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EP 843 On Location in Sydney – Australian Wine Tasting

Gary invites Nick Stock, author of the Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide, to share some of knowledge on Australian red and whites while in Sydney.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2007 Vasse Felix Margaret River Chardonnay
2006 Freycinet Pinot Noir
2006 S.C. Pannell Shiraz Grenache

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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luca bercelli

90/100

line of the day – ‘can you imagine if you were judged as a human being when you were only 16 years old?’

The line of the day says it all

Tags: Australian, chardonnay, Pinot Noir, red, review, shiraz, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • Daithi

    Stick the camera on a mono pod or tripod

  • drt999

    QOTD — most of the ones I've tried were boring or over-blown for my tastes or too $$$ I think we just don't have a great selection

  • Anonymous

    Well, I would say St. Amant winery, but that would be oddly self serving. Honestly, St. Amant is one of the older and better known wineries of Lodi. There is always Michael and David, but they are a little pricy for Lodi. Jessie?s grove is decent. Steve Felton, who makes Klinker Brick and Old Ghost is fantastic. Also there is M2, Vino Con Brio, Harney Lane makes a decent Tempranillo and Lang Twins are doing some really interesting stuff with various blends. Just like most places, there is fantastic QPR and very good wine if you stumble upon the right places.

  • Anonymous

    Have not heard anyone mention Brown Brothers yet, they make a sublime Shiraz and do some really interesting stuff with their blends as well.

  • Anonymous

    Looks like it?s a love hate relationship with Australian wines. I just wish the amazing variety and representation they have over there could be tasted here without the huge mark ups. It seems to me people are thinking two dimensionally here IMPORTS ARE ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE PICTURE. Good to see you posting again NIB, if I am not mistaken it has been a while, welcome back?

  • LMNOPinot

    I think Wines from Oz give camera guy's the shakes.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks FtD for the long distance shout as I live here in Minneapolis, MN. YT was some of the first wine I ever consumed…it must be that ‘first impression’ thing. Since, my tasting has ventured to France…then Napa…and most recently Italy. Next will be Australia for sure! Cheers!

  • Karl

    QOTD – the cooler climate regions have a lot of attraction, good combination of fruit with more restraint and subtlety than the fruit bombs.

  • charlzee

    gotta be 100,,,yeah!!!!

  • FtD

    qotd: different region for different grape types, can be bold & can be subtle… literally able to cater for every palette if you know where to search…… but it's no escaping Aus is still a shiraz dominant country & i just LOVE IT!!

  • Mark

    I associate Australian wines with good Shiraz wine..

  • pjcharteris

    Gary, P-J here, great to meet you at lunch yesterday, just watched Ep#843 over a glass of Viognier and really enjoyed it. I need to talk to you about the Tassie V Central thing and get a bottle to you that may add to the debate. Hope to see you in the Hunter tomorrow.
    Cheers,
    P-J

  • Anonymous

    well that certainly helps price the carbon footprint from the long shipping. But what would be really great would be aussie wine bottled in the US that would save costs on both ends.

  • Anonymous

    I see your point.Reading some of the comments made here it seems peoples experience are very mixed, and your right, a lot of that definitely has to do with the distributors here carrying what is probably the least memorable of the wines Australia has to offer. You really have to be involved in the wine industry or really do lots of digging to find some the gems they have to offer. Good to see yah Rat, sorry I haven’t posted for awhile but I have been busy with finals and spring break, just started spring term and things seem to be a little less chaotic this term, Thank God!!

  • Grill Factor

    Been living in Sydney for two and a half years now. the wine, like everything else, is TOO EXPENSIVE

  • Grill Factor

    My go-to wine is still the 2004 Parker WACA Cab Sauv at $10 that you reviewed in episode 57. It is Sssensational!

  • When I think of Australian wine I think of the first wine I ever liked which was a yellow tail Shiraz.

  • theDude

    Nice show…I learned about some wine and had a disney world ride at the same time (felt like I was on that Star Wars simulator). Now that I've thrown up a couple times I'm good to go!

    QOTD: lots of junk but some hidden gems (just like the U.S.)

