Seizing the opportunity to taste an international range of red, white, sparkling and fortified wines this year, the wine group visited wineries and met monthly to taste and discuss many wines that we would never have known without our meetings.
In February, we tasted sparkling whites from around the world before travelling to Rutherglen in the irrigation area of Victoria to hear the histories of the reds and whites on site at local wineries. Staying ‘local’ in May, we tasted six wines from the Tahbilk range before shifting to international comparisons in June.
Faced with grapes that many of us had never met, we compared three pairs of “interesting and different” wines: a Piquepoul and an Assyrtiko, 2 whites from the Clare Valley but with origins in the Languedoc region of France; a Dolcetto d’Alba and a Barbera d’Alba from Piemonte, one of the 20 regions of Italy, and a Cinsault and a Pinotage from South Africa. Wow! What a challenge!
In June, we faced another experience. Shifting south, we met with 6 Spanish wines: 2 Alberinos from Galicia and 4 Tempranillos from La Rioja. By now the group recognized the breadth of tastes available in Australia and washing the glasses after each meeting had shifted from a chore to extended discussion so that the selection of lighter ‘locals’ reds - one white for variety and a Shiraz from the Yarra Valley in July provoked in intensive inquiry.
Across the second half of the year, we considered our preferences for red or white, for sparkling and fortified, for interstate differences and for the subtleties of blending. By October, we had assessed the merits of Marsannes from Northern Rhône and Heathcote and of Grenaches from Manchuela in Spain, from Barossa Valley, the Grampians, and McLaren Vale
As some confirmed red wine drinkers had discovered whites that they enjoyed, others had ‘converted to red’. Previously unrecognised similarities and differences had been discovered. The value of staff as advisors in some wine stores had been acknowledged and the Bearbrass wine group had come to realise the value of their discussions in educating both their palates and their understanding of the history and geography that led to their pleasure in drinking quality wines.
