Adelaide Hills
‘Mit dem Luft wird besser’ – Eindrücke von der Prowein Fachmesse aus Düsseldorf
Nein, der frisch gebackene Frühling zeigt sich hier in meiner alten Heimatstadt nicht von seiner besten Seite. Bei strömendem Regen betrete ich die Messehallen direkt am Rhein gelegen, keine 200 Meter entfernt von der Esprit Arena, in welcher gestern abend der Riese Klitschko seinen Gegner in Runde 9 auf die Bretter schickte.
Wine Australia @ Prowein
Ganz so unfreundlich werde ich hier nicht empfangen, auch wenn an diesem Sonntag morgen die Schlangen zur weltgrößten Fachhandelsmesse für Wein am Eingang recht lang sind. Die Prowein ist in diesem Jahr größer als je zuvor, mehr Aussteller und, wie sich im Laufe dieses Tages zeigt, auch mehr Besucher als je zuvor.
Vom Fach sollten sie schon sein, die Menschen, die sich zum Weintesten hier eingefunden haben. Nun, zumindest am Sonntag, so wird mir von vielen Kollegen berichtet, finden wir hier auch den geneigten Hobby-alkoholiker, vom Fach wie gesagt.
In den Hallen 3-7 erwarten uns die Winzer aus aller Herren Länder, Halle 3 die Italiener (und Mazedonen, Griechen, Türken und Kroaten), Halle 4 mehrheitlich deutsche Winzer, in der Halle 5 die Franzosen und in Halle 6, na endlich, die Winzer aus Übersee inklusive der groß angekündigten ‘New World Initiative: Down2Earth‘ und natürlich unserer Australier.
Ich bin begeistert ob der Vielfalt an sprachlichen Versionen an diesem Tag, uns einigt ja alle die Liebe zum Stöffchen: die Italiener gestikulieren meist heftig bei ihren Vertriebsbemühungen, grundsätzlich in ihrer Landessprache, die Spanier hingegen (auch in Halle 6 zu finden) sind eher ruhig und haben meist zur Unterstützung eine iberische Schönheit an ihrer Seite am Stand.
Und Wein ist ja nun kein einfaches Thema, in der Übersetzung in die deutsche Sprache kommt da manch’ interessante Variante zustande: ‘mit dem Luft wird besser’ – so eine langbeinige junge Dame aus dem Osten Europas zu einem der hingebungsvoll an der Theke lehnenden Verkoster – ein Traum von einem Satz in der reichhaltigen Weinsprache, der Tester hat’s verstanden.
Australischer Wein aus der Neuen Welt Halle
Nachfolgend finden Sie die Standnummern der wesentlichen australischen Anbieter, die ich mir heute angesehen habe.
Natürlich sind in Düsseldorf die ganz großen Häuser aus Down Under auch dabei, wie Hardy’s oder die Weine aus der Fosters Gruppe, aber wenn schon Wein aus Australien, dann soll es halt schon etwas Besonderes sein, und nicht die vielfach auf diesem Blog beschriebene Einheitsplörre, die sich in deutschen Supermärkten wiederfindet.
Adelaide Hills Peter Lehmann Wines 6L50 und Two Hand Wines 6M56
Clare Valley Polish Hill 6M58
Margaret River Clairaut Wines 6L50 und Stella Bella Wines 6L50
McLaren Vale Chapel Hill Wines 6L50 und D’Arenberg 6F30
Riverina Dominic Wines Australia 6L52
Upper Hunter Valley und Gundagai Yarraman Estate 6L50
Yarra Valley De Bortoli Wines 6P51
Mehr zu diversen Verkostungen und von weiteren Interviews lesen Sie in den kommenden Tagen.
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Prowein, this world’s largest wine fair for the global wine industry started successfully in Düsseldorf today.
It markets itself as the fair having a ‘focus on practical aspects – an abundance of tasting opportunities and a wealth of concise information’ for the visitor. Usually for the wine trade visitor only, I discover a good number of local wine enthusiasts within a lively atmosphere – the alcohol level rises minute by minute although spitting casks help to get rid of most of the liquid. A typical rainy afternoon in Germany.
I enjoy the discussions with the Australian wine makers and their European distributors, more on some of my experiences in the next days.