  • FtD

    I really need to try this one in Sydney if i can find a shop that sells it….

  • fljohn

    First impression of Aus. wine was as Wine manager of Rest. on South Beach Miami I tasted Shiraz to put on list and was impressed. Felt they were great values. This was in “95” Then popped the Dictator Wine of the year Penfolds Grange Her. and was blown away I tend toward Burgs. and like finnese but that wine was a monster but drank soooo well that it is still in my top 3 of all time. And I have had the opportunity to drink some of the great vintages of Bordeux. Then came the clamor for Aus. Chards. Boy what a disaster. still haven't found one I would rate above a 90. very over rated.

    Word association Austraila? Reds!!!!!

  • Arjen Blom

    Australian Boutique Wine Makers Listen to the drinkers! some many choices for so many pallets!!

  • Anonymous

    I know how the school song and dance goes! Not to long ago this time of year I was freaking out making sure I graduated with everything I wanted too. Glad to see you?re back in the mix. Good luck with this term, and keep posting!

  • QOTD: Australian wines, fruit, fruit, oak and silk.
    Visited Tasmania 1991 , ah memories, great island, had some really good white semillions , really good. Not oak, more acid razor sharp crisp… with the seafood. darn I think I have to go there again some day.

  • Chilemily

    QOTD: I've never had an Australian wine, but I definitely think I should try some soon. I'm am always on a quest to try different or new things, so Australia wine will have to be on the list!

  • have to catch the end of this at lunch…pulled a bonehead move late last night. Was stretching my back and had the laptop in a position that I could see the screen, but inadvertently blocked the fans…machine crashed hard when the CPU overheated.

  • jparadise

    Need to get Nick to a doctor, that man has some serious shakes going on. I was ecstatic when he handed off the cam to the other guy and it smoothed out. Fun show Gary keep em up from down under.

    QotD: Sadly I just think of the Hi-C grape punch with the Kangaroo on the label.

  • scottEJ

    Good to see some wines we here in the states probably wouldn't be able to find. Although, like alot of Aussie/New Zealand wines, the good stuff is usually over priced. There really seems be a lacking in “middle-class” wines that come from these locations. Either they're cheap and bomby/plonk or decent and pricey. They need a bigger and better selection at that $15-$25 range.

    QOTD: As far as wines….picking thru a clearance rack and looking for that one item that sticks out for both quality and cost.

  • deeeeeeeeeez

    When I was in college I studied abroad in Sydney for 5 months. The family I lived with were big winos and really got me excited about wine meanwhile all of my buddies back home were doing keg stands w/natty ice & butt light. Barf. Anyways, Aussie wines bring a certain sense of nostalgia to my palate but overall i just think of fruit bombs (which do have a time & a place). I agree though that more exploring down under is needed and plenty of gems are still to be found. Great meeting you a few weeks ago @ Wine Lib, going to check out that sushi spot in UES. G'day mate.

  • j.

    Great Show!!! As a Tasmanian living in the States its hard not to miss Tasmanian pinot and riesling. You may have blown a well kept secret! For those who like a challenge try to track down Bay of Fires, Pooley, Stefano Lubiana, Delamere or Barringwood Park. You wont be disappointed and most retail back home for $30 a piece.

  • ex_Cuse88

    Wow. I just got back from vomiting. Hey can you pack a tripod for the flip cam next time. If Nick has Parkinson's, I apologize for the insensitive comments. If he doesn't, don't let him take you skeet shooting! QOTD: The overwhelming majority of Aussie wine imported to the US is garbage. However, they produce some serious thunder if you do your research. Generally the good stuff isn't a value play either.

  • camira43

    QOTD: Sweet Fake Fruit

  • Slow Wine Lover

    Looking forward to more episodes from Australia.

    QOTD: When I think of Australian wine I think of marketeers and chemists who make technical (added acidity, tannins, number crunching in laboratories etc), commercially orientated wines which tend to be devoid of any “sense of place”. As a result of a drop in sales they are now pretending to be looking for terroir and “sense of place” in their wines but are failing to change their overly scientific winemaking approach in order to honestly represent a given terroir. There are exceptions though: Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay before it became overpriced, Balgownie Cabernet Sauvignon to name a few.

