Wine with Meg + Mel

Cool wines, Hot regions

March 15, 2024 Season 4 Episode 3
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

"Cool wines" often come from cooler regions, funnily enough.  But we've got a round-up of fun wines you'll want to taste from regions you might not expect.

What Meg's drinking: 2023 Meadowbank Riesling $38

Wines tasted 

Final Drop
PRESS + BLOOM MONTEPULCIANO $25

Mel's recco - Lennox Wine Bar
Learn more about the Chardonnay Symposium



Follow us on instagram @winewithmegandmel


Speaker 1:

Hi and welcome to One With Megan Malt. We're here to help you navigate the world of wine. I'm Mel Goeker, Australian Bay Master of Wine. Meg Brotman Meg, what are we doing this day so?

Speaker 2:

we're doing Cool Wines Hot Regions. Thank you to Sheridan Star, who came up with the name, because we came up with a less sexy name. We're looking at the warmer regions of Australia and some of the funky new wine makers that are coming out and the styles of wine they're producing. But we've had a lot of feedback from our Riverland episode and people have been wanting to send in wines. So what we will do is we'll actually, in a separate episode, revisit Riverland, because I had bought the wines for this episode anyway and then people have been sending wines and there's so many just freaking heartbreaking stories out there that I think it deserves.

Speaker 2:

It's obviously generated a lot of interest, not least amongst the people who work in the region, but even from people that don't. We've heard back from people saying that they're really interested in what's going on. There was a guy doing wine tours in Canberra and his dad's a great grower. So I think we'll go back and we'll revisit Riverland again. So today we've just got and I've got to thank Sheridan for the title because she came up with it Cool Wines, hot Regions yes.

Speaker 1:

So it's good to say we will revisit Riverland. We did the kind of big guys last time, stuff that's easily accessible, but we'll kind of get into some more like cool smaller producers yeah the potential rejuvenation of the region, and maybe that's what they should be doing.

Speaker 2:

Look at it Now how cool it is from a very daggy, hot region. Yeah, for sure. So it's just about marketing, for sure.

Speaker 1:

And we are seeing cool wines coming out of this.

Speaker 2:

The choice was endless. I have stuck to hot, warm, to hot regions and I've got two whites and two reds and they're all different, weird ass grape varieties.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Well, I have to say I am very excited You've delivered more than you have. Eight dollar grand perch charades for someone that hasn't drunk in nine months.

Speaker 2:

I know, but that is part of the mix. I know it was the most exciting wine, but it is part of the mix. Okay, so we'll see if most people drink.

Speaker 1:

Yes, it is Okay. Well, before we get into it, Meg, what have you been drinking?

Speaker 2:

Oh, last night I had a Meadow Bank, dewant River, tassie Riesling. Even my very quiet, doesn't say much husband took a sip and went Jesus, that's good, where's it from? I'd never heard of them. So I bought the wines from the hot regions, from different drop, because they're smaller producers, hard to get through your larger retailers and to get the free shipping. I bought some more wine for me and I just went oh, wine masks, yeah, that looks good, put it in. And it was absolutely amazing, really limey. Oh, okay, I didn't know where it was from when I opened it because I don't remember buying it, because it's that. Just pretend it didn't happen, look it out, it was really limey, fabulous acidity.

Speaker 2:

Just get it very. It's quite a traditional label. It's almost like a bluey, cloudy, bay-esque. Okay, Quite traditional. You know, traditional Riesling bottle. I think it was probably about $35, but I say that about everything.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so sorry. What was it called Meadow Bank?

Speaker 2:

Dewant River, riesling.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I'll put that in the show notes because it sounds like something people are going to want to try.

Speaker 2:

Oh absolutely amazing.

Speaker 1:

Awesome, okay, and have you got a fun fact this week?

Speaker 2:

Fun fact. I don't know if it's fun and I think it's more doom and gloom. I'm trying to find some exciting happy news in the world of wine but there ain't a lot out there.

