Wine lovers musings, amusings and news

[Steady]

Are there many Brown Brothers "The Wine Club" members on AFF?

Do any of you buy wine in addition to the quarterly club deliveries?

 

[Steady]

Are there many Brown Brothers "The Wine Club" members on AFF?

Do any of you buy wine in addition to the quarterly club deliveries?

Seems not? I was given a $50 off unique code but the Tassie wine (Pirie, Tamar Ridge) made just down the road that I want to purchase costs about $26 for delivery so I am going to pass.

Delivery to ADL/VIC/NSW/ACT is only $13 making it a bit more attractive.

 

[CJEMNMAC]

Wondering what the thoughts are on paid wine storage vs home wine fridge ( Vintec etc etc )...

If it is not the cost, is it space ? is it you prefer to "see" your stash. ?

I would be interested in peoples views on this..

 

[Steady]

If there was somewhere close to where I live I would consider paid storage, as there isn't I haven't...

 

[MadMick10]

Wondering what the thoughts are on paid wine storage vs home wine fridge ( Vintec etc etc )...

If it is not the cost, is it space ? is it you prefer to "see" your stash. ?

I would be interested in peoples views on this..

I think I answered a similar question some time ago in another post, I had a small amount of my "fine" wine in storage for probably 8 years. The fine wine I speak about was wine I bought that was intended to be for investment purposes (i.e. Some Grange, Hill of Grace and Chateau Mouton) and it served its purpose as I did not have the facilities to store the wine at home - so from that perspective it was worth doing.
I progressively added "drinking" wine to the storage over the years, which I would take out from the cellar on a semi regular basis. This prompted me to look at storage options for home because I didn't like the idea of having to drive across town to take out half a dozen bottles when I wanted to drink them.

The only option that suited my home was to purchase wine fridges, and initially the only one's I was aware of was the very expensive (but very good) Eurocave models which I couldn't justify purchasing. Eventually I bought a Vintec model, and subsequently a second one when the Penfolds offer came out a few years ago, which allowed me to take all my wine out of storage and keep them all at home.

There is something about being able to "see your stash" as you mentioned which makes it more appealing to store the wine at home. Cost wise, storage was costing me around $400 per year which included insurance, whereas the Vintec wine fridges probably cost be a combined value of $800 between the Penfolds offer and a special price I received when I bought the first one. I haven't worked out the running cost per year of the fridges, but from my personal opinion, I prefer having my wine at home and being able to take out some "nice" wines from the fridge to drink without having to give a day notice before I drove to the storage facility to take out my wines.

 

[CJEMNMAC]

I think I answered a similar question some time ago in another post, I had a small amount of my "fine" wine in storage for probably 8 years. The fine wine I speak about was wine I bought that was intended to be for investment purposes (i.e. Some Grange, Hill of Grace and Chateau Mouton) and it served its purpose as I did not have the facilities to store the wine at home - so from that perspective it was worth doing.
I progressively added "drinking" wine to the storage over the years, which I would take out from the cellar on a semi regular basis. This prompted me to look at storage options for home because I didn't like the idea of having to drive across town to take out half a dozen bottles when I wanted to drink them.

The only option that suited my home was to purchase wine fridges, and initially the only one's I was aware of was the very expensive (but very good) Eurocave models which I couldn't justify purchasing. Eventually I bought a Vintec model, and subsequently a second one when the Penfolds offer came out a few years ago, which allowed me to take all my wine out of storage and keep them all at home.

There is something about being able to "see your stash" as you mentioned which makes it more appealing to store the wine at home. Cost wise, storage was costing me around $400 per year which included insurance, whereas the Vintec wine fridges probably cost be a combined value of $800 between the Penfolds offer and a special price I received when I bought the first one. I haven't worked out the running cost per year of the fridges, but from my personal opinion, I prefer having my wine at home and being able to take out some "nice" wines from the fridge to drink without having to give a day notice before I drove to the storage facility to take out my wines.

Thanks MadMick10

I guess I am at the in between stage.. I don't have any super expensive stuff but a few mixed cases of the $45 - $120 range.

At the moment I have them in paid storage and costs $144 per year for up to 8 cases...

 

[JessicaTam]

[mod hat]
Off topic posts have been removed.
[/mod hat]

 

[ste667]

Watched Somm tonight : a documentary about 3 friends taking the incredibly difficult Master Sommelier exam in the USA. Very enjoyable, and recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in wine.

