You Bring The Wine
Image: WHY not spring into spring with a glass of something cool, white and delicious – and maybe tempt your taste buds with something new? How about a savagnin, or maybe a gruner veltliner?
By Winsor Dobbin (www.winsordobbin.com.au)
WHY not spring into spring with a glass of something cool, white and delicious – and maybe tempt your taste buds with something new? How about a savagnin, or maybe a gruner veltliner? The 2009 savagnins have just hit the market. This variety used to be call albarino in Australia, until some expert discovered it wasn’t albarino at all and all the wineries had to change their labels. Among those worth watching out for are Rutherglen Estates from north-east Victoria and Coolangatta Estate from the South Coast of NSW.
Gruner Veltliner is a minerally and very food-friendly Austrian grape variety that can be hard to find but Australian winemaker Jonathon Hesketh has made an excellent example under the Hesketh Perfect Stranger label using fruit from Kremstal in Austria. Try Camperdown Cellars or Kent St Cellars in the city.
Also perfect for summer are those very hip moscatos, the Australian take on the slightly sweet and spritzy Italian Moscato d’Asti. Among the best of the local releases are Brown Brothers’ very fruity Zibibbo and Zibibbo Rosa (both around $17); I also really enjoyed the 2009 releases under Wirra Wirra’s Mrs Wigley label and from Innocent Bystander.These are perfect for a picnic, a girls’ night out for enjoying with canapés and can usually be found at Dan Murphy’s and Vintage Cellars.
Those with more mainstream tastes will enjoy some excellent new-season whites just hitting the market. New Zealand sauvignon blanc remains perennially popular and the 2009 vintage wines look a notch up on 2008. Check out the Villa Maria 2009 Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($18), which has lovely balance and plenty of flavour without too much herbaceousness. It would be perfect to take to a Thai restaurant.
Also try the Shaw+Smith 2008 M3 Chardonnay (RRP $38, cheaper at Sixty Darling Street in Balmain) – one of Australia’s best chardonnays with plenty of complexity and considerable elegance. It’s a perfect match for yum cha.
