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In another thread, about ear rings, I made a passing mention of an Australian wine I have had and enjoyed, a Coonawara region Cabernet Sauvignon.  (Sorry, I forget the vintner.)

I can get several types of Australian wines at my local "BevMo."

Who has recommendations for me?

I personally tend to favor the blushes (like white zin), and spicier whites (like rieslings and gewurtztraminers).

But, on occasion, I enjoy some of the classic reds.

I will say the best wine I have on hand is a Stag's Leap Cab from the Napa Valley.

Torbreck is one of my favorite wineries out of Australia's Barossa Valley. If you like the semi-dry varietals you should like their Woodcutter's Semillon and their Viogner, but they're going to be just a bit drier. They make a semi-dry from Muscat Blanc that has some propriety name that I just don't remember. Their reds are incredible, especially as the price climbs unfortunately. 'Descendant' was one of the best Australian wines I've had, and I found it much more complex than Penfolds 'Grange' at 4x the price
Another winery that I love is Two Hands out of McLaren Vale; Angel's Share is quite good, and Bella's Garden is excellent but pricey
Penfolds makes amazing wine too, but I always thought their stuff was a little too expensive for what it is.

Hope that helps!

Ooo, thought of another one that I can't believe that I left off that list; Ben Glaetzer, an incredible winemaker. He has four(i think its four) wines across the price ranges.

There are also some really interesting wines coming out of Tasmania too; look at the sparkling wines, rieslings (and gewurtz), chards, and pinots coming out of the region since the cooler climate makes for nice acidity.

Well, they're a bit sore about that whole Penal Colony thing, and they think they're too close to The Ice, and don't even get them started on how they wake up 17 hours ahead of the US......Huh? Oh, my bad, I thought you said Australian whines! Hugs, Devlyn

They're going to put a contract out on you, you know.

"They has connections."

Quote from: Alexis on May 21, 2012, 09:37:26 PM
Torbreck is one of my favorite wineries out of Australia's Barossa Valley. If you like the semi-dry varietals you should like their Woodcutter's Semillon and their Viogner, but they're going to be just a bit drier. They make a semi-dry from Muscat Blanc that has some propriety name that I just don't remember. Their reds are incredible, especially as the price climbs unfortunately. 'Descendant' was one of the best Australian wines I've had, and I found it much more complex than Penfolds 'Grange' at 4x the price
Another winery that I love is Two Hands out of McLaren Vale; Angel's Share is quite good, and Bella's Garden is excellent but pricey
Penfolds makes amazing wine too, but I always thought their stuff was a little too expensive for what it is.

Hope that helps!

Thanks, Alexis!  Generally, when it's just for home, my price range is $15 to $25.  I can get some nice wines rated in the high 80's to low 90's, if I shop around.  Entertaining or special occasions I'll go a little higher.

I get stressed when I pop anything over $50  :o

Well, since none of the usual Aussie Mafia seems to be interested in this, I think I'll go for a midnight stroll down this dark alley, it looks pretty safe to me....

It is safe. Very very safe. I'll even be there to look after you.

Mmm yet another branding iron, whines indeed. Hmm

Think I'll use the Bitch one. The T should look interesting.

Take your pick

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgifts4grilling.com%2Fimages%2Fthemes%2Fproduct%2FSingleLetterWEST.jpg&hash=9941b59b2ec83f849f8bef9626be228ce14a3693)

Fourth row, right?

A turn coat?

I end up going to the Hunter Valley at least once a year.
Lakes Folly Cab Sav or their Chardy is quite good for the price - you need to either go cellar door or be quick with their mailing list though.  They're pretty consistent from year to year.

Also from the Hunter, for dessert wine I do like the late harvest semillon from Scarborough - it does vary somewhat from year to year though, but when it's on song, it's good value IMHO.

WA wines - I still rate Mount Mary Quintet amongst my favourites, but it's pricey.

Aussie wine in Australia is overpriced - I hate to say it, but it's actually cheaper to buy Aussie wine overseas than it is here - I checked the prices when I was on holiday in Hong Kong once, and it was cheaper over there. >.<

Quote from: Cindy James on May 25, 2012, 05:43:49 AM
A turn coat?

I'm easily bought.

