ALDI made headlines recently for scoring gold medals with affordable wines – Six of Aldi’s cheap wines judged among best at Sydney International Wine Competition. The driver behind ALDI’s success is Jason Bowyer who has spent most of his life in the wine trade. At ALDI, he’s been fortunate enough to embark on  what is the company’s first venture into online retail anywhere in the world.

ALDI’s formula is to deliver quality and value at prices that often make the competition wince, and Jason is following that principle with wines that made a few of us shake our heads last night as we tasted some current and future stars. Jason travels the world to find wine makers he can establish long term relationships with, and he’s done a remarkable job in a very short time. Here are a few of the gems:

One Road Eden Valley & Padthaway Chardonnay 2014 – $7 at ALDI. The perfect drinking chardy, rich and round and full of flavour, not too dry so will go down a treat with everybody. 89 points. BUY.

Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013 $8 at ALDI. This has some genuine gooseberry character on the nose and a bit on the crisp palate, fades a little on the finish but no one’s going to grumble at this price. 88 points. BUY.

The Pond Pinot Grigio Chardonnay 2014 – $7 at ALDI. The website is on the last of the 2013 but Jason says the 2014 is now in stock in store. One quarter Chardonnay to give the Pinot Gris a bit more authority. It worked remarkably well – not much Pinot Gris character here but it’s a good drinking wine. 88 points. BUY.

Peter Mertes Gold Edition Mosel Riesling 2013 – $10 at ALDI. This wine made our Friday Fix a few weeks ago. Last night, it was  a perfect foil to the pork belly. The touch of sweetness was an asset, and flavour was surprising for a German Riesling.  90 Points. BUY.

A.C.Byrne & Co Le Premier Margaret River Chardonnay 2014 – $13 at ALDI. Jason brought along a Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2014. The two wines showed similar finesse and youthful acid, but most of us preferred the ALDI article. It just needs a year to settle down and full out. 91 points. BUY.

Neve South Island Pinot Noir 2013 – $8 at ALDI. The current vintage is 2011 and is $7. The 2013 we tasted won’t arrive until April. It’s clean, it’s drinkable and it’s vaguely recognisable as a Pinot Noir. Quite an achievement at this price point. 87 points.

Cote Du Rhone Village 2012/2013 – $9 at ALDI. Made from Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre and a pleasant enough light red with pizza or pasta. Jason brought along a Guigal Cote-du-Rhone 2011 as a reference point, and it was a much more convincing rendition of the theme. One of the few wines that didn’t convince me.

Tudor Central Victorian Shiraz 2013 – $13 at ALDI. I’ve raved about this gem before as well, and it really is a class act coolish climate Shiraz, full-flavoured with finesse, and a real bargain. 92+ points. BUY

Blackstone Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $20 at ALDI. This is a terrific Cabernet but it’s a great big huge red. Not my kind of Margaret River Cabernet but big red lovers will think this is heaven. 93 points, just to show I can push my personal preferences aside. BUY if you like them big.

Qiwilia Maule Valley Merlot 2013 (Chile) – $7 (arrives in (April). This worth looking out for. Much more refined than our Merlots, an elegant wine with notes of green leaves and tobacco supporting the cool fruit.

Piedra Negra Mendoza Reserve Malbec 2012 (Argentina) – $9 (May arrival). Another winner, one of the best Malbecs I’ve tasted. Interesting and multi-layered, not too much fruit and plenty of herbs too. Can’t wait to try a sample once the wine arrives.

Corte Carista Prosecco DOC – $10. A real crowd pleaser, light and fluffy but rich as well without too much sweetness. Should arrive by June, but some is available in stores.

Kim

If none of these 10 points matters to you, this website isn’t for you

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Kim Brebach

The $20 Wine Guy

Australian Politics has been the domaine of halfwits.

It’s time to breathe some wit into it

On our political stage, we see plenty of halfwits who would’ve been better off observing that old advice:  It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it. Most of them don’t read, I suspect, or don’t know how to. Australians are a weird mob, and Australian Politics are even weirder, so lets go through a few of the empties here and check the dregs.

