2013 Pinot Nior's from Armitage Wine

Not that long ago we came across this wine maker that just knocked our socks off. A self proclaimed maker of Pinot Noir. After a taste of the range we were hooked. The wines we tasted were;

2013 Carmel Valley Pinot Noir. This is hefty for a Pinot. It has tannin's that will need a little time to figure out who they really are. This wine changes in the glass over time quite a bit. Time should prove this to be an interesting and enjoyable different style Pinot Nior. *** 7.

2013 Santa Cruz mountains Pinot Noir. 

Soft feminine and delicate A sexy young girl who enjoys leading you astray. Oh baby. Hey honey can I keep her? 100% new oak. Would not have guessed. Just delightful *** 7+.

2013 Dry Hole Vineyard Chalone Piñot Noir.

A full sumptuous, voluptuous wine that has it all going on. A Marilyn of wine. Great balance and a crackin finish that just checks all the boxes. This wine is feminine but is a bit like that sultry woman that can make grown men blush. A siren that one cannot resist. Please sir can I have some more. No new oak. *** 8.

2013 Santa Cruz Mountains Mt Roberta Reserve Piñot Noir.

This is a beautiful svelte wine that has beautiful aromatics and a balanced and round mid palate. The finish is like a great suspense novel from a master that holds you on the edge of your seat for an extended period of time. A technical descriptor for this wine would be 'Yum'.  This is the same as the Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot but selected barrels that Brandon feels are the best of the best. The best of the best is a little more rounded and fuller. This seductive wine is a lover with a feel for substance and connection that will make your night one to remember. ** 8+.

Head on over to Aptos California and have a taste of some pretty darn good Pinot Noir. We are soon to taste the pre-release of the 2014's and we cant wait.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers

WineWalkabout

Scones, helicopters and 100 year old port, Barossa

What is one to do when your mum is turning 90 and needs for nothing? Start a kind of, what have you not done list, that might be of interest and or fun to do list...

A big day was planned and although most things were not a surprise, it was still a surprise as I don't think she believed me when I told her of the itinerary. Mum lives in Paradise. No really, she literally lives in Paradise. Its a suburb of Adelaide South Australia. Given the location it seemed easy to create a special day. A day of firsts in the Barossa Valley.

We took off early enough to get a full day of activities in, even with the rain. The first stop was a lovely coffee shop in Lyndoch. The Lord Lyndoch was a lovely sojourn for Cappuccinos, tea and scones with jam and cream. Oh how I miss the decadent thick cream of Australia.

After some yum in our tummies it was back onto the road. It was not long driving through the beautiful southern Barossa that the rain stopped and we came to our next stop, Barossa Helicopters. In her 90 years mum has never been in a helicopter. We did our preflight and headed of to see a bunch of Barossa Icons from the air. What a trooper. Mum just hops on in and gets buckled up. Moments later we are going airborne.

As we gently cruised across the vineyards of the beautiful Barossa we started trying to spot the winery. Not as easy as one would think. One place that was relatively easy to spot was Seppeltsfield, where we had plans for later in the afternoon. We also spotted, Gods Hill,  Whistler, Two Hands, Hentley Farm, Chateau Tanunda and also flew over the whispering wall. A lovely flight with spectacular views and a recommended stop when in the Barossa. Thumbs up from Mum!

Rain didn't slow us down.

VIP tasting area.

Next up was the stop that I was most looking forward to. The main event. The icing on the cake. A stop at Seppeltsfield . First up was a beautiful lunch at Fino. All four of us ordered something different and we each were delighted by our choices. The food, the service and the accompanying wines were fantastic. Next up for Mums (and mine) big day was a tour to learn of the Seppelt family history and their profound influence on the Australian wine industry.

Nigel talking to sister in law
about her birth year port.

We toured the 1851 Seppelt homestead, Elm Walk, 1877 Distillery and 1860s Blending Cellars. Some wonderful stuff that Mum just ate up. Then it was time for our private tour host Nigel to take us to the luxurious VIP mezzanine lounge and taste the current releases of port. First up a Grand Tawny 10 years average age. Then a Para Rare Tawny at 18 years average followed by a 21 year Old Para Tawny. The final taste in the VIP lounge was an amazing 1986 Para Liqueur Tawny. The pinnacle of the day was then wandering around in the barrel room of the world’s longest and only unbroken collection (lineage) of single vintage tawny since 1878. Here we were told of the history of the contents and it was amazing. During our wandering we also got to taste all our birth year ports.