Speaker 2:

So SipSauce I don't know if you know SipSauce it's an American publication and every year they will have recorded it. This is an annual. They look at the depletion data from all the distributors in America, so what's being sold from the distributor into the retailer or wherever. So it doesn't look at value, it just looks at volume. Since January there is a steady January 2023, there is a steady decline 8.1% decline in wine depletions, which means effectively wine sales. But what was interesting and a little light of ray of hope was white only decreased by 5%. So you're seeing that bigger decrease in reds and it's around the $10 mark where the big decreases. So in the only growth area was $15 to $25.

Speaker 1:

I mean, at least it's not. Oh, you're popular, mac. That's my husband. Do you need to talk?

Speaker 2:

to him. No, I'll just tell him. I'll put you that, If you'd listen to what I said, peter, I'm podcasting today, peter, first thing in the morning, peter, anyway, yeah, so it's just Well. At least it's not the $10 ones hey.

Speaker 2:

Well, yeah. So I was thinking, oh yeah, cost of living crisis. And then I thought, well, god, the only thing that's in growth is the more expensive wine. That's very interesting, isn't it? So I do think it is that drink less, drink better mentality that's coming through, which I don't necessarily have. A oh God, yeah, we can support that Problem with, and even people say, well, that means these inland, warmer regions of Australia are going to suffer even more, not if they pivot to what we're going to be trying today. So, yeah, it was a bit depressing, but there's not much good wine news out there.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's a fun fact. You could just tell us how many bubbles are in a bottle, or something.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we did know that, though. Do you remember? Have we done that we have done that.

Speaker 1:

I think you run out of fun facts.

Speaker 2:

Well, they all come up with the same. You know, wine used to be drunk out of a goat's bladder. And then there were those people that made that on your funny wine show, the podcast that you listen to. It's like fake news. Oh, that was really funny.

Speaker 1:

Who were those people?

Speaker 2:

I can't remember, but I heard it through another podcast and you said, no, you'd listen to it or you'd sent me they've got a website or something, and then they've named it. They said that the wine was like, I don't know, scroot and Degoitos. It was quite funny. It's very clever.

Speaker 1:

Okay, let's get into this. We've got cool words from hot regions. Where we're starting?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so the first one we're starting with is a Moudura wine. This is from the Chalmers Vineyard. It's made by Kevin McCarthy so some of you may have heard of Kevin McCarthy His name is quite famous. Married to Cass Queerley of T Gallant Frame from Mornington Peninsula, a really well-known put-mornington kind of on the map. A little bit was bought by Treasury Wine Estates. They've gone out on their own and they've done Queerley wines. Kevin's obviously got his own project with Moudura. So the Chalmers family, they own a nursery so they bring in pick-a-lid this is what we're going to try today and then they quarantine it and everything and then they distribute it around Australia. So they have been the source of a lot of these alternative varieties. So verminterino, and often people will name the vineyard so you know that it's from them, so it kind of gives it a bit of a kudos. So we've got a Skinsy pick-a-lid made from Moudura. So Moudura is on the Murray River border. I'm wearing headphones for the first time today and it's very disconcerting because you really can't hear everything.

Speaker 1:

Anyone who knows anything about podcasting will be appalled that we're in season four and this is the first time you're wearing headphones.

Speaker 2:

Mel's been really nice to me, and let me get away with Merida. Clearly Did we wear headphones when we did Dylan Friends? Yes, oh, we did, I think so. Okay, I don't remember. That was very professional for us. Well, that's what I want to get a little video screen.

Speaker 1:

I know we need to figure out video. Well is it hard? Yeah, it's hard. Okay, but you know I've got a lot of time sitting around with the baby these days, so I could probably figure it out.

Speaker 2:

This is MDI pick-a-lid. The label's a little bit confusing, so pick-a-lid is an Italian grape variety from the Fruelli Venezia Giulia region, up in the sort of North East, or not. Billy's just come through. She's walking now. No, she's walking past Tom's home and he's carrying her, so just don't think that we're mobile headphones. Anyway, this is a pickle. It's obviously skinny, it's orange in colour, it's cloudy, it's $29 from different drop and this is something that I'm sure Mel will bloody love.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it sounds right down my alley. I've never heard a this grape, though, so this is fun Pick-a-lid, pick-a-lid. I love, even just like smelling it. The skinny ones, just rock.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so skinny ones for me. Whites often have this orange tang. Now, I don't know if you're old enough to know what tang is. It was an orange powder that you added to water to make your very own orange juice. I used the two loosely.

