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Showing posts from January, 2013

#winewednesday - Rockford Black Shiraz

I'm so excited to finish of this #flavourofthemonth series talking about my favourite bubbly drop from Australia - Rockford's Black Shiraz. I've talked about Rockford before , and undoubtedly I will again. It's one of my favourite wineries in the Barossa. It's picturesque, the staff are friendly and know their stuff and most importantly they wine is outstanding.   I can't remember the first time I tried the black shiraz. It seems like I've loved it forever. I can however relive the experience every time I introduce someone to it for the first time - particularly if they've never had a sparkling shiraz before. Each and every time I've share this wine with someone they have fallen in love. I'm regularly implored by my friends overseas to bring a bottle with me when I travel... sometimes it's the first thing they say. "Oh that's great you're coming.. could you bring the Black Shiraz?" So to the wine itself. W

#winewednesday - Henschke Blanc de Noir

It's #winewednesday and time for another lovely bubbly wine.   Henschke's Blanc de Noir . I've blogged about another Henschke wine before... the Gewurztraminer  which I love.  But this is a new favourite that's rising in my opinion.  Made with 100% Pinot Noir these grapes come from Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills, not the Barossa.  It's a great dry drop but with a hint of berries and some spice.  A great yellow straw colour in the glass, and very easy to sit and sip.  It's a fabulous wine for a special occasion and priced right at around $50 per bottle. On a side note I kind of love that there is a bottle cap on top of the bottle.  Not a deciding factor in why I'd buy it - but I love thinks like that. Cheers Sally

#winewednesday - sparkling chardonnay

It's that time of the week.  Time to kick back, open a bottle of your favourite wine and celebrate that it's #winewednesday... at least in Australia.  That means those of you in the US can have an extra long celebration ;-) In the spirit of the #flavourofthemonth - bubbles, today I'm talking about a wine from another one of my favourite wineries - Turkey Flat . Hands up if you've seen a bottle of this one before?  Not many of you right?  Yeah I can only remember this one sparkling chardonnay from 2004.  I am however incredibly familiar with their sparkling shiraz  but more about that another day. The think I love about Turkey Flat wines is that they are well developed without being overly complex.  I drink wine because I enjoy the taste and I don't love wines that try and do to much or be too much.  I like things that are delicious and enjoyable to drink, and more importantly to share with others and change their opinions on wines.  This was on

champagne!

Last week I showed you may champagne cupcakes .  For the eagle-eyed among you you may have noticed a glass of bubbly there with some berries that didn't rate a mention at the time.  Oh you don't remember... here's a reminder. See that glass in the right-hand corner?  That's the one I'm talking about.  Well there's a little story behind it.  You see the champagne butter frosting I made for the cupcakes was sweet... very sweet... delicious but sweet.  I originally served it with a glass of straight bubbly but the contrast between quite dry bubbles and the sweet frosting was just a little too much.  Thankfully I remembered I had a host of frozen berries in the freezer and a little crushed berries in the fridge.  It was easy to remedy my pairing by adding a little of the berry syrup to the champagne flute and a few berries and top it off with bubbly. Just enough sweet to pair with the cupcakes without being too sweet.  Yay! Not truly a champagne cockt

#winewednesday - primo secco

It's that time of the week.  The mid-week hump.  And to help you get over that I'm reviewing a great bubbly today & it's an absolute bargain.   Primo Estate's Primo Secco . I have to admit I first came to know Primo Estate's wine via their olive oil .  I'd had some at a friends house and they casually mentioned they make wine too, and had a delightful cellar door I could visit next time I was in McLaren Vale.   Anyway to the wine.  This bubbly is made in the style of a prosecco.  It's fresh, fruity, light and refreshing.  Thankfully for me it's drier than many prosecco's (I like wines on the drier side).  When you first pop the cork and pour a glass you'll get lovely fruity notes and a hint of citrus.  (I swore I  smelled a hint of apricot the first time.... but maybe I was dreaming).   It was great to drink as is, but I also enjoyed drinking a bottle the other day after adding some added rasberries to the glass first.  The

champagne cupcakes

Yesterday I made cupcakes. Not just any old ordinary cupcakes.  These ones were inspired by the #flavourofthemonth - bubbles.  Yep that's right - Champagne cupcakes.  I did cheat a little bit though.... I didn't quite make them from scratch.  I used a Betty Crocker recipe you can find here .  It was pretty easy and there is more than enough champagne in a bottle to make the cupcakes, the frosting and have a glass or two while they are baking ;-) I'm surprised it's taken me this long to realise that I can incorporate champagne into dessert, not just as dessert.  Guess I'll be baking more cake now.  I wonder if this will work with rose..... Cheers Sally

#winewednesday

On Monday I announced the #flavourofthemonth for January was bubbles... or more accurately Champagne & sparkling wine.  Each Wednesday I'll be sharing with you a little bit about some of the bubbly wines I love and why I love them.  With so many to choose from you think it would be hard to know where to start, but in this case it was easy - start with an old favourite - Ruinart Rose. I've shared the story of how I was introduced to Ruinart before so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here, rather I'll get straight to describing the Rose.   The first thing that I love about this champagne is the gorgeous bottle and box it comes in.  Ok I know packaging doesn't really matter, but I must say my heart flutters when I open a gift and see the tell tale salmon pink box :-)  Once the cork is popped and you pour a glass you'll see the colour is reflected in the glass.  It's a subtle pink colour.  Blush is a term that comes to mind, but makes