At a recent very public competition, opinions were sharply divided over the Barry O’Farrell Shiraz. Some said it was an utterly forgettable wine, while others called it a decent, solid performer. Some even said the O’Farrell was a take-off on Grange, which the winemaker strenuously denied. He said he’d never even heard of Grange.

Tony Abbott 2014 reminds us of a young Hunter Semillon, lean, mean and edgy with a strong acid grip and a tough backbone, yet the label promises that the wine will improve dramatically if given a chance to breathe. It’s an old-fashioned style that pays no attention to current trends, and will take years before maturity is reached if ever. Lacks charm and finesse. Best drunk with hot dogs at boxing bouts or football matches.

More >>

How on earth did we end up with thousand dollar bottles?

Not so long ago, even the best French wines were affordable. In the early eighties, you could buy third-growth Bordeaux like 1978 Chateau Montrose, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Pichon Longueville de Lalande for around $30. Good Burgundies cost a bit more, and great Sauternes & Barsacs a bit more again – about $60/70 for a full bottle of Rieussec. Expensive yes, but not ridiculous.

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac

More >>

For this special day in our calendar, I’ve selected wines that are uniquely Australian because of their style or their history or their label. However, value for money was the first consideration as always. I’ve also suggested the kinds of foods these wines go with, assuming that people will partake in the usual Australia Day fare of barbecued beef, lamb, sausages and seafood.

Leo Buring Clare Valley Dry Riesling 2013 – $15 at Kemenys. The dry Aussie style of Riesling is unique in the world, and Leo Buring is one of the oldest makers. Limes and minerals here, plus ripe, concentrated flavour and a long, dry finish – brilliant match for roasted or barbecued chicken.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon Cellar Release 2007 – $12 at OurCellar. Mount Pleasant in the Hunter Valley is another household name, and ‘Lizzie’ is an institution. This wine is eight years old, and be warned: you’ll smell honey and butter here but also wet straw and tennis shoes. It’s a perfect match for a platter of smelly cheeses. The price is not a misprint.

Tahbilk Marsanne 2009 – $15 at Dan Murphy’s. Another iconic Aussie with a long history. This little winery in the Goulburn Valley used to be called Chateau Tahbilk, and the Rhone variety Marsanne has thrived here for many decades. This example is 6 years old and showing some rich honeyed flavours, goes well with pork. It’s so cheap because no one knows about it.

Rosily Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2014 – $18 at Kemenys. The vineyard is named after Comte Francois de Rosily, a French navigator who in 1772 made the first chart of Flinders Bay. On the same voyage the captain of his ship claimed possession of the south west of Australia on behalf of France. Had that claim succeeded we would now be speaking French, not English, and our national drink would have been wine, not beer.

Winemaker Mick Scott is a dinky-di Aussie, a keen surfer, swimmer and marathon runner. Margaret River has made this style of wine its own, and it’s so much more interesting than the Sauvignon Blancs from across the Tasman. Real class here, and the wine will fill out and improve with time in bottle. Terrific with grilled seafood.

Charles Melton Rose Of Virginia 2014 – $20 at Summer Hill Wine Shop Australia’s most attractive Rosé, inside and out. Made from Grenache, Cabernet and a few other varieties, it shows perfect balance between fruit and acidity. Drink with anything or on its own, well chilled.

Kilikanoon Killermans Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $16 at Kemenys. This wine pays homage to our Irish heritage. The story goes that Killerman was a trapper who lived 100 years ago behind the Skillogalee winery (near Kilikanoon) and made his own wines in a galvanised iron lean-to. The 2012 Cabernet is a much more urbane customer, well-mannered, cool and smooth. Medium-bodied and great with a good steak.

Devil’s Lair Hidden Cave Cabernet Shiraz 2012 – $17 at Kemenys. The combination of Cabernet and Shiraz is uniquely Australian, and this polished performer shows why it’s such a smart blend. That you can buy a quality crowd pleaser like this for so little money suggests that we’re still the lucky country. Goes well with steak, hamburgers and sausages.