Speaker 2:

That sounds revolting so it's kind of a smell and tasted like vitamin C tablets. It was very weird. It's got a really distinct smell. I think you can still buy tang. We thought it was so modern, like in the 70s and early 80s. Anyway, this has got that orange tang. It's a bit of floral. But the thing I really like about this and I know it is 8.30 in the morning, so we're starting very early today the texture on that is phenomenal.

Speaker 1:

And I think the texture helps it really carry to. There's so much length there, it's going forever and it's a really stable length. I don't know how to articulate what I'm tasting, but it doesn't like change. No, it's really constant, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I just think with salty like picarino cheese or something it would just be yummy.

Speaker 2:

I'm not famously, but I don't know that a lot of wines necessarily go well with a lot of cheeses. I've always thought that some cheeses are just too overpowering, but I just think something really salty with that Because it has a. It's not salty, but it just makes me want to have something salty. That is really delicious. $29 MDR. I'm so glad you like it. No, I would definitely buy that again. It's under cork. It's under a DM cork, which is the corks that or we can hear Billy it's under the DM corks, which are they don't have TCA. They're guaranteed not to have TCA. In fact, all of these wines that were under cork are the same DM cork. Yeah, clear bottle, which is interesting because I was just listening to a podcast on Light Strike. Yeah, that can be my fun fact for next week If I can remember the statistics. Yeah, go for it. Buy it.

Speaker 1:

I can imagine myself like sitting at a wine bar enjoying a glass of this. This is exactly what I want to try when I'm going somewhere cool and want to try something different. When I say to someone like, pour me something cool, that's what I want.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you just think of it with again that salty olives. It is a real, as we say in Spanish, a picar, a little sort of tapasie picket food drink. Have a chat with your friend, these mild sort of autumn days, yeah, yeah, awesome, go for it. Great start, love that. I don't mind the label actually. It's actually on the bottle. So it's a clear bottle and it's like painted onto the bottle, Is it? Is it paper? Yeah, it's paper. Okay, it's very well done. It's very hip, it's very cool, it's very cool and you know, this is again rejuvenation. Yeah, the Fruilli region of Italy is not as hot as the south, obviously, but I think this great variety could probably do well in the heat because, like most Italian varieties, it's holding that acid. Yeah, and that's what we need. We need great varieties that don't shrivel and go jammy, hold their acidity, retain their freshness in these warm regions.

Speaker 2:

It'd be interesting to taste it from this region without the skin contact, just to see what the grape, how the grape performs in our Well, I think at the DOC of Fruilli Veneti, if VG, as we call it, it's allowed in as part of the, it's part of a blend.

Speaker 1:

Right, okay, yeah, cool, all right, good start, what's next?

Speaker 2:

So now we're moving to the Hunter Valley. Now some of you may think well, you know, this isn't a unknown region, it's not an unrecognised region, but it's still. It's there struggling as well. Yeah, People don't drink semi-ong, so this is a semi-ong, is it technically a hot region?

Speaker 2:

Yes, it's warm and it's subtropical, hmm, okay, so yeah, it is 2023, sabi Wabi Sugi Semion. So Wabi Sabi is that Japanese art of making something beautiful of something flawed, broken. Okay, in Ted Lasso, when what's her name, the big boss goes to her mum's psychic. Her mum's psychic talks, shows her these bowls, where there's been, it's been broken and they're fixed, and she's talking, you know, using that analogy, about you and your life, blah, blah, blah. So this person, peter, something, her name is, who's the one maker? Is Wabi Sabi, wabi, not Wabi Sabi. So she's taking something and making it interesting from its flaws.

Speaker 1:

Basically, Okay, this is a skinzy semi-, another skinzy one Semi-ong.

