The Wine Bottle

Wine often tastes better when paired with luxurious meals as it works to go with the style and flavors, making the dish extra delectable. Within the food enterprise, many subtle food enthusiasts are accustomed the follow of drinking wines when dining. However for the average person, they might discover wine ingesting a bit bourgeois as many high-quality wines are very expensive. The great factor is that nowadays, people can readily benefit from the nice style of wine throughout meal occasions, all thanks to cheap wine.

Great tasting wines don’t have to be expensive because there are now a number of wineries that create the same luxurious style of high-quality wine however at a really low price. Whether or not white or purple, these wine manufacturers have learned to perfect the style of their wine, which is nice information for the wine enthusiasts. Cheap wine costs about $10 or even less. Nonetheless, to be able to find a subtle and classy style, you should follow just a few easy suggestions:

1. Take a go to to your native wine stores and have a superb look at their wines. Look for standard cheap wine brands which may be beneficial by the store owner or by friends. You can even try some websites that can make it easier to search for low-cost however stylish wine.

2. Take into account the packaging of the product. Most nice wines have good trying packaging however nowadays, some corporations provide the same great tasting wine minus the bottled packaging. You will notice them in carton boxes but you will notice that it has the same nice taste. It will make it lots less dear with out compromising the flavour of the wine. Nevertheless, you need to remember that wines that are packaged in carton containers should be consumed upon opening.

3. The getting older strategy of the wine is also to be considered. Naturally, the longer the wine has been aged, the higher the price tag. These vintage wines may naturally be more flavorful, but don’t fret as a result of there are still cheap wines out there that may style simply as good.

Joshua F. Spinola

Most people drink wine within a few days of purchase but there are those who collect wine with an eye toward even better enjoyment in the future. As we all do, wine will age.

One of the pure joys of collecting wine is watching and tasting a wine go through its life cycle. I suggest taking notes as you taste a wine through the years to understand it’s transformation.

Here are some tips to get your wine collection started:

Have the proper storage — a cool, dark place away from light, heat or sun. So avoid keep your wine in the kitchen for example. If you’re thinking basement, make sure the space isn’t too wet (the paper labels can rot off). Or are you living in a flat or apartment? This is of no issue. For myself, I’m storing some of my wine in bottom shelf of my cupboard. If you’re really serious about collecting wine, consider buying a wine refrigerator or setting up a wine cellar with its own climate control system.

Collect only what you want to drink. Don’t collect wine that you don’t actually like to drink even if it has a great reputation or value potential. And when it comes to buying, be adventurous: Try wines you’ve never had before. If you like ‘em, buy ‘em.

Consider different collecting strategies. Some people just want first-growth Bordeaux. Others may want a vertical of one winery, meaning they have wine from consecutive years. Believe it or not, some people base their collections on the artwork of a label and a range of other strange factors.

Drink your wine when it’s ready. Many people will let wine be stored for too long and can die of old age before ever getting to enjoy them. Some wines can age for decades, wines like expensive reds from Bordeaux, the Barossa or even Burgundian whites. What wines don’t age? Cheap wine is meant to be drunk fresh and young but consult a wine merchant about aging and remember aging is also affected by your storage conditions. While you may not have the best place to storage wine, seriously… a linen cupboard can suffice.

Different occasions call for different types of wine, although discount wine tastes best of all.

Most wines are quaffers; just made to sip and enjoy without too much thought. Then there are more expensive wines aimed to impress, with great style and finesse, for special occasions. If you’re casually sitting on the beach, a simple,enjoyable wine will do very nicely indeed. But then as a gift for someone who likes a good drop of red wine, a bit more care is needed. The real question is, how do you determine a good bottle from the bunch?

A good guide as to a wine’s quality is where to know where the grapes have been grown. Just like all plants, grape vines flourish in some environments and fail dismally in others. Would you eat mangoes or pineapples grown in Tasmania? Probably not as tropical fruits just don’t flourish in those climate types.

Vines are no different as a number of factors can result in some grape varieties producing great wines in some regions and yet producing bland wines in other regions. It all has to do with climate and soils but the important thing to remember is the classic grape/wine region combinations, for discount wines or dare I say, cheap wines.

Here is a guide to some combinations worth looking out for.