Mum enjoying a 1926 port.

We started with a 1976, yum. Then a 1963 that was divine. Next up a 1958 and then for the birthday girl a 1923. Seppeltsfield’s Centennial Cellar is the remarkable vision of Oscar Benno Pedro Seppelt, who in 1878, began the legacy of maturing single vintage Tawny for 100 years before release. The VIP tour was finished up with a taste of a 100 year old port. What a special and amazing tasting it was and what a great day. Mum was stoked and the rest of us were as well.
An amazing adventure and all just a short drive from Paradise...

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Our tour guide Nigel showing some other guests a good time.

Aeration by AERVANA... Is it for everyone?

We were recently sent a very nice power aerator. Now we have never really used aeration much. Generally only if we feel that the wine needs it to help drink-ability. Our normal approach is if we can swirl it into drink-ability we do it. So looking at this fancy and very nicely packaged aeration device we were wondering if it would revolutionize our drinking pleasure or just end up sitting on the shelf and keeping company with a couple of others.

The AERVANA is a well packaged and a quality device. Well made and works exactly as advertised. Tip; read instructions and follow. This way you will avoid the wine being sprayed all over the counter and splashed all over the surrounding counter items and walls. This is no fault of the AERVANA device but a simple user error. The actuation button is on the top, which after having used it a couple times makes perfect sense. But the first time while putting it into and onto the bottle pushed the button and, well, as referred to above, wine everywhere.

So how do we determine if this is a must have device for our wine drinking friends. We decided to gather a few bottles of young big reds to put it to the test. With 20 Riedel Bordeaux wine glasses, two bottles of big reds and five eager drinkers one glass of each wine straight from the bottle and one glass each of wine poured through the AERVANA. Now it became immediately apparent that we needed a little wait time to let the air bubbles disperse otherwise identifying the AERVANA wine would be child's play as it pours it frothy red wine. Within a minute or two there are no tell tale bubbles.


The company says:
Aervana is out to enhance the wine experience of wine lovers everywhere. Aervana offers a new and sophisticated way to aerate your wine with the ease of pushing a button. It’s also the first aerator designed to leave sediment in the bottom of the bottle and not in your glass.
What varietals does Aervana work best with?
Aglianico | Bordeaux blend | Cabernet Sauvignon | Mourvèdre | Nebbiolo | Nero D’Avola | Petit Verdot | Petite Sirah | Syrah (depending on the region) | Tannat | Tempranillo | Touriga Nacional





So our results? The votes counted, and four out of the five drinkers preferred the AERVANA poured wine (both wines Bordeaux). Wow we thought, that is a big recommendation.

Did it revolutionize our drinking pleasure? Is this a must have? Can we now live without it? Yes and no. We know, that is not an answer. WE continued to use it on many other wines and found it a bit mixed on improved initial drinking pleasure. On reflection, the wines that seemed better were all on the company varietals list. Perhaps not a coincidence.

So the take away is this. Nicely leaves the sediment in the bottle not the glass. Very cool and easy dispensing and cleans up super easy. With heavy and younger wines of the recommended varietals we experienced the AERVANA does make the wine more approachable for the average drinker in a nice classy and convenient dispensing package.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

PS: Still using it...

Vertical_ Passion and Pinot on the Oregon Wine Trail, a review

Sideways was an over the top, pretty funny lost weekend buddy road trip story, and one that had a significant impact on the wine industry (for better or worse). Rex Pickett’s sequel ‘Vertical' continues a similar type of story but aims higher than it’s predecessor and will have you reflecting on ones own human condition, and in most all ways succeeds, other than it probably will not change the wine industry (a good thing).

Vertical_ Passion and Pinot on the Oregon Wine Trail

Vertical starts of a little like Sideways meets the Hangover. The story goes through basically three stages with a ray of sunshine at the end. A hell of a good time with drunken debauchery and the start of a long road trip which then goes through a period where it spirals into falling apart to a lone dark stretch fighting openly with personal and physical demons to the final destination. The final ray is the reconciliation of mother and son. Touching enough to bring a tear with an emotional rawness that will make some bleed.
Confessing that the book sideways has not been read here but the movie has been seen and often discussed.
Rex Picket uses the first person lens of his alter ego, Miles Raymond and is quite the wordsmith. Another confession... Had to use the word dictionary in the back or the book a few times.