Speaker 2:

Sorry, I didn't pour you any Indigenous East unfind unfiltered. The first thing I notice is it's less cloudy. Yes, in the interest of sustainability, I wouldn't be using the wax. I would just go, like everyone else has done, with the straight cork. Why is wax bad for sustainability? Well, how does it break down? It goes to landfill and once it, it doesn't cork as well, corkies will break down Will it. Okay, and it just gets pulled off.

Speaker 1:

Right, you know it's like capsules.

Speaker 2:

It's like hoods on sparkling wine Right. The UK have now allowed sparkling wine champagne to be sold without a hood. They used to have a law that you had to.

Speaker 1:

Champagne yeah.

Speaker 2:

Have it had a hood on it? I can't imagine the champagne was doing it without a hood.

Speaker 1:

No, no, it's gets disgusted. Shandong always has something like nah consumers write it too much.

Speaker 2:

There was one that you did. Yeah, was it crown seal? Was it a light disgorged or something?

Speaker 1:

I can't remember it would have been a really small run of something.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was a beautiful one. I remember when it was released, everyone was like oh my. God, what are they doing? This is a long time ago, yeah, anyway, back to the wine. So skinzy sim.

Speaker 1:

It's like a beautiful, fresh, juicy green apple on the nice Yum.

Speaker 2:

I also get a real preserved lemon character. So when you I don't know if you've ever preserved lemons, but when you first start doing it you mix the salt and the lemon. It gives all that zesty smell.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's like a chamomile as well, yum, that is so good.

Speaker 2:

It's one of the ones.

Speaker 1:

I'm lost in the nose in. I haven't even gone for a sip yet because it smells so good.

Speaker 2:

And we know that semi-ion. You know certain semi-ion wines, semi-ion ones have a cult following, but not, you know, it's a bit of a dying breed. It's never really taken off. It's a bit like Riesling Wine people really like it.

Speaker 1:

They're beautiful wines, yeah, which is stupid, by the way. Oh no, everyone are idiots. Semi-ion rocks.

Speaker 2:

It's crazy and it's like it can be picked early. You know it retains that natural city. It's got lower alcohol, so it talks to a lot of the things that we want. People want freshness and lightness in their wines. Now they want lower alcohol. So semi-ion is one of those great, great varieties. If it's not great, it's grown in the borosso but tends to make a different style that is really, really delicious. So it's $33.

Speaker 1:

It is like you've got all the texture and there's like a phenolic roughness on the tongue. It's cool and interesting. I really like it. And then there's all this like lifted perfumey type, the cleavagey, cleavagey, like lifted.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's quite floral as well, and it's almost like the texture releases the flavour, the floral-ness of the wine. Like I get this sort of quince that when you pick quince and you leave them on your tabletop and they permeate the smell into your room. That's what I'm kind of getting in my mouth and it's like the acid and the texture is doing that.

Speaker 1:

It's really interesting and I'm seeing it as two layers. There's like a layer of texture that's thick on the tongue and then there's this, like lifted, all these florals are kind of just hovering above it.

Speaker 2:

That's cool, that's very good, and even though it's skinny, it's certainly not as grippy as the MDI, the first wine that we had. Yeah, but it has this again that you said that sort of narrow line that follows itself through all the way following the same path. It's like a railroad track of grippiness and flavour.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, awesome it's $33.

Speaker 2:

And I think I can still see some leasy in the bottom of that, but it's been standing up in my fridge so maybe it's all settled out, because it is actually quite clear.

Speaker 1:

What do you so leaves in something like this do you like to canter? Does it matter if they get in your glass? Do you try to avoid them? How do you approach that?

Speaker 2:

I don't shake them up when I see them deposited. Yeah, I know some people do, because that's how they think that the wine should be appreciated. But for me, if I see it in the bottom of the bottle, I don't know how much is actually, how gritty it's going to be in the wine, and I find leaves can be quite gritty and grainy and I don't like that texture. I'd rather see what the phenolics of the skins are giving rather than the gritty sandiness of the yeasly. So I don't. But if you get in towards the bottom of the bottle and there's some there and you want to drink the very last drop, then you're going to be the one having all the little guinea bits. They don't hurt you people. It is like it's the same thing that Vegemite's made out of, so it's not going to hurt you. So you may as well just consume them.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Ok, where are we going next?

