Play Time!
I spent today with friends. We went down to the Gold Coast for lunch. It was the birthday of one of my friends. All five of us (yes...I was the 'odd-one-out'...as always)...but that never worries me. We had a lovely lunch and then came back up to the mountain and drank champagne to celebrate his birthday. There'll be no dinner for me tonight! The food was great and plentiful at Jupiter's Casino. As always the coast was busy and it was nice to come back up to the mountain. And as always, it was nice to get back home again. First the shoes were thrown off, then the clothes....ahhh...relaxation!
Reading back through your topics, I wanted to try something Australian. After doing some research on vegemite I decided that was not quite it. So at the booze store I asked about Australian wines. I bought a Red Mud Cab. S. and a Red Mud Chard. The wife and I will be dining with something a bit down under this evening. If you recommend any labels I will give them a try. The wife likes heavy hand-to-hand combat reds, I like dry whites. Many of the Aussie wines are of a type unknown to me, a Shiraz. The booze store guy described them as 'spicy'. Any input there is welcome as well.
ReplyDeleteAre you the same "gtotracker" from the M14 forum?
DeleteTry any wines by Rosemount or Penfolds and you won't be disappointed, gtotracker. We are putting out so many good wines these days and I don't know which ones are being exported to the States...just keep poking around your liquor stores and make enquires, but those two labels I've suggested are very good ones. I've not heard of 'Red Mud'...but with all the different labels hitting the market these days, that's understandable. I'm with your wife on the reds! lol Tell her I said she has good taste! ;) Shiraz is what was known as 'burgundy'...another name for it is 'syrah'. I really like shiraz and your booze guy is correct in his description of it. I like Cabernet Sauvignon. And I'll whisper this...I like a good merlot, too.
ReplyDeleteRosemount do some good blending in both their whites and reds. And any of their 'diamond' label range is good.
If you come across 'Blue Pyrennes', Wirra Wirra, Orlando Jacob's Creek, Houghtons...they are all good, too.
Jacob's Creek (Orlando Jacob's Creek) are consistently good and their prices are equally good...well, they are here.
Peter Lehman, Wolf Blass, Taylor's, Hardy's, McGuigans, Richmond Grove all make good wines, too.
If you run across De Bortoli...stay clear...this is my opinion and taste.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy the fun of trying some! Don't know until you try! :)
Thanks so much for the information. I saw the Wolf Blass brand, among others. I did not realize there are so many Aussie flavors. This will take some time. I saved your reply for future reference.
ReplyDeleteThe weather here has been so hot for so long and raining all during the week, we were looking forward to the cool front and cooking on the patio. All the earlier rain, though, has produced a bumber crop of mosquitoes. We had so much bug spray on the two dogs wouldn't even come close for handouts. I guess ya'll have mosquitoes too, but if they are like everything else Australian probably with a wingspan a foot across and they fly off with small pets and very young children.
Anyway, our evening 'out' went bust. The wife already had a white opened when I came back from the store (left over from breakfast I suppose (just kidding!!)) so we will try again tonight. She likes some Merlots but doesn't care for ones too sweet or fruity. Red Mud is from Paringa, South Australia. South Australia is very prominent on the label, a distinction like being from Texas, USA, they are making? Probably an Australian thing, don't confuse us with those Northern Australians!
BTW, if you get a chance to try a Texas wine, Pheasant Ridge in white or red is a great taste.
Thanks, gtotracker...we don't get many US wines here...none that I've seen in the stores, anyway. But I shall keep my eye out for them. The only US wine I've tried was a Kendall-Jackson (I think I'm right on the name...I hope!)...it was a Cab Sav and was very, very nice.
ReplyDeleteI hope my list proves successful for you. Your wife and I appear to have similar tastes in wine...I don't like anything that is sweet either. I opened a 'cheapie' red a couple of weeks ago and spluttered! It was sooooo sweet...there was no way I could drink it. I poured the glass back into the bottle, re-corked it and it's on the kitchen bench for dessert cooking. I might poach some pears in it. Aha...that's just given me an idea...for my luncheon party coming up on 11th, I might just add poached pears to the menu! That will get rid of it! ;)
South Australia is a huge wine producing area in Aus., and they put out very good wines. The Hunter River area of New South Wales is another area, not as big as SA, though. Victoria has a small output but a good one and the Margaret River area in Western Australia. Queensland's (where I live)burgeoning wine industry is growing rapidly. Up here on the mountain where I live there are many wineries and more popping up. Just below the mountain is a growing winery called 'Siromet'...they are getting a good name. I'm not sure if they export yet...but you could keep your eye out for them, as well...also the Ballandean label...it's from out Stanthorpe way, a town in south-west Queensland. I have tried their wines and the ones I tried were good. Queensland is trailing in the winemaking game, but it will, no doubt grow, but nothing to the intensity of the other areas, in particular, South Australia.
Yes, we get mozzies here, too...sometimes mistaken for missiles! ;) We get all the nasties. I was only thinking last night...there has to be a place somewhere on this earth that hasn't got mosquitoes (they are not bad here where I live, though), midges, flies, ticks (they are bad here where I live!) and bloody 'jumper' ants (these are not the fire ants) and anything else that bites you and causes you to scratch for ever and almost tear the skin off! The thought came over me as I was scratching and scratching my feet after being attacked by 'jumper' ants when I had my arms full of one large cat and some avocadoes! Sneaky little beggars...they struck when they knew I couldn't get at them! ;)
Enjoy your wine! And have a good night out, tonight...or a good night in, if your better half opens another early bottle of wine!! ;)
Gtotracker...some more wine labels for you to search for (I'm trying to keep you busy on your weekends!)...Brown Bros., Rothbury, Campbells, Henschke (particularly good...very, very good!), St. Hubert (same), St. Henri, any Geoff Merrill wines are great wines, Andrew Barrett wines.
ReplyDeleteWe have hundreds and hundreds...but the ones I've given you should keep you busy for a while, I reckon! ;) (or tiddly!) ;)
And then there's...Wyndham's, Wynn's Coonawarra, Seppelts, Yalumba, Lindemans, McWilliams (Mt Pleasant & Hanwood).....you did open 'Pandora's Box', gtotracker! I'm on a roll here!
ReplyDeleteI've worked in the hospitality industry for years...hence my so-called 'knowledge' of wines...as well as enjoying them myself! ;)
Thanks again, I'll cut and paste these to the list.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the mosquitos 'busted' the evening, not an early opening. I should be more careful with the grammer. :)