2018 Teusner Sparkling MC Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia An update from the archives…one of the more remarkable and less celebrated Australian inventions is sparkling Shiraz. Yes, that’s right, sparkling Shiraz. The famous sparklers from Champagne are made by the methode champenoise. This same process is used to make sparkling Shiraz. Pouring a sparkling ShirazContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #419”
Category Archives: 2023
Wine Code Breaker #418
2022 Penfolds Bin 21 Grenache, Barossa Valley, South Australia Australia is girt by sea. A fact that is irrefutable. You could argue that Barossa Grenache is girt by Shiraz. In fact, the girtage factor of Shiraz to Grenache is 10 to 1. And like Australia as an island of the Southern oceans, Barossa Grenache standsContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #418”
Wine Code Breaker #417
2021 Fire Gully Farm & Vineyard Cabernet Merlot, Margaret River, Western Australia Ancient gravelly loam soils in the Willyabrup region of Margaret River are the home to vines now dating back to the 1980s. A system of brooks, along with the coast some 4 kilometres away, offers a tempering effect, providing the cooling blanket thatContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #417”
Wine Code Breaker #416
2022 SC Pannell Fi Fi Fiano, McLaren Vale, South Australia Fiano, as a grape, is a producer of a sugary pulp that is highly attractive to bees. Its origins are thought to date back to ancient Roman times, evolving from the grape Apianum, which of course is a Latin derivation of bees. Being a relativelyContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #416”
Wine Code Breaker #415
2021 Kalleske Greenock Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia ‘Envy is the bond between the hopeful and the damned’ sings David Gilmour adding colour to the lyrics of Roger Waters and the music of Pink Floyd. From the song ‘Green is the colour’, it is laden with poetic references that link the metaphysical to the physicalContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #415”
Wine Code Breaker #211
2014 Mayer Cabernet, Yarra Valley, Victoria One from the archives…Samuel Pepys is reported to be the pioneer of the modern tasting note. In 1663 he described a recent tasting, for him at least, as follows “Drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan, that hath a good and most particular taste that ever IContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #211”
Wine Code Breaker #414
2022 Mayer Chardonnay Yarra Valley, Victoria The first recorded tasting note for a wine is credited to Samuel Pepys in 1663. His description of the wine was, “hath a good and most particular taste that ever I met with.” This description leaves a lot to the imagination. “Good” can mean many things. I do though likeContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #414”
Wine Code Breaker #413
2021 Longhop Old Vine Shiraz, Adelaide Plains, South Australia A winter Ashes series approaches the Antipodes; some five weeks away to be precise. This provides ample time to select a wine to match the cooler nights watching some devious swing from the medium pacers, deceptive flight from the spinners and toilers, vicious short pitched deliveriesContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #413”
Wine Code Breaker #412
2021 Bekkers Tome (Vol 1) Shiraz, McLaren, South Australia Rey spent her early life eking out an existence by scavenging on the planet Jakku. Her simple life disappeared as she was drawn into helping the Repulic and with this discovered the Force within her. She sought out Master Jedi Luke Skywalker for instruction in masteringContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #412”
Wine Code Breaker #411
2022 Mayer Gamay, Yarra Valley, Victoria Carbonic maceration is a fermentation technique that has been made famous by the wines of Beaujolais. Under a blanket of carbon dioxide, at the top the fermentation process involves the conversion of sugars into alcohol occurring inside the individual grapes. At the bottom, conventional fermentation occurs, as the grapesContinue reading “Wine Code Breaker #411”
The Unexpurgated Wine Code 