International Syrah Day!

Just a quick break from the Australia recap to celebrate (in REAL time) International Syrah Day. Syrah is quite possibly my absolute favorite vinifera grape. I love the complexity that it has inherently and it can remain somewhat elegant like Pinot Noir if you don't extract the hell out of it. I like to think that my favorite Syrahs are cooler climate US examples, but some of the Aussies we tried give them a run for their money. And, of course, the great Northern Rhones with some age on them are quite often profound.

What am I drinking today? I sort of haphazardly popped the cork on a Tardieu-Laurent "Coteaux Cuvee" Cornas 2001. I picked one of these up in a wine store a couple of years ago and figured this was the perfect moment to give her a shot. Also, it happens to be the oldest of my Northern Rhones here at the house. I had the pleasure of tasting the full line-up of the 2006's from this producer last year. The wines were quite good.

This 2001 is quite savory on the nose: fresh green herbs, charred wood, some Bordeuax-like horse blanket, smoke, blueberry compote, black cherry. On the palate, the wine is still holding some firm structure and has a surprising acidity that comes across as tart blackberry. The earth tones are layered with the fruit, impeccably balanced and dying for some food. The finish on this bad boy is pretty impressive as well, leaning into some olive notes. I'm actually quite surprised at how well this wine is aging and how good it is, particularly for the low price of $30. I wish I had bought more than just one bottle...

I hope you are enjoying a delicious bottle of Syrah today as well!

Ngambie Lakes, Australia: Tahbilk

Wrapping up the lengthy drive from Rutherglen, we finally pulled into Tahbilk in Ngambie Lakes. Not that I've been into New Orleans proper or the bayou, but this is what I imagine it would look like. Lots of swampy area with moss-ridden trees, snake-infested streams and Friday the 13th-like forest. And stuck in the middle of all that is the Tahbilk winery, where it was been for 150 years.

We strolled through the original cellar, as well as the "New Cellar", constructed in 1870. There is such an amazing amount of history in these brick-laid walls and the atmosphere transports you immediately back to days-gone-by when winemaking was much simpler. Old winemaking equipment is laid out for viewing, as well as old fermenters and barrels, some still in use today.


After the tour, we sat down to the Tahbilk line-up. We tasted multiple vintages of their Marsanne, including a 2003 that was showing some interesting character: marzipan, petrol, honeysuckle, peach pit, a toasty finish with fresh acidity and limey minerality. Their Viognier was tasty, but some felt it was muddled with their addition of some Sauvignon Blanc. I personally liked the balance the SB added by making the Viognier less fat.

On to reds, we tried a 2006 and 1999 of their entry-level Shiraz. Neither was particularly exciting, and the 1999 was showing some highly oxidative character that made it feel especially tired. Same goes for the entry-level Cabernets: we were poured the 2006 and the 1998. The 2006 Cabernet was solid, with rich blackberry (including seeds), currant, dried spices, anise and monster tannins. The 1998 was unfortunately corked.

The flagship wines were more exciting. The "1860 Vines" Shiraz comes from a vineyard unaffected by phylloxera that was planted (as you might guess...) in 1860. This wine showed blue/black fruits, red licorice, big oak influence that maintained balance, white pepper, and building tannins. It would be interesting to see this wine with some age, but given the showing of the older reds they poured us, I would be weary to risk it. We also tried the "ESP" line of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Shiraz was not wildly complex and firmly structured with velvety tannin. However, the wine of the flight seemed to be the Cabernet Sauvignon, with a meaty and tangy character that reminded me of good salumi. Sweet and savory spices, ripe fruit, heavy oak influence that shows a pervading licorice note. This finished fairly long as well.

After the tasting, we visited the restaurant onsite for a little lunch: Pumpkin Pizza and Farro Risotto. We brought along some of the wines from the tasting to taste with the food. I was particularly fond of the Marsanne with the pizza. And the ESP Cabernet continued to improve with both the additional air and the food.

I'd highly recommend a visit to this winery, should you find yourself in the area. Not even as much for the profundity of the wines as much as the history of this facility. It seems rare these days to find a winery steeped in such a rich past, and ironically enough considered part of the "new world".

