Wine - lessons learnt & shared

Firstly, the wine

So I went to the local bottle-o last week, looking to find a couple of wines that (a) we haven't had before and (b) were ideally less than $20 AUD (seeing that the last few have been rather pricey). This is the first of them.

I love a good Pinot Noir however the ones I like are the earthy, strong bodied ones rather than the cherry, fruity variety (just my preference). There is something about a good Pinot Noir like that and you know immediately you have one by the first smell and confirmed by the first taste. The Devil's Corner passed both tests and just kept getting better as you drank it. This was a really pleasant surprise as I hadn't heard of Devil's Corner before and that it was a young one being 2018. And considering it was less than $20, definitely value for money. Kind of made me sad that I didn't buy more than one but I will be back to the bottle-o at some point in the near future to get some more.

When I started this blog around ten years ago, it was a vehicle (admittedly of self indulgence) to share and hone my enjoyment of wine but also of writing. One thing that I didn't really do was write about my thoughts about wine and the enjoyment of it - apart from the very brief and layman reviews of the latest quaff of the week. So friends, I thought I would share some insights that I have learnt over the years when it comes to wine. They are broad and by no means perfect but rather the result of reflecting several times this week on how my attitudes on wine have changed and how it's role/value has changed as I got older (note - I didn't say wiser).

Cost vs Quality: A very long standing discussion and one that isn't black and white. A number of factors play a role in how much a wine costs; how the winery wants to market the wine, right down to simple supply & demand of the grapes used. Yes, a higher priced wine should more than likely be a good one but that isn't necessarily the case and vice versa (take this week's wine as an example). In the end, it should only be used as a guide and like gambling, only spend what you can afford.

It's a big world: The current situation we find ourselves aside, we live in a time that many more countries are starting to make wine. That and we have access to the wines from many of those countries in our local bottle shops as well. We have gone from the Old World (France, Italy) to the New World (Australia, New Zealand, US) to countries like India and China making wine. I say, you don't know unless you try it, so go ahead and try different varetials, regions etc. You never know what gem you may find.

The more you taste, the more you learn...and the worse you sound: It has been a while since my first trip to the Hunter Valley; which was more social than being focused on the wine. Since then, I have been very fortunate to visit a number of wineries across Australia, New Zealand, France and the US and over a number of years, you start to learn about the process of making wine and the impact it has on what comes in the bottle.

You also start to learn about the 'proper' way to taste wine; what to note when you smell, look & taste what's in the glass. This is all great information and makes you appreciate wine a lot more but it comes at a cost. It makes you sound like the stereotypical wine snob (I would say another word beginning with 'w' but this is a family show).

To hear yourself talking out loud at the cellar door about the colour of the wine when held up to the sunlight, the earthy, strong bodied bouquet it has after your first whiff & that initial taste of pepper and perhaps a little barnyard - all of which I am guilty of doing - makes you sound so pretentious! While it does, it is all the result of collecting bits and pieces along the way and it all makes the experience of tasting both more enjoyable and adds to your appreciation of the whole winemaking process. I guess the secret is making sure your voice isn't the only one that is heard in the whole cellar door while you do it!

It is really is about personal taste: In the end, it is about what you enjoy drinking; whether on it's own or with a meal. Red, White, Rose - doesn't really matter what I say or what anyone says. If you enjoy it, drink it.

One universal truth: There is one thing that has been consistent right throughout the time I have been drinking wine. Some of your greatest memories generally will have a bottle involved. I still remember the days when I would join mates in Crows Nest on a Friday night for dinner. Those days started with a case of beers but then graduated to a White, then a Red and finishing up with a Port & cigars. Since then, I have still found that a good time, some good stories & great memories come from sharing a bottle. I think that is something that will never change and I hope never does.

I will leave the last word to a clip from one of my favourite movies 'Sideways' and the monologue that Maya (played by the magnificent Virginia Madsen) gives about wine. It says it all...especially her last line. Enjoy!

PS: Thanks for all the feedback and importantly the sharing of TV shows after last week's post. It definitely encouraged a lot of debate and is worthy of another post in the future for all those other shows that I didn't list. As they say, stay tuned!!!