single 750ml bottle at auction. A nice drop of Château Lafite Rothschild from the spritely year of 1869. With fakes aContinueContinue reading “What was the most expensive bottle of wine?”
How much do people need to be told what to buy?
A recent trip to my wine dealer got me thinking about the powerful influence of marketing and the sales approach. We all know the feeling that you have a general idea of what you want to invest in, you have either had your eye on it for a while and/or done way too much timeContinueContinue reading “How much do people need to be told what to buy?”
What it’s about here
This is a wine blog. About my wineducation and your wineducation. Those answers to wine questions that I have fought to find and put in place to share with you. Yes, another blog dedicated to that fermented drink which has been very popular throughout the western world for quite a long time. Unfortunately, it hasContinueContinue reading “What it’s about here”