We quickly hopped back in the car and began our journey to Heathcote to continue the day. Despite having just eaten lunch, I popped another bag of potato chips, in an ongoing tour of Australian junk food. We tooled down the highway, listening to Billy Joel from my laptop and taking in the scenery. I think this was the point that we finally felt like we had settled into the trip.

Rutherglen, Australia

Our trip through Rutherglen began with and consisted primarily of our visit to Chambers Rosewood winery. The fortified dessert wine producers put together an amazing tasting of their stickies for us. Prepared at each seat was a flight of 27 dessert wines. This was a very challenging, but very rewarding tasting. The wines were ordered by style from left to right, and by producer from top to bottom. This offered an opportunity to experience the style of the wine, or alternately, the house style.

Sitting down to a large flight of dessert wines can be very daunting. Higher alcohol levels and incredible amounts of residual sugar can fatigue the palate pretty quickly. But these wines Australian fortifieds are as complex as any wines in the world. Before this trip, if you'd asked me what the best thing coming out of Australia was, I'd have been inclined to answer "dessert wines". For me, this was one of the best tastings of the trip.



I took my most dilligent notes on these wines, which would be fairly boring to read, so here are the highlights:

As a house, overall, I found a new love for Campbell's. In comparison to most of the other producers, their style remained drier and more savory. Still sweet on attack, the wines consistently found balance on the finish. Their Grand Muscat was stellar, offering freshness on entry with tangerine and cherry flavors. However, the thrill is on the finish where all of the "goodies" show: nuts, toffee, molasses, chocolate. Their Rare Muscat was no slouch, coming across as drier, with a darker molasses tone and heavier malt. For the money, the Grand Muscat is spectacular.

Chamber's Rosewood wines were also a close second, but presented as a bit sweeter overall, while still showing tremendous complexity. Their Grand Muscat may well have been my wine of the flight. It shows all the layers and complexity I love in these wines, perfectly wrapped in a sweetly, savory, and nuanced package. Dried cane syrup, coffee, walnuts, bitter chocolate, fresh and dried fruits - it's all in here.

Other producers shown were: Jones, All Saint's, Morris, Pfeiffer and Rutherglen Estate. Rutherglen Estate's Muscat was a real find as well. Dry coffee, cocoa, caramel, creme brulee sugar, fresh cherry and apricot. A super-value at this pricepoint. Overall, I found the wines of Pfeiffer to be a bit offputting. There was a strange VA (nail polish remover) wave coming off the wines consistently. Their Rare Muscat was the best of their wines, but paled in comparison to the other houses in that style.



We took a quick jaunt out into the vineyard to taste some of the grapes and a walk through the barrel rooms. There were some amazing, old barrels to look at and we managed to sneak a taste of some wine from one of them.

Following the tasting, the boys headed over to a local pub for a palate-cleansing ale before dinner. We were shocked to hear that they would be closing up shop at 7pm. Not a happening place in Rutherglen, it seems...

Dinner was held at All Saint's winery, which looked very much like a medieval castle. We were greeted with sparkling wines (including Shiraz), as well as some still whites from the area. After a few speeches and thanks, we made our way into the barrel room where a table was set for dinner. It appears that I left or lost my tasting notes from this dinner, but I can say that the still reds in this region come closer in style to those from the Barossa that we are used to here in the States (with exceptions, of course). Some older wines were poured that seemed tired, but younger wines with more controlled alcohols were very good.

I managed to get my first exercise in the next morning with a jog through Rutherglen and its surrounding countryside. When we finally got the group together, we managed a stop at Parker's Pies. Dawn bought a couple of Kangaroo Meat Pies for us to try. My first experience with kangaroo meat, it probably wasn't the best example. While tender, it mostly tasted of the gravy it was cooked in and had a weird gelatinous jelly on its exterior that was off-putting. I also picked up their "Signature Meat Pie" which was pretty awesome - especially for breakfast!



We pulled out of Rutherglen fairly early and settled in for a long car ride to Ngambie Lakes. Eyes always peeled for the elusive kangaroo and koala, we took in the scenery of the Victorian landscape.

Beechworth, Australia: Giaconda & Castagna

We had the amazing pleasure of visiting Giaconda first thing as we arrived in Beechworth. These are wines that have something of a cult status in Australia and the rest of the world. Impeccably balanced Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz made in a style that nods to the New World, but shows incredible balance and depth. These are very special wines, but also very pricey.