Chardonnay
Regions: Beechworth, Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Hunter Valley, Orange, Tasmania

Riesling
Regions: Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Frankland River, Canberra, Tasmania

Semillon
Regions: Hunter Valley, Margaret River, Barossa Valley

Sauvignon Blanc
Regions: Adelaide Hills, Margaret River

Shiraz
Regions: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Heathcote, Grampians, Pyrenees, Beechworth, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, Canberra

Cabernet Sauvignon
Regions: Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley

Pinot Noir
Regions: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Gippsland, Macedon Ranges, Beechworth, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania.

Spring is finally here and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of chilled Rosé from your wine library. For the last decade good Rosé has been in the wilderness. It has been missing in action, so to speak. There were actually very few Rosé wines to choose from and most were too sweet to be taken seriously. After all, most of us don’t want our wine to taste as sweet as a slice of chocolate cake.

But that’s all changed now. Wine fashion is taking a long trip back to the seventies and our wine producers are finally starting to make drinkable and enjoyable Rosé. Respectful Rosés are popping up from all over Australia and now is the best time to open a bottle and enjoy a glass.

Rosé is actually made with red grapes.The wine gets its fantastic pinkish colour from spending a short amount of time, only two or three days, soaking with the red grape skins. It can be made using any grape variety, and most in Australia come from Grenache, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Rosé comes in a dry or sweet varieties.  The majority of modern Rosé wines tending towards the drier side. This lovely dryness makes Rose perfect for spring time dining and entertaining. The lovely colour also adds to the novelty of drinking rose. Something about the colour invites festive thoughts take over.

Rosé is perfect for outdoor dining or an afternoon drink in the sun. It is cool and light enough to enjoy with a simple mixed green salad but also has the stuffing to stand up to a piece of fresh fish or rump straight off the barbeque.

When buying Rosé always go for the last vintage from your wine library. Rosés are made to be drunk young and most don’t age well. Enjoy them sooner rather than later.

Consider buying your next bottle or case of Rosé from Crackawine.com.au. They will give you $25 spending money towards your first purchase.

I love the Wine Regions of Western Australian. I especially love the majestic beauty of the Margaret River. Picture, if you can its pristine white beaches that disappear into the horizon. Envisage, if you can, the rolling sand dunes sitting next to a vibrant native forest. See for yourself a western sunset that glitters and shines over the Indian Ocean like a dance. It’s no wonder this amazing place is home to so many praised wine producers. This is a beautiful place that produces some of Australia’s best wine.

The Margaret River region is without doubt one of our greatest fine wine areas boasting over 120 wine producers. Local names such as Moss Wood, Cullen and Leeuwin Estate sit comfortably among the greatest Australian producers. Their wines are now highly sought after both domestically and overseas.

The winemakers here aspire to not only make wines that stand up to the best from Australia but match up as great wines of the world. They deliver brilliance in each and every bottle they produce.

Quality Wines have been coming from Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Cullen, Cape Mentelle, Howard Park and Pierro for a long time. They have collectively been responsible for producing the region’s greatest wines.

These guys should be keeping a close eye on the wine coming from Woodlands and the newly revitalised Xanadu wineries. Voyager Estate is another rising star from the Margaret River.

The original vines of what is now Voyager Estate were first planted in 1978, under the name of Freycinet Estate. In 1991, these vineyards were bought and significantly expanded on. The area has since become known as the ‘Golden triangle of Chardonnay’ due to the quality of the wines from producers in the area.

The current releases from Voyager Estate include three absolute knockouts. I recommend you try them all:

1. The Voyager Chardonnay 2006 ($35) has powerful white peach and citrus fruit on a taut and youthful palate with a little creamy leesy complexity and brilliant length. It is one of the best 2006 Margaret River Chardonnays.

2. My favourite, at least for drinking now, is the 2005 Shiraz ($35). The Margaret River is generally not known for making a standout Shiraz, but this is a wonderful example of a dense cool climate Shiraz with clove and blackberry fruit trimmed with hints of wild violets. In the mouth there is such a youthful feel and plenty of vitality that it will only get better over the next decade.