The premise is that Miles wrote a book about the boys weekend in sideways called Shameless and shortly after a movie by the same name makes him a huge celebrity with all the fame and wealth that goes with it. His sidekick Jack has had the reverse fortune and is divorced with a child and on the skids. Both have a serious drinking problem and not in a good way. Miles concocts an idea on how to fulfill his mothers wishes to leave the nursing home and go live with her sister in Wisconsin via the International Pinot Noir Celebration in the Willamette Valley and everyone's favorite two wino's hit the road again. This time its in a handicap van with Miles' disabled elderly mother, her pot smoking nurse, and his moms poorly behaved dog Snapper in tow. Sounds like a bloody good time ay? Well, at times it is, but at other times, well, it is soul searchingly sad.

So off they drive. Passing through Santa Ynez they stop at their old haunts including the now bustling Hitching Post where Miles is treated like a rock star. At every stop the wine and food is comped as vintners thank him for their booming Pinot sales in the wake of ‘Shameless' and even with his invalid mother in tow, Miles and Jack find plenty of star crossed women along the way to satisfy their lust including a couple of Spanish women on a ‘Shameless Tour’ of the Santa Ynes area. Once they discover Miles’ identity they both are more than willing participants in a weekend fling up in Paso Robles. This is the fun part of the journey. It soon turns tense and dysfunctional (OK, more dysfunctional). This is where the story takes on a dark quality that at times is uncomfortable to read.

The last part of the book follows the buggered relationship between Phyllis and Miles as they travel to Wisconsin. This gives ‘Vertical’ a conclusion that may split readers on the satisfaction of how the story comes to it’s end.

For those who are curious there is clearly plenty of room for a third book to be written.

Oh and on the question of whether this book should be made into a movie... Yes! 

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Note to reader : The book I am reviewing here is Vertical- Passion and Pinot on the Oregon Wine Trail--not to be confused with an earlier limited edition run known simply as "Vertical" 

Pinot Paradise 2016

A few Saturdays ago, ok quite a few, I attended a Pinot Noir technical session on Santa Cruz Mountains AVA put on by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association.

Putting you on the pathway to Pinot Paradise. Who doesn't love a good Pinot Noir? Well it seems now days Pinot Noir is easy to find and often quite inexpensive but good ones are not as easy to find as one would think so checking out this Pinot centric region was going to be fun.

Pinot Noir Technical Session at Hotel Paradox
Saturday, May 21

John Bargetto acknowledging Ken Burnap 

Learn and discover! This session was from 8:30am to 11:30am and featured an engaging program around geology and soils, regional history and all with a winemaker panel to kick-off regional exploration. During this event as we tasted and talked about an array of Pinot Noirs from the oldest mountain American Viticulture Area (AVA) in the United States. The ticket price was also reasonable $45.

Held at the lovely Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, California in a well sized and comfortable meeting room. The morning started out with the first session being done by area icon and Pinotfile Ken Burnap founder of the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. Ken told the story of how the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA was designed. Ken was a big player in how the AVA came about. He explained how he and David Bennion (co founder of Ridge Vineyards) spent years studying the region and the way the fog would behave creating a defined and predictable pattern.

Next up was the engaging John Bargetto of Bargetto Winery.
Bargetto Winery is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is currently run by the third generation of this family winery. Bargetto Winery, an American story. 

John talked about the Regan Vineyard (pronounced 'Ree gan') that has nearly 40 acres planted to twelve different varietals and clones. A special vineyard that is one of the largest and most diverse in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

As part of the session we had the opportunity to taste a Pinot Noir from Bargetto and also a Pinot Noir from the Regan vineyards made by MJA Vineyards. This was a very eyeopening tasting as the grapes came from the same vineyard but the wine could have been from different parts of the world. Both lovely tasting wines but bearing no resemblance to each other. One very much an elegant Pinot, the other more robust with heavier mouth feel.

Next up was three tastings from different wineries using the Muns Vineyard. We tasted wines from Muns, Left Bend and Thomas Fogarty Winery's. The Muns Vineyard sits atop the Santga Cruz Mountains facing the Monterey Bay at an elevation of 2600'.

The next tasting of the session was of the Lester Family Vineyards. This gentle sloping vineyards is located in Corralitos where a strong maritime influence provides for long cool maturation time. The wineries we tasted using the Lester Family Vineyards were, Big Basin, Martin Ranch and Sante Arcangeli Family wines.