 

[tielec]

Thanks MadMick10

I guess I am at the in between stage.. I don't have any super expensive stuff but a few mixed cases of the $45 - $120 range.

At the moment I have them in paid storage and costs $144 per year for up to 8 cases...

I've tried all of the above.

Storage was troublesome with my impulsive tastes, or when I wanted to pair with a specific food type. Fridges were fine but eventually I started having to debate which bottles lived in the fridge and which cooked. Now I have a cellar, and it does add to some of the theater of wine when you can go down into the cellar with a guest.

Of course YMMV and it was a bit of a money sink.

 

[Teebs]

Watched Somm tonight : a documentary about 3 friends taking the incredibly difficult Master Sommelier exam in the USA. Very enjoyable, and recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in wine.

I've never been able to look at a can of tennis balls the same way since watching this.....

 

[Steady]

Watched Somm tonight : a documentary about 3 friends taking the incredibly difficult Master Sommelier exam in the USA. Very enjoyable, and recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in wine.

Was it on pay or free to air?

 

[ste667]

Was it on pay or free to air?

neither :x

 

[Steady]

Is anyone familiar with Kalleske Greenock Shiraz?

I was reading Campbell Mattinson's review of the '15 and it opens with "If this wine had the word Penfolds on the from label it would be sold at three times the price". While I am sure this is true for many wines I like the rest of his description as well.

Any comments?

Is it a $34-40* wine, do you agree it punches above its asking price?

What would it be comparable to?

Age worthy or drink now?



*$40 at the CD, $36 @ DM before CR and Wish

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Kalleske make some great wine, from their budget Pirathon, through to the Johann Georg (which is in the Langtons Classification). The Greenock's generally a great wine (had some 2002 earlier this year, which was just fine).

Definitely an age-worthy wine.

 

[Whining&dining]

Is anyone familiar with Kalleske Greenock Shiraz?

I was reading Campbell Mattinson's review of the '15 and it opens with "If this wine had the word Penfolds on the from label it would be sold at three times the price". While I am sure this is true for many wines I like the rest of his description as well.

Any comments?

Is it a $34-40* wine, do you agree it punches above its asking price?

What would it be comparable to?

Age worthy or drink now?



*$40 at the CD, $36 @ DM before CR and Wish

I'd have to say that Clarry's GSM from Kalleske is the one that I've kept going back to and it never disappoints... http://www.kalleske.com/resources/2015_Kalleske_Clarrys_GSM.pdf

 

[TheRealTMA]

Just taken delivery of my annual Michael Hall mixed dozen for this year.

For those interested in small wineries with excellent hand-crafted produce, take a look at these

Wines | Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Rose, Chardonnay, Syrah

 

[Steady]

Did you get a chance to call into Sinapius at all?

Not yet, but as mentioned above I will get there.

I am spending a week near the Pipers Brook area after Christmas, so plan to have a look at the East Tamar sites while there.

I spent a week camping at Bridport (30km from Pipers River) so had a chance to visit some wineries on the eastern side of the Tamar.




I started at sinapius, a cellar door I have been looking forward to visiting to sample their wines. It is a small family run vineyard getting good reviews. They had 5 wines in their range when I visited and all were available for tasting at no charge. (I tried 4) Two Pinot Noir, two Chardonnay and a Clem Blanc, I had anticipated purchasing some PN but while I had no doubt both were quality examples they were not me. It was my first try of a Clem Blanc blend and the Guner Veltliner (30%), made it totally different to other whites I have tried - quite peppery. The CD was small but friendly and helpful with information on the area and distances / route to the wineries I was moving onto.

Next stop was Bay of Fires, a large well known winery with all three labels (Bay of Fires, Eddystone Point and Arras) all sold through DM. It is a large CD (with cafe opening for a few hours over lunch) Tasting was free and they had most of the large number of wines available to taste. I wanted to try the BoF sparkling NV Brut Cuvee and NV Rose, Riesling and Pinot Noir along with the Arras Blanc de Blanc (ended up also having the '07 Arras Vintage....) Nice place, nice wine and a good range of prices. I can get all of the wines I tasted cheaper from elsewhere with discount codes and cash back etc so didn't buy but I will keep my eye out for the BoF Riesling and NV Rose in the future.