Speaker 2:

So we're going to Fresh AF by Unicorzelo. We've spoken about that before.

Speaker 1:

We think they're really cool.

Speaker 2:

They do cool marketing. I was going to say Mel's always said that this is her, I don't know gold standard for marketing for small Yeahregions. So this is Fresh as Fuck, is a blend of Nero to Avila from the Riverland with, I'm Thinking, zabibu, a great variety which I know nothing about from the Adelaide Hills. It's a 2023 wine. These guys have been champions of the Riverland and warmer regions. They have the fiano that they do off different soils. They've been around for God seven or eight years now. During COVID, they were incredible. They're partners and she the wife partner, whatever she did got marketer of the year a few years ago at the Australian Women and Wine Awards in New York, which I think was incredibly well deserved because they are very, very, very clever. They are, they're really clever. They champion the regions, they pay a good price, they're honest and I'm See if this wine is Fresh AF and the wine is good.

Speaker 1:

Everything I've tasted so far has delivered on everything you'd want from it, so I think they're killer.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I need to pour it for you though, oh gosh you keep just pouring for yourself.

Speaker 1:

thank gosh, I didn't actually pour this one, sorry, okay, cool colour. So Nero de Avila, cool Southern Sicilian great variety, very dark, can be quite tannic yeah which is why, when you were like it's called Fresh AF and then you were like it's got Nero de Avila, I was like, well, that doesn't make sense. That's what.

Speaker 2:

I was thinking. So I'm just trying to find out what the breakdown is. They probably don't tell us. Okay, so they've got Nero de Avila and Zabibo from Barmura Riverland. So obviously, excuse me, there's a Bibo. A touch of ancient vines of Bibo lifts the aroma into its supreme smash ability. It's really interesting.

Speaker 2:

The insane water efficiency of this variety, coupled with no additions in the vignette or winery, say, for a small component of sulphur dioxide at bottling, displays the potential for this variety to craft succulent, juicy, aromatic and supremely refreshing wines. Succulent, and this is what you know. This is the potential for us. I know it's going to take a lot, because it's a massive inland, massive swaths of vineyard, yeah. But to reimagine these regions as these very cool, warm, alternate varieties making odd wines and basically give a bit of a finger to the big boys who want to just want the chresin chardonnay when it suits them, yeah, yeah, it just it will take a long, long, long time, but you know, you know what we need. We also, yeah, we need a white lotus in the riverland, because no one had ever heard of Sicily before, had they? Or Etna wines.

Speaker 1:

All right, we'll call the director. Yeah Well, I'm sure.

Speaker 2:

And can we have Jeremy Allen white in it from the bear? I'm so in love with him, oh really. Oh my God. I started watching and I got bored, oh my.

Speaker 1:

God, it is fabulous. Maybe there I just I can't concentrate on things anymore.

Speaker 2:

It is hectic and you need to know, because there's a lot of.

Speaker 1:

You need to pay a lot of attention.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you can't be half-watching. There's a lot of stories going in Okay, I'll try again. There's a classic one where he does a kids' party and his brother's His brother or something, or his cousin puts Xanax or something in, the kids drinks and they all fall asleep. It's very good. Anyway, we digress, which is what happens frequently. So this is 12% alcohol, very light in colour. Is it fresh AF?

Speaker 1:

It is fresh AF, I can confirm. Yep. Oh, I love the smell.

Speaker 2:

Yep, it's super smooth and juicy and easy and it really delivers on what it says it's interesting, because the nose for me smells like very much Riverland, warm, almost cooked fruit. But then you're right on the palate it's the. That plummy red and black fruit just becomes super lifted and fresh. It's almost like a cordial, but with bracing acidity. Yeah, like it's just that. I don't. It's not rubina, but there's something, yeah, there's something that I've eaten or drunk in the. There's like a cordially thing that is delicious.

Speaker 1:

And it's got just enough tan in to give it structure, but it's not overpowering.

Speaker 2:

You could easily drink that on its own. You could easily chill that down.