Rick Kinzbrunner greeted us with the story of Giaconda: born in the mid-1980’s with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and introducing Shiraz in 1999. Even more exciting, he’s got a really good Nebbiolo in barrel at the moment that’s “getting better every day”. He’s recently blasted a mine/cellar into the ground on the property that holds his personal collection as well as a library of Giaconda wines. We spent a good amount of time down there barrel tasting, noting that the atmosphere was a theoretical blend of Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion rides.

Rick invited us into his home for lunch where he served some local cheeses, roasted trout, prosciutto, country bread and salad. Moving into his bottled wines, we tasted his recent vintages of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and his 2005 Warner Vineyard Shiraz, which was the wine of the tasting for me. It was dry, earthy, held good fruit, acid and structure. Russ and I agreed that this bottle will best be drunk close to ten years from now. It was an amazing visit and we left with a little more love for Giaconda.

A few short minutes away we stopped at Castagna. Julian Castagna greeted us at the door. An eccentric man, to put it mildly, he explained that winemaking was about just letting things happen. He produces little more than 1000 cases in great years and perhaps under 400 in bad years, if at all. He was coming to terms with the notion that he may lose this vintage entirely if it rains for three days this coming week, as is predicted. Despite his unusual personality, his wines were very good. About 60% of it is sold to his mailing list with a small amount offered to a select few restaurants here in Australia. I would be highly surprised if any could be found in the States. They are worth tasting if the opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately, the “crus”, as Julian calls his best three wines, are in need of age and I fear that most of the bottles produced will never see the time they need.

Despite the contrasting visits and differing personalities of these two wineries, it was an exciting and educational visit to Beechwood. This brief visit reminds me how much wine is about its story and how the experience you have at a winery can shape your opinion of a wine. I would buy Giaconda to support the soft-spoken, humble Rick Kinzbrunner before I would add the Castagna wines to my list. All that aside, the most important note here is that these wines, while perhaps richer than their counterparts down south, are still world class and worthy of adding to your Rolodex.

Yarra Valley and Strathbogie Ranges, Australia

Our day began with a stop at De Bortoli, or “DeBort’s”, as our guide Brian calls it. Brian tells us that shortening names is a national pastime in Australia as he switches on the “air con” in the van after finishing our “brekky” (breakfast). As we arrive, we are again in awe of another amazing view of the Yarra.

Steve Weber hosted our tasting in a private room and showed us a truly profound flight of Chardonnays from the Yarra. There were quite a few standouts in what will likely be my favorite flight from the trip. The Oakridge Chardonnay 2009 was a deadringer for Chablis with more mineral than fruit, crisp acids and great balance. The 2007 Yering Station ‘Willowlake’ Chardonnay offered cheese-like aromas, truffle tones, oyster shell and lots of citrus. Mayer’s ‘Bloody Hill’ Chardonnay 2008 was an amazing crossover wine for typical Chard drinkers to head to Burgundy: typical apple/pear flavors with mushroom, mineral and crisp acidity. The PHI Chardonnay 2008 was a little more in the box with white peach, baked apples and pears doused in Meyer lemon and orange juice, toasted oak and that pervading minerality.

For fun, Steve pulled some De Bortoli wines for us to taste: a 2010 Pinot Gris, their Reserve Riesling 2010 which was quite delicious, and an Edelzwicker 2010 which Jens was particularly enamored with. These were all very interesting and a great look at the potential this region has for amazing white wines. I’m definitely going to be seeking out some of these Chardonnays for my personal cellar.

We headed over to Yering Station. To precursor, I think that after we’d had so much Pinot at the beginning of our trip and such an amazing flight of white wines, we were not so much into this flight. Also, the facility was a little warm which made the wines show a little too much alcohol. We tore through about ten Pinot Noirs from the 2008 vintage and five barrel samples from 2010. None of the wines were particularly standouts, but it looks that the 2010 vintage will be warmer and riper in this region. We enjoyed a terrific lunch of duck breast and duck foie with pistachio sauce as well.

The most exciting part of our visit, for me, was watching the bottling line for their sparkling wine, which I had never had the opportunity to see. It’s fascinating that such a complicated process can occur in such a short bottling line. From the freezing of the yeast and removal, the dosage, to corking. Fascinating.

