Innocent Bystander pinot gris

Usually, I prefer pinot grigio to gris, but this wine is not bad. I have to say, it was lovely with dinner but it was a bit sickly when I quaffed it alone.

That's more likely a reflection on me than on the wine though!

Interestingly, I tasted very strong honey and pear flavours, with less of the "nashi" flavour that was described. It was also quite creamy, although I didn't pick up on any jasmine or kaffir lime notes - the honeysuckle was definitely there though.

Quite delicious but definitely one for food.

Sutter Home White Zinfandel

The first thing to say about this wine is that it is pretty. So pretty. If it weren't wine, it would look perfect in a little girl's bedroom.

Like I said, it's pretty.

It also is very sweet - but surprisingly refreshing in its sweetness. It tastes of strawberries and cream and something else that goes with all roses, that I can't identify.

Of course I'm drinking it ironically, because otherwise I would be the ***wrong kind of white person***.

Thanks SH for bringing it back for me :)

PS the pictures are crap because I took them on my phone...

 

Ladbroke Grove Riesling 2005

I asked my friend LB, whose fam owns a bottleo, for some recs for a semisweet riesling (see my quest).

Her Mummy recommended two wines, the first of which is the Ladbroke Grove 2005 Riesling. I have to say, it's pretty delicious. Pretty spot on, too, in terms of sweetness - it's not lolly water sweet like some of the wines I've tried, and it's not flinty and minerally like the typical Riesling.

It's very nicely balanced - it's certainly not a Gewurztraminer, there's no classical floral bouquet - but it does have a pretty "Riesling" kinda nose... in a good way!

Me likey... I should note, since my friend procured this for me, I have no idea what it retails for. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's worth it.

Thanks LB and IK!

Yalumba Y series sangiovese rose

Heh, so apparently according to Christian Lander (extrapolating his thoughts about white zinfandel to Australian rose), rose is for bogans, or the "wrong kind" of white person.

Now I generally consider that I'm pretty high up on his white person test (think indoor team sports, knowing what's best for poor people, facebook, postgraduate degrees in liberal arts, etc) but I want to strike back against the stigma of drinking pink wines.

I think (and I'm not alone) that most roses get a bad rap that they don't deserve. If you choose the right one, they're dry and citrus-y and savoury and go really nicely with food, especially in summer. I know it's not summer, but choosing season-appropriate wines has never really been my style.

Tonight, I'm trying Yalumba 'Y Series' sangiovese rose, which was a steal from a major wine retailer at less than $8.00. I'm serving it with a made-up recipe for white bean and chorizo stew.

It's not the best wine in the world - but then again, for less than ten bucks a bottle I'd be surprised if it was. I like it - it's mostly dry, it tastes "pink" but not sweet and it went beautifully with the stew. It was very light and crisp, and perfect for the extra bit of chilli and smoked paprika I added to punch up the flavours in the sausage.

In search of the perfect semisweet Riesling

The August/September 2009 edition of Gourmet Traveller's Wine Collector's magazine featured an article on new trends/tastes in Australian wine. It mentioned that Australia loves a wine trend (my own experiences with shiraz viognier, chardonnay and Kiwi sauvignon blanc prove this true) and predicted that the next would be semi-sweet Rieslings.

In an effort to be an early adopter, I've decided to find my favourites so that I know what I want when i go out, over the coming 12-24 months.

So far I've tried Brown Brothers Crouchen and Lexia (bleurghhhhh... note to self: don't take wine advice from 17 year olds at Dan Murphy's), Delatite's Dead Man's Hill Gewürztraminer, Huia Gewürztraminer, Vertigo GR25 and Spring Vale Gewürztraminer. I've also been recommended Ladbroke and Journey's End, but I haven't found them yet in the shops. I'm not even going to bother talking about the disgusting lolly waters the DM assistant talked me into trying...

Delatite Dead Man's Hill Gewürztraminer
I was really surprised by this wine - the Gewurztraminers I remember from when my parents' days were very very sweet and often had a slight fizz. This wine tasted so floral I couldn't believe it, without obvious sweetness (and I love a dry wine). It tasted like roses and lychees and honey and perfume. It wasn't overly expensive, either - I think I paid around $18-20 for the bottle.

Huia Gewürztraminer
Although the tasting notes on the Huia website promises "rose petals ...Turkish delight...warm spices, ripe pear and tropical fruit...vanilla bean, orange and spices", I didn't find it reflected any of these, except perhaps some vanilla and warmth. I am not sure how to describe it - on my palate it tasted almost salty, affecting the sides of my mouth as if saline. I didn't find it dry enough to justify the label of a "dry Gewürztraminer", it was certainly vaguely floral, but it was too slippery, and too sweet and round, without enough flint and minerality for me.

Vertigo GR25 
On the advice of aforementioned column in Wine Collectors, I tried the Vertigo GR25 Riesling. I was a bit surprised at first, because it was sweeter than I expected. However, with food it was delicious and even after the first few sips I really became accustomed to the hint of sugar. It was much more acidic than the previous two wines, with a nice citrus sharpness and quite chalky, too. I thought it was less floral than other I've tried, but in a good way. At $22/bottle, I thought it was pretty good value. Btw: the 25GR means 25 grams of residual sugar.

Spring Vale Gewürztraminer
This wine is amazing, and particularly good for someone only just accustoming their taste buds to a sweeter style. Expensive, yes (about $30/bottle) but also delicious. The Spring Vale website describes its Gewürztraminer as having "aromas of rosewater and red delicious apples. A luscious palate with a delicate acid backbone and a very long finish" and I would not disagree. My only issue is that I first tried it too cold - it was much better just below room temp. But still - amazingly delicious, tasting like lychees and roses and still lovely and acidic. My favourite on my quest so far!