Wine Tasting- St Hugo Shiraz

St Hugo wines is located in the famed Barossa Valley wine region of South Australia. St Hugo wines are named after Hugo Gramp, the legend behind the Gramp & Sons winery which has its history dating back to 1840s. 

St Hugo Shiraz is a premium red wine bottle priced at more than $30 per bottle. With dark purple hues and 14.5% alcohol content, this is one shiraz which is both wine drinkers and wine collectors' favorite. 

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Banrock Station Chardonnay

Banrock Station Wine - Chardonnay is a fresh wine, driven with aromas of fruits and coming from a popular wine region of Australia- McLaren Vale. This white wine has 13 percent alcohol, which makes it a medium alcohol white wine. 

If you have tasted this wine before, we would like you to leave your review. If not tasted, why not have it this time around?

Jacob's Creek St Hugo Shiraz

St Hugo is a premier red wine collection from Jacob's Creek wines. This wine has been named after the founder of this winery, Mr Hugo Grump. This wine label was first launched in 1983 and gained immense popularity immediately. Shiraz is a famous wine varietal of Australia which accounts for most of the domestic production, consumption and even export of wines. 

Are Preservative-free Wines Really Worth Celebration?

People have begun to understand the benefits of all organic food. The fact that there is no harmful chemical used in growing this type of food is the single most important reason for people preferring all those items which are not using chemicals, wholly or partly. Preservative-free wines are one of these products which is one of the latest craze for wine lovers. Wineries in Australia are also increasingly developing these wines.

Preservatives are added to the wines to prevent the growth of microbes and to prevent the oxidation of wine. Both of these damage the wine and render it useless for consumption. There is a need for adding preservatives in order to keep these in check. These preservatives could be the alcohol, the acid, the sulphites and even the ascorbic acid. Out of these it is the sulphites which are marked as unhealthy for consumption. Many wine experts believe that singling out sulphites for being unhealthy is wrong and they give a number of reasons for clarifying their position in this respect.

The sulphites are in use for a long period of time and even the ancient and medieval period wine-making involved the use of sulphites for preserving wines. Even if you were to dismiss this argument on the pretext that the people at that time were not very much aware of its negative impact, the next argument put in defence of using this compound in wine is that there are insignificant number of people who are allergic to wines. In fact, people could be sensitive to it but a vast majority among them are not allergic to it. So, it is a very small part of population world over which could be somewhat impacted by wines made using sulphur dioxide.

Another argument used by the people is that the preservatives used in dry fruits contain more sulphites than those present in the wines. So, they do question the rationale of removing these from the wines and allowing wines to be amenable to damage by microbes.

Irrespective of the defence put forward, people still prefer buying the preservative-free wines, in short, those wines in which the sulphites are not present.

Grant Burge Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2014 Eden Valley

Grant Burge Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2014 Eden Valley

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Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014 Margaret River

Cullen Wines is a family-owned winery and situated in the Margaret River wine region.

Sauvignon Blanc Semillon wine from Cullen wines, pale straw in colour and filled with juicy fruit notes.

It contains 13.5 % alcohol and priced $30.39/bottle. To know more details about it, like tasting notes and food pairing notes visit here

Tempranillo - Grapes and Wines from Australia

Introduction
Known as Spain’s noble grape.

One of the fastest growing grape varieties in terms of plantations ahead of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in last decade (2000-2010).

The name originated from Spanish word ‘temprano’ which literally means ‘early’, shedding light on the fact that the grapes have a faster ripening period than its other Spanish red grapes.

Tempranillo is known by Tinta del Pais, Cencibel and Ull de Llebre in Spain, and Tinta Roriz or Aragonez in Portugal.

Viticulture
The right kind of soil for Tempranillo grapes is chalky soil which is particularly found in Ribera del Duero region of Spain.

Tempranillo grapes are black with thick skin. At high altitudes, they grow well and have tolerance for a warm climate.

Regions
The grape has been planted in New Zealand Mexico, Washington State, California, South Africa, Oregon, Australia, Texas, Portugal, Argentina, Turkey, Uruguay, Israel, Canada, and Arizona.

Characteristics
The common characteristic is low in sugar content and acidity and is often blended with Carignan, Grenache, Merlot, Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon due to its neutral profile.

Tempranillo wines have a ruby red appearance and comprise of plum, berries, vanilla, tobacco, herb and leather aromas, and flavors.

Food Pairing
Tempranillo goes well with all kinds of foods. It can be enjoyed with Pizza, Lasagna, Polenta, Grits and Mexican foods like nachos, tacos, and burritos.

Popular Wines
Some of the value for money Tempranillo wines are as follows-

• La La Land Tempranillo 2015 
• Hacienda López de Haro Rioja Tempranillo 2015 
• Sons of Eden Selene Tempranillo 2012 
• Bodegas Pascual Buró Ribera del Duero 2012 
• Angelicus Tempranillo 2014

Sémillon - Grapes and Wines from Australia

Introduction 
Sémillon is a golden skin grape variety grown in France and Australia. It is used to make sweet and dry white wines. It was once estimated to be the world’s most grown grape variety but not anymore. 