We headed out to the Strathbogie Ranges and visited Plunket Fowles with Sam Plunkett. This winery took a bit more of a New World approach to its winemaking. I don’t personally approve of this winemaking style when taken to this extent. He had a reverse osmosis filter, wood chips, bags of acid for adding to the wines, and some kind of plastic containers he was aging wine in instead of barrels. In my opinion, this is taking the “winemaking” a little too far. When you tamper this much with wine, how can you really taste the vineyard?






We stayed at the Euroa Butter Factory that evening, a real butter factory converted to accommodations. Sam joined us for dinner at a local restaurant that reminded me of dining in the American South. I had a marvelous Murphy’s Stout Meat Pie in Guiness sauce. Russ brought a 1999 Ferraton ‘Le Meal’ Hermitage that we enjoyed tremendously.





Bellies full, we returned to our rooms where I met my roommate, who I affectionately named Hunterwasser. Thank God Jens used to play hockey. He used a coat hanger to whack him right into our bag of Lamb & Mint-flavored potato chips so we could transport him outside to enjoy his evening buffet of bugs. I, for one, would be happy not to wake up to find him sitting on my face...

Yarra Valley, Australia: Great Steps/Innocent Bystander

We began our tour of the Yarra Valley at Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander. Many of us knew these wines already from their availability in the US. I have carried Innocent Bystander’s Moscato at Jar, which is a delicious off-dry rose sparkler. We were ready for some entertainment after the drive up from the Mornington.

The Giant Steps facility is now one of my favorite places in the world. If it were located somewhere in Los Angeles, I think I’d be there three times a week. Not only is it a complete winemaking facility, but it’s also a brewery, a bakery, a fromagerie, wine shop, and restaurant. Talk about one-stop shopping! After seeing their cheese-aging room, I immediately asked if they were thinking about making some prosciutto. “We’re working on it,” was the reply.


After a brief tour of the facility, we tasted some wines from across the Yarra with Steve, the winemaker, and Phil, the owner. Overall, these wines were completely the opposite of what you might expect from Australia Shiraz and Cabernet. Actually, some winemakers are labeling their Shiraz as Syrah to draw up notions of the Northern Rhone and Steve suggests that it may be a movement in Australia to use the name alternately if your style is more old world. The two standouts in this tasting for me were the Oakridge Syrah 2008 and the Giant Steps ‘Harry’s Monster’ 2008 which is a Bordeaux-blend. The Oakridge was everything that I love about Syrah: moderate body with meatiness, red and blue fruits, white pepper, hints of smoke and a long finish. ‘Harry’s Monster’ was as the name suggests: ripe, but dry black fruits, firm structure and acidity with florality, underbrush, and balanced oak. ‘Harry’s Monster’ will want some time in a cellar and will be fun to check in with five to ten years down the road.

Phil then drove us up to his vineyard. This is one of the most breathtaking views I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in Australia. It’s a magical piece of land that you really must see to appreciate. Phil gave each of us our own half bottle of Moscato 2010 to enjoy as we looked around which we drank from the bottle like a beer. Truly a great experience!


We enjoyed dinner back at Giant Steps, which was wonderful. It was the first time I’ve had Kingfish since I was a little kid at my grandparents. Although, my grandparents cornmeal battered it and fried the hell out of it in Crisco, while Great Steps was slightly lighter-handed with a sashimi preparation and a delicate Miso sauce. The pizzas were fresh and delicious, and the Iberican ham was nothing short of spectacular. As I said, I’d eat here regularly if it wasn’t a full twenty-four hours travel away from my home.

We ended the night back at the hotel with a bottle of Coldstream Pinot 2008. It was a little too heavy and Sea Smoke-y for my taste. We sat under zillions of stars, watching satellites pass over head, catching the occasional bat fly by, and Jens was teaching me some German. It was an amazing day and I think we all finally felt like the trip had truly begun.

Mornington Peninsula, Australia

One of the great benefits of working in the wine world is the luxury of being invited to many exclusive events that occur around the world. I was fortunate enough to attend the two-and-a half day Pinot Celebration held in the Morning Peninsula of Victoria, Australia. After the lengthy flight over from the States and into Melbourne, my co-travellers and I were shuttled down to the Cape Schank Resort where the event would occur.

