A look back on seven decades of winemaking

“What’s this bloody Mr. Lehmann bit?” were the first words out of Peter Lehmann’s mouth when a guest addressed him formally.

He meant it in a friendly way, but it speaks volumes about the man who many call the baron of Barossa. He is one of the giants of Australian winemaking, widely respected as a man whose word is his bond, yet he is as down to earth as they come.

He may not have put Barossa — a wine-growing valley northeast of Adelaide — on the map, he has certainly been the leading voice of its character for decades.

The reason for his visit to Toronto, along with his wife Margaret, was to honour his work in the wine business from the 1940s (as a teenaged lab assistant at Yalumba who showed great promise), to the current decade.

Six wines under the Peter Lehmann label are available here, three in the general list and three others in Vintages.

I rarely write about private tastings but this one deserves an exception. One wine was chosen from each of the first six decades of Lehmann’s reign plus one exceptional “sticky,” to show that even before Australia became a commercial wine powerhouse they were doing some innovative and world-class stuff.

Only one in the lineup is available and the other six were from Lehmann’s cellar. I was stunned at how well they had held up.

Lehmann did not make the 1958 Saltram Bin 20 because he started as winemaker there the following year, but he nursed the wine in infancy. It was an elegant and creamy red, still firm, with strawberry and fresh leather flavours. The 1963 Saltram Mamre Brook (a Cabernet Shiraz blend) offered wood smoke, dried berries and yellow fruit qualities. From 1973, the Saltram Basket Press Shiraz possessed amazing extract and fruit with brambleberry and caramel notes.

By 1989, Lehmann had moved to his own label and his Cabernet Malbec Merlot Shiraz blend flashed black cherries, raisins and cedar. The 1996 Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz was surprisingly still tannic, with coffee bean and blackberry character.

The sixth decade’s flag-bearer was PETER LEHMANN BAROSSA SHIRAZ ($19.95, code 572875), which started with lactic notes then displayed great extract, black currant and black cherry fruit, and well integrated tannin.

Then came the piece de resistance. Lehmann assembled the blend and bottled it in 1973 from several parcels of Saltram’s sweet and fortified Semillon and Muscadelle dating back to the 1920s. Unbelievable. Still fresh and vigorous, evoking thoughts of ginger cake, candied peel, toffee and buttercream.

In addition to the Shiraz mentioned above, these Peter Lehmann wines are available here:

PETER LEHMANN BAROSSA BLOND ($14.95, code 197871). A terrific value blend of Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Fruity yet crisp, fresh, with green apple, green melon, floral and citrus angles.

PETER LEHMANN 2008 RIESLING (Vintages $14.95, code 186361). Barossa is too hot for good Riesling, so Lehmann branched his much cooler next-door neighbour, Eden Valley. This lovely dry, fruity Riesling has golden pear, white peach and grapefruit qualities.

PETER LEHMANN 2009 LAYERS WHITE (Vintages $17.95, code 167171). Layers is right. Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Muscat are used in this beauty. It comes across as slightly off dry, with baking bread smell and flavours of apples, green grapes, pineapple and melon — sort of a fruit salad.

PETER LEHMANN CLANCY’S RED ($17.95, code 611467). Clancy is a legendary cattle drover in Australian folklore. The wine is a powerful blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon highlighted by a little Merlot. Generous plum and blackberry flavours, plus some spice and licorice notes.

PETER LEHMANN 2008 LAYERS (Vintages $17.95, code 138883). A great value red. There’s great complexity and range of this curious blend of Shiraz, Tempranillo, and the Rhone varieties Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan. Sweet ripe fruit, flavours of fresh and dried cherries, blueberries, black figs, with a definite edge of black pepper and spice.

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Dream pays off for minnow

THE WA cabernet sauvignon juggernaut continued its domination of the national wine show circuit with the results of the first major show for 2011, the Royal Sydney Wine Show, being announced last week.

WA won seven of the 26 trophies available to individual table wines from its negligible proportion of Australia’s wine grape crush. More than 400 of Australia’s finest winemaking hopefuls entered nearly 2300 wines at Sydney and, in the cabernet classes, Evans and Tate won the sought after cabernet trophy with its Redbrook Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.

This State has now won 10 of the past 15 capital city wine show trophies for Best Cabernet Sauvignon, despite making less than 5 per cent of the Australia’s cabernet sauvignon.

Evans and Tate also won the trophy for Best Merlot with its 2008 merlot from Margaret River.

Although they do not get rewarded with all of the publicity or credibility that they have put in the hard yards to earn, Evans and Tate’s winemakers have consistently been among WA’s top two gold and trophy winners on the very competitive national show circuit over the past six or seven years.