Speaker 1:

I want to chill it. I would love to chill that and have it on like a kind of warm day.

Speaker 2:

Well, tomorrow is going to be like 30th day or something.

Speaker 1:

So that's what I want. Stick it in the fridge bag now that you know.

Speaker 2:

That is delicious. That is very, very good. Branding's really good. This is probably about 30 to 35. That's where most of their wines sit.

Speaker 1:

I think they just looked it up. No, it's cheaper, it's 25.

Speaker 2:

Oh my God, it's vegan friendly. 25 bucks, that is so cheap.

Speaker 1:

We just can't fault Unicode's Allo. We love them. Unicode's Allo fan club no.

Speaker 2:

And I kind of I did. I'm an hour about bringing them into this fold because they are the sort of cool kids on the block. But then why not have a model that you can emulate with other people? For sure, and I did judge Young Guns of Wine and we had, you know, riverland wines and Hunter wines and things, but Griffith is the one that keeps getting me. It doesn't seem to be name checked, so I don't know if there's no cool kids in Griffith.

Speaker 1:

I didn't think. Is Griffith actually a wine rager, though, or is that just the town?

Speaker 2:

Oh, okay.

Speaker 1:

Like.

Speaker 2:

What is the Griffith? Yeah, that's what we have to find out. I'll find that out, but it's interesting. Yeah, that wasn't really named as a.

Speaker 1:

Like Hillsville in the Aria Valley True.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, hillsville should be its own GI. So it's so cool. So now we're moving into a Agliani Co.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, fun.

Speaker 2:

Do you know Agliani Co? Yeah, yeah. So Agliani Co is from Poolea and other. The southern part of it's grown in the southern part of Italy. Very tannic Loves. The heat Doesn't need much water Retains as the city intends to make these big blockbuster wines. So this is a Ricatera wine. This is from the Riverland. They're following sustainable wine growing blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Smaller producer and I just want to see how Agliani Co Oops. Hmm, I'm just trying to find out how much this was. I'm just trying to find out how much this was. I can't. I'm just trying to find out how much this was.

Speaker 1:

It's um, I mean it's like cherry and plum on the noise, but it's a real rich dark, almost like a bramble in there as well and there's definitely like a licorice or something like it. It's dark, you can smell it's going to be full on it is dark.

Speaker 2:

It is brambly too. There's an earthiness to it, like almost a baked clay character.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's honey, oh it's yum, though it has a sweet spot of it, it has a real sweet spot.

Speaker 2:

They've got that perfect balance of the tannins. Are furry, yeah, they're not green, but there's enough fruit in the mid palette to hold it. This is this is your barbie wine. This needs a big fat steak.

Speaker 1:

This genuinely. It's like how you say habanero is a donut one. It feels like a donut where the tannin is all around the outside in my mouth and there's this sweet spot right in the mid palette. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, I have who Aglianico, the Aglianico de la Vulture, which is sort of one of the famous wines, yeah, from Southern Italy, be called Southern Barolo. Look at the tannins, Mm, hmm, it is kind of nibbiollo-esque, that's true, but with more of a blackberry, black cherry, fruit pro-fo, rather than that sort of floral tar and loz's savouriness and floralness that you get out of nibbiollo. People might be ready to shoot me having said that, but I think I mean this is I would drink that quite easily and I have never really liked Aglianico. It was a great variety.

Speaker 2:

No, I mean that Aglianico loves the heat. It doesn't need water. We need more of it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, god, we just need more of all of this, All these cool, interesting, different loves. The heat Doesn't need water stuff Like we. We don't need more churras or cabernet. No, we need these things. Cabernets from.

Speaker 2:

Bordeaux, which you know is a moderate climate but it's by the sea. We're inland. Churras is from the Rhône, which is Southern Rhônes, warm but cool. Northern Rhônes, cool. Let's try this. Government fund research. Government fund getting nurseries getting enough plantation. Government fund replanting yes, Pull your finger out. Don't expect this, the food bowl of Australia, to have to suffer for the decisions made in the past to enable rich people to have tax deductions leading to an oversupply. Do something about it.

Speaker 1:

Yer-mec.