The final group of wines have grapes sourced from the Coast Grade Vineyards. The Coast Grade Vineyard is located in Bonny Doon and was planted in 2008. Residing at an elevation of 1,238 to 1,350 feet on a southwest facing slope that is also heavily influenced by the Monterey Bay. The wineries we tasted were Beauregard Vineyards, Big Basin Vineyards and Partage Wine Company.

This casual yet informative (and very affordable unlike some other Pinot events) session on the Santa Cruz Mountan AVA and Pinot Noir was a wonderful overview of the region, the grape and the lovely wine that is produced by multiple wineries. The similarities and the differences were interesting and delicious from this interesting region which certainly has its share of good Pinot Noir.

Happy tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout   

Artisans of the Barossa

Up in the Barossa Valley? Tasting wine but starting to get hungry? Oh what to do? Do what we do...

Head on over to Artisans of the Barossa. With a fantastic setup that features, Hobbs of Barossa Ranges, John Duval Wines, Massena, Schwarz Wine Co, Sons of Eden and Spinifex.

Artisans of Barossa was originally formed in February 2006 by this group of six producers with different winemaking styles making fine small batch wines. In a region renowned for its long lunch this is a great place to experience and adopt the philosophy. With a menu that has stuff for the foodie type and some good wholesome food for those of us that want something to eat everyone will be happy.

They are open everyday and late on Fridays for that end of the week get together.

We usually head on over and enjoy a taste and a feed with a spectacular view and friendly knowledgeable staff. The wines are well worth the visit and the wonderful food is a fantastic bonus. The fact that it is a beautiful place with a spectacular view of the valley is truly icing on the cake.

They offer Premium tastings in the Artisans Lounge every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These tastings can be organised during the week by appointment by contacting the Tasting Room on 08 8563 3935 or via simon@artisansofbarossa.com

To make a booking or for further information:
tastingroom@artisansofbarossa.com
(08) 8563-3935

Bookings essential for groups of 8 or more.

Hours
11.00am to 6.00pm daily, including Public Holidays.
Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday

Address
cnr Light Pass & Magnolia Rds Tanunda SA 5353

So if you are in the Barossa Valley, head on over to Artisans of the Barossa and check it out. The good people at Artisans of the Barossa will take you through a great tasting and introduce you to the wonderful tradition of the long lunch.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout 

Wine accessories for fun and function, CapaBunga!

There are a ton of fun and functional wine accessories on the market. Recently we were sent some to play with and try out. Not being ones to typically use these types of things it was an opportunity for us to have some fun. We received three different products. The products came from Capabunga (click to see). 

The first accessory we tried was the CapaBunga CapaBubbles. A cap to keep your bubbles, well bubbly. We found it to easy to use and performed well. We unfortunately did not have the discipline to wait a whole week to see if it does as claimed but for a few days it was perfect. Here is what they say and other than the week statement have to say we continue to use it regularly.

Buy here

• Transform your sparkling wine bottle into a screw cap     
• Keeps your wine and bubbles fresh for up to one week
• Simply clip the base around the bottle neck, then screw on the cap for an air-tight seal
• Easy to use, instructions included on packaging
• Great gift idea

Buy here

Next was the bottle reusable caps for resealing your open bottles.
These are way cool for use outside when you want to keep nature out of the open bottle. Easy on and off and means there are no gnats swimming in the wine.

Putting the cap on fully is the key to safe lay down non leaking wine storage. We tested a bottle 3/4 full in the refrigerator, put the cap on and then laid it out on the counter with the cap over the sink and let the bottle come up to room temp. No leakage! The only issue we had was with a bottle that we did not put the cap on properly. 

Finally we come to the fun accessory. The CapaBunga Unique Wine Glass Identifiers and Name Tags Slogans. These inexpensive entertaining wine glass identifiers offer a double opportunity. First off there is the entertaining slogans that come imprinted on the silicone ring. Then there is the opportunity to turn them over and create your own snarky slogans or just simply put names on them for your guests. 