Goundrey Wine’s Garth Cliff picked up the trophy for the Best Commercially Priced White Wine with the Homestead Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010.

Vasse Felix’s Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2010 won the trophy for Best Previous Vintage White Wine but to put this wine into its proper context, it has also won trophies for Best Dry White Blend at Adelaide and for Best Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon Sauvignon Blanc at Melbourne – both in 2010.

The other big WA winner from this show is Margaret River minnow Chapman Grove. Four gold medals and three trophies against Australia’s largest and greatest winemaking teams for a tiny 10,000-case boutique winery is image-creating stuff.

Ron and Trish Fraser’s Chapman Grove won the trophies for Best Sauvignon Blanc and two trophies for their commercially priced Dreaming Dog Shiraz 2009. This is one dream that did pay off.

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Learn About Wine and Wealth Management on Windstar

Windstar Cruises, which operates a three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world's most treasured destinations, offers guests the opportunity to learn about wine from David Gianulias and Todd Rustman, founders of Napa Valley's Levendi Winery, along with wealth management on Wind Surf's May 8, 2011 Barcelona to Rome voyage.

The Gianulias family has a strong Greek tradition of private winemaking dating back centuries. In ancient Greece, wine was vital to both culture and community. Today, Mediterranean communities still hold wine in the highest regard. Since 1926, Levendi has developed ultra-premium Napa Valley vintages. Aboard Wind Surf, Gianulias and Rustman will lecture on the winemaking process and conduct a wine tasting. For more information on Levendi Winery, please visit www.levendiwinery.com

In addition to winemaking at Levendi, Rustman is co-founder of GR Capital Asset Management, a financial management firm based in Newport Beach, Calif. Rustman will conduct a lecture on wealth management during the sailing. For more information on GR Capital Asset Management, please visit www.gr-cam.com.

Wind Surf's 7-day Barcelona to Rome sailing departs May 8, 2011, and visits the ports of Palma de Mallorca, Spain; St. Tropez, France; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Portofino, Italy; and Livorno, Italy. Cruise fares from $2,499 per person, double occupancy.

Wind Surf accommodates 312 guests, offering deluxe, oceanview staterooms that include beds with luxury linens and mattresses, a flat-screen TV and DVD player, Bose SoundDock speakers for Apple iPods, waffle-weave robes with slippers and sumptuous L'Occitane products. Suites also include an extra bath, TV and sitting area. Wind Surf recently introduced new spa suites which include all the amenities of a suite along with luxurious microfiber linens, spa robes, an orchid flower arrangement, specialty pillow menu, daily fresh fruit platter, O SPA London products, WindSpa spa experiences and events as well as unlimited Pilates and Yoga classes. Bridge Suites offer everything in a suite along with the additional luxury of a spacious private living room and relaxing whirlpool spa. Guests enjoy culinary wonders in Wind Surf's The Restaurant, Degrees, Le Marche and Candles. Wind Surf also features a lounge, Yacht Club, WindSpa, casino, three bars, two pools, two hot tubs, a shop, photo gallery and watersports platform.

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Northwest Chardonnay: The Chronicle recommends

For the 2009 vintage, at least, it was Oregon's show in this corner of the country. Following on its exceptional 2008s, the 2009 whites show a winning richness and depth of fruit. Many bottles among the 30 or so we tasted showed style in the winemaking without falling to oak or steel extremes.

Chardonnay-wise, Washington has placed big bets on value bottles, and that's where most of the action is. The state does so many wines well, but in this one spot its southern neighbors are outpacing it. The oak - the wines in general, actually - seemed burlier in 2009, many of them trapped in the Chardonnay style vortex.

No matter: The virtue of the Northwest is beautiful acidity that endures even in broad-shouldered wines. Our top picks showed that brilliant energy - a cornerstone of great Chardonnay.

2009 Cameron Hughes Lot 215 Willamette Valley Chardonnay ($11): As always it's a mystery where super-negociant Hughes unearths his sources, but here's a tribute to his efforts: Nothing flashy, but pretty, ripe apple-driven aromas, with warm tangerine and slight herbal notes. Richer to the taste, with a touch of butter at the end. Chardonnay built to please.

2009 Chehalem Inox Willamette Valley Chardonnay ($17): Harry Peterson-Nedry and his team helped pioneer the unoaked trend with Inox - shifting to a crisp steel-aged effort before it became a trend. Inox remains a standard-bearer, matching the beauty of Oregon fruit in a good, bountiful year with their no-makeup style. A thyme-like edge accents the lean texture. "Chablis-like" is a bear trap of a phrase, but there's a distinct mineral crunch. Edgy, and packed with pear skin and lemon flavors.