3. The best known of the wines from Voyager Estate is the Cabernet Merlot ($60), with the 2004 release one of their best so far. This wine is really built for the long term with gravelly cassis and blackberry fruit rounded out nicely with some subtle notes of olive and oak. In the mouth there is great generosity of fruit that is currently bound up in its significant structure. In ten to fifteen years it will be a wonderful drop, so keep it sleeping for a while, if you can.

Spring is finally here and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of chilled Rosé from your wine library. For the last decade good Rosé has been in the wilderness. It has been missing in action, so to speak. There were actually very few Rosé wines to choose from and most were too sweet to be taken seriously. After all, most of us don’t want our wine to taste as sweet as a slice of chocolate cake.

But that’s all changed now. Wine fashion is taking a long trip back to the seventies and our wine producers are finally starting to make drinkable and enjoyable Rosé. Respectful Rosés are popping up from all over Australia and now is the best time to open a bottle and enjoy a glass.

Rosé is actually made with red grapes.The wine gets its fantastic pinkish colour from spending a short amount of time, only two or three days, soaking with the red grape skins. It can be made using any grape variety, and most in Australia come from Grenache, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Rosé comes in a dry or sweet varieties.  The majority of modern Rosé wines tending towards the drier side. This lovely dryness makes Rose perfect for spring time dining and entertaining. The lovely colour also adds to the novelty of drinking rose. Something about the colour invites festive thoughts take over.

Rosé is perfect for outdoor dining or an afternoon drink in the sun. It is cool and light enough to enjoy with a simple mixed green salad but also has the stuffing to stand up to a piece of fresh fish or rump straight off the barbeque.

When buying Rosé always go for the last vintage from your wine library. Rosés are made to be drunk young and most don’t age well. Enjoy them sooner rather than later.

Consider buying your next bottle or case of Rosé from Crackawine.com.au. They will give you $25 spending money towards your first purchase.

I love the Wine Regions of Western Australian. I especially love the majestic beauty of the Margaret River. Picture, if you can its pristine white beaches that disappear into the horizon. Envisage, if you can, the rolling sand dunes sitting next to a vibrant native forest. See for yourself a western sunset that glitters and shines over the Indian Ocean like a dance. It’s no wonder this amazing place is home to so many praised wine producers. This is a beautiful place that produces some of Australia’s best wine.

The Margaret River region is without doubt one of our greatest fine wine areas boasting over 120 wine producers. Local names such as Moss Wood, Cullen and Leeuwin Estate sit comfortably among the greatest Australian producers. Their wines are now highly sought after both domestically and overseas.

The winemakers here aspire to not only make wines that stand up to the best from Australia but match up as great wines of the world. They deliver brilliance in each and every bottle they produce.

Quality Wines have been coming from Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Cullen, Cape Mentelle, Howard Park and Pierro for a long time. They have collectively been responsible for producing the region’s greatest wines.

These guys should be keeping a close eye on the wine coming from Woodlands and the newly revitalised Xanadu wineries. Voyager Estate is another rising star from the Margaret River.

The original vines of what is now Voyager Estate were first planted in 1978, under the name of Freycinet Estate. In 1991, these vineyards were bought and significantly expanded on. The area has since become known as the ‘Golden triangle of Chardonnay’ due to the quality of the wines from producers in the area.

The current releases from Voyager Estate include three absolute knockouts. I recommend you try them all:

1. The Voyager Chardonnay 2006 ($35) has powerful white peach and citrus fruit on a taut and youthful palate with a little creamy leesy complexity and brilliant length. It is one of the best 2006 Margaret River Chardonnays.

2. My favourite, at least for drinking now, is the 2005 Shiraz ($35). The Margaret River is generally not known for making a standout Shiraz, but this is a wonderful example of a dense cool climate Shiraz with clove and blackberry fruit trimmed with hints of wild violets. In the mouth there is such a youthful feel and plenty of vitality that it will only get better over the next decade.

3. The best known of the wines from Voyager Estate is the Cabernet Merlot ($60), with the 2004 release one of their best so far. This wine is really built for the long term with gravelly cassis and blackberry fruit rounded out nicely with some subtle notes of olive and oak. In the mouth there is great generosity of fruit that is currently bound up in its significant structure. In ten to fifteen years it will be a wonderful drop, so keep it sleeping for a while, if you can.