Michael Brecht
New series on downunderwines: what are you drinking right NOW.
We have been thinking about our many subscribers and how to better integrate them on Downunder Wines. We receive so much feed back on our posts and comments on what wine you like.
So here is the start to our new series: what are you drinking right now? We call this section ‘my drink today‘ – it is very simple: you’ll send us a photo and a few words of what you are drinking and why you like it. Too easy.
The Croser Sparkling from Adelaide Hills
Let us start with Corinne Torres from Surry Hills in Sydney:
“Hello there, I am drinking a sparkling wine from South Australia called CROSER. A very elegant drop and very fresh – It never disappoints!”
This was probably the right wine for a long weekend, today’s bank holiday and the finish of the footie season Down Under had many of us celebrating. Thank you Corinne for your entry and the start to our new series here on Downunder Wines.
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Wir starten hiermit eine neue Serie, sie heisst: ‘my drink today’ und sie zeigt was Sie gerade heute trinken. Bitte haben Sie Verstaendnis, dass wir uns in dieser Kategorie auf australische Weine konzentrieren wollen. Viel Spass dabei und senden Sie uns einfach Ihren Beitrag mit einem Foto an unsere email info (at) downunderwines.net oder nutzen Sie unser Kontaktformular.
Cool Climate Shiraz catches up big time in Australia
On my recent trip to Adelaide Hills just outside South Australia’s capital city, I spoke to some of the local winemakers trying to find out, how they made progress in the past months with their cool climate varieties of Australia’s famous grapes such as Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon.
2005 Shiraz Hahndorf Hill Winery
Hahndorf Hill Winery’s 2005 Shiraz from Adelaide Hills was this year included in UK wine writer Oz Clarke’s list of Top 250 wines for 2010, see our report here. A good reason to check on this wine and find out how a further few months in the bottle have helped this cool climate champion develop.
An amazing aroma of spicy plums and berries makes me curious when I open the bottle – I find hints of chocolate on the palate and I absolutely adore the smooth and silky finish. This wine is an absolute stunner made by a highly entrepreneurial boutique wine producer in South Australia. This wine is the answer to all these mass producers of cheap Australian commodity wines, outstanding in value and a clear benchmark for cool climate Shiraz around $30.
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Einer meiner letzten Trips nach South Australia brachte mich erneut nach Hahndorf Hill, wo ich mir Zeit nahm, den dortigen 2005 Shiraz der Hahndorf Hill Winery zu probieren. Jener war vor wenigen Monaten vom englischen Weinjournalisten Oz Clark zu einem der besten 250 Weine fuer 2010 gekuert worden.
Der Wein ist fantastisch fuer einen Roten um die EUR 17, grossartige Pflaume und dunkle Beerenaromen begruessen mich, Andeutungen von dunkler Schokolade und ein erstaunlicher, seidenweicher Abgang runden das Bild ab. Dieser Wein ist ein grossartiges Beispiel fuer die Erfolge kleinerer Winzer, sog. Boutique Wineries hier Down Under.
Ihr Michael Brecht
Hahndorf Hill’s success story
When I went to see Hahndorf Hill Winery in January – I sensed that this is a great place with fantastic wines. The drive into the property is scenic, the view from the restaurant magnificent and the wines are simply great.
Tasting at Hahndorf Hill Winery
I tried the Shiraz from 2004 and 2005 and immediately fell in love with them although it was a hot summer day with more than 35 degrees. Their Sauvignon Blanc is probably one of the best ones from South Australia and the HHW Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are simply great examples of an excellent producer in a cool climate region.
Today I receive news from Co-Owner Larry Jacobs that Hahndorf Hill cellar door was voted in the Top 10 cellar doors in Australia in 2009 by Wine Business Magazine. And in the UK, influential wine writer Oz Clarke has selected the Hahndorf Hill Winery Shiraz 2005 in his list of 250 Best Wines 2010.
Well done guys, these are great achievements.
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Eine meiner Lieblingswineries in South Australia ist Hahndorf Hill Winery, gerade einmal 5 Minuten ausserhalb von Hahndorf Hill gelegen. In diesen Tagen hat die Winery grosse Auszeichnungen zu verzeichnen, thumbs up, wie wir hier Down Under sagen.
