Winery: Rosedale
Vintage: 2007
Location: Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Blend: Shiraz - 100% from Barossa Valley
Tasting: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

This wine had such a cool name, that it was hard to resist.  Cat Amongst the Pigeons.  You have to give it to the Aussies for coming up with the neatest names for wines.  You can almost picture a stealth like cat just waiting for a pigeon to make the wrong move.

The Rosedale Winery, located in the Barossa Valley in Australia has been lauded for a number of their wines.  In particular Nine Lives Shiraz for 2006 and 2007 was given a whopping 92 points and 91 points respectively by Robert Parker, Wine Advocate.  At the 2009 Sydney International Wine Competition the 2007 Nine Lives received the ‘Blue-Gold Award /Top 100.

The Barossa Valley and Shiraz.  They just go hand in hand.  Some of the top Shiraz out of Australia has come from this area.  The big spicy fruit forward shiraz that we have all associated with this beautiful country.  Barossa Valley is located just 1 hour north-east of Adelaide in South Australia.  The countryside is scattered with old vineyards, churches and stone cottages.  If you want to go there for a visit, there are many hotels and B&B’s that would welcome you with open arms.  This area is Australia’s most visited tourist designation.   At Rosedale Wines we believe that “Great Wines start in the Vineyard” and the Barossa Valley sets the stage for some of the best Shiraz grapes in the world. With its rich soils and Mediterranean style climate, the result is red wines with rich character and white wines with crisp and revitalizing finishes.”

With high ratings from the internationally acclaimed Wine Advocate, Robert Parker Jr, Rosedale Wines is attracting attention from all over the world and currently exports to the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany, New Zealand and Asia.

“Rosedale Wines have allowed winemakers scope to experiment and develop new styles, tastes and blends. This has encouraged the development of approachable and affordable wine styles which have been instrumental in the growth of such brands like Cat Amongst the Pigeons.”

As mentioned, the Barossa Valley is best known for its Shiraz.  Due to strict quarantine restrictions in the 1800s, the vineyards did not suffer from phylloxera or the many other diseases that have caused horrendous damage.  There are vines in the Barossa Valley that are ancient and produce highly concentrated and full-bodied wines that are full a big juicy flavours.

The name was given to the area by explorer Colonel Light based on the supposed similarity of the Barossa Range to a similar range in Spain. The region is most notable for its red wines, particularly those made from Shiraz. But there are other grape varieties, both red and white that play an important role in the wine industry of Barossa.

The region generally about three hundred metres above sea level, but the altitude of many of the vineyards is much higher. In the lower and warmer areas, red wine predominates while on the cooler higher slopes Riesling is common. In fact the Barossa abuts the Eden Valley wine region which is regarded as one of the premier regions for Riesling.

The history of the region is linked to the influence of the German immigrants who were encouraged to settle in the region by local landowner George Angas. Many of these migrants were Lutherans from Silesia, who were suffering persecution in their homeland. By the 1850s viticulture was well established in the valley. Among these migrants were Johann Gramp who planted the first vineyard of the region at Jacobs Creek in 1847 and Joseph Seppelt, whose name lives on in a famous Australian wine brand name.

Now let’s open this wonderful wine.  The colour… dark rich purple/red.  I would positively decant this wine for at least 45 - 60 minutes and let that wonderful jam and spice come to the forefront.  What you will notice with this wine is how well is goes with so many types of food.  Not just beef and barbequed food, but also cheeses and lamb.

Food Pairing:

Beef (roasted, BBq’d, braised), strong cheeses; lamb; bison (roasted, BBQ’d)  bison/beef burgers.

CSPC:     58073
Price:

$23.99 (Minus Winesday 10% discount.)

*Price subject to change without notice.  Price correct at time of printing.

