The kaleidoscope of real Aussie wines continues as my journey though this amazing wine continent comes to the end of its first week. We have tasted about 500 wines and expect that much more to come. I have fallen in love with the refined, balanced yet flavorful wines that we have tasted. It’s all about drinkability and harmony so far with #realaussiewine.
I was in a restaurant last night at the beach in Melbourne. The Stoke House is a gorgeous ocean side place with glamorous people and deliciously prepared food. Australian’s have an incredible zest for great ingredients in their food. Succulent scallops with tiny squid as a starter touched every taste bud while a main course of perfectly cooked grass-fed Aussie beef was mouthwatering – although I couldn’t finish what seemed like half a cow proportions.
The dinner was with some serious wine celebrities including critics Mike Bennie and Nick Stock as well as coolster winemakers Gary Mills, Dave Bicknell, Rory Lane, and Adam Foster. They all brought bottles and shared. What a cool vibe. They brought some cutting edge stuff including Syrahmi, Jamsheed, Bespoke Bros, The Story, Oakridge, Hochkirch, Head, and Bindi.
These are wines that have nothing to do with black, monolithic jam juice that many outside of this place have come to know as Australian wine. Many of the winemakers, and critics, comment how Americans in particular have the wrong idea about Australian wines because of bankrupt wine importer Dan Philips and wine critic Robert Parker promoting wines that resemble Port more than table wine. They are pissed off to say the least.
Honestly, I too thought the same thing before coming to Australia and tasting close to 500 wines so far. The black and undrinkable wines of Oz have nothing to do with today’s #realaussiewine. Stay tuned and get the real story.
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