Go on - I dare you to try a Riesling!

Riesling originates from Germany, first appearing in the Rhiengau region in 1435.  Its popularity is improving but it continues to be 'hot and cold' in the Australian market and with so many different styles people often still have the notion that it's going to be sweet.  In our restaurant it does have a following but it's often only sold by recommendation.  Many sweeter styles are produced (Australia included) but I challenge you to grab a bottle of a 'dryer' style, such as a young Clare Valley Riesling, and give it a red hot go.  Why?  Because in my mind, Riesling is one of the most versatile wines with food due to its acidity, plus it can live a long life and to see it evolve over time is both intriguing and rewarding.

So what is 'dry' Riesling? In Australia it's generally a Riesling with less than 8 grams of residual sugar per litre. Meanwhile the European Union classifies 'dry' as no more than 4 grams of residual sugar per litre.. no wonder things get confusing!  German wines labelled as 'trocken' (dry) are a good place to start, and are generally softer in their youth than most Australian Rieslings, usually there is a bit more fruit sweetness and the alcohol is a bit lower.

Kerri Thompson makes some of the best and purest Riesling in Australia.  Kerri is the owner/winemaker for 'wines by KT' in the Clare Valley and her CV includes previously being winemaker at Leasingham and working abroad both in Tuscany and France (Beaujolais). Kerri only picked 1 in 3 bunches during the very wet 2011 harvest, thus the yields are down on the previous vintage.  I have just tried her latest single vineyard releases and they are wines that will challenge your previous perceptions of Riesling.

This set of KT Riesling is on the 'dryer' scale and I like them because they have personality, energy and precision.  They also have a 'calmness' about them.  Kerri has adopted a natural farming philosophy going down the path of biodynamic practices.  This has lead to more microflora activity in the soil and improved that quality of the fruit.  Here's a run down of some of her latest gems:


2011 'Peglidis Vineyard' Watervale Riesling by KT  ($32 per bottle)
- highly aromatic and fresh with tangy citrus punch upfront (limey slate) and a dry, chalky finish.

2011 'Churinga Vineyard' Watervale Riesling by KT ($32 per bottle)
- riper than the Peglidis with floral fennel notes and lime/lemon freshness. Some more exotic yellow fruit characters.  Finishes dry and clean.

2011 'Melva' Watervale Riesling by KT  ($28 per bottle)
- contains about 9 grams of residual sugar, more of an off-dry style (slight sweetness).  Same citric profile with with a more pillowy texture and softer framework.  More opulence and upfront primary fruits.

Tasting Notes for Dryer Rieslings
 Goes well with:  Japanese cuisine (particularly sushi), quiche (holds up to egg really well), sweet shellfish. Gruyere style cheeses are also great with aged Riesling.


Try this with your guests:  Serve a young Riesling blind to your friends against a Sauvignon Blanc (same vintage) and ask them to pick which they prefer.  But the catch is... they must decide which they like better with and without food!  Then come back and leave us some comments on what you find - I think you'll be surprised!

Cellaring potential:  3-20+ years, depending on region and vintage. As Riesling ages it typically becomes riper, darker and more textural, with softening acidity and less upfront fruit characters. Sometimes the older vintages have distinct kerosene characters on the nose. This can create great synergy with the honey and toasty notes on the palate.

To buy:  If you want a dryer style of Riesling you need to look for a wine with lower sugar levels.  Many Aussie producers now show the 'RS' (Residual Sugar) amount on the front label (eg RS 16).  So keep an eye out for an RS that's 8 or less for a dryer wine. Otherwise if you're unsure then consult with the sommelier/wine merchant to guide you in your choice.  Cheers!

What's Hot for Beer O'Clock?

