21
Oct
2009
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
A walk around tasting with lots of good food and good wine to go with it. I noticed at this year’s event that plenty of wineries had an “Icon” wine or “Icon”-blend, this is usually a sign of a wine region coming of age, and also the sign of higher prices. While not always the best wine value on the table, some of these wines were very good. But Chile has always been known for their value and during my walk around tasting I was looking for wines that offered up bang for the buck (of which there were quite of few), but I was also looking for something that made you stand up and take notice. The problem with being a wildly successful region is that there are a lot of copycats on the block and wines start to taste the same … the key is to stray from the pack and make something uniquely your own and avoid the uniformity-trap. Below the wines I deemed worth their price and worth you taking them upon your palate for a change from the usual ... (for my Chilean selections click here)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
21
Oct
2009
- Details
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Since 1976 Skillogalee has been making wines to impress, from grapes grown exclusively on their 125-acre estate. All the grapes are no more than 500m from the winery, which means when they get there they are as fresh off the vine as they can get. The main grapes grown on the property are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Shiraz and Muscat … of these they are probably most well known for their Riesling. The vines on the estate were planted in the early 1970’s and because of their age they do not require thinning (or green harvesting / dropping of fruit), “the vines do it naturally,” says Dave Palmer, owner and winemaker, “the kangaroos also take their share, we wish they wouldn’t of course, but they do.” Seven wines were tried tonight, of which three earned a 4½ star (excellent) rating ... (see my top 3 wines from this tasting)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