Origin, Regions and Other Names
Sémillon grape has its roots in Bordeaux region of France. In early times, it was known by the name of Sémillon de Saint-Émilion. It is grown in Chile, France, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand It is known by Groendruif, Colombier, Wyndruif, Malaga, Hunter River Riesling and Blanc doux to name a few.

Viticulture and Aging
Sémillon shows a high resistant to plant diseases, however, it is prone to rot. It ripens early and displays pinkish hue in warmer climates. It grows reasonably well in an area with sunny days and cool nights. Sémillon can achieve good yield - about 6 to 8 tons of grapes per acre. Sémillon wines generally age well.

Semillon Styles of Australia
In Australia, this grape variety is quite popular and in Hunter Valley wine region it goes by the name of ‘Hunter River Riesling’.

There are mainly 4 types of style by which Sémillon wine is made here –

· The first style is a commercial one, blending with Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.
· The second one is a sweeter style, on the lines of Sauternes.
· The third style has great aging potential, is complex and minerally.
· The last one is dry style of high quality

The last two styles were started by Tyrrell's, Tulloch, Lindemans, Drayton's and McWilliam's Elizabeth and are unique to Australia in every sense.

Adelaide Hills is thriving as a Sémillon wine region, the cooler climate providing added complexity to the wine.

Brown Brothers Cienna 275mL 2016 Victoria

Brown Brothers is a family-owned wine company in northeast Victoria. Brown Brothers Cienna is a low alcohol red wine containing only 7.50% alcohol.

It contains fresh aromas of red berry fruit with slight hints of spices with bright ruby red hue. Available online for $4.90 x 24 bottles in a pack.

Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato Rosa NV Victoria 200mL

Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato Rosa is a blend of Muscat of Alexandria and Cienna grape. It is available in pack of 200 ml - 24 bottles for $117.60.

Bright pink strawberry color wine with rich aromas of red berries, crushed grapes and subtle spicy hints.

Pepperjack Shiraz 2015 Barossa Valley

Pepperjack Shiraz 2015 Barossa Valley

Sauvignon Blanc - Grapes and Wines from Australia

Introduction

Sauvignon Blanc has its home in Bordeaux region of France. In early times, it was indigenous ‘wild’ grape variety in South West of France. The corresponding French term for ‘Wild’ is ‘sauvage’ from where the wine got its name.

‘Sancerre’ was the name of Sauvignon Blanc before it had hit the Paris bars and bistros in the twentieth century. This name had been derived from French wine appellation where it had first appeared. In the 1980s, saw the emergence of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which captivated the attention of people for its reasonable prices and refreshing, crispy taste.

A trend of wine drinkers switching from Chardonnay to Sauvignon Blanc Wines is seen in recent years.

Viticulture

The grapes when exposed to high heat which in today’s world is common due to global warming, the grapes get over-ripped early which has forced farmers to harvest them sooner.

Regions

The vines can be found in Loire Valley and Bordeaux regions of France, Australia, South Africa, Chile, California, Central Europe and Italy.

Some of the well-known Australian Sauvignon have come from Tasmania, Adelaide Hills, New South Wales, and Victoria. Western Australia is popular with its refreshing Sauvignon/Semillon blends.

Climate and Flavors

Cooler climate grapes likely produce flavors of tropical fruit and floral notes. In a warmer climate, grapes may lose aromatic notes if over-ripped and may be left with tree fruit and grapefruit notes.

Food Pairing

Can be enjoyed with cheese or fish when the wine is chilled and well with Sushi which pairs with select few wines.

Other Names

Known by Blanc Fume in France, Muskat-Silvaner in Germany and Austria, Sauvignon jaune, seventy on blocks in certain regions.

Popular Wines

Some of the best Sauvignon Blanc Wines are Babcock Vineyards in Santa Barbara, Les Belles Dames, Cloudy Bay and Dog Point in Marlborough, Didier Dagueneau's Silex in Pouilly-Fumé, Henri Bourgeois' D'Antan in Sancerre, Henri Pellé in Menetou Salon, Araujo Eisele Vineyard in Napa Valley, Shaw + Smith in Adelaide Hills and PHI Lusitania Park in Yarra Valley.

Riesling - Grapes and Wines from Australia

Introduction

Riesling is a white grape variety with its origin in Germany’s Rhine region. Riesling has flowery aromas and used to make sparkling white, sweet, semi-sweet and dry wines.

Although it ranks 20^th in terms of most grown grape variety with 48,700 hectares but comes in top 3 in terms of ‘most important white wines by quality’ along with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Flavors & Wine Regions

Riesling is high ‘terroir expressive’ meaning that the characters developed in the wine are dependent on the place where it is grown.

Riesling is quite popular in Germany, with around 21,197 hectares in 2006, which amounted to 20.8% of all the grape variety grown planted there and in Alsace wine region of France which had 21.9% share or 3,350 hectares under it.

