a girl and a glass

After a long week at work and in anticipation of my husband cooking something lovely for dinner (yes I'm a very lucky woman - I know) I opened this little surprise from my fridge.  I honestly can't remember where I got it from, but I suspect it might have been from a Vinomofo deal. If you're not on that - check it out - ridiculously good wine deals - and all a good drop - FREE to join.  And if you need more of an incentive use this link and get a $25 credit - you're welcome! Anyway.... back to the matter at hand.... The wine. It comes from the Yarra Valley (duh!) - Little Yarra Wines .  Now I haven't visited the cellar door so I can't tell you much about the experience but if the photo on the label is indicative of the location - then it's awesome and you should probably go there.  Apparently (according to the back of the label) they have an emphasis on natural farming techniques also.  Not sure what that entails but ok - awesome.  They only make t...

I don't get up to the Hunter Valley very often but when I do I take it as an opportunity to try some different cellar doors and wines that I usually drink.  Last year I made it to David Hook Wines cellar door in Pokolbin.  We tried a few wines and brought a few more back.  One of those is the de novo bianco 2011 which we just cracked open tonight to eat with our grilled barramundi. The de novo biano is a blend of 4 grapes - Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling.  The nose is very delicate - at least is was for me tonight - with just a few hints of orange blossom.  The palate is light but more robust and rich than a Sauvignon Blanc.  The taste is smooth, maybe a hint of apricot or similar stone fruit.  A hint of spice, but nothing overwhelming and nothing too strong to overpower any food you're eating.  All in all a good choice for our fish tonight. At around $30 a bottle it might not be you're every day quaffer but it's so...

I first tried David Hook wines on my last trip to the Hunter Valley early in 2012.  We'd just bought a brand new car an thought it would be a great opportunity to break it in with a trip up to the Hunter for the day.  I think our stop at David Hook was about the third for the day.  We went there on a recommendation from a friend who spends a lot of time up in the Hunter and thought I might like their wines.  As you can see from the photo of the magnum of Chardonnay sitting on top of my wine rack - clearly I did. The chardonnay is a pale yellow colour with tinges of green that seems to be characteristic of most modern Chardonnay's.  The nose is quite fruity - but more citrus focused with a touch of stone fruit.  The tast is clean and crisp, but not overly light.  It's refreshing with quite a bit of acidity but with no bite.  After the first sip you'll notice a bit of oak and some nuttiness but this just makes it feel very well balanced an ...

Today I'm moving out of South Australian Wines and sharing one from Western Australia - the Vasse Felix Chardonnay.  Sadly I don't have an awesome story to tell from a visit to the cellar door as I'm yet to go there in person, however I think I've tried almost every wine they make.  So that makes me a connoisseur right?  Ok I know I'm hardly that.  I just know what I like and why I like it.  And I also know that my tastes have changed a lot over time, and I'm glad for that.  It means I'm always falling in love with new wines... anyway enough rambling.  Anyone would think I've had a glass or two before sitting down in front of my keyboard. To the wine! The colour is a delightful yellow - not too strong, but definitely not weak and pale.  To smell you'll get some hints of fruit - but nothing too strong, and a touch of oak.  The taste is lovely.  Some complexity without being overwhelming.  A bit of fruit, but there isn't any o...

I only discovered Ashton Hills Vineyard last November on a trip to SA with friends.  It's a tiny little vineyard and the cellar door is only open weekends and public holidays - but the wine is bigger that you would imagine.  The cellar door is situated on the side of a hill and filled with quirky artworks and sculptures made by local artists.  The winemaker, Stephen George established the site in the early 80's and has been producing wines for well over a decade.  It's the kind of winery that you wouldn't ordinarily stumble across because the production is quite small, but when you do discover it you're glad that you did.  (And I'm very glad we did because I have quite a few of his wines on my rack now). Ok on to the wine.  This chardonnay was fantastic to taste.  The colour is bright - think of fresh straw that still has tinges of green.  The nose is pretty funky which is really interesting - think stinky cheese or mushroom notes and you'd...

The Lane Vineyard is one of my favourite places to visit in the Adelaide Hills.  We usually start the day off doing a tasting nearby and make our way there for lunch and tasting.  Pro tip... if you want to go for lunch make sure you book - it's always full.  Situated on it's only little hill and valley the views from the deck are stunning.  Last time we were there for lunch there was a large party out on the balcony for a pre-wedding celebration and they definitely had the prime location to relax over several bottles of wine in the afternoon.   The thing I love about this Chardonnay is that it's a great classic example of what a modern Chardonnay is all about.  There are no buttery, oaky flavours here.  And it's not that horrendous yellow tone that so many Chardonnays in the 80's were either.  No.  This wine is a beautiful pale straw colour. The nose is like the fresh orange blossoms outside my house, with a hint of stone fruit. ...

Well it's that time of the month again... time to change varietals.  Time to spice things up.  Time to make a change and figure out what I'm going to be drinking this month.  I've decided to go with a wine I love.  It's had a bad rap over the years.  I don't blame Kath and Kim  but I do blame some of the overly buttery and oaky varieties I've tried.  To be honest it never used to be one of my favourite wines either. But..... in the past few years I've found a new love for this wine.  There are producers out there doing stunning things with the grapes and the taste is just amazing.  Have you figured out what I'm talking about yet?  It's Chardonnay.  Yep Chardonnay.  Don't expect me to post about big buttery oaky Chardy's though.  There will be none of that around here.  I'll be going for the crisp, full, delicious, drink every drop in the bottle kind.  If you've been keeping the Chardy's at bay I hope that you...

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 ...

After a long day on the road I'm about to open a bottle of De Iuliis 2010 Show Reserve Chardonnay.   "Subtle aromas of vanillin oak and melon, with a hint of green pear" - hear I come..... I'd like to write more and tell you an awesome story about this wine but I think I need to drink some of it first.  It was one of the wines we picked up in January on our day trip to the Hunter .  It was just a little bit successful.... More about that in another post :-) Cheers Sally

As I mentioned in my first post, this is a blog about wines I try and the story of their discovery - not a blog about tasting notes.  As we're making our way through one of our wine racks at the home I'm finding that each bottle we open has great memories attached to it.  Memories that are about more that the wine.  Memories that involve people and experiences that I've enjoyed, and in some cases cherished.  My discovery of this Jenke Chardonnay is one of those stories, and it wasn't really my discovery at all. We'd headed down for a long weekend in the Barossa Valley and were taking some friends of ours along for their first time.  We spent our first day at a long lunch at one of my favourite wineries in the world ( Rockford Wines ), followed by a slow and lazy dinner at our cottage (with more wine of course!).  The next day after visiting the Barossa Farmer's Markets for coffee and pastries we set off to visit our usual destinations - Ch...