• 6 Unique Slogans for each member of your party or tasting event.
• Write on, wipe off, reuse.
• Made with Silicone for easy cleaning and durability.
• Slips around the base of any stemmed glass.
• A personal name tag for your drink - Designed by Capabunga

Some fun accessories that we continue to enjoy. They even have other accessories that take care of cheese, aerators and pourers. We even used them as Olympic rings as we sipped Moscato while watching the opening ceremonies.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout 

Jim Barry Wines Clare Valley South Australia

It was a cold wet wintry (I said wintery) day and there I was in front of this famous name in wines from Clare Valley South Australia, a member of Australia's First Family of Wine, and about to go in to meet with young winemaker of the year from last year and taste some truly iconic wines. So how did I get here? To help frame how this came about let me share a little story that starts in 2009...

Nov 2009 - Early in my fine wine consuming (different than the regular wine years) I was tasting wine at cellar doors in the beautiful Clare Valley of South Australia with friends, and came across a very special high end wine that was sitting in a discount bin because it's label had been stained by wine (bottle broken in a case). It was half price and although still almost double my usual purchase price range, I had been told by someone I trusted that this was the deal of a lifetime (maybe a slight exaggeration). In a moment of weakness or perhaps some divine intervention I grabbed a bottle and purchased it.
Carefully packing it in the suitcase for the journey back to California where it remained in storage hidden away till Dec 2015. This was a special bottle (read, expensive).

It's December 2015 and for a special occasion I opened one of those bottles of wine that is always waiting for the just right time. You know those special bottles that you bury deep in storage to age a bit. The ones you had to remember not to let die a slow dusty death. The special occasion was my wife's birthday. The night started with bubbles at a top Carmel tasting room Caraccioli Cellars and then off to the lovely Grasing's for a nice dinner, which is where I revealed the special bottle. Kiwi and his wife were going to be included in experiencing this special bottle (really wished I had 2). I can hear some, ok most of you saying 'oh just shut up and tell us what it was.

(Que snare drum) All the way from the Clare Valley in South Australia I shared with Kiwi and Mrs Kiwi, my wife and myself (oh and a little sip for Toby our somm mate) the Jim Barry Wines 2007 Armagh.

Look, critically this was not supposed to be one of the best vintages, but let me say bollocks, this wine was simply magnificent. A truly beautiful wine. Click on the link above for our thoughts.

Here we are in 2016 heading to Adelaide South Australia again and one of my favorite things to do is attend the master classes at the National Wine Center. This trip it happened to be Jim Barry Wines. The person leading the master class was none other than last years young winemaker of the year Tom Barry. A cracking night with good wine and some good conversation lead to a, 'see you later next week at the winery'.

So that's how it came about that here I am in the Clare Valley at Jim Barry Wines. Excitedly in we go and meet up with Tom Barry and we taste and talk about all things wine. We spent a lot of time tasting and talking about a group of wines that Tom is really proud of (he is proud of all their wines).
They are not what you may think. Tom really wants to have the entry level punter taken care of with quality wines at very affordable prices.

All four star wines starting at $19 Aust and up to $22 Aust. The Classic Cover Drive, The Barry Brothers Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon and the Lodge Hill Shiraz. Fantastic value for some great go to wines to share with friends or on any night of the week without breaking the bank. We were impressed. Of course not one to turn down wine we continued to taste through the entire range all the way to the Iconic Armagh. The 2012 Armagh is a very special wine and although it gets no stars as the price point is up there, but for those that can afford it, you will not be disappointed. Again this is a truly magnificent wine. While drinking with Tom, Peter Barry came out to say g'day. I had met Peter in San Francisco at an Australia's First Family of Wine event in 2015 and it was nice to reacquaint.
Great wine to be enjoyed at Jim Barry Wines in the beautiful Clare Valley. Thanks to Tom and Peter for being great hosts. 

Jim Barry wines is a must stop by if you are in the area. 

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout 

Continued growth for Australian wine exports to the US

We may be a little biased towards Aussie wine, ok, ok, very much so. But when you have been exposed to the great Aussie wines that we have, you would be as well. Make no mistake we love all good wine no matter where it's from. This last year we attended a couple great Aussie wine tastings courtesy of Wine Australia and was reminded of all the great wines we have been missing. Our selfish motive is to help in any way we can get more Aussie wine into the USA so we can get it for ourselves.

The following media release that was sent to us is some good news and also a wake up perhaps that some folks still do not know what they are missing and better get their share fast.  

Cheers...

WineWalkabout

Media release

Washington D.C., Wednesday 13 July 2016

Continued growth for Australian wine exports to the US

Wine Australia’s Export Report shows that Australian wine exports to the United States (US) rose in value in the 12 months to the end of June 2016.

