While all of you have had a sweltering summer in the Northern hemisphere, we’ve been freezing down here in the South. Yes…Australia does get cold…10 degrees feels freezing when your only heating is your rubbish reverse cycle aircon, trust me.
So while I’ve been enjoying some delicious reds to warm me up I didn’t think that would do much good for you guys on a 35 degree day.
I hope you picked up from one of my recent posts that the famed Barossa Valley right here in South Australia is the only wine region in the world to have both a warm and cool climate within the same region. So what better region of contrast to recommend for my Summer/ Winter special.
Eden Valley
First up delicious cool, crisp whites from the Eden Valley (sub-region of the Barossa):
- Dandelion Vineyards Riesling – you don’t just need to take my word for it on this one as this wine won Silver in the Decanter World Wine Awards last year. I love this description from Decanter too: ‘Racy, delicate and long, loaded with mouth-watering lime zest, bath salts, toasted brioche and a nod of ginger‘.
- Langmeil Wattle Brae Riesling – Langmeil are one of my favourite Barossa producers and I love this riesling even though it was hard to track down in the UK! This wine is crisp, fresh and zesty absolutely mouthwatering. It pairs brilliantly with freshly shucked oysters but any seafood will do.
The Eden Valley is famed for it’s Riesling, so stop off in your local independent wine store and ask if they have any Riesling from this wonderful sub-region – you won’t be disappointed.
Barossa Valley
The Barossa is famed for it’s Shiraz and while I was a little apprehensive on arriving here, given it’s reputation for 15% alcohol blow your head off style, I have been fully converted. From classic icons of the Barossa with vines dating back to the 1800s to producers looking to pair back and make slightly lighter more refined styles. I have loved trying the wide variety of expressions the Barossa has to offer. While nothing beats coming to the place itself a few examples that would be a great introduction include:
- St Hallett ‘Faith’ Shiraz – a classic example of Barossan Shiraz and with a few years of age (2017 vintage) this will have mellowed. I recently visited St Hallett and was treated to some of their back vintages of their flagship Old Block – the 2017 vintage was beautiful dark fruit, smokey, with fantastic depth and length.
- Yalumba – a beautiful winery in the Barossa that has been driving sustainable practices since the 1990s, they make a delicious organic Viognier but their reds are fantastic too. The Signature is, as the name suggests, their flagship wine – I recently tasted the 2018 vintage which was smooth, round with rich dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco and smoke creating a fabulously long complex wine. The good news is you can find their wines at Waitrose!
Hope you enjoy, cheers!