At the core of every visit to the Hunter Valley are the vineyards and quality wine. The Hunter Valley has been producing wine since the 1820′s. The regions semillons and shiraz are well known for their unique style.

There is no other wine globally that matches the low alcohol (normally around 11%), fresh zesty style of semillon that can age remarkably well due largely to its balance of flavour and high acidity. So much so that there are many wines from the 70’s and 80’s that are still drinking well. If only they had been bottled with a screwcap, then some of this wine could be almost immortal.

In a market that is in some places moving towards lower alcohol levels, Hunter Valley semillon is a very neat fit for aging as well as drinking relatively young. The local shiraz has a more moderate body and alcohol combined with earthy, gamey mood. The Hunter River Burgundy has a reputation for its silky and earthy complexity. These wines can age well as illustrated by some of the Lindemans releases from the 1960’s.

Even more remarkable is that the wines from Maurice O’Shea were made under harsh conditions including without electricity and, in some cases, during the last years of the Second World War. Chardonnay is also a local strength driven largely by the wines of Max Lake and Murray Tyrrell. Both wines can age magnificently well, despite the warm Hunter climate. The modern style is much leaner than some of the older heavily oaked and worked examples. Then there is Cabernet Sauvignon – one wine grown on a South-Easterly facing red volcanic hill. Many locals believe is the area’s best piece of dirt. I am, of course, talking about Lake’s Folly. Max Lake was always bucking trends and turning his nose at the establishment.

No better place is this illustrated than in an old bottle of Folly such as a recently shared 1985 Lake’s Folly Cabernet at 12% alcohol from a good but not great vintage that is still singing its varietal and regional origins.

While there is certainly great history to the Hunter, perhaps its strongest suit, for the moment, is a new generation of winemakers exerting greater influence over the local styles, which will continue for some time to come.

Ascend into the small towns huddled around the towering Mount Macedon such as Woodend or Kyneton, which are located an hour North-West of Melbourne, and you can’t fail to miss the faintly Northern European feel of the place. Perhaps it is the crisp bite of a cool Spring day, the historical streetscapes or even the patches of greenery from recent Winter rains but this is a very unique and beautiful landscape; not just in geography but also the climate that envelops it.

Unsurprisingly within this cool environment, which encompasses a multitude of hills and valleys, are pockets of vineyards that are creating exquisite, modern styles of Australian wine. Despite the potential and some brilliant wines the Macedon remains surprisingly unknown to many.

The lack of any one strong brand driving the region’s fortunes certainly doesn’t help. No big company would even consider large-scale plantings here – the challenges are just too large and the yields too low. But for those vignerons that identify the right site and then put their all into grafting a quality product, there are tremendous rewards to reap. To date, the best known wines of the Macedon have been the local pinot noirs and chardonnays from the likes of Curly Flat and Bindi, with others such as Lanes End and Paramoor also showing promise. There is an Aladdin’s cave of potential sites yet to be explored; it seems more than likely that the quality of product in the Macedon is destined to go from strength to strength over the next ten to twenty years.

Recently at the Macedon Show I was again reminded that, while pinot noir and chardonnay have driven the region’s fortunes to date, the region also has a knack of consistently turning out some of Australia’s greatest Sparkling wines. back in the old days that may not have meant so much but from cool mainland regions, today lead by the Macedon, as well as Tasmania, more and more locally produced wines are really challenging the quality of fine French Champagne. The Macedon in particular instils in its best wines a delicacy and purity of acidity that is remarkably reminiscent of fine French bubbly. It’s no surprise in that vineyards in both the Macedon and Champagne are some of the coolest. The resulting wines their much-praised elegance while keeping intact a rigid core of acidity.

At the 2009 Macedon show, two sparkling wines, in particular, really impressed, and both from the same producer. The first was the Mount William Blanc de Blanc from 2001, a sparkling chardonnay that is still remarkably fresh and alive. And the second is the Mount William ‘Jorja Alexis’ Pinot Noir Rosé from 2003, a very pretty and subtle wine with multiple layers of red berry fruit with subtle earthy nuances in a supremely balanced and silky package.