2009 Stoller Vineyards SV Estate Dundee Hills Chardonnay ($28): Winemaker Melissa Burr continues to find great expressions from Bill Stoller's popular Dundee vineyard. This latest is concentrated and stylish, with lots of pastry cream notes - no shortage of lees stirring - and a nuanced oak presence. Vibrant fruit here - bright lemon pulp, peach and Anjou pear, plus a briny countenance.

2009 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Arthur Dundee Hills Chardonnay ($30): Drouhin's Chardonnay vines were among the early U.S. efforts with fashionable Dijon clones, and Veronique Boss-Drouhin helped set a high bar for Northwest Chardonnay. The latest Arthur was fermented half in barrel and half in tank; the result is a tension that splits the difference between leanness and an Oregon take on opulence. Polished and slightly leesy, it's packed with dried thyme, subtle toast, apple skin and a black-salt edge.

2009 Bergstrom Old Stones Willamette Valley Chardonnay ($30): Josh Bergstrom's extraordinary talents put a lot of delicious into what he portrays as an early-drinking bottle. Opulent and intense, this shows a subtle oak impact and deep, creamy tones to the bright apple, Meyer lemon and apricot flavors, with a wild-mushroom hint. Don't be afraid to give it a couple years to evolve.

2009 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Columbia Valley Chardonnay ($12): Much bargain Washington Chardonnay takes a no-frills tack, but Columbia Crest has succeeded over time by delivering a classic Chard package: no shortage of oak, but lots of lively fruit and a tartly creamy profile. The flavors are an appealing mix of lemon rind, nutmeg, toasted corn, melon and almond.

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What makes a red wine red?

The answer is in the skins and a winemaking process that differs markedly from whites. Many think black (red wine) grapes have red juice, but that’s not true, with the exception of alicante bouche and a couple of others. Virtually all black grapes have clear juice as do their white cousins.

The winemaking process for red wines is based on fermenting the juice in contact with the skins to extract the color, sweet tannins and many other compounds. White wines are first pressed to extract the juice, which is immediately separated from the skins. That’s a big difference.

What if the winemaker handled black grapes in the same manner as whites? What would result? This is done all the time for Champagne and many sparkling wines. Two of the major grapes for Champagne are pinot noir and pinot munier — both black grapes. Here, the juice is pressed off and separated from the skins very early in the process (as with whites) and little, if any, color is extracted. Blanc de Noir translates to a white wine made from black grapes. And when the juice of black grapes is left for a short time in contact with the skins, a traditional rosé will be produced.

The depth of color in a red wine is influenced by the thickness of the skin (varies by varietal), the length of hang time on the vine, as well as the length of time the grapes and juice are left soaking before fermentation (cold soak) and after fermentation (extended maceration). Under traditional winemaking practices, thin skinned grapes, such as pinot noir, will show a pale hue, while thicker skinned grapes such as cabernet sauvignon will exhibit a deeper color.

The skin of black grapes contains many complex elements that not only result in the color of the wine, but also add tannin (that puckering feeling in your mouth) and many antioxidants. Anthrocyanins are a complex group of molecules responsible for color and share antioxidant properties with as many as 200 polyphenols known to exist in red wine and resulting in its many reported health benefits. As wine ages, the color will lighten as these molecules combine and precipitate out to form sediment.

Now that we know what makes a red wine red, what should we do next? How about pouring a glass of your favorite and enjoy.

Don’t forget to share your comments and questions with me and other readers at http://bit.ly/mksredwine

I very much look forward to hearing from you, and I thank those who sent in their Wine Epiphanies to me in response to the Feb. 4 Wine Exchange.

Here are a few:

Fred: Prior to our honeymoon in France, the only wine we ever had was white zinfandel. It was cheap and sweet and came with the parties. In Mersault (Burgundy), we would walk into town and buy cheese, meat, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine for our lunch and then enjoy it in a nearby vineyard sitting in our rented Opal, using the glove compartment door for a table. We continued this enjoyable pastime throughout France.

Hugh: In 1976, I found a 1974 Joseph Phelps Insignia (its first release) at the Cannery in the San Francisco’s Financial District. I bought a bottle, some Boudin sourdough and some sopressata and my partner and I opened the wine. I took one whiff and one taste and knew that a whole new world had opened up for me.

Bob: My father poured a wine into a nondescript bottle as part of a family picnic before a UCLA vs USC football game. I was underage but allowed a small sip of wine. I was the first to taste the wine and “knew” it was something exceptional. As the rest of the family tasted the wine they all agreed. When we returned home, we discovered my father had accidentally opened a 1959 Lafite Rothschild for the picnic.