Ihr Michael Brecht
And the winner is: Lerida Estate 2008 Pinot Gris from the Canberra Region
I have started writing up the results of our wine tasting from Friday night, if you have missed out on this read the introduction here.
Just to remind us, the contestants in this tasting were (in alphabetical order):
2008 Innocent Bystander from the Yarra Valley in Victoria
2008 Kirrihill from Adelaide Hills in South Australia
2008 Lerida Estate from Lake George, Canberra Region
2007 McVitty from the Southern Highlands here in NSW
2007 Mornington Estate from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria
2007 Nepenthe (Australian Vintage) from Adelaide Hills.
Pinot Gris and Grigio contestants
The typical fruity and lively signs of Pinot Gris and Grigios could be found in any of these wines. So how were they coming across on the night:
The Innocent Bystander and the McVitty both showed a spicy honeyed pear nose, fresh citrus and apples and were less acidic as others on the night. What they were both lacking was the length and finish. The Nepenthe and Mornington Estate both finished last, rather disappointing their lack of character. Pretty thin especially the Nepenthe, this one only scored highest in alcohol level: with 14% it was the highest level on the night – not really a sign I am looking for when trying a Pinot Gris.
The decision for the winner was a hard one as both the Kirrihill as well as the Lerida Estate showed wonderful details of fruityness, they are both balanced wines with a good length on the palate. The Lerida Estate definetely scored maximum points on fruityness and displayed less acidity, the Kirrihill impressed because of this natural acidic taste – one of the judges found it almost Sauvignon Blanc style.
The final result crowned the 2008 Lerida Estate Pinot Gris as the winner, its rich palate and its balanced acidic finish helped this white from Lake George win the night. Well done!
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Ein solches Weintesten ist anstrengend, zumal wir in dieser Runde die grosse Schwierigkeit hatten zwei ebenbuertige Kontrahenten zu plazieren. Der Lerida Estate Pinot Gris setzte sich letztlich gegen den Kirrihill Pinot Grigio durch, seine exzellente Laenge und ausgewogene Saeure machten den Ausschlag. Diese beiden sind vorzuegliche Vertreter einer cool climate Generation von weissen Pinots – stark abgeschlagen am Ende des Feldes der Nepenthe aus den Adelaide Hills, ein Wein aus Massenproduktion und leider ohne jeglichen Charakter.
Ihr Michael Brecht
Cool Climate Pinot Gris Tasting with friends on a rainy evening
The readers of my blog know that I am a keen supporter of Australian boutique wineries. Of these my favourite ones are either based in cool climate regions or they produce wines with grapes from vineyards in cooler regions. The latter is true for quite a few winemakers in McLaren Vale, which isn’t really cool climate, but profits from the proximity of the adjacent Adelaide Hills.
It is a rainy evening in the Southern Highlands and we have invited some friends to help me go through a half dozen of cool climate Pinot Gris. I have deliberately picked a selection of six with each one originating from a different wine region in Australia. They are all available for under $25 in either bottle shops or at the cellar door.
Vineyard in the cool climate Adelaide Hills
The background to this tasting lies in the feed back I received to an article I wrote a few days back on the production and labeling of Pinot Gris versus Pinot Grigio in Australia. Our selection of wines for our tasting again proves my point, the usage of the word Gris or Grigio here downunder does not necessarily help when trying to identify a typical Gris or Grigio stlye, as is possible in Europe.
The contestants in this tasting were (in alphabetical order):
2008 Innocent Bystander from the Yarra Valley in Victoria
2008 Kirrihill from Adelaide Hills in South Australia
2008 Lerida Estate from Lake George, Canberra Region
2007 McVitty from the Southern Highlands here in NSW
2007 Mornington Estate from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria
and I have added a
2007 Nepenthe from Adelaide Hills which belongs to Australian Vintage, the 2nd biggest player in Australia simply because I wanted to find out how the big boys compare against the boutique wineries.
All wines display a freshness, that is so typical for Pinot Gris or Grigio. Some of them were more on the fruity side with strong characters of apple, citrus and melon, others were more subdued and unfortunately two were really lagging character when it came to displaying fruity characters or natural acidity. Find out who the winner of this contest was in my next entry.