I then back tracked to Delamere (it is next door to sinapus - entrances 75m apart) as I wanted some driving time between tastings (approximately 12-15 mins) I have not heard much about Delamere and had never tasted any of their wines. A 4th generation family owned winery. Tastings were free and all wines were available to try along with an Apple cider they brew with fruit from Spreyton - it was an English style and quite nice if you prefer a dry style. They currently have 4 sparkling's, 4 whites, 2 Rose and 3 Pinot Noir. I liked almost everything I tried with the exception of their French style Rose. They had two ranges, one made from their own fruit and the 'Naissante' label made from fruit grown in the Tamar Valley but closer to LST. My favourites were the '13 Delamere Cuvee, '15 Hurlo's Rose and their '13 Delamere Block 8 Pinot Noir - some of the last two had to come home


Many of the Delamere wines are under cork, the Hurlo's Rose I bought is under Stelvin but on asking about future vintages It was mentioned the '16 Hurlo's is under (natural) cork. The Rose is like nothing I have tasted. There were people eating at Delamere but I was too caught up in the Rose and Block eight to gather info.....

From Delamere I headed to Brook Eden, a family owned winery, mostly because I read about them having a fire a little while ago (posted somewhere in this thread at the time IIRC) and loosing all of their stock. I heard the CD was a caravan so I thought I should visit and buy something, it was about 20 minutes and I passed the two other winery's I planned on visiting. On arrival sure enough there was a slab where the old CD stood with a small caravan and a few outdoor settings. Tastings were free and very personal, the garden was the spittoon. They only had 6 of their range available for tasting, I liked their Riesling a little and did buy one, I wasn't a fan of any of their other wines, nothing wrong with them, just not a style I like. They are working on a bigger and better CD with plans approved- just waiting on builders.

Next stop was Pipers Brook Vineyard, about a 15 minute backtrack towards where I was camping. PBV is a big commercial setup with a cafe operating for a few hours over lunch, offering three labels - Ninth9Island, Pipers Brook Estate and Kreglinger Wine Estates (just Sparklings). All are readily available from DM etc so can be picked up using discount codes and cash backs etc. I had a 25% off entertainment book voucher I planned to use. I am very familiar with the Kreglinger range and have had a few Ninth9Island so was very keen to try the Pipers Brook PN. Tastings were $6 for any 3 from the Ninth9Island range, $7 for any 3 from the Pipers Brook Vineyard range, $10 for any 3 from the Kreglinger Wine Estates Sparkling range. The tasting fee is not charged if any wine is purchased. I went for three PBV wines, I guess I got a teaspoon of each. I paid my $7- and left - enough said.


Finally was the Jansz Tasmania Wine Room, I love Jansz sparkling's. Jansz is next door to PBV sharing an entrance, another big company and I would think most would be familiar with the label. Jansz is available at DM etc and only make Sparkling wine. Tastings were free and generous, they had most of their range available for tasting and I was happy to get to try their Blanc de Blanc as I now know I prefer the cheaper vintage offerings. I didn't but any wine but grabbed a branded sparkling stopper. Jansz don't have a cafe but do offer a cheese board.



That ended my little tour

 

[Steady]

Tassie wine show results (Downloads a PDF)

 

[Sedimental]

Is anyone familiar with Kalleske Greenock Shiraz?

I was reading Campbell Mattinson's review of the '15 and it opens with "If this wine had the word Penfolds on the from label it would be sold at three times the price".

If you enjoy old school Barossa Shiraz then this should float your boat. I tend to purchase in the better vintages. 02, 06, 10, 12, 13. The Moppa is a more approachable earlier but the Greenock in that bloated bottle is definitely my weapon of choice. And as W&D said, the GSM, with a few years on it is good too.

The Greenock kind of reminds me of Turkey Flat Shiraz which is high praise in my book at that price point. Definitely cellar worthy.

 

[Steady]

I just got an invite to the Hobart Cellardoor.co wine fair, $20 to taste over 70 wines inc '12 Grange, '06, '09 & '13 WB Black label and '13 Wynns Michael.

I think I will go, I can buy up to 4 tickets - any other Tassie AFFers going or interested in attending?

Monday March 20th 5.30-7.30 pm

EDIT: I'm looking at you W&D......