Paul: I enjoyed your article immensely, as most of us can relate to that particular bottle that “opened the door” in our discovery of the pleasures of wine. I was in college living off a meager allowance that normally allowed me to buy jugs of Paul Masson Rhine wine for about a dollar. When I saw a bottle of Grand Cru Burgundy on the shelf for the price of my entire week’s allowance, I decided to go on a starvation diet in order to find out what this fine wine thing was all about. It changed my life!

Zinful 1 Napa: Coors was my beverage of choice in the early ‘80s when I was living in Campbell. There was a great deli nearby that made an incredible cross rib roast served on a sour dough roll. One day, I grabbed a bottle of Mouton Cadet that they were selling and had it with the sandwich. Wow! It has been a love affair ever since. The light bulb turned on when I realized that the sandwich was better with the wine and the wine was better with the sandwich. How could two items play off of each other like this and affect the taste of each other?

Vinous: I recall it clearly — 1988 at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. Our hospitality event took us to Spottswoode and barrel samples of the 1985 Estate Cabernet. Up until then, I was primarily a white wine drinker. Starting with the bouquet and then the first taste, this wine changed my perception of and appreciation for red wine.

Noelle: Our beer loving family awoke to the pleasures of wine in 2001 during a family reunion in Tuscany. It was a magical week-long experience, with 21 of us ranging in age from 8 to 81, sharing the beauty of Tuscany and all it has to offer, not the least of which were the delicious, no name wines served at every lunch and dinner.

Pedro: I’m not sure if I experienced a specific moment that made me recognize the beauty and wonders of wine. I began working with my father in the grape fields at 12 years old and don’t know that I recognized the essence of wine through its gentle aromas and delicate flavors. But, right away I did recognize wine was very special. Why else would farm workers work so hard year-round in the field and people come to Napa Valley from around the world to enjoy this magical liquid we call wine?

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Fight For Your Right to Write....About Wine

Much to-do has been made over the past week or two of Robert Parker's handing over his responsibilities for reviewing California wines at The Wine Advocate. By handing the mantle to Antonio Galloni, he further reduced his influence in the world of wine, and increased the focus on (and speculation about) the growing responsibilities of his staff of contributors.

Amidst speculation as to whether anyone can step in to fill the void that may be left by the waning power of Robert Parker, many are increasingly paying attention to the activities of James Suckling, who recently left the Wine Spectator to strike out on his own. Suckling quickly created his own subscription-based web site that he is populating with blogs, tasting notes, and videos.

This week Suckling made moves that suggest he may be even more ambitious than the theatrical trailer for his eponymous site might have suggested, with the appointment of former Beastie Boys front-man Mike D as a member of his wine blogging staff. As reported by web site Hip Hop DX, his first blog post hinted at some of the diversity he may bring to Suckling's enterprise, as he reviewed a half bottle of "red Burgundy" he drank at a fancy Asian restaurant in New York, calling it "surprisingly ready to rock -- ripe fruits, earthy notes, even a little bit of refined funk. Elegant and restrained with well-balanced tension. 93 points."

Whether future reviews will include any of D's masterful rhymes remains to be seen.

Speculation is rife at Suckling's strategy for filling out his own staff of contributors. Largely based on the videos he is making available to his subscribers, each featuring the owners or winemakers of the world's greatest and most expensive wines, many suggest that Suckling may be populating his site with the voices of the world's most highly paid entertainers, at least those that aren't already winemakers in their own right, such as Suckling's friend, heavy metal rocker Maynard James Keenan.

In a world where the best wines, at least those that deserve 100 points from James Suckling, are increasingly thousands of dollars out of the reach of ordinary consumers, having a staff of celebrity wine reviewers is undoubtedly a sound strategy. The unique combination of leisure time, existing private cellars filled with expensive wine, monstrous egos, and built in followings of raving fans will surely ensure Suckling can corner the market on the world's most exclusive bottlings while generating exponential growth in his reader base.

Any bets on who's next? I've got my money on blind tenor Andreas Bocelli, who Suckling undoubtedly knows thanks to his (rightfully) proud promotion of his daughter's rising career as an opera singer. Bocelli has everything going for him, not the least of which is the fact that as a blind guy who sings, his palate has got to be great, right?

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Winemaking leads modest Napa jobs bounceback

Napa County employment growth is slowly moving back toward the black, led by a bounce last year in wine and other production hiring. Year-over-year net job growth has been trending upward from the low point of negative 8.4 percent in October 2009 to negative 2.7 percent at the end of 2010, according to analysis of the latest state industry job estimates. The jobless rate averaged 10.9 percent last year, up from 9.5 percent in 2009.

