Winestate Magazine September - October 2021

THIS IS AN ISSUETHAT WE ALWAYS LOOK FORWARDTO. Each year we put together a range of shiraz and syrah wines ranging from under $15 wines up to $200 plus wines, of course judged in ever increasing price categories. What makes this judging special is that at the pointy end we also pit the best of Australia against the best of France. As far as we know no one else does this, perhaps because these wines are normally not entered into these competitions and are quite pricey (with a reputation to maintain) so we go out and source them ourselves. As we have said many times, of all the reds, shiraz is the most reliable. Maybe because it is the most winemaker friendly, with its sweet natural fruit and soft tannins. If…

ONE STOP SHOP IMAGINE a one-stop indoor market where you can taste and buy the best of West Australian produce, wines and beers while enjoying entertainment and the chance to visit local glassblowers, woodworkers, indigenous artists and other artisans. Due to open in November, the $50 million Origins Market in Busselton will be a big drawcard for both locals and tourists en route to or from Margaret River. Origins Market aims to showcase leading local providores, while also offering a shopping and dining destination. Busselton is one of Western Australia’s fastest-growing regional centres and is just 10 minutes from the Busselton Margaret River Airport, which is now receiving direct flights from Melbourne. It is located in a bustling new retail hub that already sees more than 25,000 weekly visitors. Over 100 curated West Australian…

IT’S A (SMALL) WRAP THE grapes are in and now the numbers are too – New Zealand’s 2021 harvest tipped the scales at 370,000 tonnes, a 19% decrease on vintage 2020. For context, the previous three harvests clocked in at 457,000, 419,000 and 413,000 tonnes, New Zealand’s 10 year average of grapes crushed is 383,000 tonnes, and net productive hectares increasing 5,500ha over this period, with the vast majority plantings in Marlborough. Marlborough experienced the smallest harvest since 2015, with crops down 21%, having Central Otago seemingly buck the trend, harvesting 21% more grapes than the previous year, though this can be mostly attributed to tonnages returning to the norm after a very reduced 2020 harvest. The 2021 harvest’s shortfall is largely the result of cool spring weather and late frosts…

IN June of this year, a free trade agreement (FTA) was made, in principle, between the UK and Australia. While the specifics of the deal may not be known for some months, and a final agreement signed maybe in 2022 … let’s take a look at what we know so far. Apart from that with the EU, it is the first trade deal that Brexit-UK has negotiated from scratch, as it were. The FTA is for goods and services. There are plenty of details still to be fine tooth-combed. From the UK side an aspect of concern is that related to farming, where minimum standards in the two countries diverge. The UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) represents the food and drink manufacturing sector, with key stated themes around food safety,…

NOW that is a contentious title to an article! Aromatic wine lovers would say oak is not required, and in the case of riesling, gewurztraminer and to a point semillon and sauvignon blanc, they are probably right. There are other wines, such as the majority of Italian white varieties that don’t need oak. But with red wines and chardonnay oak adds another dimension. Oak has been used as a storage and transportation vessel for wine for two thousand years. It is fit for purpose, being a watertight wood and strong material for coopers to shape into barrels. The discovery that this storage container actually improved and added complexity to the flavour of wine was a windfall. The cocktail of compounds responsible for these flavours include ellagitannins, phenolic aldehydes and volatile phenols. Quercus…

I RE-KINDLED my affection for Darwin a few years ago and have returned several times since. If I need any further incentive to book a trip, I watch Jimmy Shu’s Taste of the Territory on SBS On Demand. The eight-episode series is a showcase of the NT’s culinary treats from Darwin’s fresh produce markets and multicultural restaurants to bush tucker in Arnhem Land. People from more than 50 nationalities live in Darwin and its surrounds and one of the prime ways they rubber-stamp their diversity is through their food and drink. One of the best places to confirm that the Territory is just as trend-conscious as the southern states is to drop by for a drink at Charlie’s of Darwin. Since opening its doors early last year as the city’s first…