  • Allan

    I have a cheaper way; Water + Sugar + A couple of strawberrys! There ya go!

  • JCN

    Great view from the hotel.

    QOTD: first thing that comes to mind? why bother

    There is plenty of good Californian, French & Italian stuff out there that I avoid hunting for something decent from Australia. New Zealand SB on the other hand… that has a place in my cellar (or fridge, not aging it)

  • cellarrat5

    Thank you… I think most people are going with their gut which is good, but it?s so hard to explore a wine region through distributors and wholesalers. Granted its half way across the world, but don?t let marketing and all this shit you have to wade through distract you from the good stuff.

  • Wow, how big was that camera?
    QOTD: you get what you pay for…
    although I did have a shiraz a couple of weeks ago, that was quite a deal…will probably come in at about $10-12.
    Morse Code Shiraz ?08 Padthaway
    the note I left myself was:
    Pillar Box Peeps, spicy hot fruit nose, ripe dark fruit, super soft, slippery, easy drinking kangaroo kick danger with nice finishing grip. DEAL

  • cellarrat5

    I completely agree (minus the do-gooders comment). Certain products sell here in America. I think we forget than within this forum is NOT who your average winery is advertising toward, especially importers. The vast majority of the beer market in this country is DOMINATED by shitty watered down beers (sorry for anyone who actually likes the swill most beer drinkers consume here), but its that other 10% or less that actually should represent the quality and availability of beer in this country.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks. Do you work at St. Amant?

  • CharlieTN

    Australian wine = me and a bunch of friends pounding a dozen bottles of cheap-ish Aussie wine in a night when I was studying abroad in New Zealand. It actually got me turned on to wine in a way… but since then I haven't had much from down under. Someday I'll turn my focus back there and try their more serious stuff.

  • Anonymous

    I do, been assistant winemaker there for going on two years.

    Sent from my mobile brain washing device.

  • Eirik P. Martinsen

    QOTD; fruity, over the top shiraz. I know Australia is more than that, but that`s the first thing that comes to my mind.

  • davidemillombard

    The only thing I know is that my American friend, Brady Smith grows some dank grapes for the AUS wine industry.

  • QOTD:
    The Australian Sangiovese from Coriole is so bloody good. In general, I think I have too little experience with Australian wines to give a proper thesis, but find the Coriole!! It will blow your head off.

  • Statue

    Margaret River best Australian wine growing region hands down!!! Noticed the Juniper estate cab on table. NO ONE IN THE US UNDERSTANDS THIS! The best is wine in Margaret River is made by Woodlands!!!!!!!!!!!

  • QOTD:

    You say Australia, I say 'Zilzie Vigonier 2009' if you're not on it, get on it!

  • marc_chinawinetours

    Is that the Regent Four Seasons Hotel GV? Been there several times, it's awesome!

    QOTD: The best Aussie wines are still in Australia. I suggest going there to taste (and avoiding the Yellowtail blechhh)

  • cellarrat5

    Awesome tasting notes. Fuck Parker and the rest, you should start your own magazine; I would read it.

  • Man, Gary! Is it the jet-lag or the partying? You don't look that good! Go get some sleep!!! 😛

    QOTD. Most of what gets imported here was single dimensional, overripe, lab produced, super oaked, soul less goop. But I know that is not a good assessment. Unfortunately I personally don't buy any. What I have liked the most from what friends have opened have been out of Margaret River.

  • I think that's one of the cool things about what GV is doing, providing platforms like this and cork'd, is supporting the many voices rather than the few. Something funky seems to be going on with Disqus Icons on this site today, they are currently broken images in IE, and a white rectangle (which might be a collapsed border) in FF. Mott?
    Click the highlight on my name and that should take you to http://www.vtwinemedia.com and its the wine press link you want.

  • Paul C

    Australia is a very young country so it will take a considerable amount of time for them to understand their terroir. There has ben some progress in the cooler areas where the terroir may express itself. The australians need to marry restraint with better expression of the soil.

    unlike the '09 Bordeaux, for example . . .

    a barrel sample, anyone . . ?

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