Quote from: luna nyan on May 25, 2012, 05:55:39 AM
I end up going to the Hunter Valley at least once a year.
Lakes Folly Cab Sav or their Chardy is quite good for the price - you need to either go cellar door or be quick with their mailing list though.  They're pretty consistent from year to year.

Also from the Hunter, for dessert wine I do like the late harvest semillon from Scarborough - it does vary somewhat from year to year though, but when it's on song, it's good value IMHO.

WA wines - I still rate Mount Mary Quintet amongst my favourites, but it's pricey.

Aussie wine in Australia is overpriced - I hate to say it, but it's actually cheaper to buy Aussie wine overseas than it is here - I checked the prices when I was on holiday in Hong Kong once, and it was cheaper over there. >.<

Thanks luna.  I'll add these suggestions to my list.

Nice Jamie, I usually have to bend over in front of a mirror to see that many brands! Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on May 25, 2012, 05:25:35 PM
Nice Jamie, I usually have to bend over in front of a mirror to see that many brands! Hugs, Devlyn

Not if you can run faster than Cindy in heels!

Okay, so I went by my local BevMo store to stock up on some wines and other libations.

They had one Coonawarra region wine in stock, so I got it to try this weekend.  It is close to an Alexis recommendation, and one, I hope, of which Cindy would approve.

Penley Estate
Hyland
2008 Coonawara Shiraz

On the back label it reads:

The Name: Penley was born out of our family names Penfold and Tolley, synonymous with 160 years of winemaking tradition.  Hyland pays tribute to our Penfold-Hyland forebears.

Quote from: Jamie D on May 31, 2012, 03:23:19 PM
Penley Estate
Hyland
2008 Coonawara Shiraz

That's actually a really nice bottle, esp for the price. Well, actually I can't say for sure about the '08, but the '04 and the '05 were. I'd love to hear your review when you decide to open it :)

Quote from: Alexis on June 01, 2012, 09:31:32 PM
That's actually a really nice bottle, esp for the price. Well, actually I can't say for sure about the '08, but the '04 and the '05 were. I'd love to hear your review when you decide to open it :)

Well, okay Alexis - here goes.

First, we had the wine with a cross rib beef roast, grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes, and a horseradish sauce.

The first surprise was that the bottle had no cork!  Perhaps this is the norm for Australian wines, I don't know.

Before eating, the wine had a very nice herbal bouquet to the nose.  At the first taste, I sensed cherries, and perhaps berries.  (I'm not that versed in tasting, and I don't spit)  It was not as smooth or creamy, as I might have expected.  And it has a little bit of a tannic bite in the aftertaste.

I'd say it was a very enjoyable wine for the price, and in more layman terms, "not bad and better than I am used to."

Three of us split a 750 ml bottle.

I'll try again and hope I don't get crashed again.

Corks have been phased out due to shortage.

I did have some 1998 Coonawarra Shiraz in my cellar but someone kept breaking in a stealing it.  ::)

You do need to let them breathe for about 30 mis.

Sounds a nice meal as well. I'll have to call around next time.

Quote from: Jamie D on June 03, 2012, 10:19:42 PM
The first surprise was that the bottle had no cork!  Perhaps this is the norm for Australian wines, I don't know.

Stelvin caps - very common in lower to midrange wines in Australia.  The higher end ones still are corked.
I quite like them for the convenience factor, especially on wines that I'm not going to cellar.  The rate of a Stelvin cap failing versus cork taint is lower as well.

Most Aussie wines are good value for what they are overseas, I just like whinging about the fact that they're usually more expensive at home!  The only criticism I have for Aussie wines is that on the average, the alcohol content tends to be a bit on the higher side.

Really nice wine pairing Jamie!

The thing that my wines teacher from school said to me that resonated the most was when you're wine tasting, you're never wrong. Nobody can tell you what you smell or taste, so if you get a hint of something, to you it's there. Now, that said, wine tasting isn't a talent, it's a skill, so the more you do it, the better you'll get. While you may not be able to differentiate right away, you'll quickly realize that you recognize aromas and things more often. Pretty much everyone in my class was tasting wine at a basic level before the 3 week mark, but that was doing an average of 8 wines a day, 5 days a week (I loved my school).