Winery: Wayne Thomas
Vintage: 2002
Location: McLaren Vale, Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Blend: Shiraz
Tasting: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Now I know you are looking at this and thinking ‘what the heck?’  I thought she said she was going to Germany.  Well as luck would have it, when I got to the airport and passed through security didn’t I go to the wrong gate and end up on a flight to Australia!!  You don’t believe me?  Well, I don’t blame you.  It sounds a little far fetched even for me!  We had planned to sample a German wine, as you know, but something came up at the last minute and we had to make a change.  Hence this blog is being posted so late.  We will visit Germany soon.  To make up for it, we have a special treat for you…Wayne Thomas American Oak Shiraz 2002.  I was speaking with the wine agency this morning and they told me that the Wayne Thomas wines are only available in Alberta, so this truly is a treat.

Richard and I had the opportunity to try this wine just after we were engaged in October 2007.  We were given a bottle as a congratulations present by Jim at Sherbrooke Liquor.  When Jim first told us about this wine, we were completely intrigued.  Of course, I immediately went to Google Wayne Thomas.  There was not a lot of information to be found at the time

Wayne Thomas was a veteran in South Eastern Australia.  He started his winemaking career in 1961.  He studied at the Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia.  (In 1991, Roseworthy became a part of the University of Adelaide).

In years to come, Wayne worked for Stonyfell Winery just outside Adelaide, Ryecroft Winery in McLaren Vale and Saltram Winery in Barossa Valley before establishing Fern Hill Winery in 1975 with his wife Pat.  Wayne and Pat sold Fern Hill in April 1994.  They were not leaving the wine industry, however.  They started a new label called, you guessed it, Wayne Thomas Wines.   The winery itself was located in the old Maxwell Winery in McLaren Vale.  Their approach this time was to use contract-grown grapes sourced from vineyards throughout the McLaren Vale region.  They had amazing success with their wines.  Sherbrooke carries both the Shiraz and the Petit Verdot in the store.  You shouldn’t miss the Petit Verdot, either.

Wayne’s wife passed away in 2001 and she did not get to see him win the “Bushing King” title in 2004 and 2006.  This is a time honoured title that goes back to days of old in Great Britain.  Vines/bushes were hung on doorways to announce the arrival of the new vintages of wine.  The McLaren Vale Bushing Festival started in 1973. The winemaker who wins the best wine of the year is bestowed the title of “Bushing King/Queen”.  In April 2007, Cancer took Wayne’s life.  He had just finished supervising the harvest and crushing of the 2007 vintage.  Wayne’s talented son Andrew agreed to finish the 2007 vintage in honour of his dad.  Like so many… Wayne was gone too soon.

The wine is a bright ruby colour.  There are the wonderful notes of the blackberry, black raspberry and that wonderful Shiraz peppery spice is on the nose too.  If you dig a little deeper, there is even a wee touch of vanilla from the 432 days that this wine spent in the oak barrels.

There is a very special offer for our customers today.  If you buy a single bottle of the Wayne Thomas Shiraz you will for sure get your ‘Winesday 10% discount’.  If, however, you buy 6 bottles of the Wayne Thomas Shiraz today, you will get a whopping 20% off the price.  This is the first time that this has been offered, so it is a great time to take advantage.

Come by and enjoy this wine with us.

Food Pairing:

BBQ beef, BBQ chicken, BBQ Salmon, Duck, Osso Bucco

CSPC:     711825
Price: 

$34.99 (Minus Winesday discount.  See the extra special noted above.)

*Price correct at time of printing.  Price subject to change without notice.

We are going to be back on Canadian soil next week.  In particular… Ontario.  See you there!

2008 The Stump Jump Red

Winery: d’Arenberg
Vintage: 2008
Location: McLaren Vale, Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Blend: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre
Tasting: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

What a great name… The Stump Jump!  Of course you can’t have a name like that without there being a story to go along with it.  “The name ‘Stump Jump’ pays homage to a significant South Australian invention - the Stump Jump plough.”   This plough cleared the land around McLaren Vale.  It had the ability to “ride over stumps and gnarled roots”, which saved a lot of time and money.  Because of that, it was adopted worldwide in the late 19^th century.

In 1912 Joseph Osborn, who was a director of winemaker Thomas Hardy and Sons, purchased 25 hectares in what is now known as McLaren Vale.