Travelling with me were two wine buyers from Seattle, Dawn and Jens, as well as some local friends from Pasadena, Russ and Marie. With a little downtime after arriving and before our first event, we sampled some local Victorian beers in the lounge. I then quickly decided to take a hike down to the ocean, despite the fact there was no direct path there. After an hour of trudging through underbrush, I made it to the water, only to get completely lost in the woods on the way back. Eventually coming up on a paved road and barely making it home in time to catch the bus to dinner, I was ready to dive into some wine.


Our first evening was spent at Ten Minutes by Tractor with Kate and Rick. They were kind enough to host us for dinner at the winery restaurant. I did not take detailed notes on these wines as it was an informal event, but I can tell you that this is a winery to be watched, should the wines ever make it out of Australia. They own three vineyards in the area (which are ten minutes apart by tractor…) and bottle Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from them. I noticed a Pinot Gris on an order sheet as well, but it was sold out and not poured. These wines are controlled, elegant and feature wonderful acidity and cool climate character one wouldn’t expect to see in Australia. In addition, they poured some wines from Moorooduc, where Rick also makes wine. I actually preferred the Moorooduc wines overall to the Ten X wines as they were a little more catered to the California palate with more prevalent fruit. I would also be remiss not to mention that the food was quite good here as well.

Getting up bright and early the next morning, we entered the Cape Schank Resort banquet room where we would be spending the next two days. To be quite frank, this was a challenging way to start our first trip to Australia. Being locked in a banquet room on a resort for two days straight was slightly frustrating, but ultimately, a good way to prime the palate for the wines and places we would be experiencing over the following days.


Sparing you the play-by-play, the Pinot Celebration was a series of seminars, hosted by Burghound Allen Meadows and Ben Edwards. The seminars included flights of Mornington Peninsula Pinots by vintage, in context with other growing regions in Australia, wines with some bottle age, as well as in context with Pinots from around the world. The wines were generally poured blind. In addition, two very prominent Burgundy producers were in attendance to show flights of their wines as well. Christian Serafin and Etienne de Montille were flown in to provide words of wisdom and commentary on the up and coming region of Mornington Peninsula with 1400 years of growing experience under their belts in Burgundy.

On the whole, the Pinot Noirs of the Mornington Peninsula ARE world class. Light in body, nervy acidity, slightly herbaceous and all set on a frame of clean red fruits. They appear to have some potential for aging, although there are no examples as of yet since it is a budding region with no history. There is actually minerality in these wines, which is generally an unexpected trait from the new world.

There is a terrific sense of community down on the Peninsula (as it is locally put). Promoting the region is of more importance than focusing on the competitive end of things. Wines from outside of Mornington Peninsula, and Australia, are few and far between.

This focus on their own wines also works to a fault. Some of the winemakers and owners were violently harsh on wines from other regions. In particular, Julian Alcorso from Tasmania commented that he would rather dump 100 cases of the Faively Latricieres Chambertin 2004 Grand Cru down the drain than have to drink it, due to some Brettanomyces. This opened a heated debate about Brett and, ultimately, revealed a case of “frame error” present in the Australian palate. Some of the vocal Aussies eluded that heavy amounts of oak, as used by many in California, and cases of Brett, noticed sometimes in France, were unacceptable and made for awful wines. One writer went so far as to say the Faively would be best served with a “cherry and feces pie”.

Thankfully, Etienne de Montille spoke during our final seminar and brought everything back into perspective. With great eloquence, he encouraged growers to focus on their vineyards and make the best wine they can possibly make. “I want the right to be wrong”, he said, in regards to experimentation. He is a profoundly interesting personality and the wines were, obviously, top notch.


The pervading message that kept ringing true to me was one spoken by Allen Meadows. “What does your vineyard have to say?”, he asked. It’s a very interesting idea that kept recurring. Does your wine taste of your place or of your own hand? I hazard to say that in California, we are very self-focused and our tendency to make ourselves known may sometimes work against the sense of place. In that way, the Mornington Peninsula winemakers have got it right. They are very focused on their vineyards and allowing them to shine. I hope they continue moving forward in this fashion and do not fall prey to the critical influence as their neighbors did in South Australia.