Still, state figures show persisting negative year-over-year net job losses for the county as a whole and most of the major industries. Yet those net losses mask improvements among companies in those sectors, according to Napa County Workforce Investment Board contract analyst Jim Cassio.

“While the numbers may indicate stagnant or maybe negative growth, it does not mean there are no new jobs,” Mr. Cassio said. From 2011 through 2015, total employment growth in the county is expected to slow to 1.2 percent a year from 1.6 percent a year between 2001 and 2008, according to a board report released in September.

The county had an average of 63,875 jobs in 2010, a 2.7 percent decrease, 1,800 positions, from the 2009 average and off 8.5 percent, or nearly 6,000 jobs from the peak in 2008.

The only two major industries in Napa County to have job growth in 2010 were manufacturing, led by the winery production, and professional and business services, although net job cuts slowed dramatically in leisure and hospitality.

The county last had positive job growth in September 2008. That tracks with the “new frugality” that followed the start of the economic recession December 2007 and beginning of the global financial crisis in September 2008, according to the Napa County Workforce Investment Board. That hiccup in consumer spending hit Napa County’s luxury-oriented wine and tourism industries hard.

Yet both industries have been providing more job opportunities in recent months. The county in 2010 had an average of 11,225 manufacturing jobs, mostly in winemaking. The 3 percent net growth over the year, compared with a 9 percent decline in 2009, came from flat to 4.5 percent year-over-year growth starting last February.

Production of wine and other beverages employed an average of 8,100 last year, up 4.3 percent from 2009 but still 1.9 percent below the average in 2008. The leisure and hospitality industry had an average of 8,617 jobs last year, down just 0.8 percent from 2009, which itself was 6 percent below the high point in 2008.

The industry is part of the county’s wine job cluster, which includes farming, suppliers such as barrels and corks and certain sales and marketing jobs. “People in that cluster have more confidence than before,” said Mr. Cassio, who was part of the interviews the workforce investment board conducted with employers in various industries last year.

A key sign of a rally in Napa County’s tourism industry were strengthening occupancy and room rates. That led to construction starting in November on The Meritage Resort’s $40 million expansion, a project shelved for two years because of the economy.

The hotel room occupancy rate was up 5.7 percentage points to 56.5 percent at the end of 2010 from the year before, according to new figures from Smith Travel Research. The average daily room rate was 6.2 percent higher, and revenue per available room was 12.2 percent better.

“It doesn’t take us back to 2008 levels, but it is way better than 2009,” said Clay Gregory, president and chief executive officer of the Napa Valley Destination Council. Hotel managers generally say they are more positive about the outlook for the industry than a year ago, he said.

“People are booking further in advance than two years ago,” he said. “It varies by case, but it used to be that visitors were not booking out months in advance.”The professional and business services job sector had an average of 5,733 jobs last year, up 2.5 percent from 2009 but still 6.6 percent below average employment in 2008.

In comparison with Napa County, statewide annual net job growth broke into the black in November and December for the first time in two years, reaching 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, from a depth of negative 7 percent in September 2009.

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Wine festival sparkling success

The fashion was classier, the punters more inquisitive and the weather perfect for this year's Marlborough Wine Festival on Saturday. All bar a few hundred of the 8000 tickets available sold, which the festival committee was happy with, festival co-ordinator Andrea Craig said.

It had been a financially tight year for most people and tickets to events around the country were not selling well, she said. "People are choosing which events to go to rather than going to everything and they are still choosing the wine festival as the priority for what they want to attend.

The festival had a good chilled-out vibe this year, she said. "Everyone had a really good day and the crowd managed themselves really well."A temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, intermittent clouds and light winds were ideal, she said. Stallholders said there were more people exploring all types of wines and indulging in food to complement them, rather than simply getting drunk.

Saint Clair Family Estate managing director Neal Ibbotson said there had been quite a few overseas visitors this year which was great for Marlborough wine's profile. He found most punters were after a glass of sauvignon blanc bubbly or chardonnay. More people were asking for specific wines and were keen to learn about the vineyard and the wines, he said.

Cloudy Bay Vineyards cellar door manager Tiffany Guillemot said food was a big part of punters' days. The judges of the Fashion in the Vines competition said the standard of entries was higher than past years.

Christelle van Straaten, a South African who lives in Sydney, wore a vintage outfit complete with 19th-century parasol to take the title. She teamed her ivory Trelise Cooper dress bought in Wellington, with a fascinator with Parisian lace, beads from Venice, and jewels from United States.

The 27-year-old is engaged to Daniel Orchard, who is from Kenepuru Sound. She said she had a great time at her first wine festival. "It's lovely, it's been fun dressing up. I'm very privileged to be a part of it."