Along came Joseph’s son Francis Ernest (‘Frank’) Osborn.  Frank had originally decided he wanted to be a doctor.  Well, that was not to be.  He left medical school, “choosing to forsake the scalpel for pruning shears.”  Not too long after he joined his dad, the size of the vineyard increased to 78 hectares. Up until their cellars were completed in 1928, the family sold their fruit to local wineries.

In 1943 Frank’s son Francis d’Arenberg Osborn (nicknamed d’Arry), was just 16 years old.  He came home from school to help his dad, who was ill at the time.  At the age of 30, d’Arry assumed full management.  A mere two years later in 1959 d’Arry decided he wanted to start his own label.  He named the winey d’Arenberg after his mom, Frances Helena d’Arenberg.

Fast forward through the 60’s and 70’s when d’Arenberg won the attention of many.  There were medals… many medals and the winery garnered attention not only nationally, but internationally as well.

As a young lad, Chester d’Arenberg Osborn, d’Arry’s son, would help in the vineyards and in the cellar every chance he got.  He was there during school breaks and Christmas holidays. Chester was very keen on “continuing his family’s winemaking tradition.”

Chester graduated from College with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Oenology and toured wine regions throughout Australia and Europe returning to d’Arenberg.  He took over as Chief Winemaker at d’Arenberg in 1984.  ”He immediately set about returning the family’s vineyards to their traditional grape growing practices of minimal inputs and no fertilization, cultivation and irrigation wherever possible, therefore achieving natural soil flavours with very low yields.”  Since Chester took over the wheel, the winery has won numerous awards and accolades.

“All grapes, red and white, are basket-pressed. The reds are still traditionally fermented with the grape skins (caps) submerged in open wax-lined concrete fermenters utilising the age-old technique of foot-treading.”  Yes that is exactly how it sounds.  They stomp the grapes with their feet.  Why would they do that when there are machineries that can do it?

Although technology has come a long way, it is tough to mimic the gentle pressure of walking on the grapes, you gently express the juice and extract colour and press the pips.  The pips (or seeds) don’t get pounded by the machines and therefore you don’t get that bitter taste that you can get sometimes from the seeds if they are over manipulated.  If you don’t know what that taste is like, the next time you have a grape with a seed in it, bite into the seed and see what happens.  If you haven’t peeled a red grape before, try that too.  Don’t just eat the pulp, however.  Eat the skin all on its own.  That drying feeling in your mouth is caused by the tannins in the skins and the seeds.  Tannins are a good thing.  The tannins and the acidity give the wine good balance and longevity.  You just want to make sure that they are extracted gently.

I digress.  Back to the d’Arenberg family…

“In June 2004 Chester’s dad, d’Arry was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his contributions to the wine industry and to the McLaren Vale region.”  D’Arry has overseen over 65 consecutive vintages.  Since Chester took over the wheel, the winery has won numerous awards and accolades.

“If you travel to South Australia, visit d’Arry’s Verandah Restaurant, one of South Australia’s most loved and highly awarded restaurant, set on a picturesque hilltop with the Cellar Door tasting room adjoining.”

Talking about tasting… on to our wine.  Australian wines are known (what us wine nerds say) as being fruit forward.  What the heck does that mean?  Well, it is just as it sounds.  As soon as you smell the wine, even if you are new to wine, you will smell fruit right away.   In Stump Jump Red, there are nice ripe and juicy red fruit, red plums, dark cherries, rhubarb and even some cardamon spice.

The taste… fresh red berries (yum) a little pomegranate.  After you taste all that, just sit back and have another sip.  Hmmm… plum stone, star anise and a wee bit of cinnamon.  Okay, now I am hungry after talking about all those flavours.

Food Pairings:

Roasted Duck, Lamb Lolly Pops, Grilled Beef with mushrooms, Stew (I would even add a little of the wine to the stew beef).

CSPC: 1024961
Price:

$15.99* (Minus Winesday 10% discount)

*Price Correct at time of printing.  Price subject to change without notice.

Thanks for taking this journey with us.  See you on Wednesday

Next week we are off to the all time highest Gold Medal winning country of (drum roll please)… C A N A D A.