Bleasdale Second Innings Malbec 2012 – $15 at Different Drop. There’s going to be a lot of cricket played on Australia Day, and here’s the wine to drink at the BBQ that follows. If you like your reds soft, round and velvety, look no further. It’s juicy and spicy too, and makes you wonder why this variety has fallen out of favour down under. Great with all kinds of lamb.

Bundaleer Sparkling Shiraz NV – $17 at MyCellars. Sparkling Shiraz is another Aussie specialty, and this stylish example is our current favourite. It’s made by a tiny boutique in the Southern Flinders Ranges region of South Australia. Absolute bargain.

Campbells Rutherglen Topaque 375mL – $18 at Dan M’s. Rutherglen is near Glenrowan in Ned Kelly country. We used to call this wine Tokay until the Hungarians objected. Thankfully, only the label has changed and the wine remains a wonderful drink to have with a rich dessert or orange in dark chocolate or a platter of runny cheeses. A great place to finish our top ten.

‘RIESLING is set to be the white wine of choice this summer’

So says Max Allen in the Australian and adds ‘at least it will be if Australia’s winemakers, retailers, event organisers and sommeliers have their way.’ Then Max admits that the ‘classic white grape still suffers from an image problem for some wine drinkers: ‘consumers weaned on Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc often think Riesling is going to taste sweet, so avoid trying it.’

If consumers don’t know what to expect from a given product, the obvious culprit is Marketing or lack of it. The unpopularity of Riesling has resulted in a top quality wine that mostly sells for less than $20. Riesling is racy, crisp and stylish. Riesling has purity and precision in abundance; Riesling is a great food wine yet easy to enjoy on its own; Riesling repays cellaring more reliably than most wines. Riesling is also the best wine value for money, so why is it so hard to get consumers excited about it?

‘It’s simply a Myth’

It’s the same overseas: Scores of wine writers have been predicting Riesling’s return to popularity for years, and been proven wrong. In a wine-searcher piece, Wink Lorch cites leading wine writers like Jancis Robinson in the UK and David Schildknecht in the USA who’ve been beating the drum for Riesling and adds: ‘I swear that New Year forecasts from 1995 onwards – that’s 20 years, folks – have insisted that Riesling will have its day of glory again.

Has it? No. Will it? No. It’s simply a myth that wine drinkers will shun something more simplistic like buttery Chardonnay, pungent Sauvignon Blanc or bland Pinot Grigio for the ultimate in white-wine complexity, kerosene flavours included.’

How did Riesling become so unpopular?

Germany is the cradle of Riesling. In the 19th Century, German ‘Hock’ rivalled the top Bordeaux reds in popularity and price. German Rieslings were popular once more in the twentieth century, in the 1960s and ’70s. Experts blame the Austrian wine scandal of the mid-eighties for the fall of Riesling – some Austrian winemakers added antifreeze to their unripe Rieslings to make them smoother. A marketing masterstroke.

In Australia, Riesling’s image was confused from the beginning: until the early seventies, we had 3 very different kinds of Riesling: Hunter River Riesling (Semillon), Clare Riesling (Crouchen) and Rhine Riesling (the real thing). Riesling suffered from an identity crisis and an image problem. Some of our Riesling makers also bastardised the style by adding sweet Traminer or retaining some sugar.

The Marketing of Riesling has been a Disaster

Consumers have no idea what to expect from Aussie Riesling. The Kiwis have shown us how to market a wine style: you can accuse them of bastardising Sauvignon Blanc but their commercial style is consistent, so consumers know what they’re getting. The folks marketing our Rieslings haven’t learnt that lesson.

‘It’s such a versatile grape that produces so many different styles of super-refreshing wine,’ sommelier Jacquie Lewis, the organiser of the Summer of Riesling festival, tells Max Allen. ‘I really feel there’s a need to bang the drum about this diversity with consumers. And there’s no better way to do it than in an informal, relaxed tasting environment where people can interact with the winemaker.’

Jacquie, I agree with what you about Rieslings terrific diversity but, if we want to win over more consumers, we need to clearly define the style long before we talk about diversity. If we start with Riesling’s great diversity, we’ll just confuse them.