Wine regions of Germany with cool climate Riesling portrays tree fruit notes alongside apple notes with considerable levels of acidity. In warmer climates, such as parts of Austria and Alsace, late-harvest wines develop into peach and citrus notes. In Eden and Clare Valley of South Australia, Riesling tends to develop lime notes.

Riesling is grown in Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Australia, northern Italy, Canada, New Zealand, China, South Africa, Washington, Ukraine, New York and California.

Aging

Commonly, Riesling wines are aged for 5 to 15 years for dry, 10 to 20 years for semi-sweet and 10 to 30 years for sweet ones.

Some high-quality off-dry or dry Riesling touch 100 years of aging and still are enjoyable

Riesling wines have a high aging potential which can be attributed to high acidity and distinct fruit flavors.

Riesling in Australia

In 1838, William Macarthur introduced Riesling in New South Wales, Australia. At one time, Riesling was the most planted white grape variety which was taken over by Chardonnay in the 1990s. Riesling is still grown in The Great Southern among other wine regions like Clare and cooler Eden Valley.

Australian Riesling has citrus fruit flavors and oily texture while young. 

Best Organic Wines and Wineries of Australia

People are starting to prefer organic wines over non-organic wines. The reason is simple – it is a healthier choice and free of chemicals. There has been an increase of 120 percent in organic grape wine production by in the period 2011 to 2014. This is some good news for the organic wine industry of Australia and its winemakers who are taking advantage of this and releasing their organic line of products. Below are few of the wineries with their popular organic wines worth trying.

Selected Organic Red Wines & Wineries

Winery	Popular Organic Red Wines
Angove	Angove Organic Cuvee Brut          Angove Organic Sauvignon Blanc           Angove Organic Chardonnay
Botobolar	Botobolar The King Shiraz           Botobolar KK Choice Shiraz
Tamburlaine	Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Shiraz           Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Grenache Shiraz Merlot            Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Rose
Grosset	Grosset Gaia Cabernet Blend           Grosset Pinot Noir
Yalumba Family Vignerons	Yalumba Family Vignerons Organic Shiraz
Paul Morris	Paul Morris Pinot Noir         Paul Morris Bush Vine Grenache

Selected Organic White Wines & Wineries

Winery	Popular Organic White Wines
Tamburlaine	Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Marsanne          Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Verdelho Semillon      Tamburlaine Wine Lovers Sauvignon Blanc
Seresin	Seresin Momo Pinot Gris           Seresin Momo Sauvignon Blanc          Seresin Pinot Gris          Seresin Memento Riesling
Yalumba Family Vignerons	Yalumba Family Vignerons Organic Chardonnay         Yalumba Family Vignerons Organic Viognier           Yalumba Family Vignerons Organic Pinot Grigio
Botobolar	Botobolar Low Preservative Chardonnay
Mount Horrocks	Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling           Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling          Mount Horrocks Semillon
Angove	Organic Cuvee Brut           Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2015           Organic Chardonnay 2014

There are other wineries as well which do organic viticulture. The total land area under organic viticulture in Australia is about 40 percent of the global land area under organic viticulture. 

Malbec - Grapes and Wines from Australia

Introduction

Malbec grapes are purple in colour and are used to make red wine. It is grown in many countries across the world. It can be found in Chile, France, Brazil, Madeira, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, USA and Argentina. Argentina has the largest land area under this grape variety in the world, grown in over 76,700 acres which are roughly 75%, mainly in San Juan, Mendoza and Salta. France has the second highest acreage under it, with 15,000 acres.

Viticulture

Malbec requires plenty of heat and sunlight to grow. This is more than Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It grows in soil that allows water to percolate down but may rot during cold conditions or in standing water. Australian Malbec wines are made from grapes grown in Frankland River, Kangaroo Island, Clare Valley and Margaret River regions.

Feel of the wine

Malbec wines of Australia present significant aromas of plum, cherry, chocolate, coffee, raisins, raspberry and leather. The noticeable flavours are of cherry, plum, balsamic, dried fruit and chocolate. Vanilla flavours and aromas are released during ageing of the wine in oak.

Popular names

Malbec is known by different name in different regions. In Bordeaux, it goes by the name of Pressac or Côt. French Cahors and Alsace region call it by Auxerrois. In Argentina, it is referred as Fer. In Portugal, it is known by Tinta Amarela and in Australia, it is called as Portugal Malbec.

Malbec in Australia

Malbec cultivation began in the 19^th century in Australia. At Liverpool, the Grodno vineyard can be attributed to the first instance of Malbec planting in Australia in 1901. Things changed during the second half of 20^th century when many acres of vines had to be uprooted due to poor yield caused by frost and spreading of the fungus to the leaves. The areas under Malbec vines shrank mainly because people began growing other grape-varieties in place of Malbec as a safer option. By 2000, it was close to 1,235 acres in Australia, with Clare Valley in South Australia having the highest share.

The World Malbec Day

It is celebrated on April 17 worldwide in remembrance of the day in Argentina history when president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento declared to change its wine industry.