Archive for the ‘Australian Wine’ Category
Varietal: 100% Shiraz
Region: South Eastern Australia
Cost: $7 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Ripe blackberries and blueberries with spicy black pepper on the nose. Pairs well with BBQ baby back ribs with macaroni salad, jerk chicken with brown rice and black beans, or without any food at all.
My Review: It’s been unseasonably warm here in Virginia so I’ve been able to make use of my grill here at the end of January and start of February when it’s usually covered and forgotten until March. Because of that, my wife and I recently threw some chicken on the grill with some BBQ sauce basted on and decided to open up a bottle of Fisheye Shiraz that had been sent to me.
Varietal: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: South Eastern Australia
Cost: $7 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Light bodied with ripe peach and tropical fruit flavors. Pairs well with Korean BBQ ribs with spicy tofu soup, Teriyaki chicken with a side of pork or vegetable potstickers. An excellent wine to enjoy with our without food.
My Review: I’m somewhat hit or miss on Pinot Grigio, so when some samples showed up and there was a bottle of Pinot Grigio included I’ll admit that I hesitated. However, when the tasting notes recommended potstickers, my wife pointed out that we had some chicken potstickers that we’d been putting off cooking up and that at the very least we’d have something to pair the wine with, so that’s just what we did.
In a more perfect world I would have made some pointed and in-depth piece about what bottles of bubbles I was opening for the friends I was having over to my house on New Years Eve. We do not live in such a world. While I did come across tweets and pieces about people opening $100 bottles of sparkling wine and champagne, I just couldn’t justify that, in no small part because I knew exactly how the evening was going to descend (into a raucous good time).
I do, however, feel as though I owe it to the new year, and to the bottles that I opened, to show the bottles that I provided for the evening. Friends brought over others, but here’s a picture of the bottles that I provided for the festivities.
Varietal: Rose (70% Grenache; 30% Shiraz)
Region: South Australia
Cost: $15
Deep pink color with aromas of fresh berries and strawberries. Berry on the palate, notably raspberry, with a crisp finish.
Recommendations: I have officially consumed more pink wines in 2009 than in the previous 3 years combined – and that’s ok. My experience with pink wines started with the Peju Provence, and it has ended with the Angoves Nine Vines Rose.
A gift from my brother-in-law and his wife for Christmas, I was intrigued given the blend of Grenache and Shiraz. Dark pink in color with ripe fruit on the nose and refreshingly tart flavors of raspberry on the palate, this wine was a great pair for marinated salmon, mashed potatoes, and garlic green beans.
While I will be the first to admit that I am still hesitant about pink wines, this past year has taught me to be a bit more open minded, and the Rose from Nine Vines is a good one to be open minded with.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: South Australia
Cost: $11
An unwooded Chardonnay, offering crisp flavors of apple and citrus. Pairs with chicken, pork, seafood, or light appetizers.
Recommendations: My wife is not a fan of oaked Chardonnay, so when we saw this in the store, we thought we’d give it a try. The initial flavors of the wine are crisp with plenty of citrus and granny smith apple both on the nose and on the palate, which was perfect for the grilled chicken dinner we paired it with.
However, I found the finish of this wine to be a bit rough. It’s certainly not as rough as the Mirassou Chardonnay that I’ve already reviewed on here. That being said, the finish eventually began to bother me, especially after we had finished our food and were just sipping on the wine. Maybe with a juicy piece of pork it wouldn’t be as noticeable, but with the chicken (that I’ll admit I overcooked), it just wasn’t as enjoyable as I would have hoped.
If you liked the Mirassou Chardonnay you’ll like this, but if you’re looking for a crisp finish to your unoaked Chardonnay you’ll want to pass on this one.
Get Razor’s Edge Chardonnay at WineZap – Click Here
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Australia
Cost: $7.99 – $9.99
Deep straw coloring leads into a light to medium-bodied white with a floral bouquet and an almost tart finish. Pair with grilled white meat for best combination.
Recommendations: Far be it from me to say that Yellowtail anything is some type of earth-shattering life-altering wine. Now, with that out of the way, I can say that Yellowtail Chardonnay is a good gateway chardonnay. By that I mean that if you’ve been afraid to really get into chardonnay because you’re not a fan of the buttery finish of oaked chardonnay, Yellowtail can help you ease into it.
With just enough buttery/oaky finish to it, the Yellowtail chardonnay will pair well with a range of white meats with the possible exception of some of your more delicate fish meals. Grilled chicken and pork are a good pairing. While this isn’t even approaching my favorite white wine, if you’re throwing a party, this is a good one to grab for your white as it’s affordable and will appeal to a range of white wine drinkers.
