 Seppeltsfield Show Fino Sherry DP117
Dry floral sherry, a wine style not popular, but in the cooler months this is a great
start to a meal. A chilled sherry is the perfect aperitif, it prepares your palate
for food and this wine is the top dry sherry available in Australia. The bouquet
is nutty and mildly floral, the palate is bone dry and refreshing, with intense
lingering flavours that leave the palate clean and fresh. Serve a flor fino sherry
with salty antipasto and canapés.
Seaview Sparkling Grande Cuvee
One of Australia's Top 10 selling sparkling wines. Sparkling wine is just right for
our climate, served icy cold, it's an instant welcome or congratulations drink. The
"Grand Cuvee" literally means "great blend". It's a slightly sweeter style which is
full and flavoursome, offering fresh fruit characters. A keenly priced wine, perfect
for a "brandy dipped strawberry cocktail", mixed with fruit juice or even a "brandy
soaked sugar cube". All of the large Australian wine companies are producing good,
low-priced, sparkling wines. Angas Brut, Yellow, St Andrews, Hardys and Killawarra,
to name a few, should be kept ready in the fridge for welcoming friends and family.
Jansz 1996 Vintage Cuvee
Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir. A benchmark Australian sparkling, emulating the
"real" French thing. This wine is a wonderful aperitif style with delicate flavours
that go on and on. The wine has enough richness to accompany mildly-flavoured seafood
dishes but perfect with subtle canapés like sushi. Jansz is from Tasmania, a good
region for sparkling wine. Croser, Domaine Chandon, Arras and wines from cool or
high altitude regions are all elegant, fine, sparkling wines.
Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 2000
Riesling is fast becoming a popular drop again. It lost it's perch to chardonnay,
but is now making a revival. A good Riesling is a good food wine. It's good value
and is easy drinking. Thai or Asian dishes are good with Riesling, also anything
oily or greasy, like fish and chips, are more enjoyable with a cleansing Riesling.
This wine has power and elegance, the classic flavours of lemons and limes dominate
the bouquet and palate and linger long after the wine is swallowed, leaving the palate
clean and fresh. Watervale in the Clare Valley is the best region for Riesling and
John Vickery is the best winemaker for the variety. Riesling has the ability to age
gracefully and an aged Riesling is truly a rewarding drink.
The Margan Family Hunter Valley Semillon 2000
Hunter Semillon is an Australian classic style and there are many Hunter winemakers
producing classic wines. As a young wine, Semillon is crisp, citrus lemon and
grapefruit, with sweet fruit characters on the front and middle palate. As an
aged wine, it has a honey, toasty, lemon butter character which makes it a lovely
wine with all types of food. Semillon manages to keep freshness as it ages and
is delicious with creamy chicken dishes, antipasto, lamb and veal recipes. Semillon
from other areas tends to be aged in oak to provide complexity. Barossa, Margaret
River and McLaren Vale all produce good Semillon though different in style to the
"classic" Hunter wines.
Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Sauvignon Blanc 1999
Smoked salmon, oysters, steamed asparagus and pan-fried whiting fillets are foods I
love and the best accompaniment is a cool-climate, young Sauvignon Blanc. The palate
of fresh, tropical fruit and green vegetable, herbaceous flavours with crisp acidity
is perfect. The acid balances any greasy or oiliness, while the characters are
delicate enough to enhance rather than dominate the subtle food flavours. Tumbarumba
has been planted since 1982 and is very close to the Snowy Mountains in NSW. New
Zealand produces great Sauvignon Blanc, and in Australia look for wines from cool
or high altitude regions.
Hardy's Padthaway Unwooded Chardonnay 1997
Unoaked chardonnay is a wonderful wine style for the Queensland climate and cuisine.
Padthaway, like all the other wine regions in Australia, produces good chardonnay fruit
and chardonnay wines which are getting better as the vines grow older, the yields lower
and the quality higher. Young chardonnay is straw with a green tinge, the bouquet is
aromas of melon, orange and passionfruit, the palate is rich, creamy tropical fruit,
citrus spice and crisp acidity. Fresh salads, vegetarian dishes, chicken and seafood
all go well. Other stand out unwooded styles are Normans, Promised Land, Chapel Hill
and wine from vineyards in Cowra and Orange.
Flinders Bay Margaret River Verdelho 2000
Verdelho is fast becoming the most popular "new wine drinker's" wine, with seasoned wine
drinkers also enjoying their share. Verdelho has big, generous fruit salad flavours with
a crisp, dry finish, no wood. Great on its own, however, it is a good accompaniment to
Asian dishes, creamy chicken or tangy pork flavours. Verdelho, a Portugese grape variety,
is best as a young wine, but will keep for two or three years. Verdelho from Western
Australia, tends to be a little more herbaceous and complex than the passionfruit-salad
styles that come from the Hunter and other eastern Australian regions. There are good
examples around. Introduce Verdelho to a Chardonnay drinker today.
