Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône, France 2022
One more time for Découvertes! Starting this time in Avignon for the Southern Rhône appellations, progressing to Tain and Mauves then finishing in Ampuis. So great to re-acquaint with the winemakers and to update on what has been happening over the Covid years. Big shout out to Matt Walls for the masterclasses, so informative and helpful. Highlight this time was tasting the 3 newly released 2018 LaLas of Guigal with Philippe Guigal (my favourite is La Mouline), 2020 Domaine Le Sand des Cailloux Le Sang Blanc, along with the 2014 Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Le Méal. Catering by Anne-Sophie Pic no less! Final cleansing ale back in Tain. And I may have visited Valrhona Chocolates yet again - I do so wish they were available in Melbourne. |
Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne, France 2022
So good to be back in France for the wine fairs! Starting in Chablis, then moving south based in Beaune to cover all the appellations of this wonderful region. So enjoyable and so informative! Outstanding events were tasting at Château du Clos de Vougeot and Louis Latour in Aloxe-Corton, meeting Jérôme Flous from Domaine Faiveley, and Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet plus tasting the first Premier Crus of Pouissy-Fuissé. Also comparing the wines of Pommard against Volnay with Nicolas Rossignol and discovering Saint Martin in Chablis. Finishing with a cleansing ale in front of Les Hopsices de Beaune as you do! |
Experiencial Masterclass, Vins de Provence, Sydney 2019
What a fabulous way to launch summer! I could think of nothing better than an afternoon cruise on Sydney Harbour with a Masterclass on Provence rosé with wine ambassador Justine Schofield and the CIVP Vins de Provence. On this day of perfect weather, we boarded Ghost II in Rose Bay, hosted by Emilie Groleau and Romain Diho for a masterclass conducted by Matt Dunne. We tasted 8 great rosés whilst cruising Sydney Harbour and learning about the commercial prospects for rosé on the Australian market. The following day we attended a VIP Product Launch at Sofitel Darling Harbour, for another 12 rosé wines with matching canapés. Outstanding of course was AIX rosé, served from jeroboam! CIVP Vins de Provence will partner with Sofitel Darling Harbour to bring you Provence rosé events all summer long. Can summer get any better? |
Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône, France 2019
Once again back to the Rhone Valley but this time as a Rhone Valley Vineyard wine ambassador. Starting in Ampuis, then moving on to Tain and Tournon concluding in Avignon this 4-day wine fair is the showcase to the world of Rhone Valley wines. Great to catch up with existing favourites and develop new relationships as well, and hopefully we will soon see these wines in Australia. The press conference from Michel Chapoutier was so interesting in its market description shedding light on current wine trends. Highlight was the invitation soirée at M.Chapoutier cellars in Tain, where we tasted back vintages in large format bottles until the early hours of the morning. So proud to represent the winemakers from this most dynamic region of France. I will be back in 2 years time! |
Climats de Bourgogne, Melbourne 2018
Melbourne show and masterclass for Bourgogne wines with Nelly Blau from BIVB in attendance. Nelly flew out from Beaune to Melbourne for the show and brought 20 winemakers especially to showcase their wines at the Grand Hyatt. The masterclass commenced with an explanation of the very Burgundian word "Climat" describing the precisely delimited plots of land enjoying the specific conditions which, when combined with human effort with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay give rise to the exceptional patchwork of wines in Bourgogne, classified according to quality. We tasted 8 specially selected wines from across the region, including my favourites which are the premier crus from Puligny-Montrachet and Gevrey-Chambertin. Tasting with the winemakers continued, with my favourites being Clothilde Davenne from Chablis, Domaine des Beaumont from Morey Saint Denis (including his Gevrey-Chambertin premier crus) and Charles du Colombier's Collection of selected premium wines from Beaune. Loving getting to know Bourgogne wines! |