Speaker 2:

Tell them. I was telling Luke the other day that I was protesting. What did I protest? I can't remember. We did lots of lying down in the streets for the nuclear protests in the 80s, of course you were Hippy.

Speaker 1:

No, I wasn't a hippie.

Speaker 2:

I wasn't a hippie, just was politically minded, but I can't remember what we were talking about, that I was protesting, anyway, did lots of protesting. My Elliot was at uni the other day this is complete aside and the Marxist trapped him which happens often on his way to his class and said would you like to come to one of our seminars this afternoon? And Elliot said oh you, elliot being your son, my son, yeah, not really. Oh well, you have to pay 50 bucks. And Elliot said how fuck of Marxist is that? Oh shit, that's Capitalism 101. So, needless to say, elliot didn't go.

Speaker 1:

Oh, my God, I love Elliot. That is so funny.

Speaker 2:

Anyway, all of those wines are amazing. Let's again with these regions, visit, visit, visit, yeah by across the spectrum. Don't just focus on the cool kids Across the spectrum, the traditional grape growers but they're more premium wines and just help out. It is a beautiful part of the world, but there's real, really affordable premium wines. These are great prices, so lie yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome. So all of them are linked. I've linked them all from different drops. So all from the same place, which means that, if you can just go on and try them all and the one that Meg mentioned at the start is from their source If you want free shipping, that should be the one that you get.

Speaker 2:

Well, yeah, all of them. If you buy this as even a five-pack, throwing something else for yourselves. I was 150 bucks for all of those wines, Plus they were delivered to my front door for nothing.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome, cool, not sponsored just.

Speaker 2:

No, I just again. I like it was just a very good place to buy wine from. But I love that these smaller online people are promoting these smaller brands because it's not in. Big companies like Coles and Amnerphe's can't do this because they've just got too many skews. It's just going to get lost, like everything else. So it's good to see diversity and competition in promoting these different styles.

Speaker 1:

All right, we have a final drop this week. What are we doing? Press and bloom.

Speaker 2:

Press and bloom. So I think that the wine is based in the Adelaide Hills, but this is a Montipuchiano 2023 from Borosa Valley. So Montipuchiano is from a Boruto in Italy, southern Italy, and there's another one of these great varieties that does well in the heat. It needs a lot of water. It retains its acidity. It's quite thick skin. It has these sort of chunky tannins and this is a really lovely example. So it's very dark in colour. It's quite brooding on the nose. Now I know that sounds a little bit wonky, but it's kind of got these dark cherry and dark blackberry.

Speaker 2:

But no, there's like a violet, violet, oh my God yum, violet chocolate, but in dark chocolate, but it's not cooked fruit aroma. It's quite surprisingly fresh for Borosa.

Speaker 1:

It is. It's actually quite fresh in. It's not perfumed.

Speaker 2:

It's almost a rose aroma as well. It just smells. It really is very inviting, invites you into the glass.

Speaker 1:

That was so poetic and beautiful.

Speaker 2:

I know I'm getting my word smithness on Listen to you.

Speaker 1:

That is juicy.

Speaker 2:

But in the best possible way. Yeah, love the tannins. Shortens the palate a little bit. Yeah, it does.

Speaker 1:

Bye, bye, just not in a bad way, but no, it just makes me say, OK, eat something, because that will extend the fruit out of it.

Speaker 2:

That complimentary flavors. You have something. I'm just thinking pork and fennel sausages. You know something fatty. There's enough acid in there that is really fresh and I reckon I know I keep saying this chilled. What is the alcohol in that? Because you could chill that but it doesn't feel like it is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I agree, it's a 10 half.

Speaker 2:

OK, so that's not. It's not high, it's that, that is.

Speaker 1:

I really love. It's like a burst of flavor, but not in, not in like a tacky way, in like a perfume all at once and it's like really strong on the mid palette. It's lovely, it's so fresh.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and multiple chiano is not something that I I'm talking about a, but so want to put chiano, yep, it's not something that I necessarily associate with freshness, so well done. Fresh and bloom. That is a really really.