Doonkuna Estate 1998 Gewurztraminer
A Germanic variety producing an intensely aromatic wine, which I think is a hit with anything
that has a touch of the "sweet chilli sauce". Canapes with dipping sauce goes well with
any of the Gewurztraminers you can find in Australia. The variety likes cool, high regions.
The Delatite from Mansfield in Victoria is also very good. Doonkuna from Murrumbateman,
not far from the Snowy Mountains, produces a wine showing lychees, spice and citrus
undertones with a hint of rose petals. A full, rich citrus and spice palate with a
touch of sweetness, finishing clean and dry. Wines using the abbreviation Traminer are
usually a little sweeter and those named Gewurztraminer are the drier styles.
Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 1999
A fuller styled white wine with some oak fermentation, the bouquet is said to have an
apricot cheesecake character. The cheesy bouquet comes from ageing on yeast lees,
while the apricot, white peach and spicy flavours are characteristic of the grape
variety. The home of Viognier is the Rhone Valley in France. This Viognier has rich,
opulent fruit and oak flavours, making it a full-bodied white wine that will match
many generous, flavoursome foods. Yalumba have been the pioneers with the variety in
Australia for the past twenty years. This wine will benefit from medium to long
terms cellaring. An interesting alternative to a Chardonnay.
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Diamond Valley Blue Label Chardonnay 1998
An excellent wine for the table. Chardonnay is the most popular wine style, and
there are many wonderful chardonnay wines available in all wine-growing regions.
Riversands Vineyard in St George and Ballandean on the Granite Belt have had recent
success with their Chardonnay. From Pipers Brook in Tassie to Goundrey in Western
Australia, across to Stuart Range in Kingaroy, Chardonnay produces good quality wines.
Tyrrells produced the first Chardonnay a little over 30 years ago. Wine drinkers love
it and the grape variety suits all our vitacultural regions. This wine displays
melon, fig and vanillan aromas and flavours, and a deliciously long finish. Diamond
Valley is a vineyard in the Yarra Valley and this oak fermented style is an elegant
full-bodied Chardonnay.
Miranda Golden Botrytis 1999
Australia produces excellent dessert wine, so if you've got a sweet tooth, find one …..
and try it. The Riverina is the best region for Botrytis Semillon and Botrytis
Semillon is what "French Sauterne" is made from. The dessert Semillon tends to be
sweeter and richer than Botrytis, Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Sauvignon Blanc which
are lighter, elegant and with a little more tang. Miranda is made mainly from Riverina
Semillon with a smaller proportion of King Valley Riesling. Dessert wines have great
longevity, tending to develop richer characters with age. Intense citrus, marmalade,
honey, apricot and fig characters on the bouquet and palate, with almond meal flavours
and firm acid to balance the sweetness.
Killawarra Sparkling Shiraz Cabernet
Sparkling red wine, a uniquely Australian wine style that had huge popularity in the 50's
and 60's, and in the 90's has begun its resurgence. Sparkling reds are generally drinking
well at time of purchase and don't require cellaring. Many are non-vintage and have a
little sweetness. This wine is full-bodied and flavoursome, with rich blackcurrant fruit
and "sweet", plum-like flavours, creamy yeast and a lingering, velvety finish. The best
match for a sparkling red is strong flavoured game, with a rich, sweet sauce like peking
duck or roasted turkey. Sparkling red, "Burgundy" as it was called in the 50's can be
made with any red grape variety. Look out for sparkling Cabernet, Merlot, Durif and
Chambourcin, however, the majority of sparkling reds are made from Shiraz.
Cassegrain 1998 Chambourcin
A new variety which is growing well in our warm climate. Cassegrain, in the Hastings
River region, was the first to plant Chambourcin in 1980. Since then, numerous vineyards
in the Hunter, Queensland, McLaren Vale and other NSW regions have embraced the variety.
Some vineyards are producing a sparkling Chambourcin. The colour is intense crimson, the
bouquet mixed spice, cherry and mulberry fruit flavours, with subtle oak aromas. A soft,
round palate dominated by fruit flavours with a little sweetness and a clean, dry finish.
Late vintage chambourcin is best with gourmet pizzas, tuna and most red meats. Short-term
cellaring is recommended for this style.
Pankhurst Pinot Noir 1999
Pinot Noir, the classic variety of Burgundy and many believe the Prince of
red wine styles. Pinot is light in colour compared to Shiraz, but has an
unmistakable bouquet of cherries, strawberries, confectionery, oak and
earthiness. The palate is that of dark cherry fruit, vanillan oak, silky
balanced tannins with firm, clean acid that carries the wine's rich, generous
flavours. Pinot is the most universal of wines as it goes well with most foods.
Enjoy is with a Greek styled atlantic salmon cooked with capsicum, garlic and
onions or a rich beef stew. Roasted vegetable go well with Pinot Noir. The
best Pinot Noirs come from cool-climate regions. Pinot tends to be a little
more expensive, but a good Pinot is a truly rewarding drink. This Pinot is
from Hall on the Brindabella Ranges outside Canberra. Cool climates suit pinot
noir and cooler Victorian regions produce good ones. One wine writer commented
on this wine "it's so good I can't believe it's not Victorian".
D'Arenberg d'Array's Original 1998 Grenache Shiraz
McLaren Vale is the home of Grenache in Australia and Grenache blends have long
been popular as a soft-style red with lots of body and richness. This wine is
53% Grenache and 47% Shiraz. It's a beautifully balanced wine that has been made
at D'Arenberg for 40 years. The bouquet and palate is that of spicy cinnamon,
plum, mulberry and prunes with some cherry, coffee and caramel hints. This style
will cellar well but is a delight to drink young. The D'Arenberg wines are
generally from old vines, made using a basket press which provides us with a
traditionally-styled soft, rich red. Marvellous with a rich Bolognese sauce.
Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 1998
Barossa Shiraz is an Australian classic wine style. It has become the region
and grape variety that international visitors believe is truly Australian.
Most Barossa Shiraz endeavours to emulate "Grange" and there are certainly
numerous examples around. Peter Lehmann is one of the best, rich, full-bodied
Shiraz showing classic Barossa chocolate, slow-ripened plummy fruit and mellow
tannins. Rich beef stews and steak with rich sauces and strong-flavoured cheeses
compliment this style of wine. Show off a Barossa Shiraz to overseas friends,
they'll be impressed.
Meerea Park Cabernet Merlot 1999
In the 50's and 60's the best wines were blends of Shiraz and Cabernet - the 90's
it's Cabernet and Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon, because of the ratio of juice to skin
(Cabernet is a very small, thick-skinned grape) can be very high in tannin and if not
handled carefully, the wine can be out of balance. Blending with Merlot introduces
softness, structure, aniseed and herbaceous characters. This wine is a blend from
different Australian winegrowing regions, made by a bright, young winemaker, Rhys
Eather, who has made a wine that drinks well now, but has the potential for medium-term
cellaring. Cabernet Merlot blends are always a safe choice and are generally good
value for money.
Brands Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Classic Coonawarra minty, herbal characters with a hint of spicy fruit and rich,
blackcurrant aromas. A soft, berry fruit palate with firm, fine-grained tannins
and a good acid balance with vanilla and cedary oak flavours. Coonawarra Cabernet,
with a little age, can have peppermint and dark chocolate flavours. Coonawarra
Cabernet is a classic style, arguably the best Cabernet Sauvignon region in Australia.
Cabernet is generally the most tannic of the red wine styles, so it goes well with
char-grilled or barbequed beef, strong-flavoured meat dishes, aged cheeses and
antipasto. There are many good Cabernet wines available. Finding one keenly priced
is the trick, however, in spite of a sometimes high price tag, they represent good
value for money.
Stanton & Killeen Classic Rutherglen Muscat
Rutherglen, has been the home of Australian Muscat since 1850. Fortified Muscat, a
classic Australian wine style, has been enjoyed by generations of wine drinkers.
Muscat is the world's richest wine style, generally fortified to around 19% alcohol
by volume and blended in a traditional Solero system. The wine is wonderfully aromatic,
has enormously luscious raisin fruit with a seamless texture. Muscat is a versatile
accompaniment to food. Good with aged cheeses, including blue and rind-matured styles,
it is also a perfect partner to freshly brewed coffee and petit fours. Some even like
it poured over ice cream. Search out a Muscat, you won't be disappointed.
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To select a top 20 wine list is extremely difficult because
there are hundreds of wines that are top wine and we are tremendously lucky to
have access to them. I could pick the top 20 chardonnay and shiraz and still
miss many wonderful wines, so I suggest you try a different label each time
you buy. You'll learn more and enjoy more. Faced with this dilema, I have
chosen the top 20 wine styles. Each of these wines will suit a different
food choice different occasion, different atmosphere and season.