She won an Interislander family pass, a magnum of Deutz Marlborough Cuvee, a piece of Guthrie and Steele sterling silver jewellery, and a pair of Kathryn Wilson shoes.

St John event co-ordinator Tony Cronin said seven people between 18 and 25 years old were treated for intoxication and sent home with responsible friends. Two were treated for cuts and made their own way to Wairau Hospital for stitches. "We're pretty happy that was all we treated, nothing serious, no one transported to hospital."

Sergeant Jason Munro, of Blenheim, said on the whole the behaviour was good.Drunken levels were still a bit higher than police would like, and some people took on more drink than they could handle, he said.

"Especially the young ladies who seem to drink too much and don't have the people there to look after them," Mr Munro said. Two men were arrested at the festival for minor incidents, and one was detained for detox. He said it was a small number out of the thousands of revellers.

Matches Made in Marlborough

All the ingredients of caesar salad and salmon sushi crammed delicately into a bite-sized bundle of taste, washed down with a Marlborough bubbly five years in the making, was judged the best of the Marlborough Wine Festival 2011.

Highfield Estate won the supreme food and wine match at the festival with a salmon sushi caesar alongside its Elstree Cuvee Brut 2006. Highfield winemaker Al Soper and executive chef Matt Gibson were pleased with their win because matching food and wine is what the winery is all about, they said.

Mr Soper said matching food to wine was art and science. "Some people say you want to match similar flavours, like sweet with sweet; but we often find it's the other way around. Competing flavours lift the dish and the total flavour."Mr Gibson said the quality of the entries was increasing every year, and this was an exceptionally good year.

"A lot of thought goes into making a dish to suit wine."All that thought won't be wasted by serving the dish and the wine only at the festival. "Once we won the award someone made a suggestion that we should put it on as an entree at the restaurant."The dish will be served at least until the end of summer at the Brookby Rd winery.Highfield was runner-up in last year's contest.

Head judge Belinda Jackson said the standard was fantastic and the judges had a great job tasting all 15 food and wine matches. Two Rivers Wines won the people's choice award along with Marlborough Smoked Salmon. Figaro's Cafe came second for its aged sirloin steak sandwich matched with Nautilus Estate's 2009 pinot noir.

It was the first time the cafe had entered the competition. Owner Joe Johnston and head chef Rebecca Hill said the cafe had been asked to partner with Nautilus after catering for the winery's Christmas party.

Mr Johnston said they were happy to be different and break away from the usual match of food with a white wine, and take on a red instead. "We're pretty rapt. Not bad for our first time round."Bon Vivant Corporate Catering was third with its surf and turf sandwich.

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Wine In Grocery Stores May Pass This Year

After five years, the push to get wine in Tennessee grocery stores may have a very real chance of succeeding. There's new leadership and a new governor at the Capitol who will have a say in the issue. Gov. Bill Haslam told Channel 4 News it's a debate he'll stay out of and let lawmakers decide.

Bill Bryant said he's afraid a change in the law would take away a lot of his customers at Nashville Wine & Spirits and force him to reduce his staff. "I think if wine is sold in grocery stores, it will reduce our business by 30 percent," Bryant said.

Those against the change say wine in grocery stores will cripple small Tennessee businesses and add profits to big out-of-state grocery chains. Some argue with wine available more places, there would be more street and underage drinkers.

But those pushing for the change said a new law would create more jobs because the wine market would grow. They said it'll be more convenient for customers and that more than 30 other states allow wine in grocery stores.

This year, the Republican lawmakers sponsoring the bill have made some changes they feel will benefit business owners by allowing them to sell other products, such as wine glasses, own more than one location, have tastings and sponsor alcoholic beverages for nonprofit groups.

But Bryant said he doesn't consider it a compromise. "I think those things are not really significant from my standpoint," he said. This bill has been filed in both the House and Senate and is being sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro and Rep. John Lundberg of Bristol.

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Strictly no swallowing for wine judges

"Palate fatigue" is an occupational hazard for wine tasters after 40 or 50 glasses but there is no danger of them getting drunk on the job. The wine is not swallowed. To do so would impair judgment and severely restrict how many wines a taster can test.

Iain Riggs, chairman of judges at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, heads a team of 31 judges, including 15 associates (trainees), at the Showground this week. More than 2300 wines from around the country are under scrutiny for the show.

Mr Riggs said judges were restricted to 40-50 wines at a time in a bid to limit palate fatigue but that professional judges could go all day without losing their ability to detect the nuances in each wine. "They'll spend eight, nine hours doing 150 wines, but they will retaste quite a few so they will end up tasting over 200, 250."

Those making the selections wear white lab coats, clutch clipboards, and the choices before them are a row of partially filled glasses to be studied, tasted and scored on colour and clarity, aroma and bouquet, and palate.