Stop marketing to the converted

A 5% growth year on year (from a pretty small base) has given Riesling champions fresh hope, but it simply indicates that the Riesling lovers out there are buying a little more of it because it’s such terrific value. It does not mean that ‘consumers have already switched on to the variety …’ They haven’t.

Clare Valley winemaker Kerri Thompson tells Max Allen: ‘I’m seeing a whole new wave of young professionals taking a really keen interest in my wines … and mostly it’s because they’ve been introduced to the grape at events like Summer of Riesling or Riesling Downunder that present Riesling in a social, popular way.’

I suspect those young professionals are serious wine lovers, given the the $800 dollar charge for the 3-day Riesling Downunder Fest. Clearly this event is designed for serious wine buffs and tradies, but even the more modest Summer of Riesling affair is aimed at people who’re knowledgable about wine already. It’s not encouraging consumers to try a new wine style.

Broaden the market

The real challenge is to introduce a broader audience to the pleasures of Riesling, and that means marketing to the not-converted: wine drinkers who’re blissfully unaware of Riesling’s many charms. The question is: how do we wean them off their lolly water Kiwi savvies? Here are a few options:

• Launch a Riesling Revolution campaign in the media
• Promote Riesling as a cool, smart wine in the lifestyle magazines
• Promote Riesling as a great food wine in the food magazines
• Hand out Riesling and chicken wings at street fairs and community events

Riesling and chicken wings? Yes! Last year, I wrote a post headed Australia is Blessed with the Unpopularity of Riesling, which made a simple point: The reason more people don’t drink Riesling is that wine and food writers tell them to drink it with the wrong foods – seafood, cold salads, sashimi, stuffed capsicum, eggplant and more.

No wonder consumers are confused: they don’t know what to expect from a bottle of Riesling, and they drink it with the wrong foods. Roast chicken and Riesling are made for each other, and how many people eat roast chicken? Loads, and often. Many grab it on the way home, already cooked. We have to make them grab a bottle of Riesling to go with it, and that comes back to marketing.

Sell the style

Riesling has a lot going for it, and I’ve never seen the benefits stated in a way that makes punters think: I really want to try that.

1. Riesling is crisp, racy, zippy, refreshing, not heavy and not oaked
2. Riesling has terrific flavour – limes and minerals when young, honey and buttered toast when older
3. Young Riesling makes a great aperitif or anytime drink
4. Riesling is a great summer picnic wine
5. Riesling is low in alcohol – 12% on average
6. Riesling is a smart wine for smart people
7. Riesling is great value for money

Clearly Riesling has a lot to offer, and well-targeted marketing can to convey that to the broader wine drinking public. It’s a matter of clear messaging and consistency, and taking the product to consumers.

Kim

Once in a while, a story comes your way that you just have to share

Originally published by Brian Miller in the Adelaide Review, in November 2011

Fragrant, ethereal, unpronounceable wines winning McLaren Vale trophies? What next?

Things do not really happen in threes, unless you are selective as to when you start and stop counting, but three recent events did reinforce a revelation.

1. A Tasmanian wine won The Jimmy Watson Trophy, an award South Australia assumed it owned.
2. At The Adelaide Review’s ‘Hot 100 South Australian Wines’ there was barely a blockbuster in the room, and the event may have be renamed the Cool 100.
3. At the McLaren Vale Wine Show, crimson was the new black.

Strange days indeed. Hot ‘n heavy has been the order of the past decade. How did wines become so big? Reasons range from dire drought and global warming to new yeasts and American tastes.

Robert Parker, an imperially influential American wine writer, favoured big, bold, behemoth wines, so we obediently obliged him. As ‘Mad Men’ reminded us, the American male is historically conditioned to strong spirits, to the extent that it was once a Presidential campaign issue. When Jimmy Carter condemned the “three-martini lunch” for endangering the US economy, Gerald Ford responded that it was “the epitome of American efficiency – where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?” Perhaps he played too much golf with Bob Hope.

With their taste-buds singed by straight gin and a whisper of vermouth, when Americans turned from the grain to the grape, small wonder they wanted wines with wallop. It may be no coincidence that the first Australian chardonnays to achieve halleluiah success in the USA were redolently reminiscent of Southern Comfort – alcohol, American oak, sugar and peaches.

