(This is a piece written by Anna Bradley for Home Heaven in December 2014 – LINK)
Wine expert Kim Brebach will surprise you with his advice on finding the best wines.
When I’m at the bottle shop searching for wine, I’ve really got no idea what to look for. I tend to always go for a brand name I know with a price tag between $20-$25 (that way I’m not breaking the bank, but don’t look like a total cheapskate!). I’ve always assumed that the more expensive the wine, the better the quality and taste – then I met Kim Brebach.
Kim is a wine expert who has tried the best wines from across the globe, and his absolute favourite Riesling costs just $21 from Dan Murphy’s. So you can understand why I just had to pick his brain…
1) What are your top three tips for buying wine?
- Go online for the widest choice.
- Buy ahead of time when the price is right, not purely when you need wine.
- Do your homework on what to buy and where to buy it.
2) Can a $20 wine be just as good as an $80 bottle?
Yes! With wine, the correlation between quality and price is not strong. Many $20 wines have won major competitions against $80 wines. Last year, for example, a $17 Robert Oatley Shiraz came equal first with a Penfold’s Grange 2008 ($785 price tag) and a $17 Pepperjack Shiraz beat a Penfold’s $170 RWT in the Visy Best Australian Shiraz Challenge.
3) Are wines seasonal in the same way as fruit and veg?
Not really, since even the cheaper ones last a year or more once they’re bottled. However, new vintage crisp white wines – like Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc – come out every year around August/ September.
4) What’s your favourite vintage wine and why?
Probably the 2012 vintage Rieslings in South Australia, which combine ripe fruit with a great deal of freshness and line and length of fine acid.
5) In your opinion, which Australian vineyards produce the best wines?
It’s probably easier to answer this question in terms of areas rather than vineyards.
- Riesling: Clare and Eden Valleys
- Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon: Margaret River
- Chardonnay: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula
- Pinot Gris: Tasmania, New Zealand
- Semillon: Hunter Valley, Margaret River
- Pinot Noir: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania
- Shiraz (medium-bodied): Hunter Valley, Grampians, Heathcote
- Shiraz (big and cuddly): Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley
- Cabernet (cool climate): Yarra Valley, Tasmania
- Cabernet (full-bodied): Margaret River, Coonawarra
- Cabernet Merlot: Margaret River
- Grenache & Mourvèdre: Barossa and McLaren Vale
6) Can you get good quality, international wine varieties in Australia for a fair price?
Yes and no. There are a number of specialist importers who bring these wines in, but the small volumes generally mean inflated prices compared to the US and Europe.
7) What foods are best paired with certain wines?
- a) Champagne – Delicate seafood like crab and lobster au naturel
- b) White wine –
- Riesling with roast chicken
- Chardonnay with schnitzel
- Pinot Gris with pork
- Sauvignon Blanc with seafood
- c) Red wine –
- Cabernet Merlot with lamb
- Shiraz with hamburgers
- Cabernet Shiraz with steak or roast beef
- GSM (Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre) with beef casserole
- Pinot Noir with duck
8) If you could only drink three wines for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, Pewsey Vale Contours Riesling and Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes.
Kim is the founder of bestwinesunder20.com.au, a website that offers weekly round-ups of the best budget wines in Australia and where to get them! Check out the site here.
What’s your favourite wine? Do you consider price as an indicator of quality when it comes to wine?