Like Cindy said, letting a wine breathe for a while is best. With young wines it'll coax out aromas as well as help soften the harshness.

As far as the whole cork thing goes, the cork shortage is actually a common myth; cork is actually a really sustainable product, and there are some fun facts like there is enough cork that you could cork every bottle of wine consumed in the US for the next 100 years. The scarcity idea came out of the fact that around '01 or '02 cork got a lot more expensive, so wineries started to switch to alternative closures because it became harder for them to get. The alternative closures were initially developed to prevent cork taint. I can go into lots of technical detail about how cork taint works and all that fun stuff, but I don't anyone here deserves that kind of torture so the short of it is when people talk about wines being 'corked', they're usually talking about flaws produced by the cork itself (I've worked with a lot of people who just like to complain and say the wine is bad, rather than admit that it's just not to their taste, so don't always believe people when they say a wine is 'corked' :p). Depending on who you read, somewhere between 0.7% and 9% of wines suffer from some form of cork taint though. Anyway, all of the modern closures came into being in a way to fight cork taint. Screw caps, synthetic 'corks', and vino-lok aren't a bad things or anything to be concerned about with a wine, but they do change the way that the bottle ages drastically. Cork is still the best in terms of bottle aging wine long-term. There's also something to be said about the whole ceremony aspect of opening a wine for guests or customers or whatever it may be.

Quote from: luna nyan on June 04, 2012, 08:28:38 AM
Stelvin caps - very common in lower to midrange wines in Australia.  The higher end ones still are corked.
I quite like them for the convenience factor, especially on wines that I'm not going to cellar.  The rate of a Stelvin cap failing versus cork taint is lower as well.

Most Aussie wines are good value for what they are overseas, I just like whinging about the fact that they're usually more expensive at home!  The only criticism I have for Aussie wines is that on the average, the alcohol content tends to be a bit on the higher side.

^This

This evening we had a Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cabernet  Sauvignon, 2010.

It was outdoor dining, on a warm late spring evening.  We were serving Santa Maria style barbecue.

Slow roasted beef tri-tip roast, green salad, western-style beans, french bread, and fresh-made tomato, onion and chili salsa.

The Cab had a pleasant bouquet, was very smooth on the palate.  Hint of berries, but does not overwhelm the clearly oaky cabernet finish.  No tannic aftertaste.

At $8.99 per bottle, a steal.

Four stars out of five.

Edit: Oh, and it had a cork.  :)

Waterwheel in Central Victoria do some nice Cab Sav and Pinot Noir . We used to pick up a bottle from the cellar if we were passing through Bridgewater. 
Any of Owen Redman's Cabernets from the Coonawarra are  good value and anything by Peter Lehman is worth trying.
I have been trying the Pinot Gris here in Tasmania.   Bay of Fires are a nice drop, with a nice citrus tang.  I haven't started on the local Tas sparkling wines yet, but I have been told they are exceptionally good.

Karen.

Quote from: justmeinoz on June 17, 2012, 07:10:56 AM
Waterwheel in Central Victoria do some nice Cab Sav and Pinot Noir . We used to pick up a bottle from the cellar if we were passing through Bridgewater. 
Any of Owen Redman's Cabernets from the Coonawarra are  good value and anything by Peter Lehman is worth trying.
I have been trying the Pinot Gris here in Tasmania.   Bay of Fires are a nice drop, with a nice citrus tang.  I haven't started on the local Tas sparkling wines yet, but I have been told they are exceptionally good.

Karen.

Bay of Fires is really nice, have you had Arras from them? Really good
You'll definitely have a much easier time getting these than us here in the states but some other great wineries in Tazmania to check out would be 2 Bud Spur (winemaker is Muchael Vishacki of Panorama Vineyard, but he does a better job at here) for their Pinot Noir, Morilla Estate for their Chard and Reisling, Winstead (winemaker is Andrew Hood) for their Pinot Noir, and Tamar Ridge has some nice Pinot Noir and Reisling

I had an occasion recently to use another Australian, this time a Lindeman Bin 90, Moscato, Southeastern Australia.  As with all Moscatos, and the similar Muscatels, this white wine is on the sweet side, and make a good dessert wine.  Reasonably priced at under US$10.00