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An einem regnerischen Freitagabend begehe ich eine Weinprobe mit ein paar Freunden hier auf unserer Farm in den Southern Highlands. Wir testen sechs verschiedene Pinot Gris und Grigios aus diversen cool climate Gegenden Australiens. Allen sechs Weinen gemein ist eine so typische Gris/Grigio Frische, dennoch finden wir schnell grosse Unterschiede in der Faehigkeit die fruchtige Frische zu einem wirklich guten Abgang zu transportieren. Lesen Sie mehr ueber das Endergebnis in meinem naechsten Beitrag.
Ihr Michael Brecht
Entry Chardonnay from Tilbrook scores well on a Monday night
Monday night is the night for trying wines well under $20 – this time a 2006 Chardonnay from Tilbrook Estate. I met James Tilbrook at his cellar door a few weeks ago and he made me taste this one in particular.
Selection of Tilbrook Estate Wines at the cellar door
Not that I didn’t want to taste the high end releases, but I think it is important for any winemaker to look after those purchasers, that buy wine for a Monday night – nothing special, accompanying food and still never disappointing.
The 2006 Chardonnay (retailing for $15) has 15% Sauvignon Blanc grapes in it, melon and stonefruit make it a typical Chardonnay from a cool climate region. The wine displays this fresh taste with a good length, with 13.5% alcohol it is a Chardonnay on the lighter side – just right for our Monday night.
You have to be quick though, as Tilbrook Estate produces only small quantities of his wines, last year the total production was only for 1500 cases.
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James Tilbrook produziert Jahr fuer Jahr Spitzenweine in seinem kleinen Weingut in Lobethal, keine 40 Minuten von Adelaide entfernt in South Australia gelegen. Ich trinke heute abend einen Chardonnay aus dem Jahr 2006, bewusst die Einstiegsvariante, denn Montags teste ich gerne die einfacheren Versionen der einzelnen Wineries. Fruchtig frisch, mit 15% Sauvignon Blanc Trauben angereichert ist der 2006 Tilbrook Chardonnay ein angenehmer Tropfen.
Ihr Michael Brecht
Pinot Gris or Grigio – a real Shooting Star here in Australia and New Zealand
Whenever I stand in front of a fridge in a bottle shop here in Australia, my eyes become overwhelmed with the many logos, different wine names and last but not least the question: which wine matches the food, we are having tonight. It happened to me again today as I was visiting Will, a wine expert in one of the bottle shops here in the Southern Highlands.
Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio - spot the difference
We started talking about the sales during the heat wave of the last weeks and he surprised me with the fact that Pinot Gris and Grigio were really on the rise here downunder. Let us think back: in 2003 a mere 329 hectares of Pinot Gris were planted in Australia representing 0.5% of all white grapes planted here. This number has changed substantially with 2,469 hectares (following 2008 Directory) planted as Pinot Gris – an increase of 650% since 2003, representing 3.4% of all white varieties planted in Australia.
Now where is the difference between Gris and Grigio: both terms mean ‘grey’: Gris is the french word and stems from the Alsace region in north-east France, Grigio is the name of the same grape originally from Italy. Australian wineries have adopted both terms in the past years, there is no true consistency to who uses it – I suspect a bit of a rivalry originating in French or Italian heritage of the winemaker or owner of the vineyard. I have to ask Sandro Mosele from the Mornington Peninsula about this actually, he is from an Italian family with nine brothers and sisters.
And where do the best Pinot Gris and Grigio come from: in New Zealand the Marlborough region produces outstanding ones, here in Australia the cool climate regions such as the Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania, Adelaide Hills, the Southern Highlands and the Canberra region all bring out some great white Pinots.
On my way to dinner now, we’ll try a Pinots Gris from the Canberra region with our chicken tonight, I’ll keep you posted.
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Pinot Gris und Grigio haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren hier in Australien enorm entwickelt. Die Anbaumenge hat sich zwischen 2004 und 2008 mehr als versechsfacht, heute sind 3.5% aller australischen Weissweine entweder Pinot Gris oder Grigio. Fuer die Verwendung des Namens gibt es keine Regel, die offiziellen Statistiken fuehren jedoch die Traube als Pinot Gris.
Wir werden heute abend einen Pinot Gris aus der Canberra Region zu unserem Huhn verkosten, ein Testbericht dazu folgt bald.
Ihr Michael Brecht