From July 2015 to June 2016, exports to the US continued to grow with an 8 per cent increase in value to US$341 million.

Bottled exports increased by 9 per cent to US$300 million and the average value of bottled exports grew by 15 per cent to US$2.95 per litre.

The trend towards Australia’s premium wines in the US continued with exports priced A$10 and above per litre FOB increasing by 16 per cent to US$26.6 million. This reflects the improved perceptions of Australian wine among the US trade, with a growing number of importers taking on more premium Australian brands.

Looking closer at the A$10 per litre and above FOB segment:

·         A$10.00–19.99 increased by 28 per cent to US$16.7 million

·         A$20.00–49.99 declined by 13 per cent to US$7.6 million, and

·         A$50.00 and over increased by 77 per cent to US$2.7 million

Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark, said, ‘It’s pleasing to see continued growth in our most valuable export market, particularly in the premium price points. There is still much work to do in increasing the awareness and availability of premium Australian wine in the US. To continue sustainable growth in our most valuable market requires a long-term approach and a focus on re-establishing relationships and confidence in the category, supported by significant, consistent investment to drive the Australian fine wine message.’

Mr Clark also congratulated Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, importer and long-time supporter of Australian wine, which recently celebrated an Australian wine milestone.

‘We value all of our trade partnerships, they’re critical to our long-term success in the US. To that end I’d like to congratulate Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits on recently importing their 100 millionth case of Australian wine, a significant milestone and a strong indication of the support for Australian wine by the US trade.’

Casella Family Brands Managing Director, John Casella, said, ‘I’d like to congratulate our long standing partner in the US, Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits, for achieving such an impressive milestone. We are thrilled to continue our already strong relationship with the Deutsch team with the relaunch of Peter Lehmann Wines and strengthening our shared vision of promoting provenance, quality, diversity and craftsmanship of Australian premium wines within the US market.

‘It’s exciting to see such reinvigorated interest in Australian wine which is a testament to the hard work that Wine Australia has been doing in the US to promote the quality and diversity of Australian wine.’

The seven biggest US states for Australian wine were all in value growth:

·         California by 7 per cent to US$101 million

·         New York by 30 per cent to US$44 million

·         Florida by 19 per cent to US$32.6 million

·         Texas by 8 per cent to US$21.3 million

·         Massachusetts by 56 per cent to US$16.7 million

·         Pennsylvania by 83 per cent to US$14.4 million, and

·         Georgia by 82 per cent to US$13.7 million.

Global exports of Australian wines A$10 and over FOB hit record value

The total value of Australian wine exports to all markets grew by 11 per cent to US$1.6 billion, driven by bottled exports, particularly at higher price points.

Exports of Australia’s finest wines contributed to almost half of the total value growth in the last 12 months, with exports priced at A$10 and over per litre FOB up 26 percent to a record US$379 million.

Bottled wine exports grew by 15 per cent to US$1.2 billion and the average value of bottled exports increased by 9 per cent to US$4.06 per litre, the highest since October 2003.

24th Winemaker Celebration Carmel by the Sea

It was overcast and rain threatened, but suspect weather did nothing to subdue the enthusiastic crown from enjoying another great wine and food event. The Monterey 24th Winemaker Celebration was a great success.
There was music, food and of course wine and there was also the wonderful setting that is Carmel by the Sea. We love going to Carmel by the Sea to enjoy the ambience, restaurants and wine tasting.

When the streets close for the Winemaker Celebration you get a view of the beautiful buildings that you normally don't get to see. Standing in the street while casually sipping lovely wine you get to truly appreciate just how beautiful this little town is.

.Setting and ambience aside, some of the wines and food were exceptional. With about 35 wineries pouring and 20 of the Monterey Peninsulas best culinary operations preparing small bites and delights it was a great day.


There were a few wines and bites that stood out from the rest, not necessarily because they were that much better but maybe a great surprise or a good version of a favourite or rarely tasted style.


The only somewhat negative comment is that not all the food was compatible with the wine. Not that this is entirely bad as my designated driver took advantage of some of those, but for the wine drinker it created a problematic choice. Enjoy all the food and mess with your palate or skip some food and totally enjoy the wine.

I stuck with the wine and have no regrets although I do understand some of the desserts were brilliant.


This is an event that mixes a great setting with some great wine and food and we recommend it as one event not to miss.


Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout