Ozzie's Wine of the Month

ozziepost

It's a vibrant wine with rich berry flavours, soft vanillin oak and fine tannins. Not bad for a cheap wine. Well, it costs around $9 a bottle in most liquor outlets in Australia, and certainly isn't in the same medal-winning league as the dearer wines, but for a nice , relaxed informal occasion (like an Apostafest!) it's very acceptable.

http://www.banrockstation.com.au/au/wines_details.asp?ID=63&UID=0.9619532

Now comes the bad news! It seems the 2000 vintage is getting hard to find, for I found only the 2001 vintage this week in the outlets. We tried a bottle, and it seemed quite pleasant.

The wine comes from the magnificent Banrock Station, where they are working to preserve environmental havens. The Station is in a flood-plain and has a wetland lagoon and a protected mallee ecosystem. Part of the proceeds from the sale of wine goes to Wetland Care Australia and Landcare Australia. So, the more you drink, the more you help the Australian ecology, not to speak of the Australian economy!

So, if you don't live in Oz, try looking in the Australian wine section of your bottle outlet for a Banrock Station. Enjoy!

Cheers, Ozzie

Edited by - ozziepost on 12 July 2002 5:57:11

mr party

here on the west coast different wine producers have found that the screw top reduces deferent bacterias that can unfortunately hurt the fidelity of wines, no matter what the caricature. in the mid north thay have found that apples give more body and substance, add to that the extract of a wide verity grapes and you have a wine that is assessable to many but not all. MD20/20

Englishman

Hi Ozzie,

Oh yes, I agree, we often buy Banrock Station. Costs about (Pounds) 4.99 a bottle.

A little secret here for UK wine devotees, the Co-op has become part of the Fair-trade network, and is buying in stuff from poorer countries. One outstanding wine is a peppery Chilean red called "Carmenere" which tastes like a ten-pound bottle of red wine. It's only 3.99, so give it a try!

Englishman.

Room 215

Englishman/Oz,

As a wine professional, I concur with your value selections. Of course, the Shiraz/Syrah vareital is well-known, but the Chilean Carmenere-- actullay an esoteric native of Bordeaux is asserting its individuality and is becomng estabilished as the flagship red wine variety of Chile, much as Malbec has done across the border in Mendoza (Argentina). I just had a bottle last night, from Conch Y Toro, and it was lovely. For years, the Chileans mislabeled Carmenere as Merlot, but advances in DNA research changed that. A nice wine by any name, wouldn't you say?

expatbrit

I'll be looking for Banrock Station and Chiliean Carmenere in our wine stores; thanks for the recommendations!

Expatbrit

Francois

Later that week, we went to the Mondavi vineyards. That place and those people have an attitude that says, "draw off thine sandals, peasants, for the ground upon which thee tread, verily verily, is holy ground.

Verily.

I'll never drink Mondavi again. I just know that breaks their little pea-pickin' hearts.

Francois

wasasister

My "ex" was in the business, so I was able to tour quite a few of the wineries and taste some of the best.

One of the least pretentious wineries, in my opionion, is/was Chandon California. We had a very personal tour, got to try almost anything we asked for, and were given a free romp in the gift shop after hours.

Most interesting wine-maker: lovely British lady at Quail Run in Napa. Enjoyed a long brunch at her table, where she regaled us with how she became one of the first female wine masters in a male-dominated field.

Frank: I adore Stag's Leap. The Chard is buttery-rich without being overly woody. Yum

The_Bad_Seed

I got hooked on Wolf Blass Cabernet/Shiraz about 3 months ago, ever tried it

Ozzie's Wine of the Month

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