Burleigh Brewing Co. '28 Pale Ale', Queensland 330ml ($60 for a case of 24 bottles)

I don't know about you but after tasting all this wine I need a cleanser.. a beer that I can drink both with or without food.  In my travels up to ARIA Brisbane I've discovered a great little independent brewer on the Gold Coast that's going from strength to strength.  They do a bunch of hand-crafted beers that have hit the world stage and they've already won some high profile awards at the World Championships abroad. The hard work is now paying off for Gold Coast couple, Peta and Brennan Fielding, and Brennan has been mastering the art for a while now, a brewer for 17 years with previous stints in Hawaii and Japan. 


At the moment I'm loving their '28 Pale Ale' which is a medium bodied American style but packed full of flavour. At Burleigh Heads (Queensland) in the 1970s there was a famous 28-day swell and this beer has been dedicated to that moment in time, in a throw back style that you can enjoy with your mates.

Tasting Notes: pours cloudy and is copper coloured with vibrant hoppy aromas - scents of squeezed lime and grapefruit twist.  The palate is a ripper with some more bolder tropical fruits such as passionfruit and guava with a hint of caramel on the back.

Would Go Well With:  something super spicy like Som Tum if you like Thai Food (green papaya salad with thai red chilli), otherwise the brewers choice is Moroccan Lamb. I also rate it alongside satay chicken.

Tell Your Friends:  According to Wikipedia; "Pale ale was a term used for beers made from malt dried with coke (a processed form of coal). Coke had been first used for roasting malt in 1642, but it wasn't until around 1703 that the term pale ale was first used".

To Buy: Click here to buy a case for the fridge.

How to pick a good Shiraz - the perfect Winter Drop

Shiraz is a dark-skinned variety that can produce strong, full-bodied and intense wine.  James Busby brought it to Australia in the early 1800’s but the origins of Shiraz (known as Syrah in France) are debatable, with one theory suggesting it was brought back from the city of Shiraz in Ancient Persia by a French Knight and planted near his home in the Rhône Valley, France.  This - while a great story - is unfortunately not true with DNA tests revealing the Syrah grape variety is actually native to France.  This testing also concluded that Syrah is the offspring of two obscure varietals which are native to Southeastern France – ‘Mondeuse Blanche’ and ‘Dureza’.   

So what is Shiraz like to drink?

Colour

Anywhere from medium red through rich purple/red to black in the bigger styles.

Nose

Primary fruit characters from cooler climate styles to warmer region examples include: herbs, mint, spice, pepper, menthol, eucalypt, raspberry, dark cherry, mulberry, blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, black olives, aniseed, licorice, stewed plum, chocolate, jammy and raisin.

As Shiraz ages its primary aromas and flavours begin to evolve into more complex and savoury secondary/developed characters. These include: chocolate, earthy, barnyard, cowyard, cigar-box, coffee, gamey, meaty, salami and leather, mushroom.

Palate

The palate should have plenty of flavour, usually with a lovely sweetness in the mid-palate due to ripe fruit and alcohol.  Young wines will often give a firm tannin impression of big, but soft, chewy, mouth-puckering tannins. In older wines the tannins will be finer giving a grainy sensation. Higher alcohol levels, usually in warmer climate examples, can give a hot warming feeling as the wine is swallowed.

Oak characters are usually present, but should not dominate. French oak is the subtler of the two main oak types adding notes of cedar and spice, and fine-grained tannin which integrate well as the wine ages. American oak loads the wine with coconut and vanilla flavours and it can easily dominate and does not integrate as well as the wine ages. Sometimes a combination of the two oaks can be used.

How to pick a good Shiraz

If you like a young, full-bodied Shiraz it can be drunk within a few years but because it generally has higher tannins and higher alcohol content is can also go the cellaring distance.    For the much older vintages, make sure the level is good at the top of the neck, and that there is no wine leaking through the cork. Enquire about it's origin and how long it has been there.  If you have the chance to taste before you buy, look for the defining fruit characters mentioned above that Shiraz should offer, and also the structure is very important. Try to avoid 'baked' characters, this can sometimes mean the wine has been stored badly, or it may be past its peak.