Traditionally, judges come from the wine industry, although Mr Riggs said the background of tasters had changed in his 35 years in the business to include sommeliers, restaurateurs, retailers and members of the media, each bringing a different understanding and knowledge to the task.

"Wine makers are essential because they are trained [and] their job is to look at wine in a technical sense but sommeliers and the restaurateurs and wine media bring a stylistic sense to judging," he said.

Tasting is very subjective and it is impossible to set a standard by which the judges can be judged, but Mr Riggs said a good taster would be "on the ball in terms of matching golds and knows [that what] they're talking about contributes to the discussion".

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Huffington Uncorks a New Wine

Back in 2008 at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City, Arianna Huffington was on a journalism panel entitled, “A New Media System? Or Old Wine in New Bottles?”

Huffington said that the bottles are definitely new, but it’s not entirely new wine. It’s a mixture. “There’s an awful amount of good that we want to keep from the old media: accuracy, fact checking, ferreting out the truth,” she said.

The main problem with old media is fake neutrality, she said. “They’ve given up the pursuit of the truth for the pursuit of fake neutrality, which means that they present every story and every issue as if it has two sides,” said Huffington. She said we’ve wasted years debating global warming this way. The two sides don’t deserve equal weight under the guise of reporters covering both sides of the issue. “The Earth is not flat,” Huffington said. “Evolution is a fact. Sorry Mike Huckabee—there is no other side to this issue.”

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Bottle of 1773 French wine fetches record

An amateur wine group paid a record 57,000 euros ($A75,925) for a 237-year-old bottle of wine from France's eastern Jura region at a local wine festival auction. "Finally, yellow wine has hit the big leagues," said wine festival founder Bernard Badoz of Jura's trademark beverage.

"To sell a bottle for 57,000 euros is not crazy," he said of the 1773 bottle that came from a Louis XV-era vine and grapes harvested during the reign of Louis XVI. Swiss aficionado Pierre Chevrier, who bought the bottle on behalf of an amateur wine group, did not appear stunned by the price. "My passion is to open bottles and I am delighted to have bought this bottle of yellow wine, which I will drink," he said.

A type of sherry-like white wine, Jura's yellow wine gets its colour from its maturation in a barrel under a layer of yeast. The wine festival at Arbois, in the Jura region, is also offering tastings of its 2004 vintage for the 50,000 people expected to attend this weekend.

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Tuscan wine treasures

Tuscany is Italy’s best-known wine region. It’s also the most cosmopolitan where grape varieties are concerned. Home to Chianti, the famous red based on sangiovese, Tuscany has earned a reputation over the past couple of decades for producing impressive wines based on so-called global vines, such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.

Some people see Tuscany’s embrace of foreign grapes as controversial. Why plant imports – predominantly of French origin – in a country that boasts more indigenous varieties than any other? I think it’s a fair question, even if some of the cabernet sauvignons (and merlots and cabernet francs) are glorious. Do we need expensive copycats from Italy of all places? And isn’t it slightly ironic? I’ve met Tuscans who’ve raised a skeptical eyebrow at the news that Ontario is now producing good buffalo mozzarella and premium prosciutto, foodstuffs as central to the Italian way of life as a nonchalant disregard for highway speed limits.

Today, the Vintages department of the LCBO in Ontario is rolling out a bunch of Tuscan reds, several of which are outstanding. They’re all from the 2007 harvest, and some contain those “foreign” grapes as well as sangiovese. Residents of other provinces might want to keep an eye out for Tuscan wines with that year on the label. It was, as they say, a very good year, and it’s widely represented on shelves at the moment.

The south Tuscan appellation of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano stands out as particularly successful in 2007. Many of the offerings exhibit a firm tannic backbone and relatively high alcohol, but the Chiantis tend to be decent as well. The first six wines at right, all from Vintages, pair well with hearty pastas and many red-meat dishes, including steak. They’re also good candidates for three to five years of cellaring.

Both Vino Nobile and Chianti are based on the native sangiovese, which produces wines with medium to full body, a bittersweet cherry essence, fresh tug of acidity and often savoury notes of mushroom and violet. But in many cases Chianti producers add a legally permissible dollop of those controversial French varieties to achieve a fuller body and, dare I say it, cosmopolitan flare.

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Australian wine industry rallies behind flood victims

Flood ravaged vineyards, some of which have lost their entire crops, have joined the Australian wine industry in an unprecedented show of generosity by the industry for victims of the floods.Three hundred vineyards and wineries have donated more than $240,000 in exclusive wine, memberships, books and travel packages to the Australian Wine Trade Flood Relief Raffle – which is aiming to raise one million dollars for flood victims in Queensland and Victoria.