There are few if any Australian wine regions that can quite match the majestic beauty and splendour of Western Australia’s Margaret River. The pristine white beaches that stretch up and down the coast. Behind the sand dunes lie rolling hills punctuated by the occasional outcrop of beautiful forest. This is a place that draws people closer. The mix of natural beauty, attractions and the idyllic lifestyle.

But the sailing in Margaret River has not always been so calm. In the mid 60’s when the first ideas were floated of grapes being grown here, the area was in a slump. The once popular timber industry had almost disappeared. The locals were looking for something to help bring them out of the economic dip they had fallen in to. And along came Dr John Gladstones, whom after a little study reckoned that Margaret River might be a special place to grow grapes. Soon plantings began and the area would be changed forever.

First Tom Cullity at Vasse Felix, then Di and Kevin Cullen at Cullen and finally Bill Pannell at Moss Wood put experimental vineyards in the ground, wines from which quickly proved the areas potential. Now with over 120 producers in the region, Margaret River is without doubt one of our greatest Australian fine wine zones, and the equal of icons such as the Barossa and Yarra Valleys. Local names such as Moss Wood, Cullen and Leeuwin Estate sit comfortably among the greatest Australian producers, with their wines highly sought both here and overseas.

One of the region’s most enduring qualities is the vitality of the local people. The Margaret River has much to offer. The winemakers aspire to not only make wines that match up to the best from Australia but stand up as great wines of the world. You see it in the eyes of producers such as Keith Mugford from Moss Wood, Mike Peterkin of Pierro and Vanya Cullen of Cullen. There is a great self-assuredness that never stretches towards arrogance. And they back it up with brilliance in each and every bottle.

In terms of quality, while the old firm of Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Cullen, Cape Mentelle, Howard Park and Pierro still are generally responsible for the region’s greatest wines, underneath there is a growing band of producers knocking on the door. Woodlands and the revitalised Xanadu immediately come to mind as two wineries with great potential but probably the most exciting of such ventures, and one that is quickly rising to be among Margaret River’s best, is Voyager Estate.

The original vines of what is now Voyager Estate were first planted in 1978, under the name of Freycinet Estate. These vineyards, in 1991, were bought and significantly expanded on.. This was a masterstroke because the area has since become known as ‘Golden triangle of Chardonnay’ due to the quality of the wines from producers such as Voyager Estate, Leeuwin Estate and Devil’s Lair.
When in Margaret River, it is impossible to miss Voyager Estate. South of the township and closely located to Leeuwin Estate, it is marked by a huge flagpole as well as the large Cape Dutch style building which sits amongst magnificent grounds. While the built environment is slick, it is what’s in the local vineyards and winery that really impresses. What is clear here is that in all facets of the Voyager Estate operation everything is done with perfection. And no one better exemplifies this than winemaker Cliff Royle

I first met Cliff before a tasting of some barrels that would end up in his Cabernet Merlot blend from the highly acclaimed 2007 vintage, and he was a little nervous. Not because he didn’t believe in the wines rather it was more like a father for his child – he wasn’t quite ready to let his wines out into the big, wide world in case they didn’t put their best foot forward, as young wines often do. Well he needn’t have worried because they were absolutely superb and a real treat, although the 2007 vintage won’t be released for at least another couple of years.

The current releases from Voyager Estate include three wines you have to try. The first is their renowned Chardonnay from the icy Margaret River vintage of 2006. Reds have been difficult for some in 2006, the whites are superb with intense fruit and acidity. The 2006 Voyager Chardonnay ($35) has powerful peach and citrus on a taut and youthful palate with a little creamy complexity and brilliant length. It is one of the best 2006 Margaret River Chardonnays. My favourite for drinking now is the 2005 Shiraz ($35). The Margaret River, not normally known for producing standout Shiraz, but this is a wonderful example of dense cool climate Shiraz with clove and blackberry fruit lifted by hints of violets and licorice. In the mouth there is such a youthful feel and plenty of vitality that it will only get better with time. The nest known wines from Voyager Estate is the Cabernet Merlot ($60), with the 2004 release one of their best so far. This wine is really built for the long term with gravelly cassis and blackberry fruit rounded out nicely with some subtle notes of olive and oak. In the mouth there is great generosity of fruit that is currently bound up in its significant structure. But in ten to fifteen years it will be a wonderful drink.