For me, great Shiraz producing regions in Australia include the iconic Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, Heathcote in Victoria and I'm a big fan of the Canberra District which produce the more subtle syles. 

2007 Radford Shiraz, Eden Valley  South Australia - $38 per bottle

For my palate The 2007 Radford Shiraz from Eden Valley is a perfect example of what a Shiraz should be.  This is the work of Ben and Gill Radford, who are making small parcels of excellent high-altitude wines that have great depth of character but finesse and restraint.  Ben has been head winemaker at the cult winery Rockford  in the Barossa Valley since 2007, so Gill has taken charge of the Radford labels. If your a white wine fan the Radford's also have the oldest Riesling vines in the Eden Valley (planted in 1930).  Their bio-dynamically grown Riesling is some of the best I've seen.

Tasting notes: Medium bodied, blackberries, ripe plums and spice (white pepper) on the palate.  Firm but approachable tannins, very intense, moorish style that makes you crave that second glass.

Would Go Well With :  Lamb chops and coriander pesto, hard cheeses (cheddar such as Quicks), veal schnitzel

Tell Your Guests:   The Barossa Valley is home to some of the oldest Shiraz vines in the world, with the oldest block being at Langmeil which was planted in 1843.

Cellaring Potential:  5-12 years so your choice to drink now or cellar for later.  The following vintage (2008) is also a good drop,

To buy:  The 2007 Radford Shiraz from Eden Valley it is available direct from the vineyard website for $38 per bottle.  Click here if you want to buy. 

Sauvignon Blanc with a twist

2008 The Pawn 'Jeu de Fin' Reserve Release Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills

Is Sauvignon Blanc on the way out, or have newer experimental styles wowed us enough for people to dig it again?  If you think it's becoming yesterday's wine it may surprise you to know it's still the single most popular white varietal in our restaurant.  In June this year I visited Sancerre and spent some time in the beautiful village of Chavignol.  At Gerard Boulay in Sancerre I tried some 2001 Sauvignon from his ' Clos de Beaujeu' vineyard, where they continue to produce Sauvignon Blanc with a twist. Boulay himself compares the terroir of this vineyard to that of the best sites in Chablis, where Chardonnay is king and limestone soils thrive. He is a man who uses natural ferments and no added sulphur.  There was more opulence and more texture in this wine. Instead of the pungent greener notes that are often associated with Sauvignon Blanc (grassy and gooseberry notes) there was hints of orange blossom, with fresh fig and stewed apple. The acidity didn't tear your mouth apart and the finish was balanced and dry with solid length.

A local Australian producer also making a slightly left of centre Sauvignon Blanc style is The Pawn with their Adelaide Hills project. This is the work of the three Amigos:  Tom Keelan, Rebecca Wilson and David Blows.  The 2008 reserve release is partially barrel fermented and has improved from an extra year in the bottle. I like it because it's slightly richer and still has great energy with high tropical notes and a savoury, long finish.  Overall this is a more complete package because it matches to a greater spectrum of flavours, and can also be more versatile across a whole meal.

Tasting notes: Tropical aromas (guava) and a zesty citric finish (fresh lime) with some more savoury elements at the end (broad beans and white flowers).

Would Go Well With :  Seafood BBQ, fish and chips, mixed leaf salad with goats cheese.

Tell Your Guests:   Sauvignon Blanc is the mother grape and Cabernet Franc the father grape of Cabernet Sauvignon (DNA tests in 1997 established this fact - the result of a spontaneous field crossing)

Cellaring Potential:  Normally Sauvignon Blanc is a 'drink young' style (1-3 years) but this wine could cellar for 5 years.

Other options:  If you like Sauvignon Blanc why not try other varieties that display similar characters in their youth such as Pinot Grigio, or try an Arneis white varietal from north west Italy.

To buy:  The 2008 The Pawn 'Jeu de Fin' Reserve Release Sauvignon Blanc is available direct from the wineries website for $24 per bottle.  Click here if you want to buy.