Launched by Brisbane based wine writer and author Tyson Stelzer with support from Australia’s leading online wine and food travel guide, VisitVineyards.com, wine has been donated from almost every corner of Australia; with wineries from Europe and New Zealand also contributing.

Two hundred prizes are up for grabs – including three boxes of Wild Duck Creek Duck Muck Shiraz 2007 valued at $1320 each, six three litre double magnums of Cullen Diana Madeline 2007 valued at $500 each and an imperial of Kalleske Eduard Shiraz 2008 (retail price $900).

Stelzer says since putting out the call to the wine industry for support just weeks ago, he can’t believe the generosity that has been shown, particularly given they’ve faced such tough times themselves.

“It hasn’t been an easy year, as winemakers face widespread crop damage due to mildew and disease from the humidity, let alone direct damage to vineyards from rain and floods, all in the midst of a particularly challenging time in the market for everyone, so to see this kind of support is simply overwhelming.”

Jason Kaeser who owns Kaeserberg Vineyard and Winery on the bank of the Lockyer Creek has had to replant three times in four years, and lost most of his vineyard to the Queensland floods – but was one of the first to donate.

He was forced to evacuate and on returning to his property found many sentimental items destroyed from flood waters which ravaged his property.

He says returning to his property was devastating, with dead animals strewn across the vineyard and having to trudge through the stench of the mud to salvage what he could – but he’s just grateful he and his wife, and their three dogs, made it out alive.

“It is absolutely devastating, but it is phenomenal that everyone has chipped in, and people you don’t know are coming up to you and offering to help out, it restores your faith in humanity.”

Mount Avoca in Victoria, which donated a selection of its award winning wines, lost its entire crop to floods which affected one third of the State.

Despite facing an estimated $1.5 million loss over the next 24 months, Director Matthew Barry is philosophical, saying his problems seem trivial to others affected by the foods.

“It’s not like losing your loved one, or your house .. sure economically we’ll be hit very hard, but our family survived and we have our house.”

He says the focus now needs to be on Melburnians supporting local vineyards. “Taking a visit and purchasing wines at cellar door can really make a difference to smaller vineyards. It will help ensure they survive and without that, the future is grim.”

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from www.winefloodrelief.com.au from February 4 with the raffle drawn on 11 March. There are 40,000 tickets available, and no limit on the number of tickets which can be purchased.

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Beat Valentine's Day panic: Where to reserve for the best wine reserves

If you want to hit Valentine's Day out of the park this year, it's best to plan ahead. Especially if you're thinking of a surprise road trip to a winery offering a pastoral afternoon of sips and sweets. Plenty of tasting rooms are offering wine and chocolate pairing events, but reservations are a must.

Sunset Hills Vineyard, a winery in Purcellville with a lovely, airy, barnlike tasting room built by Amish carpenters, hosts a few sessions of its chocolate and wine pairings Feb. 13 with chocolatier Wilhelm Wanders. He'll dish about the dark chocolates he has picked to complement Sunset Hills' four red wines. (Guests also get a little box of sweets to take home.) Reservations for the tasting are required, and they're filling quickly.

In what has become an annual tradition, Breaux Vineyards , also in Purcellville, will open its barrel room and decorate it with rose petals and candles, setting just the right mood for Valentine's weekend. The couples who come through for the special tastings on Feb. 12 and 13 will sip several vintages of cabernet sauvignon and nosh on more than a half-dozen handmade truffles selected specifically for each wine. Although the tastings are all day, reservations are advised.

Gray Ghost in Amissville, Va., just around the bend from Luray Caverns (a great post-tasting excursion), hosts its 16th annual chocolate and cabernet event Feb. 12 and 13, offering unlimited tastes of several chocolate desserts (rather than mere chocolates) to pair with its red wines. Winery tours are also offered several times during the event; reservations for the tasting aren't required.

In Maryland, Black Ankle Vineyards hosts chocolate and wine pairings Feb. 11-13. Housed in an eco-friendly lodge in a clearing in the forest, Black Ankle certainly will charm a date; the tastings feature four Black Ankle wines paired with a chocolate by local artisanal chocolatier Parefections. The tastings are seated, so reservations are required. For a romantic evening, rather than a day trip, visit on Feb. 11, when the winery stays open until 9 p.m.

If you like wine but don't have much of a sweet tooth, you could spring for two tickets to the Virginia Wine Showcase, which rounds up wineries from across Virginia to pour their specialties all Valentine's weekend at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles in Chantilly. Like many of the summer wine festivals (without the lovely weather), tastings are unlimited, and there will be cooking demonstrations for foodies, too.

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