But blaming America is way past its use-by-date. This year McLaren Vale imported a wine judge, the accomplished and incisive Lisa Perotti-Brown. Her ‘International Judge Trophy’ was awarded to a a perfumed steamroller – the Shingleback 2010 ‘Red Knot’ Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvèdre. This label has long been good value, but rarely regarded as the trophy type. The wine is fresh, fragrant, vibrant, stylish and seamless. At a seductive $12 a bottle it will be my house red this La Niña Summer. Lisa is American, and who does she work for? Robert Parker. The earth just shifted on its axis.

The old familiar juices – Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon – were given a noticeable nudge by newcomers that Lisa described as “more expressive grapes”.

Indeed, the varietals on the winners list read like an opera program – Fiano, Vermentino, Tannat, Touriga, Tempranillo, Tintara and Taranga. (Oops, sorry, those last two are actually wineries). All bound for the new breed of bar that only serves wines ending in “a” and “o” except for Yalumba and Orlando.

Tradition was not missing completely. The Dan Murphy Trophy was seized with all tentacles by ‘Squid Ink’ Shiraz which accurately describes itself, and the 2008 Kay Brothers Basket Pressed Shiraz took me back in time – “Smells are surer than sounds or sights to make your heart-strings crack” – Rudyard Kipling.

McLaren Vale wines were always magnificent, in the true sense of the word; their flavours were magnified – big in body and soul, extraction and reputation. Other wine regions once mocked McLaren Vale’s munificence while quietly plundering its bounty to bulk up their own weedier wines. So to see pale, delicate whites and reasonably priced reds win such accolades indicates a fresh breeze of change in the vineyard in response to nascent criticism of wines becoming too damn big.

This is an international syndrome, not just Australian. Alcohols are increasing in Argentina, Austria, Bordeaux and Beaujolais. When French winemaker Hubert Trimbach said, “These rich, thick, heavy wines are aberrant, crazy,” he was not talking about us, but his own region, Alsace, where it snows. His neighbour endorsed the concern: “The average ripeness of the grapes in Alsace has increased dramatically. Today’s best vineyards are harvested at levels that our grandfathers would only dream to have once every twenty years”. Welcome to the club.

Fresh new styles, varieties and recognition are early indicators, but not every winemaker is kowtowing to the trend, and professional research indicates that alcohol levels are not a major concern to the majority of wine buyers. When told that Chris Ringland released a $18 Barossa Shiraz boasting an alcohol of 16.8%, one friend’s response was, “And the problem is?” Perception plays a part. When a wine is well made, subtly oaked and in balance, you don’t notice the kick, and wine should be made from ripe grapes. Alcohol emerges from grape sugar, and you can’t just keep picking earlier each vintage, or you end up in Verjuice territory and last New Year celebrations. If wine is expected to be an expression of place – le nouveau cliché – then climate is a part of that place.

To oversimplify a complex equation, the 2008 vintage was a bit hot and 2011 was a lot wet. But the best of the 2009 and 2010 inbetweeners are blossoming. More wines today are made to be enjoyed immediately, are released young and are drunk yesterday. Few of us now age wines for ages. The impressive contents of your long established, hard-dug cellar will reach optimum drinking just as your doctor, liver, bank manager or Pilates-prone second wife urge you to ease up. Even if you are still fit to fight, as your wines mature from too-young-to-drink to too-old-to-drink, over that same period, your tastes will have changed beyond earlier recognition. Australians who once pilloried Pinot for being to pale are now propounding it. Not only because their palates have lightened but because Pinot Noir has darkened. They met in the middle. Wines change and we change with the wines.

And the Tasmanian wine that won that Jimmy Watson Trophy? For local reassurance, the winemaker is South Australian. Nick Glaetzer. He is hoping things do happen in threes.

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About Brian Miller

Brian Miller is a past president of The Wine Service Guild of Australia, council member of the Society of Wine Education, marketing manager for small, medium and large wine companies and an award-winning public speaker. He lectures and writes occasionally, eccentrically and erratically on wine matters, wine marketing and wine culture.