Speaker 1:

And look, I'm looking it up it looks like it's only 25 bucks. So how do they make one so cheap? I know, yeah, that's an awesome one to try. Cool, all right. Well, final drop done. What are we doing next week?

Speaker 2:

Just for you and I could. I could hear the screams when I told her we're doing, yeah, it now.

Speaker 1:

Oh my God, I have been begging for it now since the white lotus came out, because I've been like Meg. Everyone's talking about that. We knew it and it was cool, but now everyone wants to know about it.

Speaker 2:

No, See what I mean. This is what I got, and, but I'm looking at this $50 winds versus around the hundred and forty dollar mark. So I just same producer. Yeah, it's both called Etna Bianco, etna Rosso. So I've got two whites and two reds from the same producer, but different price points. I'm obsessed and I can't wait. We know what Mel's drinking this week. Yeah, yeah, and these are all from Dan Murphy's.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Ok, couple of things. Before we finish, I want to do a shout out to my new local wine bar that I have just discovered Leninx wine. Where is it? It is on Mailing Road in Canterbury.

Speaker 2:

Mailing Road is so cool.

Speaker 1:

I've lived in this area for like two years and I haven't had something like cool to go drink wine, so I'm just loving it.

Speaker 2:

I had a really nice time last night, literally just down the road.

Speaker 1:

It's around the corner and they have a great selection of wine. Like they've got cool different stuff, like there's this crazy field blend with like five different whites in it. That was super cool. But then they also had this like high end beach with Chardonnay by the glass. Oh, so I just want to do a shout out because I'm really stoked to have them in my area. And what are they called? Sorry, mr Nye, leninx wine.

Speaker 2:

As in Annie Leninx. I don't know who Annie Leninx? Oh, the Eurythmics. Excuse me, the Eurythmics, is that a band? Sweet Dreams.

Speaker 1:

No, oh Sweet Dreams. I made a list, right, annie Leninx? Ok, I know the song.

Speaker 2:

God, I'm old. How do you spell it? L-e-n-n-o-x. Ok, is it Annie Leninx? For all your old farts out there like me who know who Annie Leninx is, she's a bloody legend. Anyway, and I've got one bit of news. Yes, so Wyn Yerevely, who's our representative for Yerevely Wine Grows Association, has organised an amazing Chardonnay symposium. This was done in 2019. We're doing the second one in 20. On the 8th of May, tickets are what is a Chardonnay symposium, mac? Really, it's looking at Chardonnay globally, domestically, where its position is. We've got a great lineup of speakers. So we've got Mike Bracovic from Kumair River. We've got Will Lyons, we've got Richard Hemming, master of Wine, who runs 67 Pal Mail, which they're opening one up in Melbourne. 67 Pal Mail is a wine club that you can join. It's a wine bar that you canit's a members only. I think it's about $3,000 a year. I'm actually thinking Wine with MegaMail needs to buy a subscription.

Speaker 2:

So the specs of the Chardonnay symposium great lineup Discussingit's mainly for trade, but the very engaged consumer may be interested. Tickets are available through just Google Chardonnay Symposium.

Speaker 1:

So it's like a professional thing, talking about the wine and how we can do better with it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we're looking at in the vineyard, in the winery, different vessels. Yeah, what is marketing? What is our? We're just Chardonnay sitting in the world and Phil Reedman at Master of Wine left a comment on my LinkedIn when I announced it. He said Australian Chardonnay, particularly, is over, delivers at every price point. Why are we not talking? Why are we not shouting that from the rooftop?

Speaker 2:

That's true, so there will be amazing wines in the lineup. Ooh, so the stakes are involved. Yeah, I've seen the budget for the wine, so it's pretty impressive. So, yeah, have a look at it. The program's great, awesome.

Speaker 1:

So just one we Google Chardonnay Symposium here at Yara Valley. Yeah, awesome. Ok, well, that is it for this week. We'll be back next week with Andand. Until then, enjoy your next class of wine. Enjoy your drink, will.

Exploring Cool Wines Hot Regions
Exploring Unique Australian Wine Varieties
Exploring New Wines and Regions
Discovering Leninx Wine and Chardonnay Symposium