Vinisud, Montpellier 2018
Vinisud is the showcase wine fair of the world of Mediterranean wines, held this year in Montpellier France. There were 25,500 attendees with 1,420 exhibitors from 16 countries, including the south of France and Corsica, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. The fair ran for 3 days at the Montpellier Exhibition Centre, and provided an excellent conduit to meet up with the winemakers, taste their latest vintages, and research future articles. In my view, the best stand was M.Chapoutier, best wine was 2009 Terre d'spices from Domaine de Grangeneuve and best entertainment was the Winegroovers at Rhone Vignobles - all wines from the Rhone Valley, so maybe I have a biassed view! So much excitement with InterRhone and Rhone Valley wines. Of course we cant forget about Mas de Daumas Gassac, Chateau la Coste, Rimauresq, Chateau Vignelaure and the fabulous 2016 Domaine Courbis Les Royes St Joseph rouge. Best new discovery was the white Ports from Vieira de Souza and the most fun was exploring the wines from Corsica! |
Spring in Bourgogne, Melbourne 2017
I attended the Melbourne show of this masterclass and matched food and wine dinner held at Project 49 in Collingwood. It was for the Bureau Interprofessional des Vins de Bourgogne in the presence of their Export Marketing and Communications Manager Nelly Blau, with the tastings animated by Nick Stock. We covered a total of 17 wines all of the 2015 vintage from across the Bourgogne region, with my standout again being from Gevrey Chambertin, this time a Clos du Chapitre Premier Cru from Nuiton-Beaunoy. |
Vin Diemen, 2017
Tasmania is my birthplace, and so has a very special place in my heart and soul. This cool climate island State of Australia is world renown for Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay. Vin Diemen is the premium marketing event held each year on mainland Australia - in Sydney and Melbourne, in conjunction with Bottle Shop Concepts and Wine Tasmania. Over 100 wines from more than 25 vineyards, plus Tasmanian food and produce - Tasmania truly is the gourmet island. We were particularly impressed by our go-to Tasmanian vineyards Bream Creek and Spring Vale, and also the stunning 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Domaine A. And of course no wine fair is complete without a tasting with the guru of northern Tasmania wines, Jeremy Dineen from Joseph Chromy. All topped off with a pairing of Bruny Island C2 Raw cheese with Bay of Fires Gewürztraminer over several vintages. I simply could not resist Fred Peacock's 2015 Bream Creek Reserve Chardonnay - only 379 bottles made! |
Barossa. Be Consumed, 2017
This was the showcase for the Barossa winemakers in Melbourne, with the emphasis on Shiraz and its blends. Another themed event held at Meat Market in North Melbourne. There were 44 wineries represented, with tastings of over 200 wines in total. We were particularly impressed by Langmeil, Torbreck, Massena and Yalumba. Langmeil had a fabulous value for money early drinking Shiraz Grenache Mataro. Massena is a smaller vineyard making a great Shiraz called the Eleventh Hour, as in, the vineyard rescued from uprooting. At Torbreck, I simply had to buy more 2006 Descendant, an outstandingly memorable Shiraz Viognier. And of course Yalumba had the deliciously subtle 2015 Paradox Shiraz Viognier made by their chief winemaker, the legendary Louisa Rose. |
Road to Rhone, Melbourne 2017
I attended the Melbourne show of this wine fair for InterRhone to promote the wines of the Rhone Valley of France to Melbourne restaurants and wine stores. Tastings were facilitated by 4 leading sommeliers and covered 23 wines from both the Northern and Southern Rhone Valley which are currently available in Melbourne. |
Game of Rhones, Melbourne 2017
I attended the Melbourne show of this wine fair which was also held in 6 cities throughout Australia and New Zealand. The theme was Rhone Valley style wines made locally. InterRhone, the marketing and communications association for Rhone Valley wines also sent their representative in order to better understand the Australian market. I was honoured to be able to spend the afternoon with Sabine in order to better appreciate Australian wines and wine styles! |
Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône, France 2017
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